Chapter 384: Leo Karumi [18]

The week of preparation had finally ended, and the week of the end-of-year festival had begun.

The most natural—and logical—result was the excitement that gripped every student. Most of them had barely slept, waiting for the day to start. And when it finally did, they did what any sane student would do in that moment: they rushed to school.

Granted, this week was probably the only time all year they would

willingly

hurry to school with that kind of energy. Even with a full half hour left before classes officially started, most classrooms were already packed. It created an almost amusing effect—the hallways were nearly empty, as if lessons had already begun.

But then, of course...

There was a certain duo still strolling toward their classrooms like today was just another ordinary day.

"So then he gets a power-up out of nowhere and defeats the villain."

"Isn’t that the purest form of plot armor? A random power-up appearing out of nowhere?"

"Yeah, but he

is

the main character, and the villain was simply too strong to beat otherwise." Nathan shrugged. "The story was lame, but the visuals were actually beautiful."

"Well, I guess the movie had one saving grace."

"Yep." Nathan sighed dramatically.

"Though I wish you’d joined me."

"I told you I was busy."

"...You’re always busy."

Naturally, the duo was Nathan and Leo.

"Man," Nathan whistled, hands behind his head, "you can practically hear all those excited heartbeats waiting for the bell to go off."

"Say, say—

you’re

excited too, right? Am I right? Right?" He kept nudging his elbow into Leo’s side.

Leo’s expression soured.

"Can you stop?"

He looked like he was a second away from punching Nathan in the face. Nathan, still laughing, took a step to the left to keep a safe distance.

"If anyone’s more excited, it’s you," Leo muttered.

Nathan heard him and smirked.

"Of course I am! This is our last week in middle school. Do you know how much effort I—and the rest of the student council—put into this? Not just us.

You

, too." He leaned in, grinning.

"Come on, you’re not going to deny that after all that work, you’re not even the tiniest bit excited."

Leo opened his mouth—

then closed it. He pressed his lips together and looked away.

Nathan laughed again, then his eyes lit up with a different kind of excitement.

"So," he said, dragging the word out, "what’s going on with you and the Prez?"

Leo frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... are you two closer now? Like, friends?" Nathan waggled his eyebrows. "You spent a lot of time together last week—captain of the festival committee and president of the student council."

’Did something happen?

’ Leo pinched his chin and looked down slightly as they walked.

...Well.

They

had

gotten a bit closer after that day.

The day Lea opened up to him.

And, in a way, Leo had done the same.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Nathan leaned into his space again.

"What’s with that look? Why are you taking so long to answer...?"

A shocked expression spread across Nathan’s face.

"Don’t tell me... did something actually happen between the two of you? M-maybe you got closer than I thought—not just as friends, but as—"

"Shut up," Leo said flatly. "Don’t you get tired of your ugly voice?"

"What?!" Nathan clutched his chest like he’d been stabbed. "Just because my voice doesn’t sound like Lea’s doesn’t mean you can insult your one and only best friend! What a switch-up! The betrayal! The—"

"Shut up."

Leo’s stare turned colder.

Nathan went quiet, still holding his chest, face twisted in exaggerated pain.

"Nothing happened between us," Leo said.

"We’re not even friends."

"Really?" Nathan deflated instantly.

"Damn..."

His shoulders slumped, disappointment written all over him. Leo glared at him, irritated.

"She’s always been fair," Nathan muttered, half to himself.

"Kind to everyone equally. No matter how close you try to get, or how long you’ve known her, she treats everyone the same." He glanced at Leo. "But I swear... I thought she treated you differently."

Leo stopped glaring and stared straight ahead instead.

For some reason, hearing that made him uncomfortable.

...Because Nathan wasn’t wrong.

"Tch."

Nathan’s head snapped toward him.

"Did you just click your tongue?"

"Shut up."

"Why?!"

*****

In the end, Leo and Nathan finally split up. Leo stopped in front of his classroom door, hand resting on the handle.

The excited chatter inside made him hesitate for reasons he couldn’t quite name.

’They all seem happy.’

Would it really be fine for him to just barge in?

Honestly, he wasn’t in the mood today for some reason to deal with that familiar awkwardness.

’I reap what I sow, huh...’

He let go of the handle with a quiet sigh and turned around—

only to freeze.

His teacher was standing there with her arms crossed, watching him with an amused smile.

"Now where do you think you’re going," she asked, "when you were just about to enter your classroom, Leo?"

Leo looked away, suddenly uncomfortable.

"I remembered I still have work to finish as captain of the festival committee."

"Oh?" Her tone was innocent.

"And what work would that be?"

"...Safety and security," Leo said after a beat.

"The festival committee is partially responsible for that."

A chuckle slipped out of her.

"Always so quick with the excuses. But I already know every volunteer you assigned to that task." Her smile widened. "I had a hunch you’d try to escape at the last minute, so yesterday I made sure to check whether the festival committee still had any problems. That way I’d know whether you were lying."

Leo gave her a dull, tired stare.

"Don’t you have anything better to do with your life?"

She laughed again.

"Taking care of you kids is an important part of my life as a teacher."

"...Then get a hob—"

The bell rang, cutting him off and saving him from what definitely would’ve become a lecture.

The teacher’s smile sharpened.

"Shall we?"

Leo stepped aside and, for a second, put on a polite smile.

"After you, Teacher."

Her expression didn’t change.

"I don’t think so."

Leo’s lips twitched. He dropped the smile, shoved the door open, and walked in. The teacher followed behind, far too pleased with herself.

As Leo expected, the class quieted the moment he entered.

But something felt... off.

