_Chapter 18~ Competitive_

"Um, Reina?"

"I was thinking maybe a performance would work. But, the question is of what?"

Daichi watched me pace around the home economics lab, awkwardly scrunching his eyebrows. "Er..."

"Unless I do something generic like food..."

Reaching into the microwave, I slipped out the plate of curry I'd warmed up from my lunchbox. It was currently lunch, following the end of our home economics class, and although the rest of my classmates had been ushered back to our classroom by Ms. Osaka, after asking for permission to stay here, she granted it to us on the condition that we don't allow anyone else inside.

Passing students did occasionally peek inside but all of that was pushed to the back of my churning mind.

"Here," I said, skidding the plate toward him. "I packed this for myself this morning. Eat it and tell me what you think."

Daichi lit up at the sight, green eyes twinkling. "No way. You're feeding me?"

I collapsed into one of the many open seats, a hand rested under my chin.

"If I'm making food, wouldn't takoyaki get more of a crowd?" I made a face. "I'm not that great at that... I should search it up."

"Whoa, this is amazing!" Daichi exclaimed, stuffing his face with it. "I had no idea you cooked, Reina!"

"But how about taiyaki?"

"Holy! Can I have more after this?"

I rounded to glare at hm. "Daichi, quit being so loud! I'm trying to think."

He stopped mid-chew, blinking up at me with his cheeks full of curry. "Swowwy."

I rolled my eyes. "You're supposed to be helping me."

After a few more sounds of the spoon hitting the plate, and him gnawing blissfully, Daichi spoke, "But you haven't even told me what we're doing here, besides you telling me to eat curry. Which, for the record, is definitely the best I've ever had."

He extended his empty plate to me.

"I'm going to need a lot more, if you don't mind."

I sighed, rising to my feet and pulling the remaining leftovers out from my bag. After warming this batch up, I handed it to him, and he gladly began devouring it as if he hadn't just inhaled the previous plate seconds ago.

"I told you," I said after a while, propping my elbow on the table. "Iwasaki and Miyabi are working against me for this charity thing and I need ideas on what kind of booth to set up."

Daichi cheeks moved up and down, them being as puffed up as a squirrel's with acorns, and he spoke, "You have absolutely no clue what you want?"

It didn't come out as comprehending as that, of course, but it was what I was able to piece together amidst dodging shreds of flying food and interpreting his incoherent murmuring.

"I want to beat them, y'know," I told him. "Badly."

Daichi tilted his head to the side. After swallowing, he stared at me seriously. "That sounds like a you problem though. Why am I here?"

"Because you're supposed to be helping me!"

"I am?"

"You are!"

He nonchalantly delved into the curry once more. I pouted.

"You're Class President, aren't you? You should be flowing with good ideas for these kinds of things!"

"But it's your problem." His mouth was yet again full. "I don't want anything to do with this. You took my place and volunteered. Take responsibility."

I volunteered? Did this guy not witness Miyabi literally drag me out of the class last week? What about that was of my own volition?

Maybe the part where I allowed myself to be provoked by Ryu Iwasaki, my mind quipped.

I banished the thought. Daichi didn't need to know about my petty side.

Lurching to my feet, I snatched the plate of curry from his hands. He gasped, neck rotating upwards with his bulged eyes.

"No, what are you doing? Give it back!"

"I will not."

"You can't eat my food!"

"Yes, I can. I made it!"

For emphasis, I grabbed the spoon from his grasps and shoved a bite into my mouth.

Daichi's jaw fell. "That's... that's..."

"Get out of here if you're not going to assist me. I'm not feeding uncooperative people."

He didn't move from his seat regardless of my warning. After a while, I peeked his way to find out why. He sat there, eyeing me in complete and utter awe. His cheeks had also taken a rosy tinge, stretching all the way to his ears.

"What?" I barked.

Daichi flinched, vehemently shaking his head. "I can't believe you're that bold..."

"Huh?" I demanded, arching a brow.

He scratched the back of his neck. Then, without warning, he covered his face with his hands, squirming around in a flustered fashion. "You're eating from my spoon."

At first, I stared at him. Blinked once, twice... By the time my eyelids fluttered closed the third time, insurmountable heat spread across my cheeks. I dropped the spoon and bolted to my feet. I dived to the nearest garbage can, spitting hysterically, then dashed to the sink to pour myself a glass of water.

I chugged it down and stuck out my tongue in a gagging motion.

"Ouch," Daichi murmured, removing his hands from his face. "Way to hurt somebody's ego. And here I consider myself quite the hygienic guy."

