"Yuto, you're here."
The moment Amasawa Yuto stepped into Palette, he felt a succession of gazes land on him.
"Sakayanagi, you didn't tell me there'd be this many people."
The Palette was almost full of their classmates. They were all from Class A; there wasn't a single student from another class.
Nearly everyone in Class A had come.
Sakayanagi had booked out Palette that evening so the Class A students could unwind before the break.
Mashima Tomoya had already announced that the whole school would be taking a cruise ship in early July to enjoy a holiday aboard a luxury cruise ship.
"Hey, busy man!" Hashimoto Masayoshi was alone behind the counter, chatting with Risonaka and the others as if he were a host. When he saw Amasawa Yuto, he waved at him.
Morishita Ran sat alone in a corner, holding her hands over a steaming cup of coffee as if warming them by a fire, completely absorbed.
Yamamura Miki was also alone in a corner, quietly drinking coffee.
Katsuragi and Totsuka had come too. Katsuragi looked a little haggard, while Totsuka still wore his usual wary expression.
Sakayanagi and Kamuro were in the center.
A piano had been set up there at some point.
After Kamuro had come to warn Amasawa Yuto that day, Amasawa had contacted Sakayanagi himself and learned of her plan to hold a class gathering.
Sakayanagi had mentioned that a decent piano had recently been brought into Palette, and she hoped to play with Amasawa Yuto when she booked the place.
Amasawa Yuto had agreed.
Now, inside the Palette café, the scattered clinks of cups gradually died away as he took his seat beside the piano at the center of the room. Sakayanagi must have told everyone in advance that Amasawa Yuto would be playing.