**track nine**
The days after the party go by a little less eventfully. Fewer
and fewer bettors are left all the time, and the losers don't seem
to mind anymore. Some famous con man once said, "Give the suckers
a good show, and they'll gladly pay the price of admission."
Believe me, I'm putting on the best show I know how.
At this point, some guys have begun considering my victory a
foregone conclusion, and they're wondering if *I*m gonna tell
Suka-chan about myself once I've won. I sure as hell would like
to, and get it over with. It's embarrassing, when we're studying
with Mitsuru-sempai and Shinobu-sempai. Nearly every time
Mitsuru-sempai raises his notebook to swat at me for a wrong
answer, Suka-chan ducks in and takes the blow for me.
"Hasukawa, will you stop that? This is for Shun's own good."
"I'm not letting you hit her, sempai. I'm sorry." For which he
usually gets a whack of his own.
"Your gallantry would be considered admirable, Hasukawa, if you
weren't preventing... her... from learning from... her... mistakes. "
Mitsuru-sempai still has trouble referring to me with a feminine
pronoun. One of these days, you think Suka-chan would twig
onto that. "Consider it... negative reinforcement." Heh. Looks
like sempai's own psych classes are paying off.
Not well enough to try and analyze Suka-chan, though. He's
obviously doing this for reasons more than concern for my welfare,
more than just some sort of "you're-not-supposed-to-hit-girls"
ethic. I'm getting worried that he's falling for me. I can't tell
if that's escaped Mitsuru-sempai's notice, or if he's intentionally
ignoring it while I sweat it out. But in any case... I'm counting
the days until I'm able to try and worm out of this situation.
***
Of course, Suka-chan isn't draped all over me twenty-four hours
a day, thank the Kami. Not only do we have separate classes, but
he's joined the track team - something I would *never* do. And
boy, can he run, too! He's actually made Ryokuto's varsity team
as an alternate in his first year here, which, while not unique, is
still quite remarkable.
Whenever possible, Shinobu-sempai and I make a point of attending
meets to cheer him and Mitsuru-sempai on (Mitsuru-sempai competes
in some of the throwing events like the shot and discus. He looks
like that old Greek statue when he's throwing, too - it's no wonder
the girls are nuts over him). Actually, perhaps "cheer" is a little
too strong a word for Shinobu-sempai. He applauds when everyone
else does, and that's about it. He hardly ever cracks a smile, even
when we win. But he's there, doing the whole 'athletic supporter'
(^_^) routine, as might be expected of the student council president.
Me? I try to get into it. Besides, as long as I'm there, I oughta
have *some* fun. I stomp and whistle and hoot with everyone else.
And it doesn't hurt that, thanks to Suka-chan and Mitsuru-sempai,
we've got a pretty good team, too. Always easier to cheer for a
winning team, ne?
Speaking of winning...
***
"What're you doing, Shun-chan?" I nearly drop the pencil I'm
holding. I hadn't heard Suka-chan walk in from his bath.
"Ah... nothing! Just... marking off another day..."
"Oh." He shrugs and climbs up onto his bunk, closing the curtain
behind him. He's learned the art of changing clothes on his knees
in that tiny space... and I'll bet he wishes I would, too. "So...
anything special? I notice Saturday's circled, and I *know*
we're still a month away from summer break."
Shit! I can't tell him the truth, but I can't think of a plausible
lie fast enough. "Uh... not really... just something to look
forward to. Isn't the end of the week always like that?"
"Mm." I can't tell if he's convinced or not, but it doesn't sound
like he's going to let the matter drop just yet. "Nothing specific,
huh?"
"Uh... well... maybe, and maybe not. I won't find out until then."
"Oh. Well, hope you think of something. Only a few days to go.
Oyasumi nasai, Shun-chan... can you get the light?"
"Sure... I was going to call it a night myself." I switch off the
light and climb into bed. Suka-chan's voice is ringing in my
head as I stare into the blackness:
"Only a few days to go..."
I can hardly wait.
