It had been two months since the school year began, and club recruitment was nearing its end.
Quite a few people had joined clubs. Hirata, the most popular boy in class, had joined the Soccer Club, and even Sudo had joined the Basketball Club. Hoshino felt a little envious. After all, being able to spend time after school doing things you were interested in sounded pretty nice.
Hoshino had occasionally thought about joining the Art Club, but with his skill level, he would probably get trounced most of the time. He'd also have to follow all sorts of rules and deal with people, so it didn't seem worth it.
On second thought, he decided against it. There wasn't any particular reason to join, and he didn't especially like it anyway. He just doodled now and then in his spare time.
It had been a while since school let out, and most of the students had already left the classroom, but Hoshino wasn't in a hurry to leave today.
It wasn't that he had anything to do. He simply didn't know what he should do.
Resting his head on his right hand, he gazed quietly out the window. In the distance, he could still see students passing by now and then, in groups, animatedly discussing something. Laughter occasionally drifted in from the hallway, too. Hoshino rather liked it like this. It felt like sitting alone on a high platform—not lonely, even though he was by himself...
After enjoying a brief moment of solitude, Hoshino packed his bag and left the school building.
The same old routine had gotten a little boring, so on a whim, Hoshino changed his plans for the day and headed toward the athletic field, where many of the sports clubs gathered.
There sure were a lot of people training!
"Shibata, get back on defense! Move, move!..." A PE teacher on the sidelines shouted, gesturing wildly as if he wished he could jump onto the field himself. Nearby, a few students in soccer uniforms watched, while some substitutes practiced on their own.
It was just an ordinary practice, but a teacher was still guiding the Soccer Club in an orderly fashion. As Hoshino watched the Soccer Club members race across the field, he spotted a familiar face among them—Hirata.
Hirata seemed to be quite skilled. He was already playing on the field, so he must have been pretty good even before joining the club! His dribbling and passing looked so smooth that they were a pleasure to watch. Quite a few girls nearby were watching and cheering, too. It was safe to say Hirata was really popular.
The Tennis Court stood at one corner beyond the soccer field. A teacher was training a group of students there as well.
There were also clubs like the Track and Field Club and the Drama Club, all practicing on the same grounds without getting in one another's way. On the way here, Hoshino had even seen the Art Club painting by the lake. He hadn't dared to get too close. The school's extracurricular life really was quite rich.
Oh, right! Hoshino suddenly remembered something. Could you earn points by joining a club? After the points he'd received for the swimming lesson a few days ago, he figured there was a chance this method might work. He just didn't know when it would take effect.
When he first arrived at the school, there had been a club recruitment fair. What Hoshino remembered most was President Horikita's stern speech, followed by the club heads taking turns onstage to talk about their clubs' achievements.
If you wanted students to work themselves to the bone, you had to offer them some kind of reward, right?
But even if new students had been training up to this point, it would still be difficult for them to achieve anything—unless they were already strong to begin with. At least until they earned some results, they probably wouldn't get many points. Otherwise, everyone could just join a club, put their name down, and earn points. Wouldn't that be nice?
As Hoshino strolled along the path around the athletic field, a warm breeze brushed past him, and he felt quite content.
After watching for a while, Hoshino looked away. Then he slowly left the area.
As he continued on, Hoshino somehow found himself near the club building.
Oh, right. The club building couldn't be too far from the sports clubs' practice areas. Otherwise, it would be pretty inconvenient for them.
But what was he doing here?
With that thought, Hoshino turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, two familiar figures approached.
"Good afternoon!" Hoshino nodded first and greeted them.
"Good afternoon!" President Horikita nudged his glasses up and nodded slightly. Beside him, Secretary Tachibana looked a little displeased, but she still gave a small nod.
After all, the two of them had helped him with a few things. Hoshino felt awkward simply walking right past the president.
"Wait, you're Hoshino from Class 1-D, aren't you?" Seeing Hoshino try to walk straight past, President Horikita called out.
"Yes, President Horikita?" Hoshino stopped and turned back, puzzled. "...Did you need something, President?"
"No, nothing in particular... Hoshino, how have things been at school lately?"
"Uh... pretty good, I guess..." Hoshino was a little flattered. Was President Horikita actually checking up on him?
"Is that so? Good... What do you think of this school?" After a moment of silence, President Horikita asked an unexpected question.
"My opinion?... I don't really have one. It's all pretty good." Though taken aback, Hoshino gave his usual all-purpose answer. He didn't really understand what President Horikita meant.
It felt a little like a company executive asking a junior employee what he thought of the company. Hoshino couldn't very well say, "This place is bad, that place is bad," especially when the school's benefits were unbelievably good!
"...Then what do you think of the Student Council?"
"Uh... I don't really have an opinion..." Again? Hoshino really wondered if President Horikita had something wrong with him, asking a mere Class D student questions like that. It wasn't as if Hoshino could say, "You're useless. Step down already!" That would be stupid.
Hoshino didn't feel much affection for the school. The environment was great, the food was great, and the accommodations were great. There was nothing to complain about when it came to the benefits!
He just wasn't very fond of the way the school educated its students. It felt like the school was training them to scheme against one another and adapt to a hierarchy. Only those who could contribute to their class were allowed to stay, and there was nothing wrong with that. The problem was that the school didn't treat people like people at all. It treated them like "bricks" in society.
Hoshino believed that if the exams for all three years were held together, the result would be no less than the creation of a miniature society!
For now, though, the hierarchy was confined to each individual class. It hadn't gotten that serious yet.
The image of everyone banding together and overcoming hardship was certainly beautiful. But the power struggles and conflicts that inevitably came with it were exactly what Hoshino hated most.
The school was supposedly teaching students to work together and overcome difficulties as a group. In the end, though, that might just be nice words.
But then again, the school was supposed to prepare people for society, yet it had kept things at the relatively superficial level of competition between classes. Thinking back on it, that was actually pretty interesting. It was almost like experiencing a different kind of "murder mystery game." Keeping it superficial was what made it fun.
Did they expect those foolish adults to keep things running this well through self-discipline? They had to be dreaming! Seen that way, President Horikita really was impressive!
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