My Story of Falling for the Class President

Chapter 26: Intermission in the Battle Against Aoi [Side: Rena Kashii]

I'm the class president. I intended to do my very best since I ran for the position, but ever since the other president, Tachibana-kun, was forced to resign, I've started to have a lot of doubts.

Is this okay? Can I really keep the class together? I think about things like that.

The new president, Sotomachi-kun, is top-tier in our year ranking when it comes to looks, grades, and athletics. He's popular with both boys and girls.

As a result of declaring that those who support him can do whatever they want, a weird atmosphere has developed where strong-willed kids bully or boss around the weaker ones.

Then, a boy became a truant. It seems the bullying among the boys has escalated.

Our homeroom teacher told us (Sotomachi-kun and me) that, as class presidents, we should visit the truant boy's house to address this class issue.

"I'm busy, so I'm sorry, but I can't go."

"What about you, Kashii?"

'I'll go.'

As I left the staff room, Sotomachi-kun spoke to me.

'Kashii-san, you're so diligent, huh?'

'Not really, it's just the normal thing to do as class president.'

'But isn't it unnecessary? If you care too much about every single person, you won't be able to manage the whole class, right?'

'Something might have happened, so I'm going to check it out.'

'Kashii-san, you're kind, but I think that kindness should be directed toward people who are worth it.'

Feeling a bit irritated, I stayed silent, and Sotomachi-kun continued.

'For example, someone like Tachibana-kun? Because Kashii-san cares too much about him, he gets bullied, right? When someone takes a position they don't deserve, they make enemies and end up in a self-destructive mess, unable to come to school. I think people who are good at studies or sports should be allowed to do whatever they want.'

I got angry. I know that Sotomachi-kun and his group are bullying Tachibana-kun. Tachibana-kun became class president because of Sotomachi-kun's group's recommendation, and he was removed because of their negative campaign, wasn't it?

But from the way he's talking, I could imagine that Sotomachi-kun's group is involved in the truancy issue too.

'Doing whatever you want and causing trouble for others are different things, aren't they? Does being strong mean you can do anything? Does having influence mean you can say anything? Of course not, right?'

'But if the cheerful kids who are good at club activities or studies and are at the center of the class can do things easily, it'll definitely make the class more lively and better, don't you think?'

I just don't get along with Sotomachi-kun. Tachibana-kun would never say something like that.

I can't help but compare Sotomachi-kun with the former president, Tachibana-kun.

There's no point in talking, so I just told him I'd visit tomorrow and decided to go home.

The next day, I went to the truant boy's house with my best friend, Obata-chan.

We tried to encourage him in various ways and told him everyone at school is waiting for him, but he barely spoke to us.

After thinking it over, I decided to rely on Tachibana-kun.

I hadn't spoken to him since I heard that my efforts to stop the bullying of Tachibana-kun had backfired and actually made it worse.

I wanted to talk to him again, so I gathered my courage and called him out near the main entrance during lunch break.

This place is empty, and hardly anyone comes here, so it's a good location to talk.

For the first time in a while, I talked with Tachibana-kun, apologizing, being apologized to, and saying thank you to each other.

Since Tachibana-kun stopped me, I got to the main topic.

I told him I visited the truant boy's house, that he didn't say anything, and that I wanted to know what's happening with the boys in our class right now. I also said I wanted to hear from Tachibana-kun himself what happened to him.

Tachibana-kun didn't seem to want to talk about it, but I forced him to tell me.

But as I listened, tears came to my eyes, and in the end, I started crying.

I made him talk about it, and just imagining it made me want to cry. Seeing Tachibana-kun's expression, I broke down in tears.

I heard about the harassment, teasing, bullying, rejection, removal, the conflict with Aoi-kun, and even the violence Aoi-kun inflicted on classmates, which apparently caused the truancy.

While crying, I apologized for trying to help but making things worse, for the bullying of other boys accelerating as a result, and for not being able to talk to him after hearing about it.

As I apologized while crying, Tachibana-kun also started to cry.

It must have been so hard for him, and he probably didn't want to talk about it. I felt self-loathing for being such an insensitive girl.

Seeing each other's tearful faces, we cried again.

But after crying for a while, something felt funny. It seemed Tachibana-kun felt the same, and we both burst out laughing at the same time.

I feel this kind of wavelength matches with Tachibana-kun.

