"Ishigami," one of the cooks approached with a look of concern. "Are you okay?"

  This can't be real. There's no way he let me go, even after everything he put me through.

  "I — uh, yeah. I'm good."

  "Hey, buddy," Denki popped his head in. "What's the hold up with those finger sandwiches for table 7?"

  I unconsciously held my breath as I pushed past him to see the dining floor. Kaori bounced from table to table with her quirky and friendly waitress demeanor. Rito was bussing up a table in the zombie costume that he had been wearing down over the past couple of days. When I saw Chika, however, I released my breath in a long sigh of relief.

  "Excuse me!" The student from table 7 called out, likely asking for her sandwiches.

  "Apologies! One moment, please!"

  I ducked back into the kitchen and grabbed her platter of small sandwiches of meticulously stacked white bread, sliced Swiss cheese, and sausages carefully crafted to look like severed fingers. I quickly returned to her table and apologized again for the wait before slipping away pulling Denki.

  "Denki," I said in a low voice. "This is going to sound weird, but what has happened during the festival?"

  "Well, besides you acting really weird in the past five minutes, nothing out of the ordinary. We were pretty busy Tuesday after you and I confronted those bullies in the locker room. Yesterday, Chika joined us watching Hikigia's performance in the Class C play, and Ino and Fujiwara showed up in the afternoon."

  What the hell?! How? How has nothing happened this time?

  "Are you feeling okay, buddy?"

  "I think so..." I scratched the back of my head. "I'll explain everything later. Let's get back to work. Today's a short day because of the pageant and closing ceremony, right?"

  "Yeah, Kaori's set to head out around 10 to get ready."

  The two of us went back to a full floor and continued to work until the school-wide announcement for closing time rang out. The whole class quickly put as much away as they could to save work later. All the while, I found myself unable to keep my eyes off of Chika who teetered between smirking and blushing when our eyes would meet.

  What happened between us these last couple of days? I watched her die so many times... can I ever interact with her normally again after that?

  The morning passed so quickly; it was time for us to meet, to close up shop and see the first different event in a very long time. The pageant was set up like a sort of concert in the main gymnasium which was a bit of a walk from our classroom. After everyone finished their respective jobs, the four of us — me, Chika, Denki, and Rito — set off to see Kaori compete. Aside from a couple of one-liners, I barely got to say a word to Chika.

  The gymnasium was completely packed, and there were a multitude of makeshift stands passing out handheld signs for their candidates as well as glow sticks and colored towels corresponding to their class or club. Hirota Aiko had taken over merchandising for Kaori's entrance, and she had gone far above anything else other stands had done. With two life-sized cutouts, a chain of glow sticks that could rival the great walls of ancient civilizations in length, and enough signs to put one in the hands of every single student in the school, she stood proudly behind her desk with her arms crossed as if Kaori had already won.

  There was little time between our arrival and the start of the pageant since we had cleaned up almost the entire cafe. The four of us picked out glow sticks and towels, grabbed a couple of large signs, and tried our best to find a suitable spot to see the stage. Through the endless sea of dark faces, I expected to see one completely white with an infuriating smile, but he never appeared. Instead, another familiar face bumped into our group as we finally found a spot big enough for the four of us, Class C's representative, Aido Satoshi.

  "Hey, it's the Class B rep," he smiled after pulling up his visor: he was still in his regalia from the play. "Have you and your friends enjoyed the festival?"

  If I never have to endure a culture festival again in my life, it will still be too soon.

  "We've had a great time," I replied. "Your class's play was absolutely fantastic, by the way."

  "Thanks, man. I was worried that Hikigia would catch a lot of shade while playing Joan of Arc, but he was the only one that could convey any spirit, you know?"

  "He absolutely dominated that stage," Denki jumped in. "I really hope we see him again on a big screen with some popcorn one day."

  "Funny enough," Aido chuckled. "He doesn't want anything to do with show business, although he wants to study theatre in college. He says learning how to perfectly act will help him be a good lawyer which is what he really wants."

  "No kidding?" Denki seemed genuinely surprised. "Well, whatever he does, if he's half as good as that performance, he's going to be fantastic."

  "I'll tell him you said that," Aido laughed. "Who are you guys pulling for in this thing?"

  "Our friend Hojo Kaori," Chika answered as she threw a towel over my head.

