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Chapter 210 – Summer Vacation Preparation
We finished the exams without any trouble. The only events we had left before summer vacation would be the closing ceremony. We still couldn’t let our guard down though, depending on our performance, we could end up having to attend make-up classes for the whole month.
This applied especially to Nozomu and Amami-san.
After classes were over, we only had homeroom left. Amami-san approached me when I was packing my stuff.
“Maki-kun~ How were your grades?”
“About the same as usual. How about yours, Amami-san? From the looks of it, I assume that they’re pretty good?”
“Hehe, you can tell?”
When she trotted happily to me while embracing her test result, it was easy to tell.
“Amazing, your average grade is higher than the class average. The exam scope this time was wider than usual too, you did a good job.”
“Thank you~ Hehe, I’m a student of this school too, you know? I could do it if I try a little!”
“Mhm, you’re amazing. In one subject only though.”
“Huh? What are you talking about, Maki-kun? The only exam that matters is the English exam!”
“Please return to reality, Amami-san.”
Her English score was high as usual, but she barely passed for science and math. Overall, her performance on those two subjects were only slightly better than the midterm exam.
Well, score-wise at least. We couldn’t really use that as a comparison since the scope was wider this time. The class average dropped because of it, so that helped her get above the average.
In conclusion, I could see improvements in her studies.
“Oh right, about the summer class, what did your mom say, Maki-kun?”
“Ah, she’s okay with it. I told her that I’ll be going with everyone and she immediately gave me permission.”
We decided to adopt Nitta-san’s idea and attend summer class instead of cram school. We would be attending the class at the same cram school where Nitta-san’s sister, Yuna-san, attended. The class was short as it was only held for a week and it was cheaper as well. This way, we could get a feel for the atmosphere of a real cram school while having enough time to relax and have fun during the vacation.
Like Umi said, Nitta-san could be useful at times. Of course, I wouldn’t say that to her face, that would just be rude.
The usual group of four would be the ones attending. Nozomu couldn’t due to club practice. There were a lot of courses to go for, but since we were here to accompany Amami-san, we decided to pick a single course that we could attend together.
“Hehe, I’m looking forward to our time together during the vacation! It’s a shame that we’re planning to study instead of having fun, but at least we’ll all be together! I’m motivated now!”
“Motivated enough to finish your summer homework?”
“…Now you’re just killing my motivation.”
“Zero points for Amami-san.”
The summer class was good and all, but neglecting school homework because of it would be putting the cart before the horse. I guess it would be Umi’s and my duty to watch over her studies properly.
Also, this would be a good opportunity for Umi and I to get a feel of what was to come. We couldn’t let our guard down if we wanted to enter the university of our choice.
“Okay, everyone~ Sit down, sit down~ I know you are all excited for the vacation, but there are still things we have to take care of first.”
Yagisawa-sensei entered the classroom with a stack of handouts, probably enough for the entire class.
When everyone was properly seated, she distributed the handouts to us. I took a glance at it and saw the word ‘Athletic Festival’ on it.
…Ah right, that exists, yeah.
“Some of you may have forgotten, but since we had a cultural festival last year, this year we would be having an athletic festival as per the tradition. There is a schedule for it as stated on the printout… Ugh, I don’t want to badmouth my alma mater, but seriously? Holding this kind of event in September? What are they thinking?”
The whole class, or rather, the whole student body should share the same sentiment as her. For some reason, our school held the athletic festival in early September instead of October or November like the cultural festival.
In other words, everyone who wanted to participate had to start practicing  right after Obon in August if they wanted to win. The student council, the committees and the majority of the clubs would be especially busy during this period.
“We should decide on the members who will participate in each event for today, but before that, let’s decide on the committee members first. If you wish to volunteer, you can raise your…”
Sensei looked around the classroom, but of course, no one raised their hands.
“…Fine, lottery it is then.”
And so, it was decided that we would be drawing another lottery, just like last year.
This time, four people would be chosen. Two for assisting the student council as committee members and another two in charge of the class’ backboard.
The backboard was a large board that would be placed behind the audience from each class on the day of the event. They would be filled with pictures chosen by the students. We could put anything we wanted there, but they would usually decide on a theme beforehand.
I’d never seen one in person since we held a cultural festival instead last year, but from the old pictures I’d seen, each of the class’ backboards made a big impression on me. The scale was simply different compared to what we had in middle school.
…And naturally, problems sprouted from that.
“By the way, the ones in charge of the backboard would be exempt from participating in the events. It takes a lot of time to prepare after all, so you won’t have time for practice. If you aren’t good at sports, but want to contribute in another way, you might consider going for this position. We’ll draw a lottery for it, but you can still contact me if you’re interested. The deadline will be the first day of August.”
From the handout that sensei gave us, we would need to prepare for the event starting from early August. In other words, our actual summer vacation would be shorter than expected.
I had two choices now. One, to just enjoy my vacation and hold the rest of the class back or two, put up with it so no one would complain about it.
…Whatever, I’ll just draw the lot first.
“…”
If I drew a hit, I would be forced to do it, so I should be aiming for blanks. I would volunteer if Umi would work with me, but I’d have to wait until next year when we might be in the same class.
I drew a random slip and handed it over to Yagisawa-sensei.
“Ah, you’re safe this time, huh, Maehara-kun?”
“I’m not that lucky to ‘win’ twice in a row.”
Hitting that miss made me feel relieved.
I wondered how it went with Umi’s class, but since she hasn’t texted me yet, I guessed there had been no problems so far.
Everything proceeded smoothly and two people were chosen through the latter and assigned as committee members. Only the two spots for the backboard remained.
There were only ten people left who hadn’t drawn the lot, so one of the slots should be taken soon–
“Ah, I got it…”
There you go, Amami-san was the lucky star again this time.
At that moment, the boys in the classroom started making a lot of noise.
“Oh~ It’s Amami-san, huh? C’mon boys, there is still an open spot~ Which one among you wants to show Amami-san his manly side, hm?”
None of the boys raised their hands, but a few of them were seriously thinking about it.
Trading their summer vacation time for a chance to get closer to Amami-san, they were thinking really hard about it.
In the end, no one raised their hand.
The lot proceeded smoothly and a certain male student got the jackpot.
“Um, here it is, sensei…”
“Alright, congratulations, Ooyama-kun. Well, you’re the last one, so it’s no surprise.”
“Haha, well… I’ll try to do my best.”
Ooyama-kun chuckled and returned to his seat. Some people looked at him enviously, but he didn’t seem to be particularly happy about this. But at the same time, he didn’t seem to be against it either.
“Sorry, Maki-kun, I blew it… What should we do now?”
“It can’t be helped. Let’s talk about it with everyone later, okay? We can lend you a hand when it comes to it.”
After that, I immediately texted Umi.