Chapter 82: Partner Scramble
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: Partner Scramble
On the bus ride to the Chiba Marine Ecological Park.
Unlike yesterday, when the atmosphere was full of excitement, the boys of Class 2-B were now cautiously sizing each other up, a competitive glint in their eyes.
The reason for this was the campfire and folk dance scheduled for the evening.
The folk dance.
It was an inseparable part of the campfire, like a needle and thread.
But the folk dance was performed in male-female pairs, which meant that the boys without partners would inevitably have to ask one of their female classmates to be theirs.
I'd already given up, so I was fine, but it seemed Satoru hadn't thrown in the towel just yet.
In fact, it looked like all the guys without partners were in the same boat.
Remembering I'd seen a similar sight during Valentine's Day this year, I chewed on the buttered squid I'd brought as a snack.
"Ah, I want some too."
"Sure."
When Rika, who was in the seat next to me, reached out, I held out the bag for her to help herself.
After taking a piece of squid and nibbling on it, Rika asked as if the thought had just occurred to her.
"Oh, by the way, Ryu-chan, who are you going to dance with tonight?"
At that, Sasha, who was sitting in the seat behind us, shot up.
"What a strange question. Kim Yoo-Sung will be dancing with me, of course."
I gave Sasha an incredulous look as she reached for the squid and said.
"No, we never made a promise like that."
"Then we can just make one now, can't we?"
…She had a point.
As I found myself unwittingly impressed by Sasha's logic, Rika, the one who brought up the topic in the first place, cried out with a desperate expression.
"No way!"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
As Sasha tilted her head and asked, Rika's face flushed slightly as she pulled on my arm.
"Ryu-chan promised he'd dance with me!"
This was also the first I was hearing of it.
"That bastard… I thought he said he'd given up."
Satoru, sitting in the same row as me, shot me a sharp glare, likely because he remembered the conversation we'd had this morning.
Anyway, setting Satoru aside for a moment, I had to mediate between the two girls who had suddenly created this standoff, so I quickly spoke up.
"Hold on, I don't plan on dancing with anyone. I've never danced in my life, and besides, whoever partners with me will just end up looking like Beauty and the Beast. Are you sure you're okay with that?"
Hearing my words, Sasha scoffed as if it were no big deal.
"I can teach you how to dance. And if I want to dance, I don't need to worry about what others think."
"I-I can teach you how to dance, too!"
The tension between the two girls suddenly became palpable.
Caught in the middle, I had no idea what to do, so I just chewed my buttered squid and stared off into the distance.
Clunk!
Just then, as if on cue, the bus came to a stop. Mr. Matsuda, who was in the front seat, stood up and announced.
"If anyone next to you is sleeping, wake them up. We've just arrived at our destination, the Marine Ecological Park."
"Tch, you got lucky."
"Hmph!"
Thankfully, upon hearing Mr. Matsuda, the two of them sat back down before the rift between them could deepen.
'Phew.'
Watching them from the side, I let out a silent sigh of relief and got off the bus with Satoru, who was still sending daggers my way with his jealous eyes.
*
Chiba Prefecture is a rather unique geographical case.
Three sides of the prefecture are surrounded by the sea, including Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean, so while it's attached to Tokyo, its shape makes it almost an island.
As a result, a diverse range of marine life could be easily observed near the coast, and many marine ecological parks utilizing this feature had been developed as tourist destinations.
"It's 11 AM now, so you have free time until 2 PM! Those who want to sightsee, go sightsee. Those who want to rest, go rest! You're not little kids anymore, so just don't be late for the assembly time!"
""Yessir~""
As the students, who were lined up in two columns, answered in unison, Mr. Matsuda nodded with a satisfied expression before heading toward the observatory with the other teachers who were waiting behind him.
It seemed they were planning to leisurely enjoy some tea at the cafe on the third floor.
"So… what does everyone want to do?"
I asked, looking at the other members of Group D next to me.
A variety of responses came back.
"I want to walk along the rocky coast."
"I want to check out the Marine Museum."
"It's a little early, but should we just get something to eat?"
"Umm, I'll stick with Ryuji."
"I'm going to find a partner first."
Finally, I looked at the Class President, who sighed deeply and said.
"Since it looks like everyone wants to do different things, how about we all just go our separate ways until lunchtime?"
Everyone in Group D agreed.
We arranged to meet in front of the observatory at one o'clock, then scattered.
After getting off the bus earlier, I had picked up a pamphlet from the tourist information center, so I unfolded it.
