The second day felt even livelier than the first.
“There are so many guests!” By my side, Ai looked around, beside herself with excitement.
I had finished setting up the takoyaki stand, and I was free to spend the rest of my time with Ai. And since she’d worked all day yesterday as a bartender, she had the entire day off as well.
Around this time the previous day, I’d been busy serving customers, but whenever I’d dashed out to use the toilet, I’d been shocked by how many people were in the halls. Today, there were even more. The takoyaki stand was probably swamped with customers.
“What’s wrong, Yuzuru?” Ai peered at me, noticing the concern on my face.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m fine. Let’s head to the gym.”
I suggested a change of scenery to clear my mind. There was no point in worrying about my classmates. The space inside each classroom was limited, and we had just the right number of staff. If I tried to help, it’d only add to the chaos.
Besides, I wanted to see all the things I’d missed the day before.
“I’m pretty excited!” I said.
I knew I’d have a good day with Ai by my side.
She smiled brightly. “Me too! I’m so happy I get to walk around with you!”
Ai’s class and mine left at different times the day before, so I hadn’t been able to walk home with her. The last time we’d met, she’d been dressed as a bartender, and seeing her now in her usual uniform with her usual smile was oddly reassuring.
We walked side by side toward the gym.
The plays were all organized by third-years. At our school, it was tradition for all the students in that year to perform in the gym for the school festival. There were four classes in total, and they would each perform one play per day. Then, after the performances, the class with the most votes for Best Play would receive an award.
We got to the gym early and took seats near the front. The rows of chairs were densely packed together.
“Hey, Ai…,” I began.
“You wanna see all four plays, right?” she guessed. “It’s okay. So do I.”
“Really? There’s not anything else you want to look at?” I asked, but she shook her head.
“I’ll have fun no matter what. Plus…” Ai casually bumped her shoulder up against mine. “I just wanna be with you.”
“…Okay.” I blushed and nodded.
With everything that had happened at the end of the rainy season, Kaoru had grown more aggressive in her affections. I’d been too distracted by that to notice at first, but little by little, Ai was changing, too. Before, being with me was just another thing she did, but now, it was something special in her eyes.
Whether that was good or bad, I couldn’t say. But it made my heart race.
Even after she moved her shoulder away from mine, my skin continued to feel warm, like we were still touching.
A voice echoed through the gym, announcing the start of Class 3-1’s performance. As the play began, the noise around us vanished, replaced by a unique sense of anticipation.
This play was a historical drama.
A deep voice narrated the story as actors in traditional clothing appeared one by one. The performance had the unmistakable ambiance of a high school play. Some of the actors were noticeably unskilled and read their lines without any hint of emotion. Even so, they tended to be cast in comedic roles, which lent their stiff delivery an air of humor and added to the performance’s charm.
The play had a warm, amusing quality to it that was different from movies or professional productions. I soon lost myself in the story.
During the funny scenes, I heard Ai giggle beside me, and during the emotional ones, she would sniffle. Watching the same thing with her and sharing in her excitement and joy made me really happy.
In the end, Ai and I managed to sit through all four plays in one go. By the time the last performance finished, it was past 3 PM, the same time I’d finished working the day before.
We filled out our votes and slipped them into the ballot box.
“Which one did you vote for?” she asked.
“That’s a secret,” I said.
“Huh?! Why?”
“Don’t you think it’s more fun that way?”
“Hmm,” she hummed thoughtfully, apparently unconvinced.
Once we returned to the main school building, she gasped and reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. Normally, we weren’t supposed to have them out, but during the festival they were allowed as a means of communication with guests from outside the school. I was sure the teachers would still confiscate them if they caught us playing games or something, though.
She stared at the screen and blurted out “Oh no…”
It seemed she’d gotten a message from someone.
“What’s wrong?”
“Sounds like one of the students bartending today isn’t feeling well and needs someone to fill in…” Ai’s gaze wandered.
I understood how she felt. I’d probably feel the same way in her shoes.
“Don’t worry about me,” I said.
She wavered. “I’m sorry. I invited you and…”
“It’s okay. Just watching the plays together was a lot of fun.”
“I had fun, too.” She smiled happily and squeezed my hand. “Well, see you at the after-party!”
“Yeah.”
She smiled again and hurried off to her classroom.
The mention of the after-party got me feeling kind of nervous. It would begin in just a few hours. I was anxious about how well our band would do and worried about what would happen with Sousuke and Nagoshi.
But there was no point in freaking out about it now.
“I guess I should head back, too,” I muttered and made my way to the classroom.
If things went the same as yesterday, the takoyaki stand would be out of ingredients and about to close up.