6.4
“I need to piss.”
He finished the water in his paper cup, stood up, put his hands in both pockets, and left his seat.
Watching Sudō leave, Yōsuke began to talk about recent events.
“I've heard from the first-year basketball team members, regardless of gender, that although he’s strict, he’s admired as a very caring senpai. When he joined the team last year, his goal was just to improve his own skills, so the third-years are quite surprised at the change.”
Yōsuke, who has a wide range of acquaintances, seemed to know the unseen side of Sudō as well.
“With his basketball skills and academic success, girls won't be able to leave him alone.”
“Just between us, I've even been asked by a female kōhai for Sudō-kun's contact information.”
“Wouldn't Sudō be crying tears of joy over that?”
Being popular with girls was supposed to be one of Sudō's lifelong ambitions. However, Yōsuke showed a slightly bitter and complicated smile.
“When I asked him for permission just in case, he told me to refuse because they must be making fun of him. He didn't seem to care at all.”
It seemed that Sudō hadn't noticed that he was beginning to become more popular, including with Onodera. Having no such experiences before, he most likely couldn't feel it.
“Spring may arrive for him a little later then.”
“It might.”
As Yōsuke smiled at this situation, he looked down at the book I was holding.
“I was a little curious, but there’s only one with a book cover, right?”
Because the library-issued books may have had transparent protective films on them, this one book clearly stood out. That fact seemed to bother Yōsuke a bit.
“This was given to me earlier. There's a girl named Shiina Hiyori in Ryūen's class, right?”
“Yeah. Now that you mention it, I've seen her with you a few times... She gave it to you?”
“She recommended it, saying it was interesting, and our shared love of books made our tastes align.”
“Is that so...”
Yōsuke, who had been calm throughout, furrowed his brow slightly, showing a hint of dissatisfaction.
“What's wrong?”
“No, it's nothing.”
Although Yōsuke answered this way, he couldn't help but keep a somewhat troubled expression. Our conversation abruptly stopped, leaving a silence. I thought about changing the subject.
“Speaking of clubs, how long do you typically continue them? As a third year, you've got to think about entrance exams, right?”
Yōsuke answered, slightly perplexed by the irrelevant question.
“Well, there's no specific date, but I think many people quit around June. If they need to focus on their studies, that's what I'd expect. But if they prioritize their club activities, some continue until summer or later.”
I knew that deciding whether to go on to college and how much time to set aside for exams depended on those factors, but June seemed earlier than I had expected.
“What about you, Yōsuke? Have you thought about it?”
“I'm not sure. There's no guarantee that I can graduate from Class A, and I think my parents want me to go to college. So, after confirming that, I think it'll be around June.”
In this school, it was basically impossible to communicate with those who lived off-campus. However, there were some exceptions.
One of these exceptions was regarding further education or employment.
Even when it came to further education, there were many factors that students alone couldn’t decide. Such as which university to attend, whether to go to a vocational school, and how to cover the costs.
Most students would want to consult their parents when it came to finding a job.
In such cases, discussions about further education were held under the school's supervision.
As a student who didn't wish to pursue higher education, this system and rule didn't apply to me, but for those who wanted to, it was an inevitable part of the process.
However, this system could only be used after the third term of the second year.
The reason was that, by deciding on a desired school, it was possible to avoid unnecessary studying in the third year and beyond.
By deciding the level of the university and the department for the exam, you could set a goal.
If there was a high-level university a student aspired to attend, the announcement of acceptance for the general entrance exam was from February to March, before graduating from this school.
The question then was, would they graduate from Class A?
This school had the power to fulfill the wishes of those who graduated from Class A. Should they decide to go to college, the school could change the result for those who failed to get into their desired university.
However, this was only for being accepted, and whether or not a student could advance to graduation was left up to that individual's ability.
To put it bluntly, a student with middle school level academic ability would not be able to advance properly even if they entered the University of Tokyo.
There were problems post entering the university, but this was just an easy-to-understand example.
There was also the possibility of graduating from Class A and being accepted on your own, without the school overturning the result.
In that case, there were some things the school could provide, but there were two main benefits.
One was to cover the university expenses.
This was for those who had the ability to pass the entrance exam but couldn’t afford the tuition.
This benefit could be used if you wanted to go to university but didn’t want to, or couldn’t, take out loans.
However, it only covered tuition, not living expenses, and only during the standard four-year period until graduation.
It was impossible to ask for additional payments if you took a year off.
The other option was post-graduation. It was still possible to leverage graduating from Class A.
In other words, you could use a strategy that didn't rely on the Class A privileges for college.
In extreme cases, you could use the privileges after graduating from a low-level university. You could forcibly slide into a top-notch company where graduating from college was a prerequisite.
However, that was just getting a job. Whether you could acquire the skills to work at that company was another question.
Most importantly, it was a tightrope walk.
No matter how much ANHS provided, if you couldn’t pass with a 1% fail rate, you'd be left with regrets.
“Ayanokōji-kun, are you going to college?”
“I don't know. I haven't decided on my career path yet. It may seem late, but I might go to college, or I might find a job. It's something only God knows.”
“You don't need to rush. I believe you can handle most things well.”
It was nice to be appreciated like that, but unfortunately, I didn't have any options.
While talking about our career paths, there was something unusual about Yōsuke.
Then, after our conversation paused for a moment, Yōsuke brought it up.
“...Are you close with Shiina-san?”
It seemed that his concerns hadn't gone away, even though we had dropped the conversation once.
“Hiyori? I'm not sure. We might be close as fellow book lovers at least. Anything bothering you about her?”
When I asked directly, Yōsuke finally revealed what had been bothering him.
“I noticed you calling her by her first name, Ayanokōji-kun, so I was curious. It's the first time I've heard you do that with someone outside our class.”
It was indeed a rare case.
“Since when?”
“Since when? I'm not really sure. I don't have a clear recollection of it.”
I realized I had been calling Hiyori by her first name without even realizing it.
Thinking back, it seemed that I had been calling her that since shortly after we first met.
However, in everyday life, the brain couldn't grasp a specific time.
“There wasn't really a big trigger, huh?”
“That's right. There wasn't really any deep reason. I guess I just started calling her that without really noticing.”
“I see...”
“Is that a problem?”
“No, it's not really a problem, you know. Generally, it's a good thing that you have a lot of close friends.”
Generally. In other words, it’s different when it’s outside that general understanding.
However, Yōsuke didn't try to continue that conversation any longer, so I didn't push it either.
We both quietly waited for Sudō to return.
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