Starting in class C: not completely defective.

Arc 4 chapter 5: the sports festival (Part one)

At last, the day had come. The curtains were about to rise on the sports festival, and it looked to be a long day. The entire student body, all wearing their jerseys, marched together as one. Well, we called it a march, but most people just strolled along, taking the movement just seriously enough not to disrupt the order.

Fujimaki, from class 3-A, have a speech during the opening ceremony. Although there weren't many, a number of spectators watched from the school grounds' outskirts. They were probably adults who worked on campus. The school didn't seem to have put any restrictions in place regarding who could attend the festival. Occasionally, one of the spectators smiled or waved.

Meanwhile, the teachers themselves watched us without the vaguest hint of smiles. Medical personnel could also be seen setting up some kind of cottage. It could fit around twenty people and was equipped with an air conditioner and a water cooler. The school's preparations were as meticulous as they had been on the deserted island. They provided tents for the red team and white team; these faced each other on opposite sides of the track. The school didn't want the teams mingling with each other, except during competitions.

The first event of the festival was the 100-meter dash, and I saw that a camera had been installed and pointed towards the finish line. The line between victory and defeat could come down to a hair's breadth in competitions like these.

I noticed a commotion in class D, and I heard a few shouts in the white teams tent. Obviously, they had found out about the alterations to the table.

I was in the 7th group for the 100-meter dash. I headed to the track with the rest of the first-year boys. The festival ordered events such as the 100-meter dash by grade level, starting with first-year boys and ending with the third-year girls. Then, there'd be a break, after which the order would switch. We'd resume competitions in the opposite direction, starting with third-year girls and ending with first-year boys.

The competition was about to start. The first-year boys formed ten groups in total; mine was seventh. Each group contained eight people, two from each class. Albert and Ryuuen were in the first group.

All of class A watched, holding their breath. They were up against Sudou from class D, too. If we won this race, everyone on our team could use that momentum to get hyped. If they did poorly, it would probably put a dent in our spirits.

As soon as the signal sounded, Sudou shot forward like a bullet. Ryuuen and Albert were close behind him though. He reached the goal milliseconds before Albert, with Ryuuen just a few seconds behind.

The signal to start the next race came right away, without any time to bask in the afterglow. The signals came at about twenty-second intervals, which meant that it would take four minutes for all the first-year boys to finish running. This event would repeat for all the boys and girls in all three grade levels, which meant that the 100-meter dash should finish in about thirty minutes.

We, the seventh group, also had our roles to play. I would take first place, and Kaneda would do his best. He was sure to place fairly low anyway, considering our competition.

In class B was Hashimoto and Kitou. In class C was Kanzaki and Shibata. In class D was Kouenji and Hirata. This was the hardest group to beat, and Kaneda would probably come last. Scratch that, Kaneda will definitely come last.

It was time for us to run. I felt a lot of eyes upon me. I looked to Kaneda, giving him a wink of support. When the signal was given, I ran as fast as I could. Before I knew it, I had passed the 100-meter line. I noticed I had come just slightly before Kouenji, which was good. I had come first.

Class A was cheering for me, and shouting support for Kaneda, who was still running.

After the tenth group had gone, it was time for the first-year girls. The first two groups went, and then it was time for Ibuki to run. I had no doubt she would have the best time amongst the girls in our class.

I focused on the other girls who would run against Ibuki. In the second lane was Horikita Suzune, in class D. Ibuki was in the same group as the person who had saved her on the island. What a bizarre coincidence.

Ibuki didn't even look at Horikita, and she wore a complex expression. She was conflicted as to whether she should let Horikita win as thanks for what happened on the island. But I could see that she made up her mind to win.

When the signal sounded, seven of the girls launched themselves forward. Between the two I focused on, Ibuki had the better start. Horikita's reaction was slightly delayed, so she lagged behind the rest of the group. However, she immediately picked up the pace and began to catch up to Ibuki, who seemed distracted. She glanced behind, perhaps curious about Horikita, and the distance between them closed. Ibuki remained stuck in the middle of the group, neither increasing nor decreasing her distance from Horikita.

As they neared the end of the race, Ibuki's expression stiffened. She and Horikita were neck and neck, running side by side. Horikita, looking quite pleased with herself, managed to nudge ahead of Ibuki by a narrow margin.

Ibuki ran harder, fighting to close the distance between herself and Horikita, but Horikita managed to cross the finish line first. After that, everyone cheered.

Ibuki kicked the ground in frustration. I got the feeling that if she hadn't been so concerned about Horikita, then the race results would have been different. Her hyperawareness was the reason Horikita won.

After the first-year students' 100 metre dash ended, we went to check the results. I had taken first place, as expected. In fact, I had the fastest time out of the first-year boys.

Even though we'd gotten off to a good start overall, tracking our scores would get more complicated from here. No notebooks or phones were allowed, and though we could talk to one another about the results, most of the class didn't know what the other classes were planning. (Except for me, since I made the other classes plans)

I approached Ibuki, who'd just gotten back.

"That was close," I said.

"Yes, I suppose. Horikita was faster than I expected," said Ibuki. She breathed a sigh of frustration.

"Don't worry. I bet you got the best time for the girls in our class." I tried to comfort her.

"Yeah, I guess." She looked away.

After each grade had finished the 100-meter dash, the final results were tallied. The first round of points for the red and white teams were announced.

Red team: 2115 points.

White team: 1799 points.

The competition had just begun, but the red team already had a massive lead.

Authors notes
1199 words.
Pretty much taken straight from the ln again.
Not much else to say really
Hope you're all doing well and I hope you enjoyed