Chapter 50: Disliked Celebration [Side: Chika Obata]
I'm aware that I'm the type of woman who gets along well with others. My best friend Reina is kind to everyone and treats everyone equally. To put it negatively, she's too much of a people-pleaser.
I can't help but feel I need to support her because of both her kindness and her vulnerability. Even though Reina is a perfect girl with higher specs than me.
The celebration at Kousuke-kun's house was fun.
The screening event had some embarrassing moments, but we all laughed like idiots, and time flew by.
On the way home, I muttered.
'I want to go home while I'm still in this good mood.'
'Obata-chan, I'm sorry!'
There's another celebration after this.
The celebration at Kousuke's house is from 1 PM to 5 PM, but there's actually a class celebration hosted by Sotomachi-kun from 3 PM to 7 PM, and my best friend Reina was complaining that she has to go to that one too, so I said I'd go with her.
Originally, the class celebration in Sotomachi was the prior commitment, but Reina insisted on going to Kousuke's celebration no matter what! She wouldn't listen when told she'd join the class celebration after. As far as I know, Reina used to hate celebrations.
It's because she has to be considerate, deal with all kinds of people, and there's no escape with everyone watching.
'Then why don't you just decline?'
'If I do that, they'll say they'll reschedule the date.'
'Then why not let them reschedule?'
'The girls who see me as their enemy will see that and definitely attack me! So, participating midway is the best time to save face for Sotomachi-kun and my classmates while conceding the good places to the rival girls.'
That's a lie.
Reina enjoyed the earlier celebration so much that, although she was supposed to leave a bit early to join the Sotomachi celebration, she stayed until the very end of Kousuke's celebration and only then got up.
Normally, it's the kind of celebration she'd reluctantly attend just to keep up appearances.
They said everyone would come to the class celebration! So she said she'd go, but it seems Tachibana-kun and others weren't even invited.
Well, it can't be helped.
I feel sorry for Reina going alone, so I'm tagging along.
At the reception of the karaoke place in front of the station, we asked and were immediately shown in.
'You're late!'
'Kashii-san! Sit here!'
'You took your time getting here!'
'Kashii-san's dress is cute!'
'Obata-san, you look cool!'
The outgoing crowd swarms around me and Reina. The boys are friendly, while the girls have annoyed expressions.
Saying we took our time getting here is such straightforward sarcasm, isn't it?
Sotomachi is checking out Reina's casual clothes from top to bottom with a satisfied look.
Reina apologized for being late, giving an excuse (a lie, saying she had a promise with underclassmen from the tennis club)
as an explanation.
'Come over here, okay?'
Sotomachi-kun made space next to him and called Reina over.
Koishi, who's always noisy, is enviously comparing Reina and Sotomachi.
'We're going to greet the classmates in the other rooms!'
'Yeah, let's go.'
Reina and I went to greet the members in the other rooms in the same way.
They had rented a total of three rooms.
(Feels like the Sotomachi group's big celebration, doesn't it?)
The boys and girls were neatly arranged according to caste.
Usually, boys and girls are quite separated in class.
Boys who only talk to girls or girls who only talk to boys tend to be criticized.
As a special case, there's one couple officially recognized by everyone, and they're treated like a married pair.
Also, groups like the Sotomachi group at the top of the class caste, Kashii (Reina)'s group, and the flashy girls' group (who have a rivalry with Reina) can talk across genders without much being said.
Oh! And recently, Narumi and Tachibana-kun are also recognized as a special pair.
I got off topic, but the Sotomachi group was arranged as if divided into first rank, second rank, and third ranks.
In the end, at everyone's suggestion, Reina and I were called back to the first rank room.
'Well, since Kashii-san and Obata-san have arrived, cheers!'
'Woo-hoo!'
(Do they really say woo-hoo like that?)
(It's my first time hearing it too!)
We exchanged whispered conversations.
'Sing something, Kashii-san!'
♪〜
'Oh, it's my turn.'
'Woo-hoo! What are you going to sing, Obata-san? You might even sing something surprisingly cute!'
I seriously sang Amagi-Goe.
The serious version.
If I do say so myself, it was a good performance in terms of singing.
Kashii said, 'No matter how many times I hear it, Obata-chan's Amagi-Goe resonates!'
The room became silent.
How about it? Did you calm down a bit?
I calmed down a bit, but the boys immediately
'I want to go on a trip with Kashii-san once!'
'Kashii-san, your casual clothes are cute. Should I confess to you even if I have nothing to lose?'
swarmed around Reina, so I stayed by her side with a sour face the whole time.
Reina, as expected, listened to everyone she talked to, praised them skillfully, and responded tactfully.
When I went to the restroom, Sotomachi-kun took my seat and spoke to Reina.
'Want to slip out for a bit and talk?'
'No, I want to talk to everyone in the class. It's a good opportunity to talk to everyone! Thank you for inviting me.'
And shut him down.
It's funny.
Sotomachi-kun's face was twitching.
But it's boring, right? I'm bored too, but compared to Reina, who was smiling with a big smile next to Tachibana-kun at Kousuke's celebration earlier, her current smile is like a doll's.
Cute, but that's all. It's the first time I saw Reina laugh with a smile like that or hold such a grudge and exert such pressure.
Even though it's the same celebration, it's completely different, isn't it?
Look, the girl who dropped to the second rank because we came is glaring at us.
I declared, 'I want to go home already!' and left the money, then took Reina and went home.
'I'm sorry, Obata-chan, I dragged you along and then forced an unpleasant role on you.'
'I really do want to go home.'
'Ahahaha! It's really boring!'
'I won't forget today!'
'Ahahaha!!'
We both laughed, remembering the screening event.
On the way home with Reina, the topic of Sotomachi's celebration from earlier didn't come up, and we talked about Kousuke-kun's celebration and the screening event the whole time.
It was both the day Reina and I came to like celebrations and the day we came to dislike them.