The first planning meeting after returning to school began before lunch break.
Horikita pinned three blank sheets of paper to the blackboard.
The first read `voluntary events`, the second `available training time`, and the third `willingness to serve as a substitute`.
She placed the old draft form Gu Heng had handed her at the bottom.
"Personal terminals, private points, and identity exam results will not be included on the registration forms."
The classroom's attention paused for a moment before returning to the blackboard.
Kushida sat by the window, twirling an inkless pen in her hand.
"If we don't look at the results, how do we decide who is suitable to stand at the front?"
"First, we see whether they're willing," Horikita said.
"Willingness doesn't mean they can do it well."
"That's why the second step is training and substitutes."
Sudo was the first to walk up to the blackboard and write his name under the physical events section.
The pen scratched across the paper, leaving a deep, heavy stroke.
"I'll sign up for the events that involve running and contact."
Hirata wrote down his available training times beside it without copying his name onto the other master sheet.
"What about being a substitute?"
"I can be a substitute too," Sudo said. "But don't write me down as someone you can shove anywhere there's a gap."
That made several students in the back raise their heads again.
Gu Heng sat in the last row, one finger holding down a photocopied archive notice.
He saw Sudo separate registration from responsibility.
He wasn't the first person to rush forward. He was the first to demand that the class clarify the boundaries of how it could use him.
Hirata then began collecting the second sheet.
Some were willing to train after school, some could