It was the day before Tanabata, and everyone in our school was in a hurry to finish the festival preparations. I nearly bumped into Mochida a few times as he carried boxes of materials around the school for his class, and I started to wonder what he was carrying.

Ishida, Kokowa, and I were doing a last-minute check of all of the props and set pieces for the play. Kokowa would pull out a box of props and hold them up one by one for Ishida to mark on her checklist, and I went around marking off each set as I found it.

After we were finished, we all headed back to our classes to help with the school decorations. A lot of people seemed really bored with the preparations, but it was exciting to me and the time passed quickly.

After my class had finished with our preparations, I headed over to Shig's class to check on him. He and Kishinuma were putting up decorations in the hallway while Shinozaki called out orders to her classmates. I waited for Shig to finish up with the banner he was hanging before I tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

"How are things going, Shig?"

Shig sighed and adjusted his glasses. "We're behind because Kishinuma forgot to buy the banners we needed, so we're just now finishing up some of the banners for hanging."

"What is your class doing for the festival, again?"

Shig pointed up at the banner, which read "Miss Tanabata Contest".

"It's too late to enter" said a voice behind me. I turned my head a bit to see that it was Shinozaki.

Shig nodded. "The contestants were picked last week."

"Is there anyone we know in the contest?"

I heard muttering from next to me as Shinozaki walked away, and Shig nodded. "Shinozaki was… volunteered."

A part of me felt sorry for Shinozaki for being drafted into it, but I could think of at least one person that would be happy she was in the contest. Though the person in question seemed to be focused on making up for his earlier mistakes…

"Hey, Morishige! Stop chattin' and help me out over here!"

Shig sighed and turned back to Kishinuma. "I hear you. You don't need to raise your voice."

I waved at Shig and Kishinuma. "See you tomorrow! I hope it doesn't take too long to finish up!"

I walked away from them and considered visiting someone else before I headed home for the day. I was about to go check on Ishida's class when I noticed someone going into a stairwell alone.

Curious, I followed the person to see that it was Shinohara, who went up the stairs to the roof. I looked around to see that no one else had noticed, and decided to follow her to the roof.

Stepping quietly so that she wouldn't hear me, I crept up to the roof and peeked out of the doorway. I saw Shinohara standing in the middle of the roof with her school bag, which she dropped to the ground. She knelt down and pulled something out of the bag before standing up again.

After a few moments examining the object, she put it down and began to recite lines from Tanabata Wish. Even from a distance, I could recognize the words.

I let the roof door close behind me, making sure it didn't make too much noise. I stood a few meters away from Shinohara, listening to her practice her lines.

I managed to keep myself from doing anything to alert Shinohara to my presence for a few scenes' worth of lines, but after a particularly well-done scene I couldn't resist applauding for Shinohara.

Shinohara gave a start and spun around, her eyes wide. "Su-Suzumoto! When did you get here?!"

"I… saw you come up here, and I was curious." I hid my hands behind my back in embarassment. "You've come a long way, Shinohara. I think you're ready for tomorrow."

Shinohara composed herself and flashed her familiar smile. "You bet! No one knows Ori like I know Ori!"

The smile faded after a moment, and Shinohara looked away.

"Still… I'm nervous. Not about tomorrow… not anymore. But…"

I tilted my head when Shinohara didn't continue. "What are you nervous about, then?"

Shinohara frowned, but quickly turned around so that I couldn't see her face. "I'm nervous… about what happens after tomorrow."

"Why is that?"

There was a moment of silence. Then Shinohara rubbed the back of her neck. I noticed that she didn't reach for her long-gone hair curls.

"After tomorrow… There's no more reason for Sakutaro to be so nice to me. He won't need to make sure I work hard so that I don't make a fool out of him. After tomorrow…" Shinohara lowered her hand and clenched it. "After the play… he can dump me."

I felt a pang of empathy when I heard those words. I knew what it was like to worry that a friend wouldn't care about me anymore…

A sudden thought hit me that, after tomorrow, Shig could go back to spending more time with me instead of Shinohara. I instantly felt guilty for noticing that opportunity.

"Shinohara…" I approached her and tentatively put a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't want him to leave me." Shinohara shook under my touch, and I wondered if she was crying. "But I don't see why he'd stay with me after tomorrow."

I tried to think of something to make Shinohara feel better, but my mind came up with blanks.

Deciding to just go with my gut and hope for the best, I started to try to reassure her. "You like him, right?"

"Yes. Definitely."

"And you told him, right?"

"Yeah."

I nodded. "What has he said?"

"He said… that he wants to help me improve. He never… really told me if he liked me."

I took a deep breath. I wanted to reassure Shinohara that she didn't need to worry, but I didn't know how Shig really felt about her. If I was wrong, I might end up hurting Shinohara…

"I have an idea." I patted Shinohara's shoulder. "After the play tomorrow, ask him how he feels. It's tough, but no matter what he says you'll have your answer."

Shinohara nodded slowly. "O-okay. I'll do it."

I patted Shinohara's shoulder again, this time with more force. "That's not the Shinohara I remember. What was that?"

Shinohara turned to me with a red face, though her tears were already wiped away. She chuckled and smiled at me, giving me a thumbs-up. "I'll do it! Only one way to find out if he likes me, right~?"

I nodded and smiled back. "Right!" I picked up Shinohara's script and handed it back to her. "I expect to hear the results, too. But first, we have a show to perform!"