Idol Star System Generation: Season 1

by R. P. Mor

  Chapter XIII – Of Goddesses, Angels and Mortals

  A red flash in the night sky, followed by a green and a yellow one, caught her attention. With deadened, grave booms a shower of sparkles fell graciously above the park, quickly disappearing. Hissing, other fireworks swindled up to the dark skies, forming stunning ephemeral flowers made of fire and light that bloomed and faded away in a second.

  Taking a moment to appreciate the unexpected spectacle through the gaps on the treetops, Megumi faintly smiled. The heavy cardboard box she carried, however, weighted on her arms and called her back. She walked the last steps around a blue, plastic tent and laid the burden on the grass. Around her many tents, boxes and random stockpiled objects were briefly and repetitively illuminated by the pyrotechnics. It was a big encampment on an arborized and remote portion of a large park. Well, as remote as possible, at least. Despite being large, there were so many goers during the day that passersby inevitably came near the camp, and only kept some distance so as not to get too close to the dozens of homeless people living there. A few of them, hearing the explosions, came out of the tents and the cardboard boxes inside which they were tucked to appreciate the show.

  “Takahashi-San!” she called out while opening the box she previously carried and taking a few cans. The face of a startled man sprouted from the closest tent’s entrance, and immediately came out. Mr. Takahashi was forty-six, despite his dried skin and unshaven stubbles of a beard making him appear older. He also had a clean, if slightly untidy, light brown haircut.

  Smiling as he saw her, the man quickly approached to receive the cans while warmly welcoming her as he usually did, through her respectful but witty nickname:

  “Ah, Megami-San!” Turning to his tent, he called, “Hey, Gina! Megumi-San is here!”

  Megumi’s nickname was “Megami”, which meant “goddess”. He didn’t meant it seriously because no one would be disrespectful enough to refer to any deity using the plain “San” suffix, but rather would use the much more honorific “Sama” one. It was a joke an old acquaintance of her, also a homeless man, had created with her name. According to him, because she was so beautiful, selflessly helped the poor and could usually be seen in a Shinto temple. It was on that jinja – a somewhat general term of any shrine in contrast to many other more specific words for other kinds of temples – that she and other volunteers received and storage donations.

  Soon after the man came out, he was followed by an eager girl who smiled radiantly as she saw Megumi and the fireworks. Wearing old clothes and a cap, Mr. Takahashi looked as destitute as possible, though in terms of homeless people he was actually fortunate: he had a tent, some spare clothes and two sleeping bags where he and his eleven years-old daughter slept. He even had an old suit, like some homeless people around.

  It was a rarity to see kids around, but not really because they had sons or daughters. Rather, their children were either grown-ups or had been kept by their exes. Most of the people around were men, many holding college diplomas, who lost their jobs or accrued large debts. Hence they frequently were abandoned by their spouses and cast on the streets. Mr. Takahashi was just a little more unfortunate than the rest to have an ex-wife who married again and decided not to bring home the daughter of her previous husband.

  Compared to him, little Gina’s clothes were somewhat new. She had the same light-brown hairs of her father, though hers was straighter, partially due to being better kept. Looking back to the newly-arrived woman, Takahashi said while receiving a few cans of food with a deep bow:

  “Oh, thank you, Megumi-San! You’re an angel. Wait, wait, Megumi-San, let me just put these inside and I’ll help you with this box.”

  “Don’t worry, Takahashi-San, I…” Megumi started to say, but the emphatic man was resolute, talking louder than usual to be heard over the fireworks, “No, no, please! This box must weight how much? Ten kilograms? Fifteen? I hope you didn’t bring this all by yourself all the way from the temple! I’ll help you, it’s the least I can do!”

  As he came out of his tent again, Gina was hugging the smiling woman and talking to her. Takahashi, lifting the heavy box, commented:

  “Huff… Megumi-San, if you keep carrying things like this your back will be over before you’re thirty!”

  “Don’t worry, Takahashi-San,” the girl replied while caressing Gina’s hairs, “People are being very generous on their donations during this Golden Week and we expect even more donations when some customary donors who’re still to visit the temple return from their travels. By next week we’ll probably buy a few handcarts to help with the transportation of goods.”

  As Megumi walked to the next tent alongside the small girl, the man who followed her joked, his voice strained by the weight of the box:

  “Just as Megami-San appears, fireworks start cracking! You’re improving on your entrances!” Blushing, Megumi humbly asked, “Please, Takahashi-San, don’t say that! I know it’s a nickname meant to be respectful, but you know I’m a little embarrassed when you use it.”

  “That’s the fun part about it!” the man gleefully retorted and started to laugh whole-heartedly. Albeit not being fond of it, Megumi would never push them to stop it. Those people had so few things to laugh about that she’d never spoil their fun. Notwithstanding the hardships and the disdain with which they’re treated by so many, some of them had easy smiles for trivial things. It flabbergasted her. Though not really content with their situation, some of them somehow knew how to find joy in the smallest of things. She always found that inspiring. Takahashi was one of them. She knew he was far less gleeful when not close to his daughter, but he did his best to show Gina a smile and a positive attitude. People who lost everything and were left to wander the streets had hard times to be reintroduced to society despite most of them not drinking or only doing so on the coldest of nights. Except for it and tobacco, other drugs were usually not consumed either, but even then it’s hard for a man in his forties or fifties who’ve been fired and got unemployed for years to ever find new chances. Still, that was no excuse for Takahashi-San to get down in the dumps in front of his daughter: hope was the most precious commodity they had and they did everything they could to protect it.

  Megumi’s group of volunteers had even managed to help the few kids from that and other homeless camps to attend school. Their classmates frequently shunned them, sometimes creating lifelong traumas, so life wasn’t easy nonetheless, but at least they had a chance to succeed in life.

  Going from tent to tent, passing through the cardboard box houses, she and Mr. Takahashi distributed the canned food while appreciating the fireworks that came from elsewhere in the park. A fifty-some man grumbled those people could give them that money instead of burning it away, but even if Megumi believed that too, she tried to keep if light-hearted in front of Gina:

  “Maybe, but why don’t we just be happy that they’re doing something which we can also appreciate from here? Don’t these fireworks make you happy too, Tanaka-San?”

  “Humph,” the gloomy man interjected, “Food would make me happier.”

  “But we have food here, Tanaka-San!” the little girl Gina radiantly reminded him. The cranky man, only then noticing her around, forced a half-smile, “Yeah. You’re right…”

  As a boy around eight saw her, the only other kid that also lived on that camp, also came running to Megumi. After distributing all the food, she called both aside. Modest as she was, she hated to show any homeless person her cellphone or other objects she thought they couldn’t afford, even though most of them also had smartphones. But on that occasion there was no way around it. Holding the object, Megumi humbly asked while unmuting it. It was something she did out of respect every time she entered the grounds of the Shinto temple, but she sometimes forgot to unmute it during the day:

  “Gina-Chan, Ryouta-Kun, can you two help me? I need to choose a few songs that capture the feelings of those who live in this campsite. I’m a little lost, though. Do Gina-Chan and Ryouta-Kun k
now any songs that, when you listen to it, recalls you two of here?”

