Once people had something to keep them busy, time slipped away before they even noticed.
It was a day off, and Ichinose Honami had organized another get-together. As before, they met at a karaoke place, where Class B had booked a private room large enough for the whole class. Counting carefully, all forty students in Class B seemed to have come.
"Why aren't you singing, Shiraishi?" Kobashi Yume asked, raising her voice so it wouldn't be drowned out by the blaring music.
"I'm tone-deaf, so I'm not really brave enough to sing." Shiraishi Makoto smiled as he brushed off the question. In truth, he knew nothing about the popular songs in this world. He had no idea what to pick, let alone what to sing.
Even though he hadn't taken the microphone, some of his classmates had pulled him into a game. There were only a few microphones, after all. The rest played cards or board games like Ludo, or chatted over snacks. The atmosphere was quite friendly.
But Shiraishi Makoto had also noticed that at every get-together, a few students always sat off to the side and watched without really joining in.
"See you all tomorrow."
When the get-together ended, the students left in small groups. Shiraishi Makoto called out to Ichinose Honami, who was about to leave.
"Could you spare me a moment? Come over here with me." He didn't explain why.
"Chihiro, you guys go on ahead." Ichinose Honami could tell he had something important to discuss. She said goodbye to her friends, then followed Shiraishi Makoto back into the room.
There was one person still inside.
"Oh, Himeno Yuki, you're still here?" Ichinose Honami recognized her at once and greeted her softly.
"Um... So, was there a reason you asked me to stay?" Himeno Yuki seemed at a loss.
"I noticed that Himeno hadn't really joined in much tonight," Shiraishi Makoto began.
Seeing Himeno Yuki's expression change slightly, he quickly added, "I'm not criticizing you for being antisocial. I just wanted to remind Ichinose that we might be having class get-togethers a little too often."
The idea of holding class get-togethers had originally come from Ichinose Honami. On the second day of school, she had suggested that the whole class go out together, hoping everyone would get to know one another sooner. Over time, it gradually became a regular activity. Whenever someone suggested a get-together, she would ask the class what they thought.
The Advanced Nurturing High School was cut off from the outside world, and even the novelty of its campus was beginning to wear off. Class get-togethers were one of the few forms of entertainment, so most of Class B were happy to attend. But when they did the math, they realized they had held an average of three get-togethers a week over the past two weeks. That really was quite often.
A class of forty students was bound to have all kinds of personalities, and some wouldn't be very enthusiastic about group activities. In another class, those who didn't want to go could simply say no. But Class B was so united that students like Himeno Yuki worried about being labeled "antisocial," making it even harder to turn down their friends' enthusiastic invitations.
"I see..." Ichinose Honami immediately understood what he was getting at. She turned to Himeno Yuki, her eyes full of apology.
"Himeno, feel free to say what's on your mind." Seeing that she seemed to be hesitating, Shiraishi Makoto gently encouraged her.
"Then I'll be honest..." Himeno Yuki glanced at Shiraishi Makoto before speaking softly. "I don't dislike the get-togethers themselves. I'm just not that enthusiastic about them. Sometimes I don't really want to go, but everyone else is going, and I'm afraid I'll spoil the fun if I don't. In the end, I just force myself to come."
"I've been paying attention to everyone at these get-togethers, and there are a few other students who hardly interact with anyone, either. I'd guess they feel much the same as Himeno," Shiraishi Makoto put in. "Ichinose, your intentions were good, but sometimes you need to listen to different opinions, too."
"I understand." Ichinose Honami nodded gently, then turned to Himeno Yuki and bowed solemnly. "I'm sorry, Himeno. I'm sorry I made you feel this way. If Shiraishi hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have realized I'd made a mistake. I'm truly sorry!"
"Hey, hey, you don't have to go that far..." Himeno Yuki looked flustered and quickly reached out to help her up.
"Don't blame yourself so much, Ichinose," Shiraishi Makoto said, joining in to reassure her. "If you really feel bad about it, just explain the situation to the class later."
"Mm, I'll explain it to everyone in class." Ichinose nodded gently.
Before class the next day, Ichinose Honami went to the front of the room and held a brief class meeting.
"First, I'd like to apologize to everyone." She gave the class a slight bow. "Because I overlooked it, I didn't realize that some of you weren't comfortable with how often we held class get-togethers. You were afraid of spoiling everyone's fun, so you kept forcing yourselves to attend. Thanks to Shiraishi pointing it out, I realized I should give everyone more room to decide for themselves."
"I'd like to apologize to everyone again." After speaking, Ichinose walked to the side of the podium and bowed deeply.
"Ichinose has been doing a great job. Don't put too much pressure on yourself." Kobashi Yume, one of Ichinose's most devoted supporters, was the first to speak up in her defense.
"Exactly. Ichinose just has so many class matters to deal with that it's only natural she might overlook something." Other students chimed in as well.
"Thank you, everyone." Ichinose Honami saw how the class had responded. When she noticed Himeno Yuki quietly joining in, too, a warm smile appeared on her face. She continued, "So I'm planning to hold class get-togethers less often, once a month, probably after each round of exams, so we can all unwind together. We won't make any other group arrangements. Anyone who wants to get together in a smaller group can make plans on their own."
"Also, if you have any concerns about the class but don't feel comfortable bringing them up in front of everyone, you can talk to me privately, or you can tell Shiraishi. We'll listen carefully and do our best to make sure everyone feels more at ease at school."
Once the class had finished responding, Ichinose Honami moved on to the next announcement:
"The second thing is that I just got a notice from our homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya-sensei. We'll be having a monthly exam at the end of this month. After talking it over with a few classmates, I've decided to organize after-school study sessions. If you're unsure about your academic ability, come talk to me privately to sign up."
"So there really is a monthly exam..." Shibata Sō nervously scratched his head, and many of the other students in the class looked just as worried.
These students already lacked confidence in their studies. On top of that, everyone suspected that exam results would be directly linked to Class Points, so many of them felt a great deal of pressure.
"Of course, anyone who's confident in their academic ability is welcome to help tutor the others, too. Ichinose can't do it all by herself," Shiraishi Makoto added at just the right moment.
He knew that if he didn't say this, Ichinose would probably try to shoulder everything alone. The only one likely to volunteer in the end would be Kanzaki Ryuji. At this rate, the two of them would have to tutor nearly half the class.
Ichinose Honami looked over at him and nodded gently.
"That's about it. Remember to get in touch with me privately."
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