Naïveté - Part 3
Chloe woke me up earlier than usual so I managed to get to school with time to spare.
I'm kinda tempted to check in on Scarlet first. Things ended on a sour note yesterday, but I'm curious about whether she came up with a new plan since yesterday.
Doing that in public would be the same as admitting to everyone that she's working with me, though…
In that case, it'd probably be better to check in with Nick and Sig first so that I can hear out their opinions.
Sig didn't look so hot after seeing Momo and Scarlet get into that argument, so checking on him would be a good idea too.
Where would they be right now, though?
Hmm, we've got about half an hour until class. I don't usually make it to school this early, but if I had to guess then they might be hanging out in the cafeteria for the Wi-Fi connection.
Those guys never take a break from their games, do they?
Guess I'll just have to head over there and remind them that we've got a campaign to run.
Feeling confident in my guess, I head off to the cafeteria.
Much like yesterday, the other students' gazes and giggles as I walk by are drilling holes into my self-esteem.
Doesn't seem like the campaign is going all too well if I'm just going to be a laughing stock for all of it.
She's obsessively focused on stopping Jen from doing that interview, but… is that really going to shift our momentum at all?
And actually, now that Momo knows about us, does Scarlet even have any say in Jennifer's campaign anymore?
Moving forward, we need to take these things into account.
Today is Friday, meaning it's the last school day before the election.
If we screw up here, then the bad press is only going to worsen my bad reputation over the weekend.
It'll be an unstoppable train, much unlike the one that's supposed to take me to school on Monday.
I sigh.
This is looking more and more impossible by the minute.
Oh whatever, there's no stopping us now.
The only way left to go is forward.
I eventually arrive at the cafeteria entrance.
And what greets me the moment I step in leaves me frozen in place.
Jennifer Swift.
"…"
A cold sweat runs down the back of my neck.
She's looking down at her phone as she walks in my direction.
What could she want with me?
Is she going to rub it in…?
Threaten me?
I'm not mentally prepared for this.
I don't know if I'll be able to respond properly at all.
The queen of the freshman year casually strolls up to me.
With my fists clenched tightly, I brace myself for her words.
But…
She doesn't seem to be paying me any mind.
In fact, she walks right past me and exits into the hallway.
"…"
The strange part is, I can't tell if that was intentional or not.
Ahaha…
Why did I freak out just from her walking next to me?
Momo must have messed me up yesterday.
She's just a high school girl, Chase. Relax.
"Haaaa…"
I take a deep breath to reset my mentality.
That aside, the room seems almost completely empty as one would expect from the time of day.
There's really only a handful or so of students lounging around and relaxing here at this hour.
And unsurprisingly enough, it seems like my guess was on the mark.
I walk toward my comrades in arms who seem to be passionately engaging in conversation.
"Hey guys, what's up?"
"Oh. Hey man, how'd it go yesterday? Sig wouldn't tell me anything about it. What's that all about?"
"Ahaha, it wasn't pretty."
Like I thought, it really is bothering him.
He looked painfully upset about that whole thing.
I don't blame him though, he really likes her. Being forced to witness that whole situation must've been uncomfortable for him.
"Are you good, Sig?"
"N-nani..? Oh, are you referring to the thing with Momo-chan? Nah, I'm fine. I'm worried about her more than anything."
"Why her?"
"Are you not worried yourself? Her relationship with Scarlet-chan is in jeopardy thanks to my own incompetence. If I had only the confidence to warn her about Ryan-san myself, then the responsibility would not have fallen onto your shoulders, and Scarlet-chan wouldn't have felt betrayed by her tomodachi."
"U-uh, yeah…"
I guess that was a possible ending for this.
The two of them haven't been on good terms since the "break up", after all.
"There's no point in regretting it now, though. All we can do is focus on the elections. If things go well then those two might just realize that all the arguing was for nothing and they'll go back to being friends again, right?"
"I guess so…"
"Besides, you couldn't have helped her, right? You're not allowed near her."
"Ueh? What do you mean?"
"Like… aren't you not allowed within a certain distance of her? Isn't that why you never talk to her?"
Sig stares blankly at my face for a few seconds.
"You're talking nonsense, Chase-dono. I don't talk to her because I get nervous around her. The first time I spoke to her, I got so nervous that I started spouting cringe-y weeaboo lines that made me want to die."
Oh, so you were self-conscious about how bad it sounded.
But if that's the case then, why did Momo tell me that she imposed some kind of rule on him?
"Ah screw this, enough about that thot already! Let's get back to the matter at hand!"
"Momo-chan isn't a thot, you… you… baka-leader!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm not even gonna get started with you anymore. Anyway, Chase. Did you figure out what you're going to be doing about your campaign speech?"
"Uh, yeah. I did up a rough draft last night. Here."
I reach into my back pack and start searching through for my notebook.
"You seem really into this though, Nick. I'm surprised."
