Living Normally In An Abnormal World

Chapter 48: Sports Festival

The Sports Festival is a school event focused solely on ball games, such as volleyball and dodgeball.

It’s an event that involves students from elementary to high school, and everyone participates.

However, I, of course, cannot participate in such an event.

There are two reasons for this. First, I’m a boy. Second, I messed up.

In first grade, due to the results of the physical fitness test and my earnest pleas, the teacher allowed me to join the physical education class.

At that time, I was delighted. However, on the very day I was allowed to join, we played dodgeball.

I made a simple catching mistake and sprained my finger.

Well, it’s only natural that I’ve been banned from ball games after that.

Therefore, I can’t participate in the Sports Festival. But I don’t want to just sit in the classroom and read a book or watch the others play, so…

I decided to be a referee.

Why? I wanted to have some form of physical activity.

This school’s Sports Festival focuses on one sport at a time, so even if I referee, there’s no risk of any problems arising due to my presence, and. That’s why I wanted to be a referee.

This time, the sport was basketball.

In my previous life, I was in the basketball club in middle school, so I know the rules fairly well. But since I’m going to be a referee, I made sure to memorize everything I needed to know.

“Yuuto-kun, can you be a referee for us?”

“Sure. In fact, I’d like to referee all the games.”

“Yeah, no.”

I gave an enthusiastic response and stood on the basketball court.

(I wish I could play too…)

“Ah, Yuuto-kun.”

A girl I knew came up to me.

She happily said,

“Look, Yuki-kun, we have matching glasses!”

She was referring to the fact that we were both wearing similar glasses.

“Oh, nice! They suit you.”

“Hehe, thank you. Good luck with the refereeing, Yuki-kun!”

“Yeah, good luck with your match too.”

“Yeah.”

By the way, I’m currently wearing sports glasses. But these are custom-made, and I just got them today, so it’s odd that she’s wearing the same ones.

(Hmm, I guess word got around without me realizing it. As usual.)

It’s a daily occurrence, so it’s better not to think too much about it.

〇〇〇〇

Actually, the girls weren’t very enthusiastic about the Sports Festival.

That’s because, in sports where experience matters, it’s hard for inexperienced players to showcase their skills. Moreover, “he” isn’t participating.

Originally, he was partly to blame for not being able to participate. But it’s not entirely his fault.

In first grade, when he was allowed to join the class for physical education, everyone was overjoyed. They were all excited, and it was supposed to be a fun time.

However, he sprained his finger on the very first ball he caught.

The atmosphere did a 180-degree turn, and it became as somber as a funeral.

But what left an impression on them was that, for a moment, the highlights in his eyes disappeared, and he had a serious expression.

By the way, based on that moment, Yanagida concluded that “Kimura Yuto has the qualities of a yandere.” However, since then, he hasn’t had any highlight-on moments, so that matter has become old news.

Also, Yanagida, who took a photo of that moment without missing a beat, was afraid of it more than anything.

Anyway, even if he wanted to be a referee, he would only be watching from the sidelines instead of actually following the player’s on an intensive manner.

Whether he’s watching or refereeing, he’s still being observed, so he’s not very motivated for this Sports Festival.

Even if he was there to get them motivated, only a small number of people who are good at sports will actually be so.

However, once the matches started,

“Nice! That was definitely a pushing foul. Good job, Yuuto-kun, you’re really paying attention.”

“I like the way you spin your arms after doing the traveling violation, Yuuto-kun.”

“Ah, Yuuto-kun’s judgments are a bit strict. But considering his personality, this level of strictness is probably just right.”

They were enjoying watching him referee.

They were completely misunderstanding the purpose of the Sports Festival.

The girls playing the match, especially the one with the ball, were more nervous than usual because they were being watched intently by him. Some of them even blushed and looked down. And when they looked down, he would immediately ask, “Are you okay?”

The one being asked was definitely not okay, but…

They wanted to be seen, but they didn’t want to be seen.

The girl with the ball wanted to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible, on the other hand, the ones without the ball wanted to get the ball and attract his attention.

And this cycle continued.

However, the root cause of all this, Kinoshita Yuuto was…

(Wow, I wish I could join them…)

He was more excited by the fast-paced matches than concerned about the girls’ situation. And he still hadn’t given up on the idea of joining them.

After a few matches,

“Sensei, did you see that? The number 10 on the blue team just made three consecutive three-pointers! It feels so good to watch!”

“Uhm, Yuuto-kun.”

Yuuto, the referee, who was watching the match up close, was more excited than usual. The teacher, who was refereeing with him, was a little taken aback by it.

“But the number 6 on the red team was amazing too. She’s tall, quick on her feet, and great at defense. She kept getting in the way of dribbling and causing offensive charging fouls!”

“Yuuto-kun!”

The teacher wanted to listen to his passionate commentary, but there was something she needed to tell him first, so she called his name a little louder than usual.

He was startled by being called out suddenly and stopped talking. He wondered if he had done something wrong, but…

“Next, it’s break time.”

“Huh?… Okay.”

He was taken aback by the unexpected instruction.

The teacher thought,

He’s been refereeing for a while now. Even for someone with Yuuto’s physical prowess, it’s not good to keep him refereeing for too long. It’s summer, and a slight lapse in concentration can be dangerous, so she needs to be strict and tell him to take a break.

“But next is the final match…”

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

“No, nothing.”

Yuuto was pressured by the teacher’s words and couldn’t say anything back. So, he sat down on a nearby chair and watched the final match.

(I wish I could watch it a little closer…)

He was a little disappointed.

After the Sports Festival ended, they had homeroom in the gym, and then they were dismissed. As the students were leaving, he stood on the basketball court, holding a basketball.

“Yuuto-kun, good job today!”

He turned to see Rina, Maria, Asyka, and Yanagida.

“I’ve noticed that you’ve been wanting to join us play basketball while refereeing, so would you like to play some with us right now?”

“Kinoshita-kun, you’ve been itching to play, haven’t you? Let’s play!”

“It’s free time after school, so it’s fine. Ah, I’ll take pictures.”

He agreed, understanding their intentions, and decided to play basketball with them.

“Ah, Rina-chan, that’s unfair! I want to join too~!”

“Me too~!”

“Don’t sprain your finger again!”

“Don’t say something like that! It’s bad luck!”

And so, the girls joined them on the court, completely ignoring the 5-on-5 rules and just having fun together. About 30 students from his class played basketball with him.

“Let’s start with a jump ball!”

But he didn’t care and just played basketball as he would normally.

This continued until the teacher told them to go home.

By the way, while they were playing, the girls thought,

(Yuuto-kun is really strong at basketball…)

They were quietly frustrated by his unexpected play.