Another farewell party to attend for an Ousai alumnus leaving town to study abroad. Or just Tokyo, in this case. I know I'm saying that like it's a boring affair, but it's not. It's actually quite sad, yet happy at the same time, if that makes sense. The last one we attended was for a senior friend of Shino and Aria, but this party's for someone whom none of us personally know. Apparently, she invited us simply for the fact that we're the student council. She was the chief of our Swimming Club before graduating, and was popular throughout her three years at Ousai. Funnily enough, we all keep forgetting her name, and we've reached the point that it'd just be plain rude to ask for it once again. Not to mention embarrassing. I don't know about my colleagues, but I'm just going to go with the flow. I'm sure we'll hear it at least once before the night is through.
Now, the only things I remember about Swim Girl are that she gave me one of my top three favorite chocolates last Valentine's Day and that, strangely, she's on sociable enough terms with Miss Dejima, of all people, to have given the maid her own separate invitation. We never got the reason why, and it's not like we're dying to find out. Anyways, she's already at the party with Aria.
I'm with Takatoshi, Shino, and Suzu. We're still on our way to the local park where the farewell is taking place. The bus didn't go this far, so we've been carrying our potluck offerings up a steadily increasing incline for the past half-mile or so. To be fair, Aria offered us a ride, but we insisted she go on ahead. Reason being was that we'd gotten held up at Suzu's doing some last-minute makeup cooking. Her dog dug into half of the croquettes she was going to bring. Oh, well. I won't complain about it too much. I can already smell buttered corn and barbequed pork on the wind. It's going to be so worth it.
At a fork in the sidewalk, we bump into Miss Yokoshima. "Oh? Fellow latecomers to the birthday bash, I see."
Takatoshi sighs. "It's a farewell party, Miss Yokoshima. Not a birthday."
"Same difference," she says dismissively. "Come on, my dear students. Big Sis Naruko's ready to get her drink on."
"After you, Sis."
"Much obliged, Amakusa." She stretches her free arm and yawns as we walk. "Oh, man. Rika's running later than we are. I wonder who I'm going to hang out with before she gets here. No offense, but I'll need company who's old enough to drink."
"I'm certain there's going to be plenty of new drinking buddies for you to make," offers Takatoshi.
"Sure, sure. After the drinking's done, though?" She wraps an arm around him and gives a lascivious titter. "Don't go too far, Tsuda."
Shino, Suzu, and I immediately butt in to create as much distance between her and Takatoshi as possible. We keep our gazes straight ahead, but together, we channel a strong enough **** off vibe that Yokoshima takes the hint and doesn't challenge us.
"Started the drinking a little early, I see. I hope you didn't drive here."
"Chill out, Amakusa. I took an Uber."
I scoff. "There's bound to be a few other teachers around. I heard Miss Michishita was invited, for one."
"Bah. She's probably going to be following around Daimon like a lovesick puppy the whole night. Besides, she has an alcohol allergy."
The pop music gets louder as we reach the horizon. At the top, we're treated to the grand sight of a wonderfully decorated blowout with rows upon rows of tables, streamers, and smiling faces of all ages. Swim Girl is the center of attention, of course. She's leading a lively dance with members of her former club. We're definitely not going to be greeting her any time soon, so we head for the food area to drop off our offerings with the kind assistance of some of Swim Girl's extended family.
Minus Yokoshima, who's already wandered off, we each fill plates given to us and then stand together, surveying the party's attendees. "Recognize anybody?" Shino asks us.
Takatoshi shrugs. "Shichijou and Miss Dejima so far, but that's about it."
"There's Principal Kondou," says Suzu. "Looks like he's already making some new friends."
Shino grins. "That's our principal for you. He has that level of charisma that gets people to just gravitate towards him."
"Anybody you recognize, Amakusa?" asks Takatoshi.
"I see a few friends of mine, but they're all preoccupied at the moment. I'll say hello when I get the chance."
Suzu sighs. "One of the consequences of showing up so late. Stupid dog. I'm sorry, guys. This was my fault."
"No worries, Hagimura," says Takatoshi. "Stuff like that happens. I'm just glad we got to your place in time to help cook your replacement batch."
"That's right," adds Shino. "Who knows how late you would've been if you had to do that all by yourself?"
Suzu smiles. "Thanks."
I'm happy they're having a moment, but I'm kind of distracted myself. What's worrying me is the fact that the two alpha perverts in this whole area, who barely even knew each other beforehand, are gravitating naturally toward one another's company. One bumps into the other in short order. In a maid's manner, Dejima offers Yokoshima a can of beer, to which she boisterously accepts. Even though Dejima is dressed casually, her demeanor remains the same. The only thing that's different is that she's joking around with Yokoshima well enough to keep her in constant stitches. This is all despite her maintaining a perfectly robotic-looking face.
As vulgar as those two can get under normal circumstances, I shudder to think how much worse they can be when they believe nobody else is listening. I'm keeping my prana even lower than usual, but unfortunately, snippets of their conversation keep reaching my ears. My best chance for maintaining sanity at this point is to tune them out into the crowd as best as I can, and just focus on my friends instead.
"There you guys are! Hey, get a load of my nut sack!"
"It's huge, Aria! Bring those fat macadamias over here so you can dangle 'em into my mouth!"
I sigh. Lesser of two evils, right?
"Where'd you get those, Shichijou?" asks Suzu.
"I won it as a prize from a game a little while ago!"
"There's games? What did you play?"
"Ping-pong!"
Takatoshi and I cringe, Suzu doesn't get it, and Shino starts laughing her ass off. "Oh, my God!" she huffs. "Aria, there are children here!"
"No, I'm serious! Just regular, old table tennis this time. I swear!"
"This time?" I whisper to Takatoshi. He vigorously shakes his head.
"Wow, Tsuda," says Aria. "I love your shoes. Are they new?"
He smiles. "Oh, you noticed. Yeah, I just got them last night." At this, Shino and Suzu pout, and I try very hard not to snicker.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Tsuda, but they seem a little bigger than your old sneakers."
"You're right, Shichijou. They are. Funny thing is, I spent way too long trying out shoes my old size because nothing fit."
"Oh, really?" she says with a bit of flair. Dude, is Aria flirting right now? Like, actually flirting? Must be because she knows she just pulled way ahead of these other two.
"Yeah, I guess my feet grew in the past couple years, and I didn't realize it," Takatoshi says bashfully, chuckling. "I really hope it's not some sort of medical condition."
"Yeah, it's called Bigger ****-itis," I hear Yokoshima whisper to Dejima. She then gives her crotch a pat, adding, "I got the cure for that right here, little boy."
Dejima nods. "Indeed. Perhaps we could recommend our special brand of medicine to the young Mister Tsuda sometime." Don't. Either of you. Dare.
Shino clears her throat loudly, trying to win back Takatoshi's attention from Aria. "Well, uh, you know what they say about guys with big feet, right?"
"Big socks," we Grumblers say. Shino pouts again.
