My Childhood Friends Reign on Top of the School Caste

“Mayumi-san, you’re extremely good at this!”

“I knew you could do anything!”

After Erika finished singing, all of them praised her.

 Erika looked pleased with herself as she said, “Thank you.” I could tell that she did a good job. Seeing that made me happy too.

 The warm air surrounded us, and the excitement from Erika’s song hasn’t cooled down.

“All right, next up is Ninomiya! You sing.”

 I have prepared for this, but I was hesitant to perform my own song in this kind of atmosphere. A good song would make me look even more tone-deaf. I didn’t expect Erika to fail, but neither did I expect her to do well.

 It was obvious that if I sang here, the place would go blank. It would be better if he could tease me as well, but I couldn’t expect that from Hayashi-kun.

 Someone’s hand gently touches mine. I immediately recognized the hand as Erika’s.

“It’s okay. It’s okay, Etsuji-kun. I’m right here next to you. I won’t let you make a fool of yourself.”

She pushed me back and said, “Sing your heart out.” I don’t know which one of us asked for advice.

 Hayashi-kun’s encouragement had me in a waiting state. I finished my song selection and picked up the microphone.

The spirit was to hit and break, not to sing and break.

I took a deep breath and started singing.

♪ ~~~~

As a result, I finished the song with a huge miss. I could have been saved if there was someone who could give me a good joke or come back, but there was no one. The only one who was there was Hayashi-kun, who looked happy to see me singing horribly

“Oi oi, seriously? You’re too bad at it!”

 Hayashi-kun seemed to be enjoying himself as he continued to laugh. 

 Surprisingly, the three people who came with Hayashi didn’t seem to agree with him. They seemed to feel guilty about making fun of his ineptitude, so they just smiled bitterly and got on with it. They may be good people, but right now it’s conversely awkward.

“Mayumi-san, it’s no fun to go to karaoke with someone like this!

 “I guess so,” Erika replies after blinking slowly.

“It’s no fun to come with someone like you who makes fun of people.”

“Huh?

“I don’t care how bad he is at singing. It’s always cool to see him working hard. There is no reason to make fun of him. If you’re on good terms with someone, you can make fun of them, but you’re just being a jerk.”

 The room became quiet. Erika said what I wanted to say but could not. She was right on target that I felt a little sorry for Hayashi-kun. Hayashi-kun was stammering, unable to speak.

“I think we’d better be off.”

 With those words, we left the room. The atmosphere among the rest of us might be terrible, but we don’t think about it because it’s our problem.

 After returning to the room, we quickly settled the bill.

 When I went outside, I could see the Akaneiro sky. The time was right, so we decided to leave.

 On the way home, we were on the same train, separated by a door on either side of the train.

 A lot had happened today, even though it was only karaoke. But I’ve gotten over Erika’s singing problem, and I’ve learned that it’s okay for me to be tone-deaf.

 I would like to thank Erika again.

“Thank you, Erika.”

“Thank you Etsuji.”

Erika was thinking of the same thing.

“Why are you thanking me? I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

“But your last words were very helpful.”

“I was just returning the favor that Etsuji had given me.”

The rattling and swaying train creates a tempo to our conversation.

“…As you know, Etsuji, there were more things I couldn’t do than things I could.”

 It reminds me of the past. It’s true that I wasn’t perfect from the start.

“Every time I couldn’t do something, you helped me out.”

“That was mutual, wasn’t it?”

“No… I was helped more often than not… Ever since then, I’ve felt guilty about the little things I can’t do. This time too, the word “poorly” that was said to me before has remained in my mind…”

So, it was bothering her after all.

“In the end, you were just nervous, but from the side, it’s just not that big of a deal. It was just karaoke between friends, it was just for fun. You’re worried about such small things like an idiot.” Some people might think that way, but…”

“But that’s not true. It’s true that some things are bigger or smaller than others, but it depends on one’s sense of value. No matter how small it may be, it can be a traumatic experience. It happens to everyone. Even to me…”

Since that time…

“I’m sure you’re overreacting to the idea of getting nervous at karaoke, but you can’t do anything about it, right? You just have to face it.”

“But, yeah, it isn’t good if you are too conscious about it. In moderation, you can rely on people around you for help. I’ll try to come with you in my free time.”

“That’s why I’m always so grateful when you say that.”

“Well, I’m busy,” I insisted.

“But… it was fun, wasn’t it?”

Erika said as she stretched.

 “Ah.”

“It was. Not bad for a change.”

“You’ll come back when I invite you, right?” 

“When I feel like it,” I reply.

 Erika’s smile across from me was gentle and warm.

Her face was slightly tinted red by the setting sun shining through the window.