Class Gathering

"Miyanomae, come to the gathering with us."

Miyama Saku had just stuffed his stationery into his bag and was about to get up to shop for groceries when Ichinose called out to him.

"Me too?"

He instinctively wanted to refuse, but before the words could leave his mouth, someone lightly patted his shoulder.

Shibata Hayate stood beside him, his eyes filled with amusement.

As the class's quintessential athletic boy, he was sunny and outgoing, and apparently quite popular with the girls.

"Yeah, come with us," Shibata Hayate said with a smile. "I've never seen you attend a gathering before."

Kanzaki Ryuji also came over then. "Come on, Miyanomae."

Miyama Saku opened his mouth, the refusal already on the tip of his tongue, but Ichinose's excessively bright eyes fixed on him. She smiled at him, her gaze carrying a trace of expectation that brooked no refusal.

"Just accept. It won't hurt anything."

Himeno Yuki chimed in as well.

Miyama Saku found it a little strange. Didn't this girl usually hate these sorts of occasions? Why did she suddenly want to attend a gathering herself today?

"Fine, I'll go."

"Great." Ichinose's eyes immediately lit up, and an undisguised smile curved her lips.

Soon, the group made their way to the KTV they had reserved in advance—a huge private room large enough to seat all forty students in the class.

It was Miyama Saku's first time at a KTV.

The room was absurdly spacious. Long sofas ran along three walls, while the coffee table in the middle was already piled with fruit platters, snacks, and rows of drinks.

A currently popular song played on the screen, while spotlights on the ceiling slowly rotated, bathing the room in alternating red and blue hues.

"This place is huge." Miyama Saku stood at the doorway.

Shibata Hayate pushed him forward from behind. "Bigger is better. Everyone in the class can come. Look, there's even a little stage over there. We can make Kanzaki go up and sing later."

Kanzaki Ryuji shot him a glance. "Why don't you go up?"

"I've never heard you sing."

Ichinose Honami had already made her way to the song-selection console like an old hand. Her fingers flew across the screen as she asked without looking back, "Miyanomae, where do you want to sit?"

Miyama Saku was about to say he did not care when Himeno Yuki plopped down in the middle of the sofa and patted the seat beside her. "Here. Sit here. The view's good."

"What use is a good view...?"

Still, he walked over. The sofa was softer than he had expected, and it was quite comfortable to sit on.

Himeno Yuki casually grabbed a can of cola from the coffee table, cracked it open with a pop, and held it out to him.

"Here, cola." Miyama Saku accepted it and lowered his voice as he asked Himeno.

"Don't you dislike coming to gatherings? Why did you drag me into it today?"

"Can't I feel like coming once in a while?" She lowered her voice too. "Also, why were the questions on the midterm paper you gave me exactly the same? Do you know something?"

Miyama Saku rolled his eyes and spread his hands. "No. I told you already, someone else gave me that paper. How would I know?"

"What are you two talking about?"

Ichinose had just finished picking songs and came over to sit beside Miyama Saku. She leaned forward, looking back and forth between them with undisguised curiosity in her eyes.

Himeno Yuki answered without changing expression.

"We were saying it's Miyanomae's first time at a KTV, and he's so nervous he can't even open a can of cola."

"I'm not."

Ichinose laughed and patted his shoulder. "It's okay, it's okay. Everyone's like that their first time. The first time Shibata came, he tripped over the microphone cable and fell right onto the coffee table."

"Hey, we agreed not to bring that up!" Shibata Hayate shouted from in front of the screen. His ears were sharp, at least.

The song on the screen changed, and the intro began. It was an old song, slow and mellow, and the room fell unusually quiet for a few seconds.

Netakura Asako picked up the microphone and began to sing. Her voice was softer than when she spoke normally, and she sounded unexpectedly good.

"Asako sings really well, doesn't she, Miyanomae?"

Ichinose turned toward him, her eyes bright and her tone slightly smug, as if she had been the one to discover that Netakura Asako could sing well.

Miyama Saku had been drinking cola with his head lowered. He paused at that.

"Huh? Yeah."

Ichinose would not let it go, leaning closer toward him. "What do you mean, 'yeah'? Tell me exactly what's so good about it."

"It just sounds good, okay?"

At some point, Kanzaki Ryuji had sat down at the other end of the long table. He was still unhurriedly peeling fruit, like a doting mom.

A neat row of peeled fruit already filled the small plate in front of him. Whenever a student passed by and casually took a piece, he did not even look up, simply replacing it.

After Netakura Asako finished her song onstage, she walked over to Ichinose Honami.

Her breathing had not yet steadied from singing, a thin sheen of sweat covered her temples, and the hand holding the microphone was slightly red.

Before the applause in the room had fully died down, she had already passed through the gap between the coffee table and sofa and walked straight up to Ichinose.

Ichinose sat beside Miyama Saku, holding an unopened can of juice. Looking up and seeing Asako approach, she smiled. "Asako, your singing is as good as ever."

Netakura Asako held the microphone out to her. "You're up next. Don't even think about hiding."

Ichinose did not take the microphone. Instead, she turned her head and grinned at Miyama Saku, a faint curve forming at the corner of her lips. "I think we should let Miyanomae go up and sing one first."

Miyama Saku was holding a strawberry and about to put it in his mouth. At that, he nearly bit his finger.

"Wait, nobody said I had to sing before I came."

"Yeah, Miyanomae, sing one." Shibata Hayate immediately chimed in, loud enough for half the room to hear.

"Did you all plan this together?"

Ichinose shook her head, her lovely hair swaying with the motion. "No. I just thought of it."

Netakura Asako was still holding up the microphone as she stood before Ichinose, looking down at Miyama Saku and intending to hand it to him.

"Miyanomae, Asako has been standing here for so long. Just go sing one."

Shibata Hayate scooted over and lowered his voice. "Just sing one. It's rare for Asako to take the initiative to offer a microphone to a guy. Don't make things awkward for her."

Miyama Saku glanced at Netakura Asako. She was still standing there, her hand not withdrawn.

"What should I sing?" Miyama Saku let out a sigh.

Ichinose's eyes lit up. She quickly named a song, then nudged Netakura Asako's arm. "That one. I've wanted to hear Miyanomae sing it for ages."

Netakura Asako held the microphone out to Miyama Saku again. When he took it, his fingertips brushed her hand. She withdrew it without saying anything, lowered her head, and turned to walk to the other end of the long table.

Ichinose looked at Miyama Saku and whispered, "Amikura seems to like you quite a bit."

"You're imagining things."

"She waited for quite a while just now."

Miyama Saku did not respond. Holding the microphone, he stood up.

When his voice rang out, the room fell quiet. Shibata Hayate stopped messing around, Ichinose leaned back on the sofa and listened quietly, Himeno Yuki set down her cup, Netakura Asako sat at the other end of the long table listening intently, and Kanzaki Ryuji continued peeling fruit.