The looks he got weren’t the usual ones. They were different—strangely warm, somehow.

’They look... happy? Grateful? Excited?’

He couldn’t even describe it properly.

"Ah, Leo," the teacher called, "you don’t need to sit down."

Leo paused and turned back to her.

This time her smile looked almost cruel.

"Since one of my students is the captain of the festival committee—and that student is you—I figured that instead of me, you should be the one to start us off."

Leo immediately felt uncomfortable again.

"...Is that really okay?"

"Of course it is."

Leo sighed loudly.

"Fine."

He walked to the front of the class while the teacher sat behind the desk, looking thoroughly entertained.

From up there, he could see most of them were already wearing costumes: a bloody nurse, vampires, monsters—whatever they felt like.

’The costumes are good... The cosplay club really does have talent.’

He had to admit it. They looked genuinely impressive.

"Leo, come on!" someone shouted impatiently. "Hurry up! We all want to go to the gym in Block C and check if our haunted house is set up properly!"

A chorus of agreement followed.

Then another voice called out—

"Wait, Leo. Where’s your costume? Is it already at the haunted house?"

It was the class rep.

Leo looked at her blankly.

"I don’t have one."

"...Huh?"

A dozen voices echoed it at once.

"W-wait, why don’t you have one?!"

"Did the cosplay club forget to make yours?!"

"Why are you bringing this up now, of all times?!"

One by one, frustration spilled out.

Leo scratched the back of his head.

"Uh... well. I never really asked them to make me one."

It had completely slipped his mind.

Everyone froze.

Even the teacher rubbed her forehead.

"T-that’s unacceptable, Leo," the class rep said, sounding like she had to physically restrain herself.

"Why didn’t you tell them—or any of us?!"

The class rep stood up so suddenly her chair scraped. She looked genuinely angry.

Leo blinked, surprised. So did the others.

’This is the first time I’ve seen her stand up to me...’

For some reason, guilt pricked at him harder than it should’ve. He looked away.

’Am I sick?’

"...Well?"

Leo mumbled, barely audible.

"...I forgot."

The room froze again.

"Is that even possible?"

"The genius who scored a hundred on every memorization test... forgot?"

"...Am I dreaming?"

Leo’s face twitched as he glared at them.

Then someone burst out laughing.

"Hahaha—so Leo is human after all!"

"Who would’ve thought? Even he can forget stuff."

’...What did they think I was, if not human?’

Leo’s gaze went a little dry as he watched them turn strangely cheerful.

"But..." someone said, the mood shifting again, "what do we do? It’ll be weird if Leo’s the only one in our class without a costume."

"Yeah, true."

"Can’t we ask the cosplay club?"

"They’re swamped," the class rep answered, shoulders slumping. "After they helped us, other classes noticed their talent. Everyone’s asking them for help even now..."

"Wha—? But that only happened because of Leo!"

"They should drop those other clients for him, then!"

"Tch." A voice cut through the chatter.

"Why should they?"

It was Dave, staring at Leo with open displeasure. In his zombie costume, he looked painfully fitting.

"They didn’t make him one because he clearly didn’t care," Dave continued. "He never wants to be part of our class anyway. It’s probably no big deal to him. So let him be. If he wants to act like he’s different, don’t waste your energy."

The class rep’s fists clenched. Several students turned on Dave immediately.

"Dave, how can you say that? He’s the reason you even have such a kick-ass costume!"

"You’re being unfair!"

"Me?!" Dave snapped back. "He’s the one who forgot! And even if he did convince the cosplay club to help, he only showed up to our class once last week!"

"That’s because he’s the captain of the festival committee—he had responsibilities!"

"Please. That was just an excuse not to show up. If Mr. Genius really wanted to, he could’ve done way more."

"You—"

"Enough!"

The teacher’s palm slammed down on the desk, loud enough to shake the room into silence.

"To think this is how we’re starting the first day of the festival," she said sharply. "Seriously—you’re about to be high schoolers. Be more mature."

She stood and looked across the room, disappointed. Many students lowered their heads, ashamed.

"Leo," she said, "I didn’t call you up front for this. But they’re right about one thing. Being captain of the festival committee is a heavy duty, yes, but with how many times you’ve seen other classes and students with costumes, it must’ve crossed your mind more than once."

Leo didn’t answer.

"...Now," the teacher continued, calmer, "this is a problem we need to solve. If I check the school storage, there might be a costume somewhere, but..." Her eyes flicked over the class. "...compared to the quality of what everyone else is wearing, it won’t be ideal."

And even if they found one, Leo would sooner die than put on some dusty, sweat-stained relic.

Leo bit the inside of his cheek, then finally spoke.

"I’ll get a proper costume for tomorrow."

The teacher blinked.

"Are you sure?"

Leo nodded.

"I have money."

"...As long as you’re okay with it. Just don’t buy something you can’t afford."

"I’m rich," Leo said bluntly.

The teacher smiled wryly.

"Of course you are."

She rolled her shoulders and turned back toward the class, her tone switching smoothly into something bright and official.

"Alright. After all that, I’ll take over."

She raised her voice so everyone could hear.

"As you all know, today the festival is exclusively for you students to enjoy. The original plan was to hold the sports events today, but that’s been changed. Tomorrow, the school will open to the public, and the sports events will be held then as well."

Students listened with sparkling eyes, nodding seriously.

"Enjoy yourselves as much as you can today," she continued. "From tomorrow onwards, unlike today, you are not expected to come to class at the beginning of the day. However, we still expect proper conduct—because you represent this school."

Her expression softened into a genuine smile.

"Now then..." she said.

"Go enjoy your hearts out."