  Just as she looked at her cellphone’s screen she’s informed she’d received a few new messages during the day that were added to the ones she hadn’t read from the day before. Megumi was usually too tired when she returned home to even bother with her cellphone if she did things like forgetting it muted during the day.

  She knew asking for songs that represented a place was a hard task for kids their age, but Megumi was at a loss for finding lyrics she’d like to perform. The children enthusiastically tried to remember a few songs, but were hardly successful, given they only knew a few and even so, couldn’t recall the names of many of them. Also, the songs they mentioned were merely popular hits that had nothing to do with the life on the streets. Ryouta, noticing they were unable to help, suggested they called a man named Taniguchi Susumu, one of the encamped homeless people.

  “Taniguchi-San used to work with songs, right?” the boy asked, and Gina, surprised, agreed, “Oh, that’s right! He was an electronic engineer at that big company he sometimes talks about! I think Taniguchi-San didn’t work just with audio equipment, but even so if he had to test sound equipment he must know a lot of songs!”

  “Ah… no, please don’t bother Taniguchi-San. Thanks for the help, but don’t worry kids,” Megumi tried to persuade them not to call any of the adults, but as Gina asked why, the young woman had no response to that and merely mumbled, “It’s… ah… because it’s nothing important and Taniguchi-San must be tired from the hard day. Don’t worry, I just needed a few songs for… just to show to a few friends, that’s all.”

  The two kids, saying he’d be happy to help, dragged Megumi back to the camp. While she waited for the two to run around asking for him, Megumi sighed and turned back to her phone. One of the messages from the previous day was from Naoko, showing her a thought-provoking image of a couple eating at a chic venue while a homeless man could be seen reflected on the partially opened mirrored window. Naoko had merely mentioned it’s a photo taken by a friend of hers who she’d just discovered to be an amazing photographer, and said that the instant she saw that image, Naoko remembered about Megumi.

  That picture was not only very good, but also touched Megumi deeply. The contrast between rich and poor was heartbreaking. Naoko’s friend seemed to have not only talent, but also a keen eye for social injustices! She took a moment to appreciate that picture that filled her with desire to fight for changes. Apologizing for the tardy response, Megumi answered Naoko’s message praising her classmate.

  Almost immediately she received a reply. Naoko looked beaming, telling her she’d just performed on a small art gallery of sorts for more than three hundred people and was exhilarated. She commented her friend was a very shy girl, but her pictures could have just as well been exposed on that two-floored saloon on the top of a building and no one would’ve noticed it came from a high-school girl. She said her friend had photographed her show and the photos looked superb, despite the camerawoman being too timid and humble to admit it.

  Suddenly, Megumi had the idea to question Naoko what song did that image evoked, revealing her she was still trying to find a few songs to practice. While she waited for a response the girl looked at a few other photos of that girl on the website gallery Naoko invited her to look. Shiori was the name of the photographer, judging from her profile, and apparently she was quite gifted at her trade. Megumi had to look some of her photos closer to be sure they weren’t paintings, so precise were the moments the pictures were taken. Shiori also loved rainy, snowy and depressive sceneries, apparently, though the way she photographed the many of the pictures she had on those situations made them seem stunning. It was very poetic.

  The loud return of the children accompanied by a thirty-some man looking confused startled Megumi. Mr. Taniguchi said the kids said she could use his help, though they hadn’t been able to explain him how exactly. Thus, he asked how he could be of assistance. The girl humbly apologized for disturbing him and explained she questioned the two about a song that could capture the feel of the camp and their lives, but they decided to look for Taniguchi-San against her desire in hopes he knew a lot about music, given his work experience. The man, still puzzled, explained he used to be but an electronic engineer who just happened to work on a company that produced audio equipment among other products. As such, he apologized for not being very knowledgeable about songs, specifically, but that he’d try his best.

  Naoko’s reply soon arrived. Megumi was reticent to hold her phone in front of Taniguchi-San even though the man also had one, but it was worth it. Naoko sent a picture of her, her producer and Shiori on an after-work drinking celebration – involving non-alcoholic blueberry isotonic drinks – on a street full of light signboards, and said Shiori was very thankful for the praises. The girl wearing glasses had suggested two songs, both coming from heart-tearing movies. Like her many pictures under rain or snow suggested, she seemed quite familiar with sad flicks and songs. Still, Naoko mentioned she would send a message to her singing and dancing instructors next morning to see if they had any contributions, especially upbeat ones.

  “Look! A friend of mine sent two suggestions!” Megumi joyfully stated, and turned her attention to the man by her side, “Let’s hear it! Can Taniguchi-San tell me what he thinks about it and whether or not those songs reminded him of his life here at the camp?”

  The man, still confused, agreed:

  “Yes, if it’s going to help Megumi-San. Though… can I humbly ask what this is about? I see Megumi-San has friends helping her too, so I take it’s some sort of project you have? I can ask the others for help if I get what Megumi-San needs. I’m sure they’ll happily contribute.”

  The girl hesitated, meditating on what to say. Uneasy, and being unable to downright lie, like she always was, she half-truthfully responded:

  “Please don’t bother the others. It’s… kind of a surprise. I’m… trying to find a way to raise awareness about the situation of those who live on the streets so that people can help you all more. Not only with donations, I mean, but also agreeing to employ you all and so on. I… just need a few songs that can reflect the life on an encampment and the daily struggles, willpower to go on, these kinds of things. This friend of mine is also helping me with it. You can say it’s sort of a project, yes. But I don’t want to give false expectations to the others, this project has more chances to go wrong than right…”

  The man nodded in agreement, but the two kids abruptly asked why. Though they said they would try to help her however they could, all Megumi wanted was to drop that subject. Still, not answering would be far too rude for a caring girl like her. She was unable to lie too, and even half-truths would give her away there. She even thought about simply asking them not to worry and move on, but she also kind of wanted some help. The homeless people were like a second family for her, she trusted them more than she believed in most other people.

  It was a horrible feeling for Megumi to stand out among those she loved. She felt almost like if having a job, and a prestigious one at that, was a betrayal, though she couldn’t quite comprehend why. It made her heart race and some sort of odd fear take ahold of her.

