The Fourth Class Is Modern Chinese (Continued)

"Well—some people just don't like karaoke, you know. By the way, I'm not really a fan."

As she said that, she crossed her fingers in front of her, looking like Miffy with an X over her mouth.

"Ooh... That's kind of surprising. You seem like the type who'd like it..."

I had assumed that girls everywhere basically liked karaoke. Had young people changed lately? Well, there were fewer songs everyone knew now, and people's musical tastes had become increasingly specialized. Maybe the era of groups going to karaoke together had passed. Thinking like some old man sitting under the eaves, I nodded in understanding. But Isshiki waved her hand in denial.

"No, no, it's not like that. You can't go to karaoke with people you're not close with, right? You wouldn't want to."

"Ah, I see..."

That was true. The whole point of a class gathering was for people who weren't close to deepen their relationships—in other words, a group whose relationships weren't that good yet. Even at dinner, you'd be thinking, Can I even talk to them? This is so nerve-racking... Going to karaoke would raise the difficulty even higher.

Maybe it would be okay if there were someone like Tobe, who could break that kind of atmosphere, or someone who could smoothly bring everyone together. But for people who were more reserved or didn't like talking much, it would turn into something like hell.

If it were me, I definitely wouldn't want to go... I found myself at a loss for words. Tomioka-san, who had looked like she was about to cry from the start, couldn't say anything either.

"I also... I'd be embarrassed to sing..."

Tomioka-san admitted it awkwardly, patting her flushed cheeks with her hands.

If she was already like this now, she probably wouldn't dare