Swimming Pool Incident (1)

"As expected, a party was held." Kitahara said, lying on his bed after returning from the KTV at night.

It turned out that after Class B's classes ended earlier, he had been dragged by Ichinose to meet her classmates, and then naturally accepted the invitation to join the party.

However, he had met quite a few interesting people at this party.

Even after learning about the misconceptions they previously held about him, the members of Class B remained very welcoming.

Just as Kitahara was about to fall asleep, his phone suddenly vibrated.

He picked up the phone and found a message from Ichinose:

"Thank you for coming to the party today; everyone really likes you."

Seeing this message, the corners of Kitahara's mouth curled up slightly, and he replied:

"It was my pleasure; I had a great time too."

"Mm..."

"Alright, get some sleep. See you tomorrow."

"Mm..."

After putting down his phone, Kitahara's thoughts drifted back to the party.

Ichinose had been smiling brightly in the crowd, her enthusiasm infectious to everyone around her.

Kitahara realized that he seemed to have developed different feelings for this girl.

After Kitahara arrived in Class B, everything was the same as usual; life was plain yet fulfilling.

However, unlike his time in Class D, Kitahara was no longer alone.

It wasn't until the final exams ended and summer vacation officially began that ripples finally appeared in Kitahara's mundane life.

On a calm morning, Kitahara received an order from President Horikita:

"Today is the last day the school swimming pool is open, and they are short-handed. I need you to come with me to help maintain order."

"..."

"Ah, President... about that, I don't have a swimsuit. How am I supposed to go in?"

"The Student Council has already prepared one."

"Uh... I'm not feeling very well right now, can I not—" Before Kitahara could finish, President Horikita hung up the phone.

Knowing there was no escape, Kitahara sighed helplessly: "What a life of drudgery. Isn't this treating me like a Japanese person?"

"Sigh, I suppose I really am a Japanese person now."

Kitahara got up reluctantly, tidied himself up, and prepared to head to the school swimming pool.

"By the way, I remember rejecting Kanzaki and the others' invitation yesterday, right? I hope I don't run into them today."

Upon reaching the entrance and finding they weren't there, Kitahara breathed a sigh of relief, walked inside, and began adjusting his clothes before heading to meet President Horikita.

However, Kitahara didn't know that shortly after he walked in, Ichinose and her group arrived at the entrance.

Ichinose looked at Kanzaki and asked: "Is Kitahara really not coming? Today is the last day it's open."

"Yes, that's how he answered. 'Tomorrow is the last day of the season, so I have to reach Asura before it ends.'"

"'So, sorry, you guys go ahead without me tomorrow.'"

"..."

Hearing Kanzaki's answer, a flash of disappointment crossed Ichinose's eyes, but she still smiled: "Since Kitahara has things to do, let's just have a good time ourselves."

After Ichinose finished speaking, she noticed Kushida and her group arriving.

She said: "Are you guys here to swim, too?"

"Alright, let's have a blast!" Ichinose said, holding a swim ring while wearing her swimsuit.

"Sakura, you even bought a protective suit?" Kushida said, looking at Sakura who was standing behind her.

"I'm not good at exposing my skin in front of others..."

"But I bought a new swimsuit too..." Kushida said, showing it off.

Seeing Kushida's generous assets, Ike and Sudo, who were standing to the side, said happily: "Thanks for the treat."

"Huh? Where is Yamauchi?" Kushida asked, noticing he was missing.

"Come to think of it, where did that guy run off to?" Sudo and Ike replied nervously.

"Did he get separated? Let's go look for him."

"It's fine, it's fine. He probably just went to the restroom. Let's not worry about him and go play," Ike replied quickly.

Before Kushida could respond, Sudo shouted from the side:

"There's a volleyball court over there! Let's play that. Let's go play beach volleyball."

"Why are you all so worked up?" Ichinose asked, looking at them with confusion as they buzzed with excitement.

Meanwhile, inside the Advanced Nurturing High School, in front of the changing rooms at the recreational pool, Yamauchi, disguised as a cleaner, began to put their plan into motion.

As time passed, those who were supposed to be changing in the locker rooms saw the "Cleaning in Progress" sign and flocked to the restrooms instead.

This caused the crowd at the restrooms to grow larger and larger.

Kitahara, who had been patrolling the pool, found this scene strange and approached someone still standing outside to ask, "Excuse me, what's going on here? Why is everyone gathering here?"

"Ah... who are you... oh, you mean this? It's because..." She saw the Student Council armband Kitahara was wearing and her expression shifted instantly as she explained.

Upon hearing her explanation, Kitahara finally realized that the changing rooms were being cleaned.

"So they're cleaning..."

Wait, why does this situation feel so familiar?

Damn it, isn't this the setup for the peeping incident planned by the Loser Trio? They've already started their operation.

"President, President." Kitahara pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"Beep... what is it?"

"Are they cleaning the changing rooms?"

"When was a cleaning notice issued?"

Seeing that the President was unaware of the matter, Kitahara knew it had to be their doing, so he explained the situation at the restrooms and the reason behind it to her.

"Understood. I know now. Head toward the changing rooms immediately; I will be there shortly," Horikita said sternly to Kitahara, realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Yes, I understand, President. I'm heading there now."

"Alright, everyone, please make way." Kitahara, who hadn't realized he had been completely surrounded by the people arriving behind him, finally reacted and spoke up.

Seeing that they didn't respond, Kitahara decided he would have to force his way out.

"Hey... don't step on my feet!"

"Hey... stop pushing, let me out first!"

"There's plenty of time, everyone will get a turn, don't fight over it!"

Kitahara spoke to them as he pushed through, which only caused the commotion to grow even louder.

"..."

"What's going on over there?"