  “Okay…” the girl, in an even more humble manner than usual, finally gave in. Looking especially to the two kids, she asked, “But please don’t tell the others! I’ll do it someday if my idea works. The thing is…” the girl vacillated for a long time, her heart pounding. For whatever reason she was afraid of telling them the truth, but at the same time, she knew they deserved it. And since she’d already started there was no going back. Acting awfully modest, she explained, “A few months ago… five or so, I… was looking for a job to pay my studies and help you all out somehow. Promoting the cause, you know. Then I came across… an…” her voice was almost gone, as if she was too embarrassed to say, “an idol agency and was accepted. And…”

  “Megami-San is an idol?! Yay!” Gina interrupted her, amazed. Her eyes sparkled like
fire. The boy questioned, “Idols are those famous people that sing, right? She’s famous!”

  Seeing the kids looked extremely excited, Megumi quickly stated:

  “It’s not like that! In fact, not only am I not famous, but I was already fired!”

  ´While Mr. Taniguchi looked impressed, his face showed he sort of expected Megumi to be able to pull off an idol career. He was more shocked when she revealed she’d been fired, and asked the reason for it. As such, she explained the whole situation, about her successive failures and about how Naoko and Aratani expected to help her, provided she somehow overcame her fears and had a few songs to dance by Saturday.

  While the man meditated about it, the kids were still enthralled by the discovery. Unabashedly, Gina asked:

  “Why didn’t Megumi-San tell us that before?! We could’ve helped! Or…” the girl looked a bit sad, “doesn’t Megumi-San think we can help her?”

  The young woman was too ashamed to answer, so Mr. Taniguchi, understanding the situation better than Megumi could hope for, did so for her:

  “Kids, Megumi-San is a very humble person. Don’t you two see she even dislikes showing her cellphone even though most of us also have smartphones, and never wears anything fancy, hardly ever speaks about accomplishments of her, looks embarrassed to say she was already accepted on a university and that she graduated from high-school… things like that? Some of us don’t have the opportunities she has, and she worries about making someone feel sad or envious about it. She hides a few things from us because she cares so much for our feelings, and because she’s very modest. For her to say she’s accepted at an idol agency and that she has a bright future ahead would be very difficult for her, even though she’d partially help us too by shining on the stages.”

  Facing the blushing girl, Taniguchi said:

  “In reality, not only we’d never feel sad about it, we’d be extremely happy to know a kind-hearted person such as you is receiving the good things she deserves. It’s not even about you helping us by publicizing our situation, it’s about us seeing a person we’re very fond of being successful. You know, it also renews my belief in karma, and I take it’d do the same to the others. Even though we can hardly repay you for all you’ve done for us during all those years, somehow the universe acts on our behalf.” Turning back to the kids, he pleaded, “Everyone who knows Megumi-San knows she’s that way, there’s no need for her or for anyone to explicitly state that. Don’t feel bad for her hiding that from us, she didn’t do this because she doesn’t believe we can help. In fact, she asked for our help when she needed it the most, meaning she trusts us a lot. She’s just humble. Please understand that.”

  Two warm tears rolled from Megumi’s eyes as she heard those comforting things that weren’t completely clear even to her. Her eyes sparkled as if she’d understood something, though she said nothing about what could it be. Even so, to know other people actually comprehended her so much, despite that she hardly ever spoke about herself, was all she could ever wish for. Sometimes she forgot she was helping people forty, fifty or more years-old, people who had lived far more than her and were wiser.

  Taniguchi looked a little worried, however. He asked:

  “Though does Megumi-San really only have three more days to overcome her fears of stages and practice in order to save her job?” Seeing her nod anxiously, he thought for a while. Ultimately, Taniguchi proposed, “I know Megumi-San doesn’t want to instill false hopes on the others, but if she had an audience to hear her while practicing, it could get her used to it, right?”

  As a shadow of comprehension and embarrassment crossed Megumi’s eyes, Taniguchi hurried to conclude his suggestion and his reasons:

  “It’s not much, but what if we explained the situation to the others and asked for help? The park is big, we could find some isolated place among the trees for you to practice, and then we could group everyone who wanted to hear you singing and dancing. I’m sure they’d have some fun, and we’d be rooting for you. It’d be a nice distraction for us all, too. We’d just need a radio. It’s not a good mockup of a fancy show, but…”

  Gina and Ryouta looked exhilarated. Megumi, blushing, said reluctantly:

  “Oh, no, it’d be perfect, Taniguchi-San! It’s just that… I’d be too embarrassed!”

  “But that’s precisely why these fake presentations would be for,” the man reminded her, “If they knew it, no one here would want Megumi-San to lose her job. We all know how bad that is, and how much you deserve to be famous, to have money to study and to make your dreams come true. Everyone would want to help, and a few shows would make us happy too. Not to mention we all understand how things can go in ways we don’t want them to, that’s how life works. Don’t worry about instilling false hopes on anyone, if we explain you have only one chance and that it’s very hard to succeed they will understand if things don’t work out. If Megumi-San did her best, that’s all that matters. And trust me, no one would feel sad seeing you succeed. Of course, I won’t force you to do something you don’t want, but we only have three days left. If Megumi-San wants to try and practice in front of an audience, we can help her, even if just a bit. Just give me a word.”

  Moved, the girl swept the water on her eyes. Taniguchi’s offer and the children’s eager faces appeased her anxieties. With her voice faltering due to the emotion, she bowed deeply and for a long time. Embarrassed, she humbly replied:

  “Y-You’re… right. Thank you, Taniguchi-San! I… I’ll… I’ll do it! I’ll… do my very best! Not for fame or money, but for you, Gina-Chan, Ryouta-Kun and everyone else. Please… help me!”

  Her singing and dancing instructors’ replies came before her break, so Naoko sent Megumi the names of the five songs she managed to obtain on the first opportunity she got. She only knew one of those, an old blues song that she didn’t even remember about. It was perfect, though. It talked about hardships and thus wasn’t all that cheerful, but had a positive lookout on it depending on how the listener wanted to understand it. As usual, Naoko only knew it because it was featured in the opening act of a movie of a famous anime – the other four songs were probably not, hence why Naoko didn’t know about those.

  As for the song she knew about wasn’t really about homeless people, but rather about an unlucky person that struggled to live in an uncaring world and who, despite becoming somewhat uncaring too, fought to preserve his or her humanity and keep the person’s dreams alive. Sato-Sensei, who recommended it, warned her it was a relatively hard song to dance, though. Insidiously so, because the rhythm wasn’t agitated, but the usual choreography relied on “expressive elements”, something Naoko hadn’t learned yet. Basically, it was a song full to the brim with emotion, and if the idol wasn’t able to look convincing when singing and dancing it, her scores would plummet.

