Why Is the Prettiest Girl in School Trying to Talk to a Loner Like Me during Lunch Break?

Chapter 55: Class Society

“Man, summer’s almost here, huh. Right, Class Rep?”

“That’s right~ And with the play coming up, we have to practice too, so it’s going to be tough~ Right? Momoi-san?”

(……What’s with this terrible acting?)

“Momoi-san, Class Rep, you don’t need to put on such an obvious act. Could you just tell me why you called Asakura-san and me out to the station’s west park?”

(Class Rep told me it was for play practice… but the only ones who showed up are me, Asakura-san, Class Rep, and Momoi-san? And the location is the station’s west park at 9 PM. What exactly are they plotting?)

“That’s right! Come on, all Momo told me was ‘Today after school, meet at 9 PM at the station’s west park! We’re going to practice for the play there~’ and nothing else!”

“Now, now, I’m sorry I didn’t give you a detailed explanation, Sakura. Just calm down, calm down. Class Rep will announce what we’re doing.”

(Preparations complete, we successfully reeled in both of them… Class Rep, I leave the rest to you~)

(Leave it to me, Momoi-san. I told everyone else in class that practice starts tomorrow, so today we’ll disguise this operation as play practice.)

“Today is our first practice for the play! So, you two are going to do a ‘test of courage’!”

“”Huh? A ‘test of courage’!?””

“That’s right! That’s why I had you two meet up after sunset!”

“Wait wait, Class Rep… why do we need a test of courage for play practice?”

“Right! Right! A ‘test of courage’ has nothing to do with the play we’re doing!”

“Asakura-san, are you… sure about that?”

“What… do you mean?”

“The play we’re doing is an original script based on ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ And what’s the relationship between Romeo and Juliet in this story?”

“”Friends?””

“Wrong! Momoi-san, you answer!”

“Hmm, a man and woman in love with each other?”

“Yes, correct! In other words, the two of you playing Romeo and Juliet, who are ‘in love,’ need to become ‘in love’ too, even if it’s just while acting!”

A bolt of electricity shot through them both!

“”!?”” Crack!

“So let me ask you, Asakura-san, Andou-kun! What is your relationship?”

“Uh…”

“Um…”

“”F-friends…””

“……”

(Why won’t these two just date already…) (Class Rep and Momoi)

“In-o-ther-words, Class Rep wants you two, who are just ‘friends,’ to experience being ‘in love’ through this ‘test of courage,’ even if it’s just pretend, for the sake of playing your roles♪”

“Exactly! As expected of Momoi-san. You understand the necessity of this practice!”

“……”

(I-is it really like Momoi-san says…? So they’re saying if we temporarily become ‘in love’ through the test of courage’s ‘suspension bridge effect,’ we’ll understand our characters’ feelings… but this feels like some really forced logic?

What about Asakura-san–)

“I see, Class Rep and Momo are absolutely right!”

“……”

(No good. It’s the usual Asakura-san…)

“B-but… isn’t it unnecessary to do a ‘test of courage’?”

(Hm, Asakura-san’s… this reaction?)

“Oh right~ Sakura’s bad with scary things, isn’t she~”

“Eh, is that so? Asakura-san?”

“Wha! W-what are you saying, Momo! Don’t get the wrong idea! I-it’s not that I’m bad with scary things or anything… I’m just saying, purely, that it’s dangerous for cute girls like us to do a ‘test of courage’ so late at night!”

“Ahaha~ Then it’s fine! That’s exactly why you’re doing the test of courage with Andou-kun~”

“That’s right. Asakura-san, you can relax. No matter what happens, Andou-kun will protect you. After all, he’s a boy, right?”

“Well… yeah, I’ll definitely protect you if something happens…”

“Hau!” Thump!

(Andou-kun! Andou-kun said he’d ‘protect’ me!)

“Uuu… but still, a test of courage is–…”

“Hmm, I guess you’re right. Class Rep, since Sakura’s not into it, should we cancel this plan– I mean, practice?”

“Plan?”

(Didn’t Momoi-san just say ‘plan’?)

“Come on, Momoi-san, what are you saying! We prepared everything for today’s play practice!”

“Right, right! Class Rep, like Momo said, let’s cancel today’s practice–”

“Then I’ll go do the test of courage with Andou-kun~”

“Weh!?”

(Momoi-san!? Why are you suddenly hugging me!? And your chest! This is a size that would be impossible with Asakura-san!)

“Haaah!”

(H-hey, Momo! Get away from Andou-kun! Wait… c-could Momo also have feelings for Andou-kun? No way! That’s not allowed!)

“Momoi-san, there’s no point in you doing the test of courage with Andou-kun since you’re not playing Juliet, is there?”

“Ehh~ But if Sakura won’t go, shouldn’t at least Andou-kun understand Romeo’s feelings?”

