Watching Movies

Beihai wished he could find a hole to crawl into and hide himself.

This was far beyond what he had expected. To Beihai, keeping a low profile and being ordinary meant being like everyone else, with no special talents and no particularly extreme or volatile personality.

If you went along with the crowd, hardly anyone would pay attention to you. Everyone was just an ordinary person, living an ordinary life.

But Kiyotaka Kiyotaka, standing beside him, had clearly gotten things backward. What did "blending in to hide your strength" mean to him? Challenging half the clubs at the school?

Did he have some misunderstanding about what it meant to keep a low profile?

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka clearly hadn't realized what he'd done wrong. Instead, he seemed a little disappointed that someone from the Chess Club had challenged him, leaving him without enough points to wager on any more matches.

So Kiyotaka Kiyotaka had to stop there. As they retraced their steps, he counted the clubs they'd challenged and found they'd fallen just short of half.

He thought he'd done very well. Just as his brother had said, he couldn't be too strong or too weak; he had to aim for the middle.

That way, no one would fear him and gang up on him, and he wouldn't be so weak that he attracted needless trouble.

"Let's stop here. Any more, and we'll draw attention."

Hearing him say that, Beihai rubbed his brow with a pained look.

"Looks like I was wrong about you. I think I should keep my distance."

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka looked confused. When he didn't understand something, he simply asked.

"Why?"

Seeing his innocent expression, Beihai could only explain.

"Do you think challenging half the clubs won't draw attention? And attention means trouble.

"If there's trouble, it'll get in the way of my studies. So wouldn't I want to keep my distance from you?"

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka nodded in full agreement. "That makes sense. I just didn't think most people couldn't do it."

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka was still rather confident in his ability to hide his strength. For instance, during exams, he'd aim for exactly fifty points in every subject, carefully controlling his scores.

So when he went around challenging clubs, he'd thought that since the school was known for putting ability first and had an elite Class A, and since Class D had Rokuju Takaharadera—and especially Beihai—the other classes couldn't be that bad. Surely most people could do it with ease.

Those who hadn't shown up, he figured, were either too lazy to bother or were hiding their strength.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka's way of thinking was basically this: How could anyone not know how to do something like calculus?

"Whatever. It's already happened. Look on the bright side: now that you've shown your strength, nobody will dare bother you. The clubs you challenged might even have to keep it quiet. It's pretty embarrassing, after all."

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka didn't argue. He obediently nodded, looking rather sweet. He still had a lot to learn.

After raking in a haul of points, the two of them headed to the movie theater.

The theater at this school added movies in line with their real-world release dates. But if you had enough points, you could choose a film and request a private screening.

Of course, you had to ask about private screenings yourself. If you didn't, they'd simply tell you it wasn't available.

"There's plenty of cola, popcorn, snacks, and other things. The only question now is what kind of movie you want to watch."

Beihai took two bottles of ice-cold cola from the clerk and handed the enormous bucket of popcorn to Kiyotaka Kiyotaka to hold.

"Do movies act out people's lives? What kinds are good?"

Faced with such an uninformed question, Beihai didn't know how to answer. It was like asking someone to go out for breakfast, then saying "anything" when asked what they wanted.

Then, when they really got anything, they'd complain it wasn't what they wanted to eat.

"As for movies, there are simple Hollywood plots with great effects and plenty of popcorn-movie fun.

"There are movies that explore life, ones full of philosophy, and ones that preach at you. There are all sorts—and some real stinkers, too."

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka listened intently, occasionally popping a couple of pieces of popcorn into his mouth. The sweet taste burst across his tongue, and it seemed pretty good.

"I've never seen one before. Could you recommend something for me, my good friend?"

Beihai wasn't surprised. There really were people who had never been to a movie theater. Even in his previous life, Beihai and one of his friends had loved going, but another friend hadn't cared for it at all. He'd even been a little resistant, thinking it was a waste of money and preferring streaming services.

"Hmm. For your first movies, let me think: The Bucket List, The Truman Show, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, Green Book, and so on."

"That's a lot. We can't watch them all today, can we?"

"Right. We couldn't finish them all even if we watched all night. But life is long, and you've got to find things you enjoy.

"To put it simply, cherish your guilty pleasures. They might be the main reason you love life."

Without even thinking, Kiyotaka Kiyotaka blurted out, "So your hobby is staying up late."

"You're wrong. Staying up late isn't my hobby."

Beihai protested without a second thought, but this time he had to choose. After all, he was treating Kiyotaka Kiyotaka to a movie.

He'd originally planned to let Kiyotaka Kiyotaka choose, so he could see what his tastes were, but now the choice had fallen to him.

It had started as a selfish little indulgence of his own, and now he felt even more at ease about it.

As they waited in their seats, Beihai even had time to teach his gaming buddy how to enjoy popcorn and cola together, letting the sugary sweetness bloom on the tip of his tongue.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka learned quickly. When he crunched the popcorn and the sugar stuck to his tongue, then took a sip of cola, the sensation was truly marvelous.

Just then, the movie began.

By the time they finished watching, it was already evening, and it was time to head home—or back to their separate dorms.

There were still students along the way, but most weren't carrying schoolbags. More often, two or three of them were gathered together, enjoying afternoon tea or chatting.

Only the two of them still had schoolbags slung over their shoulders.

"Beihai, do you really like movies? That kind of thing..."

They seemed utterly pointless, nothing but fiction. By his own reasoning, they were a waste of time. His father would never have let him do something like this.

"Of course I like them. They're a celebration of human creativity. I want to see people tell stories about their lives, or about things becoming difficult.

"When an era becomes part of art, I think it's incredible. It might even be possible to achieve that.

"When you see something that resonates with you, something that speaks to a part of you you've never encountered before, it's hard to put into words. It makes you feel something. I just think it's one of the most beautiful things, because we humans created it.

"I like games for the same reason. The difference is that in a game, you're the protagonist.

"You can set aside so-called reason and choose what you love. You don't have to chase perfection, and no one will grab you by the ear and demand that you do everything perfectly. You can see our flaws clearly."