  It made Naoko a little worried, and she warned Megumi about it. She would probably create her own choreography, but it’s good for her to know what judges would be expecting. Her friend soon replied, thanking her and telling she was very excited (and nervous) for the upcoming days. Megumi told Naoko she got the help of a group of homeless people among the various camps she helped, and that given that warning, she decided to pay with her own money for one dancing class so she could get some practice and an official choreography chart instead of trying to come up with steps all by herself. She could only afford one class, but she’d at least have a real dance routine. Coupled with an improvised location to rehearse and a small audience to help her get used to it, it’s her best bet.

  She told her she was apprehensive, but that a few things a person said on the Tuesday night gave her something to think about. She didn’t go into details, but Megumi said she started to comprehend what her fears were, or so she hoped. Glad to hear it, Naoko happily sent her the phone number of her dancing instructor in case she needed a suggestion of an excellent teacher.

  When Naoko finished texting Megumi, she was startled by the presence of Shiori by her side in the classroom. The ti
mid girl was so silent that she could easily move without attracting attention.

  “Waaa! How did you got here?!” Naoko inquired, admired. Jaunt, she joked, “I knew it! Shiori-Chan is all quiet and observant because she is secretly a kunoichi! That’s amazing! Shiori-Chan is a veteran war photographer, spirit-exorcist kunoichi!”

  “Kunoichi” was a somewhat modern term referring to a female ninja. Shiori giggled as Naoko, taking her lunchbox, started to create an exaggerated story where Shiori was a ninja who used the flash of her camera to cover her lightning-fast assassination techniques and her secret, centuries-old ninja powers to manipulate the shadows created by the obfuscating light to slay her unsuspecting victims. Because no one would suspect of a short, cute girl wearing glasses! And that explained how Shiori was so fast to get away from Physical Education classes! But on P.E. she just pretended to be clumsy so as not to raise suspicion, when in fact she’d be capable of climbing the Tokyo Tower in less than ten seconds by running up on the external walls, all the while fighting cyborg samurai sent to protect her mark.

  Naoko’s humorous narrations of how awesome Shiori “secretly” was got not only the timid girl, but also Miwa and everyone around laughing. From the informally elected the second prettiest girl of the class, Sayuri, and many other girls all the way to the two secluded boys who typically talked about games, Akio and Hiroto, many came closer to listen as usual. Since Naoko made so many allusions to Shiori’s supposed abilities to use photographic cameras to kill, a few people around started to ask if there was a reason for such emphasis on pictures. Naoko and Miwa explained Shiori was actually a talented camerawoman. Takumi, the only other classmate who was also member of the Drama club, vouched for it, confirming he had personally seen her take amazing pictures of Naoko during her rehearsals.

  It didn’t take long for people to ask to see her photos, and though Shiori was extremely shy about it, Miwa and Naoko proudly invited them to see her gallery. As people found out about it, they were shocked.

  Sayuri, looking at her own smartphone, inquired:

  “Shiori-Chan, I study with you for about five years now! How come I never knew about your skills before?! Is this a postcard you did or something? Do you work as a photographer?”

  Remembering about the work the timid girl would do alongside Naoko, Miwa curiously inquired about it, and despite Shiori being initially too embarrassed by all the attention she received to say anything coherent, Naoko did that for her. She showed on her fan club the incredible photos her friend had taken from Naoko’s last show. Some people praised the idol for the amazingly-looking two-story rooftop modern art museum of sorts where the show was held and by how gorgeous she was on her attire full of laces and frills, but Naoko, though loving the compliments, managed to smoothly conduct the conversation back to the photographer.

  During that break and the subsequent lunch Shiori was the center of all attentions. Though embarrassed, the shy girl was overjoyed. Timidly she answered questions and narrated the events of the last night surrounding the show on the art gallery penthouse. Even though she was very pumped, she naturally wasn’t all that skilled to hold a crowd’s attention, so Naoko sometimes complemented the information with her own witty remarks, but in general Shiori did most of the talking. Stuttering at first, her tension decreased gradually as she found out the others enjoyed her tales about it. She had no shortage of compliments for Naoko and her producer either. She looked as thankful as humanly possible while recounting:

  “After all of that heart-pumping spectacle, I was going to rush back home to send them the photos as soon as possible, but Aratani-San calmly suggested we took a stroll around the vicinities. He said it was important to commemorate victories and gave us a few isotonic drinks Naoko-Chan had received as a gift from an advertising agency because of an ad she made. And then we walked around. The ward of Roppongi is awesome! There are so many interesting venues and it’s so scenic! Of course, we couldn’t get in most of those places. Clubs, show houses, saloons housing private parties, izakaya… we weren’t allowed,” she explained in a matter of fact way. It wasn’t hard to understand, really. An Izakaya, for example, is a Japanese kind of bar, so schoolgirls wouldn’t be allowed in places that sold alcoholic beverages, as well as most other places she mentioned. The bashful girl continued, “Still, it was outstanding! Naoko’s producer showed us around and even treated us to a nice coffee shop. He’s an amazing person, like I said. Funny, kind, generous, cool, confident, hard-working… I’d never get to know places like that if it wasn’t for Naoko-Chan and Aratani-San! It was like a dream! We even took a few photos from our stroll.”

  Shiori eagerly directed them to her gallery and showed a few images, from the one she and Naoko appeared side by side on a sunny afternoon in Shibuya to a few others, already at night, alongside Aratani and amidst dazzling signboards and lights, or chilling by a table on a fancy café. It was a memorable night for Naoko to perform such a nice show with a friend by her side, but Shiori treasured those memories and photos as if it has been the best evening of her life. It made Naoko very content, and the class president also looked so. Moreover, the demure and sweet behavior of the short girl when she was happy was so adorable she received many compliments from Naoko, Miwa, Sayuri and the other girls around. It made her blush, only furthering it. Naoko couldn’t help but to hug her as if Shiori was a cute doll or a kitty.

  “Aw, Shiori-Chan, you’re so lovable when you’re flushed!” Naoko yelled while petting the hairs of the embarrassedly smiling girl she held tightly, “And your glasses make you even cuter! You’re like a plushy! A lovely kunoichi plushy! I want a Shiori-Chan plushy! One holding a little camera! Anyone here knows how to sew a plushy?! I pay good money for it!”

  The hilarious way Naoko acted wasn’t even intentionally funny: she was just easily carried away by cute things and people. And despite being afraid of teddy bears, she had no problems with plush toys for unknown reasons as long as they looked human and adorable. Her pettings and comments that drew attention to her friend’s cute side got Sayuri and every girl who wasn’t either timid or serious to also surround Shiori to suffocate her in hugs. Even Miwa, who was a little too mature for that, looked amused while watching the scene.