It contained brief descriptions of the marine life that could be seen in the area and their main habitats.
'The shortest walking trail is a 40-minute course, and the next one is an hour, huh.'
The longest was an hour and a half, but I decided to pass on that one since it seemed like it would take too long.
I was about to start walking, my eyes still fixed on the pamphlet, when someone called out.
"U-um!"
It was Rika, calling to me from behind.
"What is it?"
I asked, turning around. Rika fidgeted with her fingers and said.
"Um, if it's okay with you, Ryu-chan, would you like to go to the Marine Museum with me?"
Ah.
I glanced back and forth between the pamphlet in my hand and Rika.
I hadn't expected to receive such an invitation.
As I was wondering what to do, a familiar voice cut in from the side.
"Sorry, but Kim Yoo-Sung is going to see the rocky coast with me."
It was Sasha, who linked her arm with mine as she spoke.
"Hey, are you cutting in again?!"
Rika, who had been momentarily stunned, snapped back angrily. Sasha just shrugged.
"Judging by the pamphlet he's holding, he was planning to walk along the coastline anyway. On the other hand, if he goes to the museum with you, he'll have to give up the walk he originally planned. Isn't it obvious what he should do?"
"Ughhhh…"
As Rika glared at her, frustrated, Sasha sniffed and turned away.
Sasha, with her strong pride, not only bickered with Karen on a regular basis but also spoke with a thorny tone even to Rika, who was known for being one of the nicest girls in class.
Feeling it was a shame that she, an exchange student, was isolating herself, I had advised her to try and get along better with the other kids, but she didn't even pretend to listen.
At least it was a relief that she seemed to get along well with the Class President, her deskmate.
Anyway, I was about to step in to mediate between the two, who looked like they were about to start fighting again.
"Rika! Yoo-Sung!"
Karen, who had also come on the school trip but was in a different class, so we hadn't had much chance to interact, came running over, waving her hand.
It was the appearance of a truly reliable reinforcement.
*
"Sasha! You got nothing better to do than to bother Rika again!"
"I haven't bothered her. I merely stated the truth."
The moment they saw each other, sparks flew from their eyes as they clashed.
Actually, looking at them now, it seemed Karen was the one who got along with Sasha the least, but surprisingly, it didn't seem like Sasha truly disliked her.
It was more like she was dealing with a frenemy she couldn't bring herself to hate.
Meanwhile, Karen stood protectively in front of Rika, growling as she faced off against Sasha, but with a height difference of over 10cm between them, it made for an odd picture.
Still, with Karen acting as a buffer between Rika and Sasha, the awkward atmosphere instantly returned to normal. I cautiously made a suggestion to the two of them.
"Instead of fighting, how about we take a walk first and then go to the Marine Museum? We'll have plenty of time left over even if we just go for a walk."
Sasha, who had been in a staring contest with Karen, chuckled and turned her head.
"If that's the plan, I don't particularly mind. I just wanted to see the rocky coast."
"Hah, acting all nonchalant after being the first to back down."
"I-I don't mind either! We can just do both!"
And so, our schedule at the Marine Ecological Park was decided.
We would take the 40-minute walking course, then go to the Marine Museum near the observatory.
I turned to Karen, who was standing next to me.
"Is there anywhere you want to go, Karen?"
Karen looked at me with a "Huh?" before smiling shyly and scratching the back of her head.
"I don't really mind going anywhere. As long as I'm with you."
"Oh yeah?"
That was a surprisingly sweet thing to say. As I looked at her with a newfound appreciation, Karen's cheeks turned a faint pink, and she looked away.
Sasha, who was watching from the side, muttered.
"How cunning."
Rika chimed in.
"No fair, Karen."
At times like this, I couldn't tell if those two got along or not.
*
We walked along the promenade of the ecological park, following the sprawling coastline.
Along the way, we saw various fish, birds, amphibians, and crustaceans. It was clear that fascinating creatures you couldn't see on land were living here naturally.
Personally, seeing things like this always made me feel the wonders of nature.
After passing through a reed bed that spanned thousands of square meters, we finally reached the rocky coast that Sasha had wanted to see. Past that, a gray tidal flat came into view.
"Wow! A crab!"
As if she'd completely forgotten her fight with Sasha, Rika beamed upon seeing a small crab scuttling across the tidal flat.
Seeing her, I couldn't help but smile softly.
Somehow, I felt like I'd come to the sea with nieces who were much younger than me.