Yumemite stands up suddenly as the whole room goes up in boos. Mary seems exhausted from the back of the room, even though I could barely see her from all the jumping around.

"Kokoro wins the gamble!" Yomozuki announces, but she's barely heard over the collective anguish from the Yumemite fanboys. Yumeko, Shinohara, Mary, Sumeragi, and Ryota all run out of the room in order to not get chased by the angry mom that is now forming.

Yumemite seems to be nearly frothing at the mouth in anger as I shrug and giggle at her. "Yumemite owes Kokoro 4.7 billion yen, and she is to resign from the student council!"

"There's no way in hell I'm going to do that!" Yumemite shouts, but again, she is drowned out by the chaos in the room.

Kirari walks on the stage from behind the curtain and grabs the microphone from Yomozuki. Yomozuki looks at us. "Awww- y'all got the president involved! You guys are in tro-"

"Enough, everybody," Kirari addresses the raging crowd. They all immediately settle down. "Despite Yumemite's unsuccessful cheating efforts, which Yomozuki was supposed to catch, Yumemite has lost the gamble."

Yomozuki chuckles in embarrasment as Yumemite stares at Kirari in fear.

"Yumemite owes 4.7 billion yen to Kokoro-san, which is to be paid at once. Additionally," she turns around and looks at Yumemite with a smug expression. "Yumemite-san is to submit her resignation from the student council immediately."

The crowd is silent as Kirari hands Yomozuki back the microphone. "Uhh," Yomozuki mutters into the microphone, "this gamble is over."

Yumemite falls and her knees and stares at the ground, her strawberry hair touching the wooden stage floor. She looks absolutely ridiculous in her birthday cake outfit.

Kirari walks up to Yumemite and lifts her face up to her own. "Look at yourself," Kirari tells her in a matter-of-fact manner, "you are nothing like Juraku. She fell gracefully." After she says this, Kirari walks off the stage, and Yomozuki follows.

After a minute or so of relative silence, I leave the stage, too. I take one last look at the scene behind me before I close the curtains. I look at the banner reading "YUMEMITE'S BIRTHDAY BASH!" draped across the back of the auditorium.

"Hey Yumemite," I say to her in a normal tone.

"What."

"Is it your birthday today?"

"Go to hell."

I pull the curtains over me, leaving the scene. As I walk home from school alone, I couldn't help but have the image of 100 faces of fear and anguish, along with the collapsed figure of Yumemite in a birthday cake costume sobbing silently on the floor, burned into my mind.