It happened one day in late June. During our usual after-school hangout at the family restaurant, I was told that Nanamura-kun had joined the cultural festival committee, commonly known as "FestCom".
The thought that maybe Nanamura-kun had turned over a new leaf and resolved to use FestCom as a way to build social relationships… never even crossed my mind. After spending the past few months with him, I know full well that he's not that kind of person.
Sure enough, it turned out he had been roped into it by his class president, Mashiro.
Well, of course. Nanamura-kun's explanation was exactly what I expected. Mashiro is the meddling type, so she must have been concerned about Nanamura-kun.
Naturally, I assumed Mashiro would be his partner. But when I asked, I got an unexpected answer.
"No, apparently Shiramine was planning to do it at first, but Hoshigasaki volunteered."
H-Hoshigasaki-san!? The image of someone with long black hair vanished from my mind, replaced by a bright blonde side ponytail and friendly smile.
Hoshigasaki-san had once invited Nanamura-kun over to her house. Back then, it seemed like her older brother wanted to meet him, but… if it's happening again so soon, that's kind of a different story…
As I continued talking with Nanamura-kun, something inside me, something hard to put into words, started to bubble up.
"But… hmm. Nanamura-kun and Hoshigasaki-san, huh…"
Those words slipped from my mouth completely unconsciously.
Even at night, while I was taking a bath at home, I couldn't stop feeling restless.
What kept circling in my mind was, of course, Hoshigasaki-san volunteering for the festival committee right after Nanamura-kun.
On the off chance- no, the one-in-a-billion chance… No, realistically speaking, it's impossible, but purely as a thought experiment, like Schrodinger's cat, if I assume otherwise, and if I'm completely wrong, then I really do apologize to Hoshigasaki-san, but let's just say, hypothetically, that she has feelings for Nanamura-kun.
Even so, would she actually follow him onto the committee just like that? That feels way too blatant. And knowing Hoshigasaki-san's personality, she probably wouldn't do something like that.
In that case, it makes more sense to think she has another reason.
Maybe she's thinking something like, "It's my fault Nanamura-kun is a loner."
"…I'm sorry, Hoshigasaki-san. But Nanamura-kun has been a loner since his previous school life… Even if your situation had never happened, he would've ended up on the same path anyway…"
Soaking in the tub, my arms resting on the rim, I muttered to myself.
My quiet words didn't even make it to the wall. They just faded into the air. A bead of condensation dropped from the ceiling, sending ripples across the water with a soft plop.
As I watched the gently rippling surface, a sudden question arose within me.
Why am I even this bothered by Hoshigasaki-san volunteering in the first place?
The fact that Hoshigasaki-san joined the festival committee is… something I should be happy about. Lately, our efforts to help Nanamura-kun make friends have kind of stalled, but it's still better for him to get closer to his classmates than not at all. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the trigger that gets Nanamura-kun into the mood to make friends more actively.
…No, probably not. We're talking about Nanamura-kun, after all.
Still, people always say events like this have a strange way of creating excitement. There's a decent chance that the two of them, Nanamura-kun and Hoshigasaki-san, might get closer through working together on the committee. And from Hoshigasaki-san's side, her impression of Nanamura-kun probably isn't that bad to begin with. Even Nanamura-kun should be happy, right? Being around a cute girl like her. It wouldn't be surprising if he ended up catching strange feelings because of it.
Not that it would be a problem if they did get closer or anything…
"…I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about this."
In the end, that hazy feeling kept smoldering in my head all the way until I got out of the bath.
*
The next day at school. While I was chatting with Hinata and some of the others, as usual, I caught sight of a girl sighing off to the side of my vision.
It was the girl who had, more or less, been pushed into joining the committee during the last homeroom.
Before I could even consciously think about it, I quietly slipped away from the group and walked over to her.
"Are you okay? Is it about the FestCom?"
"Eh? Ahh, Hanamitsuji-san…"
The girl blinked in surprise at being spoken to.
"I saw you sighing, so I figured it might be about that."
"Yeah, actually, it is. I've got cram school summer courses packed tight, and now I'm like, what do I even do…"
"If that's the case, want me to take your place?"
The words came out half on reflex. It wasn't like I had ever planned to join the festival committee.
"Huh? Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I don't have any particular plans, so it's no big deal."
"Really!? That would help so much! Thank you, Hanamitsuji-san!"
"D-Don't mention it… Ahaha…"
She was so moved that she looked like she was about to grab my hands, and somehow, that made me feel a bit guilty. I covered it up with a vague laugh. Before I knew it, the other classmates nearby were watching us, looking impressed.
"Hanamitsuji-san, you're so kind…" "She's amazing…"
They were saying things like that, and it honestly made me uncomfortable.
…It's fine. This is also for Hoshigasaki-san's sake, after all!
That was the excuse I made, quietly, to no one but myself.
