Perfection is a more of a theory, used to exaggerate, as opposed to a realistic objective. Nothing can truly be "perfect." It's something you can grow extremely close to, but never hit.
That being said, MAX is the probably the closest thing to perfection that I know of. Caffeine to keep my instincts at bay, check. Sugar to keep me awake long enough for the caffeine to kick in, check. Tastes great, check. Even the portion sizes are quite convenient. The tall, slender can carries enough liquid to suffice as an independent drink, yet not so much that it feels like a chore to finish. Easy to carry, cheap, practical. What else could you want?
Anyways, the sugar in the MAX I just downed was giving me a temporary stat boost. Even if it'll wear off in a couple minutes, I feel wide-awake right now. I was certainly awake enough to watch Yuigahama-san enter the classroom.
As soon as she did, her eyes snapped to me and our gazes met, causing her to blush and quickly look away.
A couple years ago and I would have completely misinterpreted that action. I'd think that she's interested in me, and probably stay up at night, wasting my precious sleep overthinking things.
But now, I know better. I've learned to trust my instincts. They're normally right. And yesterday, I was proven right once again.
Flashback Start
"Then, could you investigate them for me?" asked Yukinoshita.
"O-Okay…" Yuigahama responded nervously, looking away from Yukinoshita.
"I'm sorry. It's not a pleasant thing to do" Yukinoshita said, looking away as well.
No, it's not. Especially for Yuigahama, since she's a part of that clique. Ideally, you'd want someone with nothing to lose. Someone who isn't associated with anybody in that class. Someone that can sneak under the radar.
In the ensuing silence, I felt as if it were my turn to speak up. I matched the job description perfectly.
Except for one aspect…
… I just don't feel like it.
To help, I'd surely have to stick my neck out. Doing so creates uncertainty. Uncertainty quickly turns uncomfortable situations.
How am I supposed to relax if I'm uncomfortable?
Selfish? Yes. But in reality, I have no moral ties to helping Hayato out.
"I won't ask too much" continued Yukinoshita warily.
"A-ah, no! I'm totally up to do this! After all, I am a member of the Service Club!" responded Yuigahama cheerfully, pumping her fist in the air.
They have quite an interesting dynamic, those two. They were almost like different species.
A cat and a dog, but they get along.
"Besides, I can't ignore a request from you, Yukinon!" exclaimed Yuigahama as she stepped closer to Yukinoshita, suddenly in her personal space.
Well, I guess love knows no bounds. I support them in full.
Well, in full as long as I don't have to do anything like play middleman.
"Oh?" Yukinoshita responded with a slight blush, looking away from the happy dog that was wagging her tail at her.
Seeing Yukinoshita's response, Yuigahama's face lit up into a big smile and she jumped forward.
"I'll do my best!" Yuigahama told Yukinoshita, wrapping her in a tight hug.
Flashback End
I'd tell them to get a room but seeing as how our club only has three members, the easiest way for them to do so would be to kick me out.
And that sounds like a pain, so I'd rather not.
Speaking of pains, what am I going to do about the workplace observation? The last thing I want is to get paired up with someone annoying and have to be dragged around some random corn fields in the country or something.
The only way to ensure that won't happen is to pair up with people I know… but I don't really know anybody.
I mean, seriously. My mind automatically filters out 90% of the class into blurry faces. If they aren't popular enough for me to need to actively avoid, I just ignore them. Well, except for a couple people. Namely those that sit besides the windows. Since they control the windows, they control the breeze. My blissful breeze is something at their fingertips, making them important enough to keep track of.
Alright, so, what can I do? Well, I could socialize. Make some connections. Meet some people…
… or not. I think I'll take a break, actually.
Yeah. A break sounds great right about now. My allotted attention span for this hour has already been used up watching over Yuigahama.
I'll think about it later. I totally will. I won't forget, or anything.
Dragging over the fifth chair, I lined it up with the other four to create a long, narrow surface.
The chairs were uncomfortably hard, but flat, so it was an acceptable trade-off.
Climbing onto one end, then crawling my way over so that I'm right in the middle, I plopped down. I had, of course, taken my ever-so-useful pillow out of my bag and placed it on the other end. Laying on my back and staring up at the clubroom's ceiling, I let my eyes shut and let a satisfied sigh leave my mouth.
"Hikigaya-kun" Came a familiarly proper voice to my right.
"Hmm?"
"We are currently having a serious discussion."
"I know" I responded, folding my arms over my stomach.
"Would you like to join?"
"No, I'm alright. Please continue."
"Alright then…" Yukinoshita started, clearing her throat.
"… Did you figure anything out, Yuigahama?"
"No, sorry, Yukinon. I tried again but wasn't able to get anything. People think it's weird when I ask about it."
"Hmm. We can't really do much without something to go on… Hayama, did you notice anything today?"
"No, it was the same as normal" Responded the other male in the room.
Doesn't mean that 'normal' is any good.
A moment of silence passed between us. Well, them, since I wasn't really a part of the conversation. I couldn't see their faces, but I could practically hear the gears turning in their heads.
"We don't have many options" Came Yukinoshita's voice "We'll just have to keep investigating. I can try and make time to come by if need—"
"No need" I said calmly, cutting Yukinoshita off.
Cracking open my right eye, I saw that three faces were looking at me curiously.
Closing my eye again and covering my face with my forearms to block out any remaining light, I let out a small sigh.
"Have you ever seen what your buddies are like when you're not around, Hayama?"
A couple minutes of glancing at Hayama's clique gave me my answer. It was laughably simple.
"Err, no, I don't thi—"
"Well, you should take a look. Your friends aren't friends, at least not with each other. They're friends of a friend, without any actual bond between them."
"I… see. And that means?"
I said I wouldn't help since I owed nothing to Hayama, but… not helping was now just making things harder on my club mates.
"It means that the culprit is someone close to you. The message is meant to take the burden off your shoulders. In other words, it's probably one of them, but I can't be sure."
"W-wait! If we do not find out exactly who the culprit is, the problem will never get fixed!" Yukinoshita interjected.
It seems she knew where my train of thought ended.
Shifting to make myself more comfortable, I tried to find a good spot in spite of the rigidity of the chairs.
"There is a way to fix the problem. Peacefully, and right now. It may not cut off the problem at the source, but for now, it'll patch things up."
While everyone digested my words, an odd silence fell over the clubroom. I could tell that Yukinoshita wanted to speak up, but in the end, she didn't so much as make a sound.
"I might not be able to find the culprit, but I can make those three friends without anyone having to fight or any other drama. Simple, clean, and easy."
I had Hayama against the ropes, that I knew. I basically spoon-fed him a solution that fits the criteria.
"… Fine. Let's just go with that, then." Hayama responded.
I smiled inwardly. Hayama's commitment to 'peace' was almost too easy to manipulate.
Thank y'all for 300+ favorites!
With this many, new readers can really start to find the story without scrolling through newly published ones!
300 favorites was about as far as I would scroll down when sorting by favorites. I'm glad to have reached that point.
Next chapter is where the wheels start to get some traction and Chill8man starts to have an affect on the plot.