"Just as I expected, they ended up throwing a party after all." Kitahara said, lying in bed after returning from karaoke that night.
After class had ended earlier, Ichinose had brought him over to meet her classmates in Class B. From there, he'd naturally accepted their invitation to the party.
He'd also met quite a few interesting people there.
Even after learning that they'd been mistaken about him before, his new classmates in Class B were still very welcoming.
Just as Kitahara was about to go to sleep, his phone suddenly buzzed.
He picked it up and saw a message from Ichinose:
"Thanks for coming to the party today. Everyone really likes you."
The corners of Kitahara's mouth lifted slightly as he read the message. He replied:
"Of course. I had a pretty good time, too."
"Mm..."
"Anyway, get some sleep. See you tomorrow."
"Mm..."
After setting his phone down, Kitahara's thoughts drifted back to the party.
Ichinose had smiled brightly amid the crowd, her enthusiasm infectious to everyone around her.
Kitahara realized he seemed to have developed a different kind of feeling for her.
After Kitahara transferred to Class B, everything went on as usual. His days were peaceful and fulfilling.
But unlike his time in Class D, Kitahara wasn't alone anymore.
His peaceful routine wasn't disrupted until the final exams ended and summer vacation officially began.
One calm morning, Kitahara received an order from President Horikita:
"The school pool is only open for one more day. They're short-staffed, so I need you to come help me keep things in order."
"..."
"Ah, President... I don't have a swimsuit. How am I supposed to go in?"
"The Student Council has prepared one for you."
"Uh... I'm not feeling well right now. Could I maybe—" Before Kitahara could finish, Horikita hung up at the other end.
Realizing there was no way out of it, Kitahara sighed helplessly. "I really am doomed to a life of hard labor. Are they treating me like one of the Loser Trio?"
"Wait, I guess I am one of the Loser Trio now."
Kitahara reluctantly got up, gathered his things, and prepared to head to the school pool.
"Come to think of it, didn't I turn down Kanzaki and the others yesterday? I hope I don't run into them today."
When he reached the entrance and saw that they weren't there, Kitahara breathed a sigh of relief. He went inside, tidied up his clothes, and headed to meet President Horikita.
What Kitahara didn't know was that Ichinose and the others arrived at the entrance shortly after he went in.
Ichinose turned to Kanzaki and asked, "Is Kitahara really not coming? It's the last day the pool is open."
"Yeah, that's what he said. Tomorrow is the final day of this season, so he wants to reach the highest rank in the game before the season ends."
"So, sorry, but you'll have to go without him tomorrow."
"..."
A hint of disappointment flashed in Ichinose's eyes at Kanzaki's answer, but she still smiled and said, "If Kitahara has something to do, then we'll just have to enjoy ourselves without him."
After Ichinose finished speaking, she noticed Kushida and the others arriving.
"Are you here to go swimming, too?"
"All right, let's have some fun!" Ichinose said, wearing a swimsuit and holding a swim ring in one hand.
"Sakura, you even bought a rash guard?" Kushida asked, noticing Sakura standing behind the others.
"I'm not comfortable showing my skin in front of people..."
"I bought a new swimsuit, too..." Kushida said, showing it off.
After seeing Kushida's impressive assets, Ike and Sudo, standing nearby, said cheerfully, "Thanks for the view."
"Hey, where's Yamauchi?" Kushida asked, noticing he was missing.
"Come to think of it, where'd that guy run off to?" Sudo and Ike replied nervously.
"Did he get separated from us? We should go look for him."
"It's fine, it's fine. He probably went to the bathroom. Let's not worry about him—let's go have some fun," Ike replied quickly.
Before Kushida could answer, Sudo loudly exclaimed:
"There's a volleyball court over there! Let's play beach volleyball!"
"Why are you guys so excited?" Ichinose asked, puzzled by their enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, at Advanced Nurturing High School, Yamauchi, disguised as a cleaner, was carrying out their plan in front of the recreational pool's changing room.
As time passed, people who had planned to change in the locker room saw the "Cleaning in Progress" sign and started heading to the bathroom instead.
Before long, the bathroom was packed with people.
Kitahara had been patrolling the pool. When he saw what was happening, he grew suspicious and asked someone still standing outside, "Excuse me, what's going on here? Why is everyone gathering in this spot?"
"Ah... who are you... Oh, you mean this?" She noticed the Student Council armband Kitahara was wearing and quickly changed her tune to explain.
After hearing her explanation, Kitahara finally understood that the changing room was being cleaned.
"So they're cleaning it..."
"Wait, no. Why does this sound so familiar?"
"Oh, damn. This is exactly what happens when the Loser Trio try to sneak a peek. So they've already started putting their plan into action."
"President, President." Kitahara took out his walkie-talkie.
"Beep, beep... What is it?"
"Is someone cleaning the changing room?"
"When was the cleaning scheduled?"
Seeing that the president had no idea about it either, Kitahara knew they had to be behind this. He explained what was happening in the bathroom and why.
"All right, I understand. Head to the changing room now. I'll be there shortly." Once Horikita realized how serious the situation was, she spoke to Kitahara sternly.
"Yes, I understand, President. I'm on my way."
"Excuse me, everyone, let me through." Kitahara only then realized that the people behind him had crowded around him, completely surrounding him.
When no one moved, Kitahara decided to push his way out himself.
"Hey... watch where you're stepping!"
"Hey... stop pushing! Let me out first!"
"There's still plenty of time. We can all enjoy ourselves, so don't shove!"
As Kitahara made his way through the crowd, he kept calling out to them, making the commotion even louder.
"..."
"What's going on over there?"