“Ah!”

(That means… Andou-kun would fall in love with Momo!)

“N-no, that’s not allowed!”

“Ehh~ But you hate tests of courage, right Sakura?”

(Mmm, Sakura’s getting nicely jealous♪ How about Andou-kun~?) Squeeze

“……”

(Why does conflict never cease in this world… All human lives are equal and given by God—- ah, who cares about any of that as long as I can feel this sensation!)

“Yeah, I’ll~ do the test of courage with Momoi-san~”

(A-Andou-kun… please get it together. I can’t trust you with Sakura like this. B-but… he’s this happy even when I hug him. H-heh~)

“A-Andou-kun!? Geez! Momo! Hurry up and let go of Andou-kun!”

“Ehh~ But Sakura is a ‘scaredy-cat,’ and she’s ‘trembling’ right now too. If we do the test of courage, Sakura will… ‘cry,’ right~? So I’ll go in her place~”

(What did she just say?)

“Haa… You’re right, Momoi-san. It can’t be helped, but Andou-kun’s partner for the test of courage will be–”

“I’ll do it.”

“Eh, Asakura-san!?”

“Sakura… are you sure?”

“Asakura-san, are you really… going to do the test of courage?”

“Yes… Who exactly is a ‘scaredy-cat’? Who’s ‘trembling’?

Who’s going to ‘cry’!? Fine! If you’re going to say that much, I’ll do your test of courage! Momo, Class Rep, Andou-kun, just watch!

I’ll prove that I’m not scared of some test of courage!”

“”Yaaay!””

(Class Rep, it went perfectly!)

(Yes! Just like Momoi-san said, ‘Sakura looks like that but she’s surprisingly simple-minded, so if you lightly provoke her, she’ll immediately jump on stage’!)

“……”

(Looking at them lined up from the side: ‘Asakura-san,’ ‘Class Rep,’ ‘Momoi-san’… yeah, visually it’s like ‘small,’ ‘medium,’ ‘large’…)

“Andou-kun! Now that we’ve decided, let’s go!”

“Eh… y-yeah, Ogura Sho– I mean, Asakura-san!”

【Bonus Story】”Unjash”

(Lately, I feel like I haven’t been appealing to Andou-kun enough…

So today, to be more aggressive with my appeal, I made my skirt 2 centimeters shorter than usual! With this, Andou-kun will be mesmerized by my different, sexier look!) Swish

“Andou-kun, good morning♪”

“Ah, good morning, Asakura-san.”

(Now, Andou-kun! What do you think of me today? Don’t I look sexier than usual?)

(Asakura-san hasn’t moved since greeting me. I wonder what’s wrong? Isn’t she going to sit down?)

“……” Swish swish

“……?”

(–Kuh! There’s no response at all! W-what is this… I boldly raised my skirt hem by two whole centimeters and this lack of reaction! Don’t tell me, Andou-kun… you haven’t noticed my skirt is shorter?)

(Oh, she finally sat down. What was that pause about… Constipation?)

(Calm down… calm down, me! For now, let me sit down and open my favorite light novel I’m reading–)

(Oh, that light novel Asakura-san has is–)

“Asakura-san.”

“W-what!? Andou-kun?”

“Well, it’s~ not a big deal but…”

“Yes yes!”

(Could it be, Andou-kun noticed that my skirt is a bit shorter just for today!?)

“Today– that’s a little different from usual, right?” ← Pointing at the light novel’s book cover

“!?”

(Andou-kun is pointing at my skirt and subtly bringing it up! So Andou-kun did notice my skirt is shorter!)

“Y-yes! Um… h-how is it?” ← Talking about her skirt

“Yeah, it really suits you.” ← Talking about the book cover

(Yeah, it’s a really nice book cover. I usually use clear plastic covers, but cute cat-patterned book covers like Asakura-san’s light novel are soothing too.)

“R-really!?”

“Yeah! I think it’s really cute.”

“C-cute!? N-no way… Andou-kun, you’re exaggerating.”

“Eh, you think so? Ah! But doesn’t it look a bit transparent? You can kind of see through to what’s underneath. Is that alright?”

“Hyaah! S-s-s-see-through!? You’re kidding!?”

(S-s-s-see-through… t-that can’t be, right? Because if my skirt is see-through, you’d see my panties!)

“I’m not kidding. I mean look, I can actually see inside faintly from this distance…”

(Yeah, I can definitely see the title and cover showing through a bit.)

“Eeeeeh! No way! B-b-because I can’t see anything like that at all…”

“No no, but I can clearly see what’s inside–”

“Kyaaaaaaah! D-d-don’t look, Andou-kun!”

“Whaaaat!? Sure, it might be embarrassing if other people see it… but there’s nothing embarrassing about me seeing it, right?”