As I turned away from Yuzu’s annoying face—regretting that I had inadvertently shown her an opening—I saw Hina coming back from talking to the men’s team.

“Good work, Yamato. I knew you weren’t rusty yet.”

On the other hand, this girl here seemed to be in a better mood.

“Enough with the flattery. I was super rusty.”

Hina, who had known me from my active days as a player, better knew how badly I played just now.

“Really? Then I’ll be honest with you. You’ve become bad at it, Yamato. You used to be more agile before.”

“…Now you said it so honestly, that kinda pissed me off.” I frowned, and Hina giggled, as if it was funny.

“Now, why don’t you tell us about the festival like you’ve promised?” Not wanting to drag out the topic that put me in a bad position, I returned to the topic at hand.

""

“Oops, you’re right.” Hina didn’t seem to have any intention of putting off the topic regarding the festival any longer, so she took me at my word.

“We’re supposed to do a play. The title is ‘Cinderella’… The script had just been completed this morning, so we are going to practise now.”

“There’s no Halloween element in ‘Cinderella’, is there?”

When I was a little confused by the unexpected title of the play, Hina smiled at me, as if I had poked at a sore point.

“There was a dispute, so it wasn’t settled until now. The result of the festival committee deliberation was: ‘It is barely Halloween-themed since the play has a pumpkin carriage.’”

“So unreliable, huh?” I sneered.

Despite having been dragged out until the very last minute of the preparation period, that judgement was just too rough.

“Hiiragi-san, what role do you play?”

In response to Yuzu’s question, Hina averted her gaze shyly.

“It’s…Cinderella.”

“Wow, you’re the main star!”

In contrast to Yuzu’s honest surprise, I became a little worried.

“Will you be okay? Hina, you’re not the type to appear in front of the general crowd.” When I called out to her, she pouted her lips as if she was sulking a little.

“That was a long time ago, I’m already fine.”

“Really? You’ve always been headstrong in the weirdest ways.”

“Yamato’s the one who’s always been overprotective in weird ways.”

Hina’s tone of voice was a little childish, probably because she was sulking. These things hadn’t changed either.

“So, what do you want us to do? I’ve heard we’re supposed to work behind the scenes.” Yuzu interrupted the conversation I had with Hina at an extremely unnatural time.

“Oh yeah, I need your help in preparing the props and helping the casts practise their lines. I think the festival committee is purchasing all the materials needed in bulk.”

“Understood. Then I’d better go to the executive committee’s headquarters,” I replied

“I’d appreciate it if you did so. We’re going to practise our acting now.”

To get into the spirit, Hina pulled her long black hair into a ponytail and pinned her bangs up with a cheap, worn-out hairpin.

When I saw that hairpin, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.

I asked, “You’re still wearing that hairpin?”

“Yes, I like it.”

“…I see.” I felt a strange emotion tugging at my heart.

The moment I was about to open my mouth, not knowing how to express this feeling I had inside─

“Then, let’s do our best together! Right, Yamato-kun?”

──Yuzu broke in with a louder voice than necessary.

And for some reason, she was sticking so close to me.

“Hey, what is it? Get away from me.”

“Well, we are dating, so isn’t this normal?”

“We are only a fake couple, and also what we’re having now is just an extension from the original agreed period…”  was what I wanted to say but I held back on saying it.

“Even if that’s the case, we’re in public!” When I admonished her like this, Yuzu finally pulled away from me.

“Okay. Then, let’s leave the gymnasium so that we can flirt as much as we want.” After saying that, Yuzu forcefully pulled my hand and marched for the exit of the gym.

“H-hey! Sorry Hina, see you later.”

“Yes, you two have a good day.” Hina saw me off, while Yuzu and I left the gym.

++++

Yuzu remained silent, and a tense atmosphere filled the air between us.

…Now, just what’s the matter?

Yuzu stopped at the corner of the empty corridor while I was feeling more nervous than at the time of the match.

Oh, here it comes.

“What’s that?! That atmosphere!?”

Without betraying my expectations, Yuzu raised her voice in an indignant and resentful manner.

“I know what you wanna say, but calm down.”

“How can I be calm? What kind of relationship do you two have?!”

I tried to appease her, but she seemed to be more explosive because she had spent so much time earlier trying to keep up appearances.

“Didn’t Hina say it earlier? We just went to the same school in middle school and were on the same basketball team.”

“What ‘just’?! Like the way you call her Hina! Yamato-kun, who is anti-social, an introvert, and hates getting close to people more than anything, can’t possibly call someone else by a nickname!”

“I’ve been thinking lately that I do actually have a high social aptitude for putting up with this kind of abuse and going out with you.”

“No, you’re not! If you’re that good, you’d know how I’m feeling right now! So, question one, answer how I am feeling right now!”

” ‘I see a woman’s shadow on my beloved boyfriend, and I’m getting really jealous.’ “

“One hundred points! But I can’t give out 100 points here because it’ll be embarrassing to admit! Why are you only so sharp  in these situations!”

“How else am I supposed to interpret this situation?”

I was stumped as to why I had to be scolded despite getting the correct answer, while Yuzu turned her face away, her lips pouting.

“To actually give a 100-point answer when you shouldn’t. That just shows how you lack social skills by not being able to read the atmosphere. Why don’t you work on your language skills more?”

“That’s an unreasonably difficult problem. If that one comes up in the Modern Japanese exam, I’d be repeating a year.”

Nevertheless, it was not a good idea to leave it at that, just because it was unreasonable. I needed to patch things up, so I said, “In case you’re wondering, nothing happened between me and Hina.”

“Really? So suspicious…”

“What are you so suspicious of?”

Even when I told her the truth, her suspicions were still not cleared. Was there anything special that she was concerned about? So, I asked her about it, but Yuzu paused as if she was a little lost, and then quietly began to speak.

“Yamato-kun’s acquaintance with Hiiragi-san was actually known to me from the beginning, you know.”