  Many boys observed that group hug of girls with far more wishful faces, though no one dared to get close. That is, until the short class clown Sadao thought it’d be funny to jokingly join the hug too. It started a commotion full of wrathful shouts. His uninvited presence ended the group hug, but not before the circle ended his mocking smile, his hairstyle, his clothes and his face with approximately half a trillion slaps coming from all directions during the course of a few seconds. It left Naoko impressed, though: for the first time Sadao was right about thinking something he did would be kind of funny. It really was kind of funny to hit him like a punching bag alongside a dozen other friends with slaps, textbooks, lunchboxes, bags, chairs, head-butts, elbow blows, knee strikes, uppercuts, kicks, roundhouse kicks and whatever. Solid entertainment and excellent multiplayer, a nine and a half out of ten kind of fun. Her only gripe was the absence of plungers like they had in the Drama club along with a few missing in action but appreciated items such as baseball bats, crowbars and iron pipes in the class. No doubt a grave overlook by the designers of it, but hopefully by the next installment of retaliation of stupid Sadao’s idiotic attempts to be comical that problem would’ve been solved.

  Shiori was the only one on the group not to partake in the attack on Sadao. She found Miwa’s eyes, and the class president, smiling, enquired:

  “Don’t you want to join the others a little and smack the clown too, Shiori-Chan? Don’t worry, he has some nerve to hug girls from behind like that, he deserves a lesson. I’ll pretend I was just counting atoms on the ceiling or something while it all happened.”

  The timid girl shook her hands in front of her chest, thanking Miwa for the “opportunity” but politely refusing it with a tense smile.

  Commenting with the others
afterwards, Naoko would actually buy a game called “Retaliation of Stupid Sadao’s Idiotic Attempts to be Comical”, making people loosen up and laugh. Along with Shiori’s plushy, that was yet another product based on her class that she’d undoubtedly purchase. Someone should really consider making a profit out of class 2-5. Oh, and also 2-1, because Rin was there and Naoko would love to have a Rin plushy too.

  Shiori kept her high spirits during the entire Drama club and throughout Naoko’s rehearsal. She had decided to stay by Naoko’s side even if she’d be going back home already by night. Even so, that was the last day of April, and with it, the last day of extended classes, meaning the club would start by twelve thirty instead of three p.m. and also end two and a half hours earlier than before. Starting next meeting she’d be going back under sunlight even if she stayed during the entire two hour practice session. Naoko rehearsed mostly her new songs, though she sang her old ones twice just to be sure she’d not forget them.

  Once it was over and the girl unmuted her smartphone, she found out she’d received a message from Megumi thanking her for the contact of her dancing instructor. Megumi said she’d just left her two hour class and was completely exhausted. Despite being expensive, it was totally worth it and she now had four detailed lists of choreographies to practice. After she told instructor Sato that Naoko had referred her, the teacher commented Naoko used to do four hours of dancing classes every weekend along with four more of other subjects, leaving Megumi baffled. She said all she wanted to do after such a strenuous class was to go to sleep, but she had to practice it and also had a mockup presentation for some homeless people. Naoko’s example inspired her to push herself, and revealed that despite being very afraid of the upcoming fake show, she had some ideas along the day about what was the cause of her fears.

  Her messages were sent over an hour before, so Naoko quickly replied she was happy for her and that she was sorry for maybe answering it a little late. Still, she briefly explained how she did on her rehearsals at the Drama club. If Megumi thought about her practice sessions in front of an audience as a show maybe she’d get afraid, but as long as she told everyone she was just practicing and that people should be supportive to her mistakes because of it things would flow smoother. That was what Naoko did to feel at peace to rehearse for the first time in front of a few people, and after she got used to it she was able to present to progressively larger audiences, just like Aratani once told her she would.

  To know Megumi was working hard, just like the twins, was also inspiring. Naoko almost wished she had more time to hone her skills. Still, thinking about that, she could notice she gradually got better at it. Doing her rehearsals and her homework from her classes, including visualizations of shows and auditions, was helping her evolve.

  Suddenly remembering about visualizations, the girl excitedly sent Megumi another brief message explaining and suggesting that technique. Maybe if the girl got used to it she could train even when her body was too tired to move. It’d not help with her fears, but was useful to memorize steps. Satisfied, Naoko changed back and walked out. Surprisingly, Shiori was still waiting for her, almost half an hour after the end of the rehearsal.

  “Shiori-Chan, why are you still here?” Naoko asked, startled, “I mean, thanks! But you don’t need to watch my rehearsals if you don’t want to, much less watch it until the end. And you certainly don’t need to go through the trouble to wait for me for so long!”

  “It was no trouble, I wanted to wait!” Shiori replied. Smiling slightly, which to her was actually a big smile considering her shyness, the girl followed Naoko out, saying, “I was looking at my gallery while I waited. I’ve never seen so many people visit it and comment! Also, I… still had no time to thank Naoko-Chan properly for all she did for me. I wanted… to do it now.”

  Grinning back, Naoko jokingly refused to accept it:

  “No, no need for it! Besides, I’m pretty sure there was already a cute kunoichi with glasses and a camera yesterday who stood at least a few minutes thanking me and my producer when departing. She looked just like Shiori-Chan, by the way!”

  Giggling, the timid girl maintained:

  “I don’t know about the kunoichi part, but I’m sure it was me thanking you two back then. Only I still haven’t thanked you for today. For… what you did for me back on the class today. I was so nervous at first, with all those people talking to me! I don’t comprehend how Naoko-Chan is able to be so calm during a show, when I can barely endure the attention of my classmates, most of whom I know for years now! But that was… an amazing experience, just like yesterday! It was fun! You and Miwa are doing so much for me I… don’t even know how to begin repaying!”

  In a large step Naoko stopped in front of Shiori and, with a broad, cheerful smile replied while holding the index finger of one of her hands pointed up close to her own face for a few seconds:

  “Like I said, there’s no need to thank us! We didn’t do anything Shiori-Chan didn’t already deserved, so it’s not like we’re helping you, as much as we just want you to be happy and with us! We’re friends, after all! But if you so insist to repay us somehow, how about you attend a karaoke party or something like that with us?! Starting tomorrow we won’t have those pesky extra classes that plagued my schedules on April, so we’ll be free by noon! And since Miwa also have free time now, after her brother got to some private classes, we can all start going out! The three of us, and we can also invite other people too! For example, another friend of mine who showed me a cool karaoke venue from 2-1 called Rin, and also Sayuri-Chan, Hisako-Chan and the other girls from our class that were talking to you! How about it?!”

  Staring at her for a while, Shiori enthusiastically accepted:

  “Ah… yes! Thanks!”

  As the two continued walking, however, Shiori still looked a bit anxious, looking at her feet as if she was thinking about complicated matters. Naoko, noticing it, pointed it out:

  “Shiori-Chan still seems troubled about something.”

