For the most part, everyone’s beams worked the same way. But every now and then, I’d find people whose beams subverted my expectations. In our class, there were three such people. Looney was one of them, and the other two were boys.
“Hey Mickey! We got permission to use the auditorium after school, so there’s gonna be a meetup for the main cast and crew,” said Boy #1 right before last period as he passed by my desk. Nickname: Zuka. See, he used to be really short, so with his androgynous features, he could’ve theoretically joined the Takarazuka Revue as their first-ever male member. That’s how I coined the nickname, anyway. But lately he’d had a growth spurt, and now the girls were all over him, which was kind of annoying.
Also annoying: no matter what I said to him, his beam never moved an inch. A balanced beam represented perfect composure, and whenever Zuka spoke to me, that composure never wavered. Pretty rude, if you asked me.
“Okay, cool. Thanks!”
But enough about him—it’s time to introduce Boy #2, currently seated behind me. He was the polar opposite of Zuka; anytime I spoke to him, his beam would swing left and right like an energetic seesaw. And if I turned and looked at him right this very moment, it would probably happen again.
“Whoa! Wh-what’s up, Miki-san?”
“Oh, nothing.”
See that? It flip-flopped so much, it made me get the wrong idea at first—Oh ho, you got a crush on me? Alas, it’s so hard being this beautiful—but now I was pretty sure that wasn’t the case. After all, if he had a crush on me, then you’d think his beam would lean positive whenever we talked. But since it so frequently leaned negative, my pet theory was that he was actually low-key afraid of me. Pretty self-obsessed of me to mistake it for love, if I’m being honest. Cringe. But anyway. Going forward, I’d just need to get real friendly with him so he wouldn’t be afraid of me anymore.
That being said, Elle sat at the desk directly beside his, and lately things seemed to be getting a little flirty between them, so I decided to rein myself in. They were good friends, and whenever they spoke to each other, their beams both leaned positive. Lucky me, I was friends with both of them, so I could tease them mercilessly once they hooked up. Oh, and as for his nickname…I was still trying to come up with one. Recently, Looney had started calling him by his first name, so now everyone was calling him Kyou-kun.
“Alrighty! Cast, sound crew, and lighting crew, head to the auditorium! Costumers, prop designers, unless you’ve got something more important going on today, head on over to Miyazato-chan!” a drawling voice called out across the classroom as soon as the final bell stopped ringing. It was Looney, shouting up at the ceiling from her desk at the front of the room.
“Use your indoor voice, Kuroda!” our teacher scolded her.
“I’m so excited to start rehearsal,” she replied without apologizing, almost as if she hadn’t heard him. Then she turned around and started giving orders to each person.
As you might have guessed, we were currently working on a presentation for the school Culture Festival. All the stage performances were scheduled for Saturday, while all the refreshment stands would open for business on Sunday. Each class was required to choose one or the other; our class had chosen to perform. And as it happened, Looney had led the charge.
It all started about a month ago, back when the topic of the Culture Festival first arose. Sure, we were all on pretty friendly terms with each other, but even then, I expected we’d take turns sharing our opinions, followed by a majority vote. But no. Instead, Looney raised her hand and made a declaration that closed the book on the entire conversation:
“We’re going to do a superhero show. The people who want to take center stage can have the lead roles, the people who want to give acting a try can have the minor roles, and the people who don’t want to be on stage at all can be part of the production crew instead. I’ll write the script, film it, and submit it to the admissions office of my dream college, so everyone please help me get in, okay? Thanks.”
She didn’t waste time with lead-up—just went straight for the kill. And since no one else had any alternative suggestions, it was easier and faster to just roll with it. Fortunately, our class had plenty of kids like Elle who were good at crafting things, plus a handful of over-enthusiastic guys like Zuka…and of course, at least one person self-obsessed enough to want to play the lead role. Yep, you guessed it: me.
And so, just like that, it was decided that our class would put on a superhero show. As it turned out, not only had Looney already paid a visit to the theater club, but she’d already written the script, too. We each got a copy that very same day.
Naturally, we all knew about Looney’s dream college, and we all wanted to help her make it happen. Our class was chock full of good people, and Looney herself seemed inclined to agree. “You guys are the best. Let’s make this Culture Festival one we’ll never forget,” she said to us, like a line out of a cheesy movie. But somehow, she made it sound genuine. Probably because she wasn’t thinking about it too hard.
“Hey! Braless again?! Seriously?!” I shouted as I ran after her.
“Yep! Want proof?”
She stopped, unbuttoned her blazer, untucked her sweater and button-down shirt, and started to hike it up. Then her band tee slid up along with it, exposing her porcelain tummy, and I hastily grabbed her hands, stopping her. “Don’t you dare!”
There were other students all around us. Kyou-kun looked at us in puzzlement for a moment, then averted his eyes and hurried away.
“That reminds me. Miyazato-chan finished the costumes ahead of schedule, and she was saying she might make the helmets by hand, so she wants to measure your head.”
“That’s it? Not gonna comment on the fact that you almost gave Kyou-kun a peek at the goods?”
She hadn’t even readjusted her uniform, and yet she had already changed the subject to a more serious topic. My snarky retort earned me a dumbfounded look. This was the part about Looney I really couldn’t comprehend—no matter how ridiculously she behaved, she could play it off like it was normal! And yet somehow people like Zuka and Kyou-kun thought I was the crazy one! It was offensive!
Then again, Kyou-kun seemed to have picked up on it lately, so that was a relief. Maybe now he could relax around me a bit more. And for the record, yes, he was one of the cast members in our show. He was never the dramatic type, but Looney had given him a role to play regardless. You see, certain circumstances had put him under her direct control, and while I was mildly concerned for his safety, at the same time, it was kind of hilarious.
“Alrighty then, time for another rehearsal!” Looney exclaimed as we entered the auditorium. For the most part, everyone’s beams leaned positive.
For the next week, we could forget about college entrance exams and everything else and just focus on prepping for the last Culture Festival of our high school careers…
Aaaaagh! Seriously though, what am I gonna do after I graduate?!
“Whoa, you weren’t kidding! They’re so firm and tough!” Elle gushed as she felt the fingers on Looney’s left hand. So sweet. So pure.
“Kyou’s fingers are getting there, too,” Looney replied, licking the ice cream clutched in her other hand.
“Really? Show me your left hand,” I told Kyou-kun, who was seated across the table from me.
“No, dummy,” Looney cut in. “It’s his right hand. He’s a lefty, remember?”
At her prompting, Kyou-kun timidly offered me his right hand. When I touched it, I could tell that the pads of his fingers had firmed up from making chords and stuff, although it wasn’t quite as obvious as Looney’s. Meanwhile, as usual, his beam was flip-flopping all over the place.
Sure, it didn’t move like that when Looney or Elle was touching him, but I felt no need to refrain because of it. If anything, I touched him more. Shock therapy, baby! Too bad it didn’t seem to be working. Quite the opposite, in fact—he seemed to be especially restless today, since he was the only guy present. Personally, I couldn’t fathom being nervous around my classmates. As for how he had ended up the sole male presence today, Zuka was off attending club practice. The three of us had spotted Kyou-kun flying solo in the cafeteria and pounced.