There's no way a side character like me could be popular, right?

Chapter 4-1

We wake up bright and early at 7:00AM the next day.

After we all gather in the main courtyard, we do some light exercise before enjoying our breakfast. It’s a simple meal, nothing too fancy—rice balls, rolled omelet, and a light pork miso soup—but still quite nice. I think the other guys agree with me, because they’ve all also been eagerly scarfing the food down.

“Hahahaha! I love it when I see young’uns eating their fill. Eat as much as you’d like! There’s even seconds if you want! Ahh, it feels good when my cooking is appreciated,” Yamamoto exclaims with a hearty smile.

I didn’t think very highly of the man before, but I must admit that this has definitely given him some brownie points with me, that’s for sure.

Eventually, we finish eating and head toward one of the building’s former classrooms. We’re going to be staying here till around noon practicing our debate skills or something of the sort. We’ll mainly be discussing the school’s many problems in order to come up with solutions to improve or solve them. At first, I thought that only the student council members and Makiri-sensei would be participating, but apparently Touka and I will be joining in, as well.

We arrive at the classroom, and it’s quickly decided that Ike will be the one leading the conversation as a sort of moderator. With that settled, we begin our discussions.

Most of the time, I feel like I’m being placed in the role of a yes-man. Although they frequently ask for my opinion—looking for views from a normal student’s perspective—I don’t really feel as though I can speak for everyone else at the school. I mean, my experience is totally different from my peers, and I know I shouldn’t play victim and pretend I have the same problems as everyone else. So in the end, I mostly end up nodding and agreeing.

Touka, on the other hand, has some very... strong opinions about the issues we’re discussing and makes sure to let us know it. Her presence is making this whole event a lot more interesting overall.

She’s definitely made for this, I think as I look at her.

“Um, Senpai, can you stop staring at me so much?” she asks, glancing at me.

“Oh, right. Sorry,” I reply as I look away.

She’s right; I was staring too much. Gotta stop doing that. Instead of leaving it at that, though, she gets even more ticked off for some reason.

“I mean, it’s not like I dislike it or anything, okay? But isn’t it super obvious that it’s embarrassing for me, too?” she whispers to me.

I look over at her again; she’s fiddling with her bangs and looking away. Her face is so red that it reaches as far as her ears. It all just reminds me of what happened last night—it was pretty embarrassing in the moment, and recalling it now makes me feel even more bashful. I bet that’s what she’s thinking of, too. s**t, now even I’m blushing. Damn it all.

I avert my eyes and mumble, “Right.”

☆

After a while, the debate ends without anything of note happening.

To be honest, I wasn’t very invested in the whole event. Still, there was one thing that I realized beyond a shadow of a doubt—whenever the student council gets serious, they get serious. Like, it’s obvious they really care about how the school’s run and their duties. I don’t think the opinions I gave were very useful, but as far as I can tell, everyone’s pretty happy with how things turned out in the end. I guess that’s good enough for me.

Anyway, it’s finally lunch time. This time, we get to eat grilled fish, deep-fried local wild plants, and soumen—thin, white noodles. Everything’s tasty and pairs perfectly together, so you won’t hear me complaining. And, once again, everything’s been prepared by Yamamoto.

“Hahahaha! Looks like you’ve all worked up a healthy appetite! We’ve got plenty of food to go around, so please help yourselves!”

Okay, so maybe I wasn’t a fan of how he reacted toward me at first, but one thing’s for sure—he’s definitely won over my stomach.

☆

And that’s pretty much the end of our trip to the mountains. Yeah, really. All that’s left to do is return to school.

“Good job out there, everyone. Remember, the trip’s not over until you’ve returned safe at home, so take care of yourselves out there,” Yamamoto bids us farewell.

We all say our goodbyes to him. Farewell, Yamamoto—although I might not remember my less-than-stellar first impression of you, your excellent cooking will remain in my heart forever. Have a good one.

Finally, we pack up our things into the minivan and hop in. It’s the same seating arrangement as the way up here, which means I’m riding shotgun once more. This time, however, everyone in the back eventually falls asleep. By the way, I should mention that Tatsumiya is using Touka’s shoulder as a pillow and drooling happily.

“Good job on the trip, Tomoki-kun. You can sleep if you want. There’s no need to stay awake for my sake,” Makiri-sensei says while she looks forward, concentrating on her driving.

“Nah, I’m not that tired,” I lie—in reality, I’m about ready to pass out. Still, having Makiri-sensei as a trip companion is quite the experience, and I wanna indulge in it as much as I can.

“I see,” she whispers. “What did you think of the trip, by the way?”

“Well, the food was good. More than anything, I had fun. It was a good experience overall.”

I did a lot of things that I’d never tried before, but all in all, it was very enjoyable, and I liked it a lot. Don’t get me wrong—I’m totally beat, just like Touka warned me beforehand, but I had a good time.

