The first day of school finally arrived. I dragged myself out of bed and got ready to go. Hayato has club practices in the morning and Tsuyoshi usually has trouble waking up, so we go to school separately.
Tachikawa High School didn't have the biggest campus ever, but it had plenty of rooms for classes and after school activities. Most people don't have much to complain about. It had plenty of field space for the sports teams to practice and some nice places where I could take pictures. Trees lined the courtyard, and under them, there were a few benches where I normally ate lunch. You could see the mountain that was near my house from the front gate. I got to school and had to fight my way through a crowd to find my name on these sheets of paper that were taped to the wall near the main doors to see which class I was in.
"Yo, Hideki! Hayato and I are in class 2-B! Which one did you end up in?"
"Ahhh!! Tsuyoshi! How many times have I told you not to surprise me like that?!" Tsuyoshi has a bad habit of showing up out of nowhere. I guess he can't help it, but it really scares me sometimes.
"I'm in class 2-B, too."
"Cool, I guess you're stuck with us again this year! Anyways, I've got to go find some other people, so I'll see you in the classroom."
And with that, he left as quickly as he had come. I'm glad I got here kind of early because I was able to get a seat where I could be towards the back near the door and still be by Tsuyoshi and Hayato. They got to class just a few minutes after I did, so they quickly claimed the seats on either side of me. Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad. As soon as Hayato sat down, he turned to talk to me.
"I just heard from my coach that all of the first and second years have to join a club this year."
"Really? You've got to be kidding me." He nods his head with a look on his face that told me he wasn't messing around. I let out a long sigh. "Now I won't be able to just go home and work on my photography albums." This was going to be a long year. I heard a voice coming from behind me.
"Why don't you just make your own club?"
"Oh, it's just you, Nakachi-san." She had been in my class last year, and we became friends because of how many group projects we had to do. I really hated group work, but it wasn't bad being in her group. I don't know what it was about her, though. Maybe it was because she didn't tease me like most other people did, excluding Hayato and Tsuyoshi, of course.
"My own club? Is that even possible?"
"Of course, it is. You just need to fill out a club form and give it to your homeroom teacher. I've got one right here, so I'll give it to you. And by the way, you need at least four people to start one."
"What? You need that many people? Jeez, this is going to be a pain." Something occurred to me then. "Wait, can't I just form a going-home club?"
"Sorry, that was specifically prohibited by the principal." The class rep, Kitahara-san, happened to walk past me when I made that remark, and she was obviously not happy with what I had just said. She was a very strict rule follower, so you could never let your guard down around her.
"Oh, well then I guess I could form a photography club? I don't want to, but that way, I could still enjoy my hobby without getting scolded by anybody." The last thing I wanted was to become the center of attention by being that guy who skipped out on club activities. "Now I just need to figure out how to get three more people to join."
Tsuyoshi had gotten situated in his seat and came to my rescue with a grin on his face. "Hey, that idea isn't half bad. I'll help you out. I touch up some of your pictures anyway, so I could at least join a club that had one of best of my best friends in it. Hayato, you wanna join? I bet you could move all that equipment around."
"I would, but I'm in a lot of sports clubs this year, so I can't join. Sorry about that."
He had this really disappointed look in his eyes, so I tried to make sure that he wouldn't beat himself up about it. "Don't worry about it Hayato. You enjoy sports more anyways. I don't think it will be hard to find two other people."
"You mean one other person." I had forgotten that Nakachi-san was still standing there, and I didn't think she would want to be in the club anyways. "I'll join, too. I can take care of all the paperwork and stuff. I'm no good with cameras, but secretary work is definitely something I can do."
"And maybe we could get someone to write descriptions or poems or something that would go with the pictures. Do you know anyone like that, Nakachi-san?"
"Let me see… I think I do! She's in this class, but she won't be here for another day or two. She told me that she was visiting her grandmother or something. I think she was helping her move down here from Hokkaido because she had gotten too old to live on her own. She's the right person for the job, trust me."
"Will she even want to be in the club? If it were me, I wouldn't want to be forced into a club just because my friend said I could do it."
"I'll tell her about it later. I'm absolutely sure that she would be fine with joining whichever club I joined since she was never really involved much in school activities either."
"Well then, that settles it, I guess. I don't really want any more people because I prefer small groups, so I'll just fill out the club form and hand it in tomorrow. Nakachi-san, can you write her name down on the form for me?"
"Sure, and I'll put everyone else's name down as well."
"Oh, thanks. I'll fill out the rest later."
After a long day of class introductions and thinking about this new club thing, the final bell finally rang. I never thought that this was how my year was going to go, but I'll just have to survive. It's only one year, right?