More than Best Friends?

Chapter 24 - Don't Let it Slip

The fall season was kicking into full spring at East Horizon Academy; the students were beginning to prepare for this year's cultural festival.  Pe's bubbliness, organization, and outright popularity had pushed her into a spot on the management committee for the upcoming event.  In her opinion, she wasn't the best person to be in charge, but it was nice that the other students wanted to see and hear what she had to bring to the table. She felt that she could make the most of this opportunity by bringing up something she had seen at her brother's school festival in past years.

"How about an event that could bring all our students together?  It's great to have unique ones hosted by each class and elective group, but wouldn't it be wonderful to have something that everyone goes to?" the President of the student council asked.  The group of students began to chatter amongst themselves, trying to come up with an idea.

"We could do a talent show," one student suggested.

"What about a party type of thing?" another student proposed.

"Pe-san, what do you think?" the President turned to her, hoping for a satisfactory answer.

"Well, I've been thinking..." she began, putting a finger to her chin, "We should probably have something with music, but also a thing where people can enjoy their food, or just hang out in the outdoors.  I know it might come with a lot of safety precautions... but I think we could have a bonfire in the evening."  She looked down to her lap as she finished her idea, expecting that it would be shot down due to the possible occurrence of a bigger fire, but was instead met with applause from the others.

"What a great idea!" the President responded, clenching his fist in determination, "If we make sure to practice the fire drill procedures in the upcoming weeks, I'm sure we can pull this off!"  He began to scribble on the dry-erase board, circling the word "bonfire" to indicate its cruciality to the festival.

"I expected nothing less from Pe-sama!" one student said to the person beside her.

"Yeah, she always says the right thing!" another student chimed in.

"What inspired you to think of such a fantastic event?" the President inquired.

"Hm... I've seen it at other schools, and in lots of TV shows," she responded, "But... the fire provides warmth and makes the atmosphere more calming.  Um..." She touched the tips of her index fingers together, struggling to verbalize her thoughts.  What she wanted to say was that it might help students bond with each other more.  With what happened between her and Adrijan during the other weekend, she was feeling rather different, a feeling she couldn't describe.  She figured that spending more time with him might give her a clearer picture of what she thought of him.

"I understand," the President nodded his head, "Well, let's get to prepping for that grand finale!  We only have a few days left to finalize the list of events."  The other students broke into side conversations about the various happenings, while Pe stayed glued to her seat.  The President pat Pe's shoulder gently, smiling softly at her.  "I get it," he said with a wink, "You want a romantic event that you can take your boyfriend to."

"Oh!  Kaichou-sama, it's not... like that!" Pe sputtered, "He's... and me, we..."  She was afraid that he might have been referring to Adrijan.

"It's the blonde guy, right?  You two look really cute together."

"Yes... Right!"  Pe let out a sigh of relief but felt guilty that she wasn't thinking about Henry.  It didn't help that the others put her on a pedestal and labeled her as a role model for the underclassmen.  Infidelity was probably not a trait that the staff wanted their students to have.