“That’s great to hear,” she answers with a smile.

I feel like Makiri-sensei and Touka care about me way more than most people. It kind of weirds me out a bit at times, but I must admit... I like feeling appreciated, especially by them.

☆

It’s later that night; around 9:00PM, to be precise. I’m chilling in my room, lying down in bed and watching some cooking videos on Youtoob, when my phone suddenly begins vibrating. Makiri-sensei’s calling me. What could she want at this hour?

“Hey there, Tomoki-kun. It’s me, Makiri,” she says with an oddly determined and energetic voice.

“Hey. What’s up?” I ask.

“I’m at the same park you found me at earlier. Um, get over here right now!” she shouts. Is she scared of something?

“Wait, what?”

“You told me that you’d be willing to listen to my rants, right?” she asks in a trembling voice.

She’s drunk again.

“All right, I’m coming over now,” I assure her.

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

I hang up and head straight to the park without even bothering to change clothes first.

☆

“Heeey! I’ve been waiting for you!” Makiri-sensei shouts the moment she spots me entering the park. She sounds like she’s in a much better mood now than when she called me a few minutes ago.

She’s sitting on one of the swings, rocking back and forth while calling out to me. I swear, if I didn’t know her, I’d find it hard to believe she’s a teacher right now.

“What the hell are you doing?” I ask.

“I’ve been trying to sober up a little using this. I h-heard it was effective, but... instead of that... it’s just been making me feel dizzy, an—blurgh!” she stops short, her hands flying up to block her mouth.

She actually thought that a swing would help her sober up? I can’t believe what I’m seeing. How stupid is she?

“Can you stand up?” I ask, extending my hand to help her to her feet. “You can lean on my shoulder. I’ll carry you home ASAP.”

She accepts my hand and stands up. After staggering slightly, she manages to lean against my shoulder.

“I-I’m sorry about this,” she apologizes while hanging her head and blushing. I’d say she looks cute right now, but the stench of alcohol is kind of overpowering anything positive about her currently.

As she uses my shoulder as support, we slowly start heading toward her apartment.

“I’d appreciate it if you complimented me,” she mumbles. “This time, I called you before disaster ensued.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Do you do this often? And by that, I mean drink until you can barely stand,” I chastise her.

“How rude! I don’t drink that much. The swing really helped me sober up, as well!”

“If anything, I think it made you feel even worse.”

She puffs her cheeks out and looks at me in anger. It’s cute, don’t get me wrong, but her “eau de l’alcool” is so strong that I can’t help but feel slightly disgusted.

At any rate, she must’ve had a reason to call me, right? Apart from using me as a chaperone service back home, I mean. I’ll hear her out.

“So yeah... What did you want to talk to me about?” I ask.

“You can’t tell?” she asks indignantly, blushing as she looks at me out of the corner of her eye.

Am I supposed to read her mind? I can’t think of anything in particular.

“I’ve always wanted to be... okay?” she mumbles, making it difficult to understand what she’s saying.

“Wanted what?” I ask.

She lifts her face slightly and looks me straight in the eye. “I wanted to experience my youth like you guys are doing, okay?!” she cries, tears flowing from her eyes.

This is the first time I"ve seen her cry, and needless to say I’m shocked. I can’t believe that, just a few hours ago, we were having a normal chat in the car. She was composed and unflappable back then, like nothing could break her.

Well, all right. I’ll give this some serious thought. How can I make her feel better?

“Let’s get you home first, and we’ll figure things out after,” I tell her.

“Hell no we’re not!” she snaps coldly. She looks a lot more serious than she just did moments ago. I guess even when she drinks herself silly, she can still compose herself. “Tanaka-kun and Suzuki seem to get along well, Tatsumiya’s panties are basically drenched each time she speaks to Ike-kun, and you and Touka are clearly made for each other. I saw you two talking, and... Ahh! Everyone’s making the most of their youth! What about me?!”

I mean... I know Tanaka-senpai and Suzuki get along well, but I don’t think they’re as close as she’s implying. I should probably say something before things take a turn for the worse.

“Hey, Touka and I aren’t in a real relationship, so we don’t really count. Remember?”

She looks at me, her eyes squinting in suspicion, and sulks. “Hmph! I saw you two last night—you guys were all over each other while stargazing. You were even petting her head! Are you two really faking your relationship?!”

She got me there. I’m put on the spot, so I just mumble, “Uhhh... right. You saw us? I didn’t know that.”

“Sigh. I went out to look for you two, and that’s when I saw everything. Imagine being me in that situation: everyone else on the trip is pretty much a couple, and I’m the odd one out. The lonely old hag of the group. Sniff! I never had the chance to talk to any guys while I was young, either...”