Chapter 11 - Kouhei, Narrowly Escaped Crisis
Today again, we, the student council, are overwhelmed with work.
Our recreation project hasn't progressed beyond the starting point, and we are also struggling to finalize the budget allocations for the clubs.
Why, you ask?
Because we have too many miscellaneous tasks.
Today, the Beautification Committee is conducting an "all-school lighting inspection."
Normally, once the student council president approves it with a "no issues" decision, the task would be handed over to the Beautification Committee, led by its chairman. However, Onigawara-kun has been dispatched from our side.
Why, you ask?
Because the Beautification Committee chairman is absent with an off-season flu.
Moreover, four other members, including the vice-chairman, are also infected.
With only 11 members in the committee, nearly half are absent from school.
Rescheduling isn't an option either.
Why, you ask?
Because the cause of the absence is the flu.
If it were just a cold, waiting a day or two might allow some to return.
But with the flu, their return is far off.
Therefore, Onigawara-kun, known for his physical strength, was chosen.
Besides, with his height, he can reach the lights that normally require a stepladder with just a footstool.
Though his absence affects our work, we had no choice.
To make matters worse, Karin was taken along with him.
Why, you ask?
Because when Onigawara-kun greeted the Beautification Committee members, his already intimidating voice, which gets even more so when he's nervous, unintentionally scared them.
"Th-this time, I-I look forward to work...mm, vvorrah!! Oh, excuse me. I look forward to working with you!!"
With this greeting, two female and one male member of the Beautification Committee fainted.
"Oh, come on! Senpai, I'm going too! Onigawara-kun, don't look so down. Stand up! I'll explain that you're not scary!"
Though it's nice to see Karin getting along with Onigawara-kun, I still had to face reality.
So, what were we, the student council, busy with?
Work, of course.
"So, while you were in the staff room, a lot happened, and Onigawara-kun and Karin went to the Beautification Committee."
"Wow, that's tough. But I'm glad Karin-chan and Takezou-kun are getting along!"
"I agree, but with half our strength gone, we're in a pinch. When's the deadline for the school newspaper's review?"
"Uh, tomorrow morning! We need to hand the data to the newspaper club!"
"And our progress?"
"About 20%?"
"Close! It's 15%. We need to finish this today. Let's get started."
"Ugh, can't we do it tomorrow?"
Didn't she listen?
The deadline is tomorrow morning, as you said.
Is she tired?
I seated Marimo, who was whining, and started the work.
The task was straightforward.
We had to check the school newspaper for any harmful language, defamatory remarks about individuals or groups, and any other inappropriate expressions.
Despite doing this every month, it was never easy.
Why, you ask?
Because in the April issue, there was a hidden message when read vertically that said, "Vice-principal is an idiot," causing an unprecedented scandal.
It would have been better if we had kept quiet, but there was a man walking by shouting, ``Hey, look at this! Wow! There’s outrageous writing on it!’’
It’s about that guy, Takahashi, who is in the same class as me. What an idiot.
Thanks to all of you, the vice principal heard everything about this situation, and of course he was furious.
"Disband the newspaper club," he demanded. The principal, however, calmed him down, saying, "It's just a joke, right?" resulting in the newspaper club receiving a stern warning and us, the student council, being tasked with stricter reviews.
We were completely caught in the crossfire.
In fact, this is a more severe punishment for us than the newspaper club, which is the root of all evil.
So now, we were diligently checking every vertical and diagonal line for any hidden messages, drying out our eyes in the process.
My eyes hurt.
"Kou-chan!"
"What? Another vertical read?"
I turned around, pressing my temples.
"Let me help your tired eyes! Eye drops from above! Now, open your eyes!"
"What are you doing? Are you stupid?"
"No! Eye drops work better when dropped from the right height. This is scientifically proven! So, I'll protect your eyes!"
—I looked up to see Marimo standing on my desk with eye drops.
What timing for her to act like a fool.
She'd been working non-stop from morning till after school.
When she overdoes it, her genius switch becomes highly unstable.
"Here comes the precious eye drops!"
Yeah, her genius switch is off.
"Stop fooling around and get down! It's dangerous!"
My thought flagged the inevitable.
"Whoa! Ahh!"
With perfect precision, she slipped and fell onto my lap.
Marimo said, “Hahaha. Sorry, Kou-chan,’’ and seemed unharmed.
My back, however, took a serious hit. At least she was safe.
"We're back, senpai. We finished qui...vvvvolooow!!"
No, not good!!
"What's wrong, Onigawara-kun? Hurry inside! You're blocking the door!"
Seeing something he shouldn't have, Onigawara-kun roared and shut the door.
His quick action saved us in two ways.
First, it physically blocked anyone from seeing our embarrassing state.
"Welcome back, Takezou-kun!"
Second, Marimo snapped back to her senses.
Onigawara-kun's roar was effective.
"Get off and fix your skirt!"
"Ouch, Kou-chan, you're mean!"
Marimo complained, sitting on the floor.
Her mouth should be covered with something soft.
Then, in a flurry, I picked her up and seated her back at her desk, ignoring my pain, and gathered the scattered newspapers.
“I’m back! Um, Kirishima-senpai, why are you sweating so much?”
"Welcome back! Yeah, it's hot today! The sun's to blame!"
With a hip-hop style excuse, I somehow managed to escape our crisis.
What a day.
The newspaper review? We didn't finish it in time.
The hidden message "Vice-principal is a fat idiot" was discovered a bit later.