  "She seems pretty set up to win, if you ask me," he said, turning back to the stage. "I'm glad she decided to do this after all."

  "You know her?"

  "Yeah. We met in the cafeteria a couple of weeks ago and hit it off pretty easily. She even dragged me to a cafe and made me buy her a tart plate, if you believe that," he laughed.

  "That sounds like her," Chika chuckled as well.

  The spotlight hit the stage, and a colorfully dressed pair stood nearly cheek to cheek holding a microphone. They spoke in unison which almost sounded like singing.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Toriyama High School Culture Festival Pageant where we will decide the queen of this year's festival!" The gymnasium erupted in cheers.

  The pageant was mostly straightforward and was set up like any beauty pageant. Since it was a high school, however, there was no swimwear segment, much to the disappointment of many of the guys. Contestants would present themselves in whatever costumes that reflected their class or club projects; naturally, Kaori would remain in her mummified Cleopatra regalia. Following a few questions from the hosts, the judges, and one from the audience, they would return backstage to await the final verdict which would be determined both by the audience and the judges. It was ultimately a weird version of a popularity contest.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Various girls presented themselves, answered their questions with a smile, and left gracefully. All in all, it seemed like Hirota and Aido were right: Kaori would probably sweep this competition because of her personality and how easily she could win people over. What she lacked in academics, she more than made up for in charm. While she was still a gal like she was in junior high, she had developed more into a pop idol over the past semester. That combination would without a doubt drive many in the audience wild and lead to her victory. After about half a dozen girls, it was her turn to step into the light.

  She gave a big smile and waved as she took each step. The light reflected off her faux gold adornments in such a way that it was almost impossible to remember that they were fake. The wrappings almost looked bleached white from where we were which made her facial features pop all the more. As she captivated the audience, the realization of her costume choice sank in: she knew she would participate and win this pageant.

  "Contestant 7," the hostess called out. "Step up to the microphone and tell everyone who you are!"

  "My name is Hojo Kaori, Class 1-B." Her voice was firm yet not harsh in any way; confidence filled every syllable while an air of gentleness surrounded her.

  "Question one," the host stepped up and fixed his bowtie. "Are you seeing any — OOF!"

  He buckled over from the hostess's punch to his gut; he had clearly gone with his own question instead of what was on the script. Kaori simply laughed at the exchange as the hostess calmed herself before taking over.

  "Question one: why did you choose Toriyama High School?"

  "Well," she put her finger to her cheek and looked up as if she was thinking. "It seemed like the best choice: all my friends were coming here, and the one that didn't, I still talk to her every day anyway!" She looked back down and gave a full smile.

  The crowd ate up her smile as the host struggled back to his feet.

  "A woman loyal to her friends," he sort of grunted. "Question two: what do you hope to bring to our great school?"

  "Hmm," she looked off thinking again. "I suppose my attitude and personality? I can usually find the silver lining in any situation, and I think that is something important to bring to any organization."

  Again, the crowd roared. Her personality and voice were turning all the boys into savages that would go wild at the sound of her saying a single word.

  "Question three," the judges — one of which being Principal Yamada — spoke up. "Where does your road lead you once your time here draws to an end?"

  "Well, I think I want to go to college and learn to be a teacher, as funny as that might be. I owe a lot of who I am and how far I've come to my wonderful teachers growing up."

  It's like she's memorized every possible question and found the perfect answer for all of them. Hell, it's almost scary.

  "Last question, from the audience," the host turned and pointed to the television screen that had previously held the audience's questions. A silence fell between the three of them for a moment before the hostess begrudgingly held the mic close to her mouth.

  "Are you seeing anyone?" she asked as the auditorium fell into a silence that seemed to swallow all sound outside as well.

  Kaori looked away, almost as if she was caught off guard by the question.

  "You don't have to answer, if you don't want to, Ms Hojo." The hostess reassured her. "The audience knows that,” she turned to the crowd, “personal questions like that are off limits due to the broadcasting of the pageant."

  Kaori looked up with determination and held the mic in her hand. "I am not currently seeing anyone..." The crowd went wild. "...but," the silence returned. "There is this one guy..." her demeanor changed. "I haven't known him a super long time, but it feels like I have, you know? I want to get to know him more, but he's always too busy. Gah, I know it's selfish, but... I really wish I could have him all to myself next year."

