It was the first weekday of April, signaling the tail end of the brief spring break. I strolled through the corridors of Tsubaki High School's west building, heading towards the clubroom for a meeting. We were gearing up for the upcoming club recruitment.
Our primary focus was getting ready for the club introduction, scheduled early in the new semester. Stepping onto the stage to appeal to the first-year students in the gym was bound to result in mishaps if left to me and Komari.
As for the two top members of the school hierarchy, Yakishio had returned to the track team, officially transitioning to middle-distance running. She boldly declared they'd conquer the nationals. It seemed she wouldn't have the luxury of casually dropping by the literary club room anymore, and it wouldn't be genuine to appeal as a club member in that state.
Lost in these thoughts, I reached the clubroom. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Yana-chan, why are you drinking my protein?"
"Well, doesn't it help with weight loss? The chocolate flavor was tasty!"
"Drinking it won't make you lose weight!"
...Yakishio was there, as usual. For some reason, she was in a tug of war with Yana over a protein bottle.
"Um, what are you two doing?"
Both of them noticed me, turning their grinning faces toward me.
"Yana-chan is drinking my protein! Nukun, say something!"
"Yakishio, you shouldn't keep food in the clubroom. Yana-san will eat everything."
Komari, who had been reading a book in the corner, nodded in agreement.
"Wait, do you think I'm some kind of clubroom monster? I won't eat everything, you know, just almost everything."
"Not eating everything doesn't make it okay."
"And besides, doesn't the track team have a clubroom too? You can keep your protein there."
Yakishio, leaning back in her chair, stood up.
"Listen, Nukun! In the track team, there's a rule that if a protein bottle doesn't have a name on it, it's fair game. I just bought this, and half of it's already gone!"
"Why not write your name on it and keep it in the locker...?"
In response to my logical suggestion, Yakishio crossed her arms, looking troubled.
"That's not the issue. Proteins should be consumed freely, according to one's body's desires—"
"Oh, there's also vanilla. It's not bad in its powdered form."
"You can't have it as powder!"
Yana-san, so free-spirited and selfish... I waited for the protein commotion to settle down and surveyed the three.
"Um, can I discuss something about the new student recruitment right away? It's about ideas for the club introduction."
While still having some powder on her face, Yana-san blinked her eyes rapidly.
"Are you planning something unusual?"
"Yeah, I have an idea. Um, I brought this..."
I took a paper bag from my bag and handed it to Yana-san.
"What's this?"
"Yana-san, could you try putting that on first?"
"Why?"
Just as expected. Still, it was part of the plan. I watched as Yana-san hesitantly put on the paper bag.
"Wait, why do I have to wear this paper bag? Am I banned from broadcasting or something?"
"Normally, only introverted people join the literary club. If Yana-san shows up, then—"
"Then what?"
...To be honest, if I said that, she would get carried away. I cleared my throat and paused.
"See, Yana-san is like our secret weapon in the literary club, right? It's more intriguing if she doesn't show her face—"
"If I don't show my face?"
...Honestly, she's going to get carried away. I coughed and gave it some time.
"You know, Yana-san, you're like the literary club's secret weapon. If you show up, it becomes—"
"It becomes?"
...Wait, she's getting carried away.
"Yana-chan, is it interesting if we all wear paper bags? Yeah, let's do that!"
"But I don't want to! Are you thinking of me as some kind of monster in the clubroom?"
Unable to persuade her, I sighed. Well, this couldn't be helped. If it came to it, as the club president, I would wear the paper bag—
"But it's not as uncomfortable as I thought. Haha, I can't see anything."
Yakishio, for some reason, put one on too.
Wait, if Yakishio conceals her identity with a paper bag, it shouldn't count as neglecting the track team, right?
"Then, how about Yakishio wears it and comes out? Yana and Yana-mi can play castanets behind the stage—"
"Wait, I'll wear it too."
Wait, why? After removing Yakishio's paper bag, Yana-san put it on Komari.
"Ugh?!"
"Hey, it's a bit troublesome, so let's all come out wearing paper bags. Yeah, that's a good idea!"
No, that's weird. Although I couldn't say much about others, Yana-san's tone-deaf declaration of agreement puzzled me.
"That sounds fun! Let's call it the Masked Literary Club next year!"
"W-What's with this Masked Literary Club thing? Wait!"
It was strange that Komari, who was standing with a paper bag on her head, tripped and fell. She continued to emit her usual screams, and while finding that adorable, I became calm and sat in the chair.
...Starting April, the literary club would begin as a second-year-only club. We inherited the literary club from our seniors. I felt a bit uneasy about how it would go, but somehow, we managed to make it work so far. Hopefully, we would continue doing our best.
If only we could pass it on to the next generation...
Suddenly, my vision was covered in darkness.
"Nukun-kun, it suits you quite well."
"Yeah, Nukun, you wear it well."
"I-I'll wear it forever."
...I see. Paper bags make you surprisingly calm.
As I listened to the voices of the literary club girls who had started taking photos around me, I secretly let out a sigh.
The days of our second year were about to begin, and I had a feeling they would be more challenging than ever.
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