  The girl wearing glasses, clenching her fists, walked in silence for a while until they got near the entrance gates. Stopping before it, she looked tense. Staring at the floor with an ashamed face, she mustered courage and apprehensively revealed with a low, stammering voice:

  “I… was thinking in the Drama club meeting… about that time we… I got embarrassed and couldn’t talk with you… And I w-want to a-apologize… for… something. I… I need to! P-please… don’t get mad at m-me!”

  Naoko, noticing her friend looked serious and getting curious and worried herself, turned back and halted. Shiori, anxiously, continued:

  “When I still didn’t know you… I thought… I thought Naoko-Chan was… well…” her eyes glimpsed toward her friend anxiously, “Y-you see… N-Naoko-Chan is stunning and… very sociable, and happy, and… and talented, and I… well, I’m… not. I-I mean, except about the happy part! I was not, now I am!”

  “What are you talking about?” Naoko, getting a little concerned, replied, “Shiori-Chan is extremely talented! Everyone praised you about it today! And you’re cute!”

  Blushing for a moment, Shiori was grateful:

  “T-thank you! B-but anyway, I… don’t… have even one percent of the beauty Naoko-Chan has! And I’m not as sociable and all. So when I saw you for the first time, quickly being the center of attention of our class, being an idol and all… things I c-could only dream of, I…” she tightened her fists so much she could almost make her palms bleed and spoke everything in rapid sequence, “I was envious of you! I… thought a girl like you, so good at sports and at talking and at everything and being so beautiful was… Please don’t laugh or get mad at me, but I though it to be very unfair! I always thought things like that when looking at girls like Miwa-Chan and Sayuri-Chan. Compared to me, you and them… well, there’s no fair comparison here. And for whatever reason I thought… at first, before knowing you,… that Naoko-Chan could only be a conceited girl… and when you got in the Drama club and Aratani-San
talked with Chiasa-Senpai to get you the main role on the play, I thought… that on top of being conceited, you could very easily have all you wanted and do whatever you pleased, having your way with our class, and having every boy at your feet, and getting main roles, and…” The girl was so tense she got to the verge of crying, “And I was so envious of you, I thought it was so unfair that you had so many qualities and I had none… that I… I…” her voice reduced to almost a whisper, “Please don’t be mad… but at that time I… hated Naoko-Chan. And I was so afraid you somehow disliked me like I disliked you at that time, and that you decided to… do something, like arguing with me like you did with that gang boy Daiki on that video back then… and I knew you’d be able to do whatever you pleased with me, because you even managed to break in a few days a school gang everyone feared for an year, that I… froze at that time during the Drama club meeting, when I had to talk to you.”

  Taking away her glasses and sweeping away the water on her eyes before they’re shed, Shiori kept unburdening herself from thoughts she condemned:

  “I was so wrong! I severely misjudged Naoko-Chan! You, along with Miwa and a friend I had until a few years back… back when we were friends, at least… are among the kindest people I’ve ever met! I hate myself for not having seen that sooner and j-judging Naoko-Chan poorly back then! I envied you and thought you were snobbish even t-though you didn’t look it, and I was afraid of you, and… You said you and Miwa shouldn’t be repaid because you two only did for me what I deserved, but that’s not true! I… didn’t deserve your friendship!” Even sweeping her eyes, she couldn’t stop tears from overflowing. With her timid voice affected by the crying, her stuttering due to the shyness became a convoluted mess, “I-I’m s-sorry! I’m s-so s-sorry, N-Naoko-Chan! S-so, s-so s-sorry! P-please d-don’t get m-mad at m-me! I b-beg y-you! I… I… was s-so wrong… ab-b-bout y-you! I-I’m s-so ashamed!”

  Shiori begged for forgiveness while hiding her face between her hands until her voice was too hard to decipher even to herself. Crying copiously, the girl was so angry with herself she couldn’t control her tears. Still holding her glasses while covering her face, Shiori unknowingly started to force the frame and bend it slightly. Naoko quickly took it away from her hands before it broke and, with a compassionate and positive voice stated:

  “When Shiori-Chan said she had to apologize for something, I thought it’s about something wrong she did today or yesterday. Come on, don’t scare me like that!”

  “B-but it was w-wrong!” the girl painstakingly replied, “I… c-can’t stand r-recalling I once t-thought those t-things anymore! N-Naoko-Chan is t-the k-kindest p-person t-there is and c-caring f-for people like m-me, w-who was so f-frivolous to you! And y-you didn’t even need t-to put up with all I… d-did!”

  Scratching her right cheek, Naoko merrily told:

  “To be frank, I’m used to it! I was very lucky Miwa-Chan is such a nice person and introduced me to our class so quickly! I usually have a hard time with girls I don’t know, they somehow always think something bad about me and take a while to accept me, so no biggie! Shiori-Chan doesn’t need to apologize for things she thought about me before we met! That’s nonsense!”

  Uncovering her embarrassed face, Shiori stared at Naoko with thankful but unbelieving eyes. Calming down, she eventually asked, fearfully:

  “Naoko-Chan… isn’t mad at me, then?”

  “Why would I be mad at you?” Naoko inquired with a radiant smile and joked, “If anything, I should be glad for Shiori-Chan thinking I’m so pretty and powerful I could have my way at anything! Yeah, that’d be awesome if it was real! I only wish I was like you think I am!”

  “But Naoko-Chan is stunning!” Shiori insisted, recovering the firmness of her low speech, “And you can get many things if you want! No boy would deny anything from you! Within reason, at least. And people really like you! You can even get in front of an audience and captivate everyone easily!”

  Laughing whole-heartedly, Naoko playfully commented:

  “I don’t know why society is so against receiving compliments, it just feels so good! I could hear Shiori-Chan say those things all night long! Thanks a bunch! Though, like I said, that’s an exaggeration because many girls act with me just like you said you did, and no one can have his or her way however he or she wants. Even talking about shows, previously I had to prove myself to judges in an audition, and I even got refused on one yesterday! So it’s not like I have my way everywhere. Also, Shiori-Chan disregards herself too much at the same time! You’re one of the kindest, sweetest persons I’ve ever met once you show your true self! You ran back home just to take your camera on Monday’s rehearsal, wanted to charge a ridiculously low amount to work on that gig, waited a lot for me today and cared to tell me those things that would’ve never occurred to me otherwise! And you are arguably much more talented than me! On a different area of expertise, but you are! Also, Shiori-Chan woos me like I’ve never heard when talking about my prettiness, but you’re very cute too!”

  Smiling while cleaning away her face, Shiori gratefully retorted:

  “Thanks, Naoko-Chan! You… have no idea how much that means to me.” Chuckling, she added, “Though you don’t need to be modest or try to cheer me up saying I’m cute! I’m already as happy as I think I can be, knowing you can forgive me!”