The days after the party go by a little less eventfully. Fewer
and fewer bettors are left all the time, and the losers don't seem
to mind anymore. Some famous con man once said, "Give the suckers
a good show, and they'll gladly pay the price of admission."
Believe me, I'm putting on the best show I know how.
At this point, some guys have begun considering my victory a
foregone conclusion, and they're wondering if *I*m gonna tell
Suka-chan about myself once I've won. I sure as hell would like
to, and get it over with. It's embarrassing, when we're studying
with Mitsuru-sempai and Shinobu-sempai. Nearly every time
Mitsuru-sempai raises his notebook to swat at me for a wrong
answer, Suka-chan ducks in and takes the blow for me.
"Hasukawa, will you stop that? This is for Shun's own good."
"I'm not letting you hit her, sempai. I'm sorry." For which he
usually gets a whack of his own.
"Your gallantry would be considered admirable, Hasukawa, if you
weren't preventing... her... from learning from... her... mistakes. "
Mitsuru-sempai still has trouble referring to me with a feminine
pronoun. One of these days, you think Suka-chan would twig
onto that. "Consider it... negative reinforcement." Heh. Looks
like sempai's own psych classes are paying off.
Not well enough to try and analyze Suka-chan, though. He's
obviously doing this for reasons more than concern for my welfare,
more than just some sort of "you're-not-supposed-to-hit-girls"
ethic. I'm getting worried that he's falling for me. I can't tell
if that's escaped Mitsuru-sempai's notice, or if he's intentionally
ignoring it while I sweat it out. But in any case... I'm counting
the days until I'm able to try and worm out of this situation.
***
Of course, Suka-chan isn't draped all over me twenty-four hours
a day, thank the Kami. Not only do we have separate classes, but
he's joined the track team - something I would *never* do. And
boy, can he run, too! He's actually made Ryokuto's varsity team
as an alternate in his first year here, which, while not unique, is
still quite remarkable.
Whenever possible, Shinobu-sempai and I make a point of attending
meets to cheer him and Mitsuru-sempai on (Mitsuru-sempai competes
in some of the throwing events like the shot and discus. He looks
like that old Greek statue when he's throwing, too - it's no wonder
the girls are nuts over him). Actually, perhaps "cheer" is a little
too strong a word for Shinobu-sempai. He applauds when everyone
else does, and that's about it. He hardly ever cracks a smile, even
when we win. But he's there, doing the whole 'athletic supporter'
(^_^) routine, as might be expected of the student council president.
Me? I try to get into it. Besides, as long as I'm there, I oughta
have *some* fun. I stomp and whistle and hoot with everyone else.
And it doesn't hurt that, thanks to Suka-chan and Mitsuru-sempai,
we've got a pretty good team, too. Always easier to cheer for a
winning team, ne?
Speaking of winning...
***
"What're you doing, Shun-chan?" I nearly drop the pencil I'm
holding. I hadn't heard Suka-chan walk in from his bath.
"Ah... nothing! Just... marking off another day..."
"Oh." He shrugs and climbs up onto his bunk, closing the curtain
behind him. He's learned the art of changing clothes on his knees
in that tiny space... and I'll bet he wishes I would, too. "So...
anything special? I notice Saturday's circled, and I *know*
we're still a month away from summer break."
Shit! I can't tell him the truth, but I can't think of a plausible
lie fast enough. "Uh... not really... just something to look
forward to. Isn't the end of the week always like that?"
"Mm." I can't tell if he's convinced or not, but it doesn't sound
like he's going to let the matter drop just yet. "Nothing specific,
huh?"
"Uh... well... maybe, and maybe not. I won't find out until then."
"Oh. Well, hope you think of something. Only a few days to go.
Oyasumi nasai, Shun-chan... can you get the light?"
"Sure... I was going to call it a night myself." I switch off the
light and climb into bed. Suka-chan's voice is ringing in my
head as I stare into the blackness:
"Only a few days to go..."
I can hardly wait.