  A pin drop would have sounded like a jet engine in the gymnasium after she finished her last sentence. The judges and hosts were almost dumbfounded by Kaori's willingness to share her personal life, and the audience was likely in shock that someone would fail to make time for their new queen. Through it all, an earsplitting clap rang out over and over again. I turned back to see Hirota standing on her table covered in glow sticks putting her hands together for her childhood friend. Within seconds, the gymnasium erupted with applause, and I knew that Kaori's seat as Queen would be next to impossible to lose.

  Aido really lucked out catching her eye. I wish them the best next year.

  As the thunderous applause resonated through the gymnasium, the buzzing in my ears returned. My heart pounded, and I began to fear the worst. My alarm failed to go off, though. I was still at school instead of my bed. I looked around in a panic and met my sister's eyes as she poked her head out from behind the stage curtain. I still refused to believe she was any sort of danger. After a moment, the uneasy sense went away.

  The remaining contestants simply could not keep up with Kaori's performance. That is not to say that they received no applause, but hers rattled the walls. Through it all, I found myself needing to relieve myself. I slipped away, found the bathroom, and left quickly. Upon exiting, I came across one Hirota Aiko hunched over a rail outside of the gymnasium. Against all better judgment, I walked up and tried to engage in conversation with her.

  "You were right," I started. "Kaori was a shoo-in to win the pageant."

  "I know I was right," she grumbled. "I've known her since elementary school; I know her better than anyone else in the world."

  "I guess you've got a point there," I chuckled. "She really is on a whole other level."

  "Yeah..."

  "Are you okay? I'm sorry if I cross a line, but you don't seem happy that she pretty much won before over half of the contestants even took the stage."

  "You definitely crossed a line, but I'll allow it... it's just, what she said at the end kind of hit harder than I thought it would."

  "About Aido?"

  "About a boy in general... when we were young, we united under the front that boys were gross and we only needed each other to be happy. I guess somewhere between then and now, something changed for her."

  "Well, yeah, people change over time. We can't all stay the same forever."

  "I guess so, and I guess it just goes to show the difference between childhood friends. You and that Tachibana girl are in the same boat as us, and everyone thinks you're already married. Me? I guess I'll always be just a childhood friend."

  The realization hit me like a truck and broke my heart in the same fell swoop.

  "I-I'm sorry..." I struggled to say.

  "Nothing you can do about it. It's just not who she is. Hell, I don't know why I told some boy anything. I guess I just needed to get it off my chest."

  "I understand that all too well..."

  "I just hope whoever she chooses treats her right... for his sake."

  To that, I nodded in agreement and left her to remain in her solitude. The weight of the realization still made my heart sink. The solemn silence of the outside was quickly replaced by a racket only comparable to a concert as I reentered the gymnasium. Glow sticks waved in unison across the floor, and my eyes were drawn to the stage. In the center of the spotlight stood the picture of elegance and grace, the student council president.

  "Last question, President Ishigami," the host said, half drooling over her. "What pursuit is noble enough that you would choose to follow it? What career path do you want to follow after you graduate in a few months?"

  She gave a gentle smile as she held the microphone. "There is a cause that has been close to my heart for a long time. I want to help people; I want to keep them healthy. As I have continued through my time at our great school, that ideal has helped me arrive at such a conclusion: I am going to be a medical researcher specializing in genetics. Maybe one day, I will discover a wonderful miracle cure already inside us. In fact, I have already accepted a full scholarship for a top-rated undergraduate program overseas."

  Huh?

  "I will, unfortunately, be leaving our beloved country this autumn."

  What the hell?

  "The intensive program will undoubtedly keep me occupied for at least the whole four years."

  Wait...

  "I will always cherish the memories I have made here with each and every one of you."

  No...

  "It is with this in mind that I would like to move forward and introduce you to your new student council president, Hatsume Kyoko."

  Sis, don't... leave me...

  As my heart took in the severe realization that my bro-con of a sister was leaving, my phone started going off. I opened it to see an unknown number from within Hoenn City calling me. Stepping outside, I answered it to hear a familiar but weak voice come through.

  "Hey, Kazuma. Do you mind stopping by Bedford Hospital today or tomorrow? I'd really appreciate it."