  Puzzled, Naoko replied, “But I’m not trying to cheer Shiori-Chan up when I say she’s cute! It’s true! In your own way, you are adorable! Or do you think I was lying when I said I wanted a plushy of you back in class today?”

  “Hm… y…yes. I… did, actually,” Shiori commented, though rapidly complementing it, “But I knew Naoko-Chan and the others meant well and wanted to see me happy with the jokes! So it’s okay!”

  “What? No!” Naoko denied it, “We were being serious! Well, I was joking on the part of you being a kunoichi, yes. At least I expect you not to be it, or I’m in trouble for revealing your ninja secrets! But it’s true what me, Miwa-Chan, Sayuri-Chan and the others said about you being cute! Have you ever looked at the mirror? You’re tiny and girly. You’re reserved too, and that’s fine! Shiori-Chan is very cute, I tell you! ”

  With a smile, the shy girl modestly, or maybe disbelievingly, maintained her self-deprecating speech, though not really caring and looking glad for her friend’s words:

  “Naoko-Chan is very cute. Miwa-Chan is very cute. Sayuri-Chan too. You three are really the three prettiest girls of our class, and Naoko-Chan is certainly one of the prettiest student of our school. Maybe the prettiest! I think you are, at least. Me? I know how I look. I’m flat! I’m short. I wear glasses, my hair will never be as good as yours, I’m shy… and I’m flat! Boys evade me but flock to Naoko-Chan, do you need any more proof than that? When you three surrounded me today along with the other girls, I was stunned! I thought it’d never happen! I… I could feel my nerves twitching! Ha ha… I-I don’t think I’d be able to endure the spotlight of anything.”

  Faced with Shiori’s laugh, shy and nervous, Naoko smiled. Mostly because her friend seemed to expect it and because she looked arguably adorable when acting a little tense. Still, what she said wasn’t funny, despite Shiori’s nonchalant attitude towards it.

  “Shiori-Chan is confusing being “pretty” and being “cute”, I think,” Naoko ultimately replied, “You look petite! I genuinely think you’re cute, and that there are boys out there who likes girls like you more than they like any other type. But even so, the hell with them! You remind me a little of Rin-Chan from 2-1. She’s certainly not “flat” as you describe yourself, but she’s also short. I know she’s blond and outspoken and I think she’s striking, but even she fears boys. As such, she doesn’t have contact with them. And so they can never show how much they appreciate her! Shiori-Chan also evaded people up until now, so it’s hard for anyone to know you and tell you how much they like you! They won’t be able to get close to you even wanting!”

  “Well, I guess,” Shiori hesitantly answered, “but
beauty is not something you need to know a person to notice you like her, isn’t it?”

  Scratching an eyebrow, Naoko quieted down thinking about something to say.

  “Perhaps you’re right… but let’s think it from another perspective. If I was as introverted as you were before we met, never talking to anyone and having no friends, do you think boys would be so enthusiastic about trying to talk to me?”

  After thinking for just a second, Shiori said “yes”, which made Naoko appear lost.

  “That’s not how it works, Shiori-Chan! Truthfully, I don’t think they do as much as Shiori-Chan says, but they’re not a very good indicator of how cute or pretty you are until they feel comfortable showing it. Sure, they’re usually more upfront than women, that’s just a cultural thing. They’re kind of forced to take initiative while women are also slightly forced to wait like dummies. Though since the one who takes the initiative is usually the one who can get rejected, it’s not as easy as some of them make it look like. No matter what you are, being rejected and even shunned hurts. Because of it, you can’t bet that every boy will be so upfront. For example, even though I am arguably more extroverted then you, if I were to wait for those two otaku boys from class, Akio-Kun and Hiroto-Kun, to come talk to me I’d die of old age waiting! But once you know them and they feel comfortable around you, they do show how much they like you. Trust me on this, Shiori-Chan. I know quite a few boys and I can attest they’re not as different as girls as we tend to think. Not on many aspects, at least.”

  Shiori seemed ready to try and debunk her argumentation, but since Naoko asked the timid girl to believe on her friend’s experience, she closed her mouth. Naoko confidently said:

  “I think Shiori-Chan needs to concern herself more with being more open to social interactions than with her prettiness. Sure, if she wants I can help her with her hair or suggesting creams for the skin and so on. In fact, it’d be really nice if we went shopping for some clothes for you someday too! This way people can notice you more, but that’s secondary to you developing a more positive… hm… ability to… be sociable.” Thinking for a moment, she rephrased her sentence, “Okay, not really. Shiori-Chan is introverted, I don’t think there’s a way around it. It’d look as if you tried too hard to appear sociable. But being introverted is fine! It gives you some personality, fits you nicely! I can’t imagine Shiori-Chan acting like me, for example, it’d not cut it! But being introverted doesn’t mean you need to… like, to fend off people all the time like you did before! That’s not being an introverted, that’s being defensive! I’m not introverted, but on a few rare occasions I also become defensive and I know it! It repels people! Also, Rin-Chan is the same thing: she’s extroverted too, but repels boys because of her fear even though she wanted to get close to them. She repels them unwillingly by freezing up. It’s funny, it’s like a person feigning to be dead to make an attacking bear lose interest and go away! So you can see even an extroverted person can have social anxieties, and if that’s the case, why can’t an introverted person has social skills? It’s not like they’re going to be using them a lot, but hey, they don’t need to fear others just because they think it’s nicer to be alone most of the time!”

  Noticing she was encouraging Shiori, Naoko jokingly commented and proposed:

  “Aratani-San mocks my wanting to cheer up and help others overcome fears and problems, saying it usually falls down on his shoulders to finish the job. Now that I think about it, I did kind of fell the need to help Miwa-Chan and Rin-Chan, along with a few idols in training I met: Harumi-Chan and Sakura-Chan, who are twins, and that girl I told you about, Megumi-San, who likes to help homeless people. Well… I kind of bickered on other people’s lives a bit too, like on that school gang you reminded me about and on those two boys from class. And with my hairstylist. And… well, a few… Hm, I wonder why I do all of this… But never mind! I like it, so it’s fine. And it usually works! I have an idea! How about I introduce you to Rin-Chan?! She is a funny girl and you two have social anxieties, I think you two can support and learn a lot with each other! And it’s a new friend! Shiori-Chan can slowly overcome her anxieties if she really puts her heart to it, and believe me: if you manage to do it and become less defensive, everyone will be surprised to see how awesome you truly is, just like our classmates did earlier today!”