I praised Tachibana-kun just as I felt. Hearing that, he said he felt rewarded and that I saved him.

I felt like being selfish and asked if he'd help me just once if I were really in trouble.

'I'll definitely help you, I swear.'

He said that! My chest tightened, and I felt heat in my cheeks.

He's dense and childish, but sometimes Tachibana-kun shows the face of a real man.

I'm so glad I got to talk to him after so long.

I feel like we understood each other a little more.

And I also got a rough idea of what's happening in the class.

In the end, to stop the teasing and bullying, I have no choice but to suppress Aoi-kun's violence and Sotomachi-kun's group, but I don't have a plan. Many girls agree with Sotomachi-kun's so-called popular-kid supremacy idea. I might barely be able to control the girls, but if I interfere with the boys, things might get weird again like before, or if I lose the girls' support, it could get even worse (according to Tachibana-kun, a post-apocalyptic world state).

Hyahha! What's that?

A few days later, as I was leaving through the entrance after club activities, I saw Tachibana-kun desperately trying to signal something to me with gestures from a distance.

(Oh no, he's so cute♪)

Smiling at his comical movements, I made up a random excuse to my friends, parted ways with them, and headed toward Tachibana-kun.

(Did he wait for me to go home together?)

As I got closer, I saw that Tachibana-kun's cheek was swollen. Shocked, I silently pulled him along and took him to the nurse's office.

Tachibana-kun was surprised and just let me drag him. He was probably scared of me.

'What happened? I won't get mad, so tell me.'

'Kashii-san, you're mad, aren't you?'

'I'm not mad, I'm not, but depending on the situation, I might get mad, okay?'

The teacher brought out disinfectant and gauze and such.

"Listen, this is the perfect situation, right? A class president girl tending to a boy in the nurse's office at dusk♪ It's so youthful♪ You could go for a knockout in one shot! I'll be patrolling the school for a while, so make it work, okay?"

When the teacher says something like that, I can't help but be conscious of it.

The setting sun shines into the nurse's office, glowing orange. The school building grows quiet after club activities end.

Just the two of us. Tachibana-kun seems nervous too, staying silent and looking slightly down.

Ah, it's done.

''Um''

We spoke to each other at the same time. Isn't this kind of thing nice?

'Tachibana-kun, you go first.'

'No, Kashii-san, you go.'

At times like this, I want the boy to take the lead!

'Well, um, so'

The injury on Tachibana-kun's cheek was from being ambushed by Aoi-kun. He desperately explained to me that it wasn't from a fight but from defending himself after being attacked.

He prefaced by saying he knows I hate violence and asked me not to get mad while listening, but he plans to win once, whether with traps or whatever, and since Aoi-kun will probably attack again, he'll lure him to an empty park by the riverside and mentally corner him no matter what. Then, he'll persuade the neutral kids or those who don't want to bully to stop the boys' bullying.

(Will something like that really work?)

Tachibana-kun said it's mental, so he won't beat him up physically. But he needs to apply pressure to stop him from using violence again. He told me that a truant boy, who found hope in this plan, will come to school starting tomorrow.

It's his revenge, but it's also something that troubles Kashii-san, right? He said he'll try to resolve it without using violence as much as possible and avoid an ending where classmates end up hating each other, so could I turn a blind eye? Tachibana-kun asked apologetically.

Of course, that's not the only reason, but I understood that he knew I was troubled by this and started taking action to solve it.

I thought, what a soft-hearted guy he is to help the three timid boys who insulted him.

'Hearing that, I can't get mad! But please avoid violence as much as possible, okay? I don't want to see Tachibana-kun hurting others or getting hurt himself.'

In the end, it wasn't a romantic conversation at all. Thinking about that made me annoyed.

'So, what were you about to say, Kashii-san?'

'Never mind.'

Let's switch gears. There was no romance, but he waited for me, right?

'Okay, I understand about the cheek injury and the plan for the future. You waited to tell me, right?'

'No, I was waiting for Kousuke, and then I saw Kashii-san, so I thought I might as well tell you.'

'Things just went sideways.'

'...What did?'

'My mood.'

I treated his injury a bit roughly. Then, as Tachibana-kun muttered that he needed more people to mentally corner Aoi-kun after the second battle, I made an offer.

'I'll do it too!'

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Kashii-san started showing her true self to Tachibana-kun.