"Yes! Bye-bye."
After Kariu Rena said that, she left as well, leaving Tamari alone in the entire gymnasium again.
After leaving the gym, Kariu Rena was lost in thought. She was a girl with strong self-esteem. For a long time, she had probably been the most outstanding among her peers, the kind of "other people's child" adults always talked about. A child who had grown up under the spotlight, surrounded by applause and admiration, would inevitably possess a natural sense of superiority. But once they left that original circle and encountered peers who were even more outstanding, everything they had known would collapse.
That was the blow dealt by academics.
There was also the matter of feelings. Kariu Rena relied heavily on Ōgami Kazuomi. Her feelings for him were immature, but also the purest. All of Kariu Rena's emotional support rested on Ōgami Kazuomi, as did all her attention. Her eyes watched only him, and she could hear only his voice. That was a young girl's true love.
At that moment, Tamari, still in the gymnasium, silently swore that she would definitely pass her makeup exam. To her, that was the most important thing.
"A makeup exam is nothing. I'll pass it as soon as possible!"
She put away the gym equipment. Only after walking outside did she realize it was raining. Raindrops fell thickly from the sky. She turned back to look for an umbrella, only to discover that there were still a few people in the gymnasium. She truly had not noticed them earlier; they might have been in the changing room.
She vaguely heard them talking.
"Say, don't you think Tamari-senpai came to club really late today?"
"I heard from the upperclassmen that she has to retake every exam. It seems like that happens all the time."