  Smiling radiantly, Naoko waved her arms while walking around:

  “I tell you, you’re already adorable, you just don’t know it. You don’t need to change your appearance, all the boys and people in general need is that you let them get closer to you and they’ll see the cute, hardworking, reliable, talented and nice girl Shiori-Chan really is! And those who understand the value of those things will come to like you a lot, like Miwa-Chan and I did! That was what happened today on class! Isn’t it? Sayuri-Chan and the others discovered something about who you really are and were amazed by it! It was something they would probably have done years ago if you had shown them who you really are before, but we can’t go back in time, so it doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s do it now!”

  Her shy friend opened a small but deeply grateful smile. She tried to say something, however since her flooding positive emotions prevented her voice from being heard, she opted to manifest what she wanted to say through nonverbal communication and bowed thankfully.

  Naoko introduced Shiori to Rin on the break of the following day, Thursday. Shiori was naturally very timid, moreover around people she didn’t know, and got even more so after discovering the upbeat Rin was another dazzling girl. Even then, Naoko and Miwa’s presence gave her the courage to try it, and she was gladly surprised to see Rin was an amazingly easy person to talk to, very playful and carefree. In fact, the glasses-wearing girl didn’t say much at all, but Rin somehow managed to entertain herself and her new acquaintance, and even find the few things Shiori said amusing. She was easily excitable and joyful.

  Naoko teasingly drew a senior boy from the Drama club who was walking by for a quick chat just to prove Shiori that Rin was petrified around males, because the timid girl would never believe otherwise that such an extroverted, good-looking, energetic and happy person could be fazed by anyone. A classmate of Rin that accompanied her also attested she was mortified when near any boy, even the most unattractive or awkward of them, just in case the perplexed Shiori didn’t trust her own eyes.

  The first day of May came and the extra classes were finally over. Since Naoko’s karate lessons only begun at six p.m. and they were free by noon, she finally had time to commemorate Miwa’s free time after her brother accepted his private classes. It was a late but well-deserved commemoration. As such, Naoko suggested they all lunched together and partied afterwards for a bit. Because of her brother’s club activities, he always left his school by three p.m., so Miwa only had to leave in order to take him back home for his classes and she’d be free again until five p.m. Unfortunately, Shiori was also part of the Poetry and Literature club, which, like the Drama one, had its schedule altered by the end of the supplementary classes period and started by twelve thirty. Still, she decided to give it a pass for one day, especially seeing that Rin was also invited. The blond girl had private classes starting four p.m. on all days but Friday – when it started by seven p.m. – and Saturday, but until then she was free. Miwa also invited Rin’s classroom friend, an average-height girl called Nobuko, with somewhat unmemorable features and a calm nature that balanced out Rin’s borderline crazy cheerfulness.

  Naoko also wanted to invite the girls from her own class, but seeing Shiori was already intimidated by the presence of two new people, she and Miwa settled to just calling two of them: Sayuri and a girl called Mari. While they weren’t exactly closest friends, Mari sat between Naoko and Miwa on the class and, like Sayuri, always took part on the conversations. Sayuri not only always drew closer to hear Naoko talk and laugh of her jokes, but the stunning girl with the hime haircut sat close to Shiori by the windows, so Miwa and Naoko agreed it would be nice for the two to g
et along well. Furthermore, Mari and Sayuri had no club activities that day, unlike other girls, so they were free to attend to the commemoration.

  The seven girls lunched together on a restaurant in front of a park, two blocks away from the school. Shiori was very scared at first, both by the new people and because of the intimidating presence of four stunning students: Naoko, Rin, Miwa and Sayuri. The shy girl had some serious inferiority complex, her friends could see, but believing in Naoko’s vision for her, she persisted and did her best to relax and enjoy the opportunity. While she talked sparingly, the girl with glasses was not the only one who did so: her classmates Sayuri and Mari, and Rin’s classmate Nobuko, also preferred to listen and laugh than to talk. Even Miwa, after an initial speech, heard more than talked. Naoko and Rin were a match made in heaven when it came to conversations, especially humorous ones. Each one was hilarious by herself, but the spontaneous duo was pure comedy gold. It was strange, because they hardly tried to be funny and merely talked a lot about anything, but somehow the pair was capable of making even the most mundane chats seem amusing. It was a rollercoaster ride, really, because not all subjects were funny, but the girls’ naturally humorous remarks combined for unexpected twists.

  Of all the conversation topics, a few were at least useful to Rin and Naoko, like the blond girl merrily bringing up her father had already talked with his boss about Naoko’s invitational show. Contrary to the idol’s initial fears that her friend’s father could be pulling her leg on that matter, she seemed confident he had at least tried his best. Also, Rin appeared exhilarated about the speedrunning subject, saying she had gotten the hang of watching those videos. First she looked for an average person playing the game, even if just for a while, and then watched the speedrunner do the same. While she wasn’t particularly attracted to video games, something about those speedrunning events always made her happy. She thought it was the fact that most of them weren’t about competition, but rather about doing charity in an entertaining way.

  About charity, Naoko started to talk about Megumi, a girl whose objectives left everyone baffled. Rin was especially moved with Megumi’s desire to help homeless people and her determination to hone her skills and overcome her fears. Shiori was called by Naoko to talk about her suggestions for songs based on one of her photos Naoko sent to her idol friend. From there they talked about Shiori’s skills and the show she worked at, went back to the idol business with a recounting of Harumi and Sakura – making everyone almost laugh their lungs out due to how Naoko narrated her encounter with the twins’ senile producer –, went back to the serious Black December Days talk of Aratani while the sisters were near, proceeded to include the Golden Week on the talk and more. Naoko commented that on her previous school the Golden Week was used for Field Trips and asked if they weren’t going anywhere, but Miwa reassured her by saying they would eventually.

  The class president explained that contrary to what most other schools did, theirs usually didn’t take advantage of the Golden Week for trips, but rather the Marine Day, always celebrated on the third Monday of July. The holiday, in honor of the ocean and its importance for humanity as well as for Japan’s economy, was right before the first semester’s exams (thought each of the three parts that composed a school year was called a “semester”, they were actually divided in groups of four months each). Many schools left this holiday for last minute studies from the students, but theirs discouraged that practice, understanding it as a lazy alternative that ultimately led to a lack of knowledge and an abuse of cheap subterfuges to try and succeed in life – not unlike a gamble. At the same time that they expected students to learn all year long and not memorize information before the tests, they also understood those who’ve done what was expected of them during the semesters required a break before the exams so as to recharge their energies.

  Bottom line was: good students would have time to chill out while bad students would be in trouble and ultimately be weeded out. This way the school preserved its reputation of academic excellence and of having many alumni graduating in prestigious universities. It wasn’t clearly stated, but it was expected their students to face on equal footing the opposition for getting accepted on the best institutes out there, including the Toudai – the University of Tokyo – and the other former Imperial Universities.