Chapter 14 – The Prickly Student Council President
“Akiraaa. Swap seats with me, pleeease.”
“Idiot. Don’t talk to me while I’m taking a leak. Mine curves to the right, so the opening shot is crucial. If you break my concentration at the start, it starts spinning off course and splashes everywhere.”
“So guys like you are the reason there’s always piss on the floor in the boys’ bathroom.”
A few days had passed since the seat shuffle.
During the ten-minute break between classes, Shogo and I had gone to the restroom together. Just as he was about to launch into another one of his complaints, I made him wait until I was finished.
After taking care of business, I washed my hands and gave my hair a quick check in the mirror.
Yeah. Still in place.
“So?” I said. “You really hate your new seat that much?”
As I finally entertained the topic he’d brought up, Shogo was beside me, washing his hands and checking his own reflection.
“Of course I do. You know where I am now? Front row. Dead center. Front row.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty rough.”
The karma from that suspiciously engineered seat shuffle apparently hadn’t affected me or Yuki Ohira at all.
Instead, it had landed squarely on Shogo.
Then again, maybe it was simply his own karma. He slept through almost every class. You could call it reaping what he sowed—or perhaps a message from the heavens telling him to wake up and pay attention for once.
“But weren’t you asleep in class just now?”
From the very front of the room, it was impossible not to notice what he was doing.
“Well, you see, I’m a pretty big guy,” Shogo said proudly. “I was lowering myself out of consideration for the students behind me.”
“You’re an idiot, but that’s actually a decent excuse.”
“Ow!”
I lightly punched his shoulder.
We both laughed and left the restroom together.
On the way out, I noticed a girl I’d never spoken to before staring at us with an alarming amount of excitement.
I could have sworn I heard something about which one of us was the top and which one was the bottom…
For now, though, it was safe to say she was just another victim deceived by Shogo’s appearance.
The guy really did have a good face.
“Come on, Akira. Just switch seats with me.”
This was one of those meaningless conversations we always had. Shogo was joking as usual—one hundred percent joking, really. More than anything, he just wanted to complain about how much he hated his seat.
Normally, I would’ve brushed him off with a simple No way.
Today, however, I nodded seriously.
“Sure. Go get permission from Nekoshiba-sensei.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. But fair warning—if we switch, the Student Council President will be sitting behind you.”
“The Fairy Queen Titania…”
Shogo visibly paled.
“If we change the seating arrangement now, it’d be unfair to everyone else.”
His opinion flipped instantly.
Which was understandable.
Only a fool would sleep through class right in front of the strict Student Council President.
She’d wake him up without hesitation, and the lecture afterward would be unavoidable.
Back in the classroom, I split off from Shogo and headed toward my seat.
That was when I noticed a medium-haired girl from our class sitting there, chatting with Yuki Ohira at the desk behind mine.
It wasn’t the reason I’d considered accepting Shogo’s proposal.
Even now, having the self-appointed monitor sitting directly behind me wasn’t causing any actual trouble.
Still, after being told, I’ll be keeping an eye on you, having that person literally sitting behind you made it hard not to stay on guard.
“Ah, sorry, Morigami-kun. I’ll move right away.”
As I approached, Kohaku Shirakawa stood up from my seat and picked up the notebook she’d left on top of Yuki’s desk.
“Sorry. Looks like I interrupted something.”
“No, no. I’m the one who just helped myself to your seat. Ah, thank you, Ohira-san.”
She gave Yuki a polite bow.
“Not at all,” Yuki replied with a perfectly courteous smile—the kind she reserved for public use.
Waving goodbye, Shirakawa returned to her own desk.
I sat down in the chair she had just vacated.
The seat still held the lingering warmth of someone who’d gotten up only moments ago.
“Would you mind not grinning after immediately sitting in a chair a girl was just using? It’s honestly kind of creepy.”
“I’m not grinning.”
The flawless smile Yuki had worn a moment ago was gone.
Now she looked genuinely put off.
Wait.
Was it really showing on my face?
Dangerous.
Besides, anyone would feel a little pleased about indirectly sharing butt warmth with a girl. That was just normal.
“Anyway, Fairy—”
Trying to change the subject, I almost used the nickname she hated.
I managed to stop myself just in time.
“The esteemed Student Council President sure is popular.”
“Popular…?” she repeated. “All I did was help Shirakawa-san with her studies.”
“Isn’t that what being popular means? People come to you because they like and trust you.”
“They’re only taking advantage of the fact that there’s a student council president in the class.”
“You’re pretty cynical.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you.”
She shot me a slight glare.
“And another thing. Please don’t talk to me so casually at school. People might get the wrong idea and think we’re close.”
“Okaaay.”
“This seating arrangement was orchestrated solely so I could monitor you. Don’t misunderstand.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
After receiving another volley of her sharp, thorny remarks, I decided it was best to face forward.
Any further conversation and she might genuinely get angry.
Then, after school that day—
A miniskirt maid arrived at my room.
And I found myself confronted with a contradiction I couldn’t quite put into words.