Casting the glass aside and rubbing off any water remnants from my cheek, I approached him and flopped into the seat I previously occupied. My sour glance didn't fade.

"You could have that back."

"Really?" Brightening like a light, he swept the plate towards his chest. "Yay!"

I watched in disgust as he chowed down with the same spoon as if it were no problem at all. "I can't believe you..."

"What? It's delicious," he excused through his chubby cheeks.

I shook my head, ridding my useless embarrassment. I'd never seen Daichi in that kind of way anyway—and him for me—so there was no point in getting all flustered. Still, why'd he have to go and bring it up if he didn't even care about sharing a spoon? If it was his master plan of taking it back, he'd flawlessly succeeded.

Daichi continued his exaggerating gushing of how amazing of a cook I was while he ate, until the entire plate was completely empty for the second time. He wiped his mouth with a napkin he'd located nearby then fixed his gaze back to me, scrutinizing me behind his glasses.

"Okay, well, you could always cook," he said. "Clearly, you have a gift for it."

Glad that he was finally cooperating, I grinned. "You think so?"

"I literally inhaled your curry like it was oxygen. Trust me, your talent is heaven-sent."

I tittered, bashful. "Thank you."

"And since you will be working out in the open, short-staffed to boot, it should be something easy to give out," he continued with a smile. "How about cupcakes?"

I put a hand to my chin. "I never thought of that option."

"Lots of people love them," he prodded. "They'd definitely pay."

"They would, wouldn't they?"

My excitement must've been obvious because he laughed.

"Oh, and how about inviting other schools here to enjoy it, too? Having more of a crowd ensures more funds."

My bubbling elation disappeared. I scowled at him, hard.

He blanched. "Wh-what?"

"How dare you suggest that."

"Huh? But I only—"

"No other schools!"

Daichi made a face. "But—"

"No. Other. Schools." I rose an eyebrow at him, as if daring him to argue something. "Am I clear?"

He rose his arms in surrender. "What was I ever thinking? Inviting other schools is such a good idea it's horrible."

"Hey," I said, offended.

Daichi sighed, "Don't tell me this is what you got into an argument about with those guys?"

I puffed up my cheeks, circling my finger on the table. "But..."

"Reina, you're way too stubborn."

"But this school's dangerous!" I said in defence. "What's wrong with looking out for innocent people?"

"Nothing. But this school isn't entirely terrible. Nor is it filled with only delinquents. There's plenty of nice people—regular students like us."

"I know that, but—"

"Besides," he went on, "the day it's on—February 6th—is the day most of the academy is throwing fundraisers for various charities. All students will be roaming around anyways. Inviting other high schools to partake doesn't sound foreign, right?"

Stunned me into silence, I gaped. Wait... what? "This isn't only for the Student Council?"

"The Student Council did go around asking for the various fundraisers people had in mind, but since the response was so positive, they decided to leave the entire day to gathering money. It was decided in the last couple of days. Did you possibly not know?"

"How was I supposed to?" I returned, mouth dropped. "They didn't tell me!"

"Really?" Daichi paused, looking a little conflicted. "So now that you know, will you work with them?"

I slammed my fist onto the table at the suggestion. "No way! I'm beating them! I'm definitely making them admit they're inferior!"

I grounded my teeth. Bring it on. I'd make the best cupcakes the world had ever seen. Just watch...

"I never thought you were the competitive type," Daichi snorted.

"I'm not competitive. I just hate being looked down upon. More than anything, I want to come out on top."

"I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it means to be competitive."

I recoiled. Daichi sniggered once more and hummed under his breath.

"Anyway, though you ranted my ear off about them before, I don't think those two were looking down on you."

"You clearly haven't met them," I huffed.

"I kind of want to," he admitted. "They don't sound as scary as I thought."

Ryu crossed my mind. I raked Daichi over. Well, Ryu wasn't that scary, I'd give him that. And Miyabi was the literal definition of a neglected puppy, constantly yearning for attention.

Brushing my bangs, I used the hair tie I kept handy on my wrist to tie up my hair into a ponytail. After, I drummed my fingers on the wood. "So, I can make the cupcakes," I said. "You want to create the signs?"

Daichi stared at me, almost incredulous. "You're still forcing me into this?"

"Running a stand by myself will be difficult," I reasoned. "Besides, didn't you say you'd leap to my side whenever I needed help?"

He grinned at that. "Fine, I'm in. So? What's your elaborate plan to take those two down and emerge as the champions we are?"

A similar smile grew on my face. I gently socked his shoulder. "Dang, Daichi. You should've just started with that."

