Fikush-ON!

Ch. 32: Easygoing Afternoons

The sound of rock music filled the club room. The stereos had been cranked up so high I could hear the coffee cups jingling in the cupboard. A rag in hand and a bottle of cleaner in the other, I was wiping the kitchen area's counters clean, all the while banging my head to the beat of the music. On the other side of the room swung Tadaaki, carefully emptying the shelf of all its contents and cleaning away the dust on the shelf surfaces. Ichiro, even though he came back to school only a couple of days ago and was still recovering, still had some moves in him, which he wasn't afraid to show as he swayed a mop from side to side across the floor. Sure, it wasn't the first time the guys and I had given in to the rhythm, but I can't say we had ever done it while cleaning.

And then the door opened.

"For crying out loud, could you turn it down!?" a feminine voice could be heard yelling.

In an instant, Tadaaki plunged towards the stereos, lowering the volume significantly. All the dancing stopped as we turned to look at the doorway, in which stood Hironaka.

She sighed, putting her hand on her hip. "Seriously, you guys. I could hear it all the way to the ground floor."

"Ah, well, this is our favorite band, can't help it," Tadaaki noted, grasping yet another handful of CD-cases from the shelf, and setting them aside.

Hironaka frowned a bit. "What kind of an image are you thinking of giving the freshmen if you act like this?"

"A light-hearted kind," Ichiro said as he mopped the floor.

I lowered the bottle of cleaner to snap my fingers. "You said it. There's already enough tight-assed clubs with their schedules and regulations. Who even wants that on top of a regular school day?"

"You have a very wrong impression of club activities, Sugimoto..." Hironaka muttered as she stepped into the room.

"Maybe, maybe not," I shrugged, and picked up the cleaner. "In any case, if I can't blast my music as loud as I want, the thing is not for me."

"A light-hearted club or not, you still should keep it down before one of the teachers gets fed up," she noted.

Hironaka watched as the guys and I cleaned the place, all the while slowly walking around the club room, seemingly in thought.

"Hmm, the rugs and couch cushions have been dusted and aired, all the kitchen equipment have been cleaned, and I just took out the trash... Well, looks like we're just about done," she said.

The fact gave us a small boost of motivation, and we continued on cleaning, while Hironaka walked around the room, doing some finishing touches. It was a Thursday afternoon. The classes were over, and just as we had discussed before, Hironaka barged in the club room with a bunch of cleaning utensils. We've spent the last half-an-hour getting this place all shiny and tidy. Sure, at first we weren't so motivated, but that quickly changed when Hironaka snapped at us, and as we've learned, she's a force to be reckoned with when she gets angry. Well, to be honest, a bit of cleaning doesn't hurt. It was actually kinda nice seeing the club room this clean.

When we thought we were done, Hironaka gave the room one last checkup. To our relief, she gave it a green light. With that, the guys and I crashed on the couches.

"Oh, man, that took a toll," Tadaaki sighed.

Ichiro nodded, laying his head on the couch's armrest. "I'm gonna be back at the hospital at this rate."

Resting my wrist on my forehead, I muttered: "I feel like my lifespan was just reduced by a year."

"Oh, grow up, you guys," Hironaka sighed, shaking her head a bit. "If cleaning one room makes you complain that much, I don't even want to know what will happen when you'll eventually live on your own."