Club Dispute

"This classroom had been empty for three weeks."

Before they even entered the clubroom, Takahashi heard arguing inside.

"It's pretty noisy, isn't it? If it bothers you, you can go back first." Ichinose gave Takahashi an apologetic look.

Twenty minutes earlier...

As a member of the Student Council, Ichinose had been assigned to handle a dispute between two clubs: the photography club and the art club both wanted the same activity room.

When Ichinose went to sort things out, they just kept arguing and wouldn't listen to a word she said. With no other choice, she went to ask Hoshinomiya-sensei for help. By coincidence, she ran into Takahashi, who was chatting with Hoshinomiya-sensei. Whether the teacher really had an emergency meeting or was just pretending, she used it as an excuse to leave—and before she went, she pushed Takahashi into Ichinose's hands.

As for why Takahashi had been chatting with Hoshinomiya-sensei...

Heh heh. Ever since he'd guessed from the conversation between Teacher Chabashira and Hoshinomiya-sensei that teachers competed with each other just like the students' classes did, Takahashi had enjoyed trying to get information out of Hoshinomiya. Besides, who wouldn't like a pretty teacher who was fun to be around, made you feel good, and occasionally let you get away with a little something?

Okay, back to the present.

"Since I promised Hoshinomiya-sensei I'd help you deal with this, I can't just leave you here alone. Besides, running away at the last minute isn't my style." Takahashi had already gotten the gist of the situation from Ichinose's explanation and the verbal sparring between the two clubs inside the room.

"Let's go in. Once we're inside, I'll get them to stop arguing. Then you can take over."

"Ahem. Everyone..." When the club members ignored him, Takahashi raised his hand and knocked hard on the door three times.

"Bang, bang, bang."

"Enough arguing. Now listen to what I have to say."

One club member frowned at Takahashi. He'd been in the middle of a good rant when Takahashi interrupted him, and he was pretty annoyed. "Who are you? Why should we listen to you?"

Takahashi gave the club member a cold look. "If you want your club singled out for 'praise' in a Student Council announcement, go ahead and repeat what you just said."

"Uh..." Hearing that, the club member mistook Takahashi for an influential member of the Student Council and immediately fell silent.

"Now, the photography club, stand on the left. The art club, stand on the right. Any club members who haven't taken their places within a minute can forget about getting this activity room."

"Who are your club presidents?"

"Hello, I'm Tanaka Koyano, the photography club president. Just call me Tanaka."

"I'm Sato Ranjo, president of the art club. Just call me Sato."

Takahashi glanced at Ichinose beside him. Understanding what he meant, she said, "Please tell us what you need the room for. President Tanaka, you can go first. What does the photography club need it for?"

"We need a darkroom for the photography exhibition at the end of the month. The ventilation in our current room is terrible, so the smell of the developer won't go away. One of our members has already had an allergic reaction. Also..." Tanaka pushed his glasses up and opened his phone gallery. "Our current room is too small. It's crammed with equipment, and there's barely enough room to move between the tripods and reflectors."

"President Sato, what about you?" Ichinose turned to the art club members.

"We've recruited a lot of new members this year, and our current room is already full of art supplies. There isn't enough space. We'll also have a sculpture coming to the art club soon."

"Both clubs really need this room. Wait a moment..." Ichinose began flipping through her notebook. "There's an empty classroom to the west of the gym. It's quite large, so we could assign it to the art club. What do you think?"

"That won't work. The gym is too far away, and we'd have to move all our art supplies." As soon as Ichinose finished speaking, an art club member protested.

"Yeah, and we'd have to move the sculpture too. It's really heavy."

"Well..."

Seeing the art club members all protest at once, Ichinose was at a loss.

"You've done great. Leave the rest to me." Takahashi patted Ichinose on the shoulder and spoke softly.

"Quiet." Takahashi's initial show of authority had clearly worked to some extent; the protests died down considerably.

"This room goes to the photography club. The art club will use the classroom west of the gym. Of course, the photography club will help the art club move its supplies. The two presidents should write up your activity-room applications tomorrow and hand them to Ichinose at the Student Council. That's that."

"Phew." After leaving the activity room, Ichinose let out a breath. "That was exhausting! Thanks for your help, Takahashi."

"It was nothing. You did most of the work by preparing so thoroughly."

"I just wrote down which classrooms were empty. That's hardly preparation."

"By the way, Takahashi, it's almost lunchtime. Want to have lunch together?"

"Is that an invitation to a date?"

"Come on, it's just to thank you!"

"Ding."

Ichinose picked up her phone to check the message. The points page was open on the screen, so she must have checked her points earlier and then turned the screen off without leaving the page.

"You saw it?" Ichinose looked up and met Takahashi's eyes.

"My stomach feels bad?"

"Huh? Why does your stomach suddenly feel bad? Do you want to go to the infirmary?" Concern appeared on Ichinose's face.

"No, the doctor already checked. He said I'm only suited to living off a woman."

"Haha." Ichinose smiled. "Hoshinomiya-sensei was right. Takahashi really is an interesting person."

"These points..."

"You don't have to tell me. Everyone has secrets, and I'm great at keeping them. If you're still worried, how about a kiss to reinforce the seal?" Takahashi leaned toward Ichinose.

Ichinose put her index finger against Takahashi's lips and smiled.

"Okay, stop fooling around. It's not a secret or anything. The points of everyone in my class are just collected under my account."

"Your classmates really trust you."

When Takahashi went to the cafeteria with Ichinose, he was a little surprised to see Ayanokouji, Horikita, and Kushida there too.