* * *

The day of the event was exactly as Daichi had predicted: everything and everyone was bustling with limitless energy, colourful stands and decorations interspersed at almost every corner of the school, food and sweets at every turn. If today was my first day at this school and I were to wager a guess, I'd probably say it was the Cultural Festival... but in February.

As I admired the creative booths, I caught sight of other students in unfamiliar uniforms enjoying themselves. It was a sight to honestly behold. The typically bleak, dreary halls were bursting with liveliness—happy-go-lucky laughter and conversations—all succeeding in consuming me with awe. Even the delinquents were nowhere to be found—thankfully—leaving me to believe they most likely ditched because the event didn't sound appealing to them. I should've known that'd be the case prior to Ryu's or even Daichi's suggestions.

My entire mood had completely shifted. I strolled through the halls with a big smile on my face, maneuvering my way around crowds, carrying boxes full of the cupcakes I'd stayed up to make last night. When I turned a corner, I screeched to a halt, my heart flopping in my chest.

Ryu and Miyabi.

They were at a stand—theirs, I presumed because I couldn't quite make out what it said—bickering for whatever reason.

"Chocolate."

"No," Miyabi said. "It's definitely strawberry."

"Chocolate," Ryu stated firmly.

He placed a finger under his chin. "Cotton candy is good, too..."

My eyebrows knitted together. What the heck were they talking about? Flavours?

I stayed glued to the wall, doing my all to make sense of their puzzling back and forth. Then, Miyabi suddenly looked at me. Caught off guard, I stumbled backwards. Instead of hitting the floor, I bumped into somebody and managed to drop the cupcakes. A laugh erupted in the distance, most likely Miyabi's, but I was desperately praying otherwise.

Feeling myself blush, I plummeted to the ground, scrambling for the boxes. "S-sorry."

"No, that was kind of my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going."

To my surprise, the girl I had collided into crouched over and began to assist me in picking up the wrapped treats and paper plates that had spilled across the floor. Maybe due to my bashfulness, but I couldn't look her in the eye as I did, not even when we both got up and she outstretched a couple of cupcakes for me. Her otherwise stilled features on her beautiful face fell in apology.

"I think they got a little..."

She didn't have to finish.

I eyed the tattered baked treats and accepted it with a dismissive shake of the head. "It's all right. They're still edible."

"Miyuki, hurry up! Kazu, Kouichi, and Saki went off ahead."

"We'll leave you behind too, Hoshino!"

At the sudden shouts, the girl's head jerked behind her. I followed her gaze onto two boys—one tall brunet while the other had a baseball cap situated on the top of his head. They wore a similar uniform to hers. Seisein Academy, by the letters on her sweater vest.

"Why did we have to come out here anyway?" Her mumble garnered my attention. She primmed her mouth, a representation of her disinterest. "The things we do to help the students in our school, I swear..."

A sigh in tow, her stunning turquoise coloured eyes met mine.

"I have to go," she said, digging her hands into her pockets.

I meekly grinned. "Enjoy yourself."

Without bothering to return the expression, she ambled off at that, her long, dark hair flowing after her. I watched her walk off and join those two handsome boys, newfound wonderment coursing through me. She seemed so cool. Stood her ground rather well, too. I bet if she attended this school she'd get by a lot better than me.

Nudging the notion away, I veered my focus. Then without bothering to look back in Ryu or Miyabi's direction, I hastened forward, keeping my head downcast until I reached my booth burrowed deep on the first floor.

Daichi was sitting there when I arrived, boredom encompassing his features. Upon noticing me, however, he lurched to his feet.

"Reina! What took you so long?"

Digging into the boxes, I set down the sweets I spent hours working on onto our table with a sigh. Vanilla, chocolate, red velvet—various icing flavours and sprinkles ruined as well. They weren't exactly a mess, but they definitely didn't appear that appealing to eat anymore.

Daichi sucked in sharply at the sight of them. "They're—"

"Ruined, I know," I said, scrutinizing the cupcakes one last time then directing my gaze onto the passing myriad of people. I exhaled yet another exhaustive breath. "Hopefully they'll buy smushed cupcakes."

________________

These last couple chapters have just been me for the most part editing them prose wise and I'm in awe to how I used to write 2-2.5k words. Those were really the days, 'cause here I am now unable to write chapters under 3k xD

And oh, I included a treat for readers who've read The Humanity Club. Did you notice? Did you?

Anyway, I do hope you all are enjoying this!

Now that her cupcakes are smushed, do you believe Reina will still be able to upstage Miyabi and Ryu?

—Misty