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The second semester of high school was hectic.
Along with the usual exams, there was the sports festival, class trips, and off-campus activities crammed into the schedule.
Now, in late September after summer break, the school buzzed with a festive mood.

"Alright, let's decide on our class's event for the Cultural Festival!"

October would bring the school-wide Cultural Festival, drawing crowds from outside.
Classmates raised their hands, suggesting various ideas.
We debated options within our budget, avoiding overlap with other classes before settling on a plan.

"Invitation tickets will be distributed. Each student can invite up to 10 external guests."

Sadly, I had no family or friends to invite.

▽▼▽▼

Lunchtime rolled around. Lately, someone always showed up to talk to me then.

"Asano-kun! Wanna eat lunch together?"
"Shiraki… There’s no benefit in hanging out with me, you know."

He seemed to have a crush on Endo but lacked the courage to talk to her directly.
So, he’d set his sights on me—Endo’s close friend.

"Don’t say that! I wanna be friends with you too, Asano-kun!"
Honestly, hearing that from someone meant a lot to someone like me with few friends.
"Well… I do kinda wanna get closer to Endo too…"
Yeah, that’s the real reason…