Fikush-ON!

Ch. 33: Tea, Watered Down by Rain

Now that I think about it, winter sure is approaching pretty fast. The tips of the leaves have started turning orange bit by bit, and this morning the air actually felt kinda cold. I mean, not that I care much about the winter itself. What I care about is what it signifies: only a bit over a couple of months until the second semester is over. The year changes. A few months after that, and we'll graduate. Hell, time sure goes faster the older you get. I remember when I was still in elementary school. A week lasted an eternity, and you couldn't even imagine scheduling something for the next month, since it felt to be a lifetime away. But now, weeks seem to pass by in a blink of an eye. Sure, it may sound good to not have to suffer through the slow passage of time. But sometimes, well, you just want to slow down. Sometimes you wish for the time to stop, so you could just stay in that moment. A moment filled with warmth and bliss. A moment you share with someone you don't want to let go.

The sound of the bell woke me up from my thoughts. I found myself staring at my own reflection, cast by the classroom's window. The bell was the last bell of the day, meaning the classes were over. From the window's reflection, I saw how my classmates behind me started packing up their stuff. I was about to do so, too, until I realized how a bit of my hair was sticking out, so I corrected it quickly. I stood up, grabbing my school bag, and quickly scanned the classroom for my buddies. I found them standing near the doorway, so I headed over there, and we exited the classroom.

As usual, we were heading to the club room, but feeling a bit more eager about it than usual. Why? Because it was finally Monday. The day the freshmen would come to take a look at our club.

"Excited?" I asked the guys as we walked down the hallway.

"Sure," Ichiro nodded. "And nervous."

"What's there to be nervous about? They're just freshmen," Tadaaki noted.

Ichiro frowned a bit. "Because the club's future depends on those freshmen."

Looking at him for a couple of seconds, Tadaaki turned his head the other way, muttering: "Yeah, I know. I'm just... trying not to think about it."

Obviously, even our ever-so-level-headed blonde friend is nervous about it. And to be honest, so was I. Yeah, it's exciting to finally get a chance to get some new club members, but at the same time, I can't shake the feeling that this would be our one and only chance to do so. While I thought about it, we walked the stairs down, and were on our way to the west wing.

"It'll probably take a minute or two for Hironaka to round up the freshmen," Tadaaki thought out loud.

"Huh, right. Gives us time to prepare," Ichiro muttered, and turned to me. "Any ideas, Mr. Club president?"

"Well, there's one, besides soaking your head in the trash can," I remarked, unamused by his shitty joke. "Maybe we should just act natural. You know, play some music, make some coffee... Well, you remember the first time we stepped in that club room, right?"

Tadaaki smiled a bit. "Sounds good. No need to be overly formal. And besides, Ichiro, wasn't it you who talked about giving the freshmen a light-hearted image?"

"Ah, yeah," Ichiro snickered. "Alright, just act natural, got it."

With the plan set, it was time to change the subject. Or that's what I was about to do, when I couldn't help but feel something falling out of my back pocket. At first I thought it was just my imagination, but a few seconds later it finally hit me. I halted, and quickly turned around. Sure enough, there was a single piece of paper on the floor, just as I thought. However, the very second I saw the paper, it had already caught the attention of a group of students who were walking behind us, and one of them crouched down to pick it up. The guy gave it a look, confusion spreading around his face.