With the help of the two from the student council, Nakamura-san and Takizawa-san, we managed to get through the day comfortably. Though, in return, Nakamura-san told me that I might need to help her out from time to time. Not that I minded. I would be happy to help if she really needed it.
I asked for her permission to continue using the student council room in the future. She said this to me,
"…What a mess you got yourself into, Maehara-kun. Something like a love affair is a hot topic among us students."
"Honestly, I'm used to it because I had to deal with this from the moment I started dating Umi. But this time, Amami-san is also involved, so…"
I was probably biased, but it felt like there weren't too many topics that students like us could talk about. That was why when things like 'two timing' and 'shuraba' came out as a topic of conversation, everyone would flock to it like moths drawn to flame.
Especially if the rumor didn't concern anyone that they were close with.
"…They thought that things like this were fun. People get a kick out of any juicy scandals, regardless of the truth."
Muttered Takizawa-kun, followed by a sigh. I completely agreed with him. Thanks to Nitta-san, I had the experience of listening to rumors about Takizawa-kun, so I knew exactly what he was talking about.
It would take time for the rumors to die down. With how widespread the rumors are at this point, it would be difficult to track down the source. Even if we managed to find the perpetrator and deny the rumors, it wasn't a guarantee that it would sway the public due to the sheer amount of people who had heard it.
To those people, whether the rumors were true or not didn't matter.
"In any case, you can count the student council as your ally, my favorite idiotic couple. With president Nakamura and vice-president Takizawa at your service, you can stand tall and proud."
"Stop calling us that… Anyway, are you sure that it's okay for you two to help us like this? We appreciate it, but you know, you two are only two more people in the end and we're up against the whole student body…"
"Hehe, indeed, ultimately, the bigger numbers will win."
One way to deal with the rumors was to slowly debunk them. We could do that, but we didn't have the numbers to do it efficiently. It was hard for us to reach out to students in a different grade as well.
Those two should have known about this, but looking at Nakamura-san's mischievous smile, it seemed like she had something in mind.
"…Sorry about this, Maehara-senpai. She's always like this."
"Hahaha, but this side of Nakamura-san is the thing that made you attracted to her, isn't it, Takizawa-kun? She's really dependable isn't she?"
"…I knew it, we'll get along well, Maehara-senpai. If you have the time later, we should hang out for a bit. I want to hear stories about Asanagi-senpai from you."
Then we'd brag about each other's girlfriends? Sure, that sounded fun.
The thought of gaining a new friend made me happy. After that, we went off to practice for the sports festival.
* * *
Since the festival would be held on Sunday, everyone was preparing hard for it during practice.
On the school grounds, there were preparations being made for the festival. There were tents for the spectators, a broadcasting booth, and makeshift entrance and exit gates. Our agenda for today would be listening to the student council's explanation about the overall flow of the festival.
Until now, both Nakamura-san and Takizawa-kun had been working behind the scenes and this was their first time in the spotlight.
"As some of you may know, I am Nakamura Mio from class 2-11. I inherited the position of the student council president after being appointed as the successor by the former president, Seki Tomoo-san. This is my first time, so I may not be familiar with a lot of things, but with the help of the vice-president and the rest of the council members, I will do my best to make this sports festival enjoyable for all! And so, I would like for everyone to give us your support!"
When she bowed without any hesitation, the student body gave her a round of applause.
Up until this point, there was nothing special about this scene.
However, when she passed the mic over to Takizawa-kun, some of the girls in the first year started to make a fuss.
The students who weren't familiar with the situation were looking at him, confused. Somehow, Takizawa-kun gained more attention than both Nakamura-san, the newly appointed president and Tomoo-senpai, the recently retired president.
"How do you do? I am Takizawa Souji from class 1-1. It's only been six months since I entered this school. I'm a newcomer who doesn't know left and right, but I'll do my best to not cause anyone any trouble."
When he ended his speech with his idol-like smile, the crowds instantly exploded.
According to what I heard from Nitta-san, the girls secretly formed a fanclub dedicated to him. I knew he was popular, but jeez, I didn't expect him to be this popular.
"Woah, Takizawa-kun sure is amazing~ I always thought that he was cool, but this kind of reaction from the crowd surprised me…"
"Oh, could it be? Are you also aiming for him, Yuuchin? You have to go through Nakamura-san first, though. She isn't exactly an easy opponent."
"Don't lump me with you, Ninacchi! Sure, I think that he's cool, but he doesn't make my heart pound or anything. I don't even feel anything special when being around him."
"Huh, I see. So, you don't have anyone that you like yet?"
"Mhm. Honestly, I still don't understand how that kind of thing works…"
Since she had been going to an all-girls school up until now, it seemed like Amami-san didn't understand a single thing about love.
The fact that she had no one in mind meant that there was still hope for Nozomu. Still, if Takizawa-kun couldn't win her heart, Nozomu would probably have a hard time.
"C'mon, it's time, so let's get ready! Let's do our best in practice and carry the momentum to the real thing!"
"W-Wait– Y-Yuuchin, stop pushing me!"
"Alright, Umi, Maki-kun, I'll do my best so cheer for me, okay?~"
"Go break a leg."
"Do your best, Amami-san."
"Hehe~"
Amami-san smiled when she received our encouragement and went to the place where the others gathered.
At a first glance, she looked the same way as ever.
"…Umi."
"Hm?"
"Will she be okay?"
"…You noticed too, Maki?"
It seemed like Umi knew what I was talking about. In truth, ever since the day she found out about the rumor, Amami-san had been gloomier.
When she was around the usual group, she'd act cheerfully like usual. During lunch just now, she was able to chat happily with Nakamura-san and Takizawa-kun.
But, to me it felt like she was forcing herself to act that way just so we wouldn't be worried about her.
"What should I do, Maki? I really want to help her, but she has been really stubborn about not receiving any help lately. When we were alone a while ago, I casually brought up the topic to her and she just brushed it off and said that everything is okay… It feels like she doesn't want to drag us down or something…"
"I guess we really meant a lot to her, huh?…"
Honestly, it felt like Amami-san was overthinking about the matter too much. To be fair, it has only been a few days since we've heard about the rumors, so this kind of reaction was normal. Still, she should've been used to dealing with this kind of rumor, yet she acted like this.
Her behavior had been weird. I've noticed it since this morning.
Well, for the time being, we couldn't really do anything about the rumors. But both Arae-san and Nitta-san were working together behind the scenes to handle it. Now with Nakamura-san offering her help, I hope that everything will end on a good note for all of us.