"Heh, well it is the first step necessary for taking over this shitty school and making it something that nerds and geeks alike can marvel at. #MakeSunHighGreatAgain! Get that trending Sig. We have a campaign to run here."
"Seriously, stop that."
I pull out what I've written of my campaign speech so far.
"Let's see!"
He swipes the opened notebook and skims through it.
"Hmmm, hmm… PFFT! Dude this opener is so stupid! Hahahahaha! Man, this is gonna be great."
"Thanks. I thought of it myself."
"…"
"…"
"Ehhh, not bad… but I think it needs more emotion."
"Emotion?"
"Yeah man. Take it from the guy who gives the best motivational speeches in the 'Fated Ones'. By far."
By far, huh?
"You can't call people to action without appealing to their emotions."
"I don't quite understand…"
"Yeah well, let's look at you, right? If we're going off of logic alone, you almost certainly shouldn't be voted in even if you're technically a better candidate than Thotifer. You skipped a ton of class, got into a fight, and there's rumors about you being a huge womanizer. Right?"
"Uh, yeah."
I forgot about how bad this race actually looks for me. I'm definitely the turtle here, no two ways about it.
"But that's only if we look at it logically. What if we could appeal to their emotions to change their perception of you? You know, and make them feel sorry for you? Or make them sympathize with what you stand for?"
"Oh yeah, Scarlet was talking about how that's the strength of my campaign. Like, how I'm the victim of a smear campaign or whatever."
"Yeah man, so don't put too much thought into this policies thing. Or rather, have it compliment the character you're going for once you start the speech."
"Character… you sound like a real politician dude."
"Heh, that thot should just count her lucky stars that I'm not the one running against her."
He returns the notebook.
"Thanks, but this isn't really the main problem right now."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well…"
Sig speaks up after silently listening for a while.
"The thing is, the opposition is going to have an interview with a certain reporter-san about some bad things Chase-dono has supposedly done."
"Geh, she's going to talk to Leyla isn't she…"
Oh yeah, I was wondering… Do those two have some kind of a relationship?
"Scarlet-chan figured that she should distract Jennifer-chan and then have Chase-dono do the interview to get her a replacement scoop, but we don't have confidence in her ability to do that…"
"Mm, true. Jennifer is a Grade A thot after all."
"Which is why I came up with an idea."
Oooh?! Not bad, Sig! I knew I could count on you!
Nick nods his head, appearing noticeably interested in Sig's words.
"I see. So? What's this brilliant plan of yours?"
"Well, rather than having Scarlet-chan distract the interviewer, we have her do the interview itself so she can tell the truth about everything that's been happening with Chase."
Certainly, that would mean she could get the truth out without having to talk to any guys or any of the girls in Jennifer's circle, but…
"But what about Thotifer herself? How do we distract her?"
At Nick's question, Sig smirks.
"We use 'that'."
"'That'?"
"The latest weapon of the 'Fated Ones'. The thing you left early to procure yesterday."
"That thing? How would we… Ah!"
A devious grin stretches across Nick's face.
"C-c-c-certainly that could work, but… but… we'll need time to set it up!"
"Hai, I think the three of us should skip the final period in order to make sure it goes off without any hitches."
"Hehehe… Sig you're a diabolical genius."
"Well, I am the one who made you buy it in the first place…"
Um.
I can't help but feel like I'm missing something here.
"What's this secret weapon that we need to skip class to set up?"
"O-oh… d-d-d-don't worry about it, Chase-dono!"
"Y-yeah. Just uh… try to get Scarlet to skip her last period and meet us in the SF clubroom."
"Uh, yeah okay…"
I have a bad feeling about this.
But unfortunately, we're kind of at our wit's end here.
Since they seem confident about it I can only believe in them for now, but…
I don't know. Something about this just feels off.
.
..
…
…..
The final period of the day quickly comes around and I arrive at the clubroom on time.
Scarlet is already here, as I'd briefly informed her when we met up in algebra class.
She didn't seem too responsive when I told her, but she did decide to show up in the end which is a relief.
With how despondent she's being though, I wouldn't be surprised if she's still upset about yesterday.
For whatever reason…
The other two, however, seem to be taking a while.
Which is kind of awkward given the tension in the air between Scarlet and myself.
"…"
I sneak a glance her way.
"!!"
She looks away.
I guess she was staring at me.
I'm not sure what all the charades are for, but…
"You know, if you have something to say then you should probably say it."
She clicks her tongue at my words.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I dunno. You just feel kinda… sad."
"Do I?"
Well, full of regret is probably a better way of putting it but I'll keep my mouth shut for now.
"Huh, I guess I do."
She looks down.
"I guess, I've just been thinking… that maybe I should apologize to her."
"Really?"
"Yeah… I already know I went too far. I just… had trouble really accepting it."
"…"
That's good.
Knowing Momo, I'm sure she'd forgive her too.
Maybe…
But she seemed really worried about us.
Just what on earth does Jennifer have in store?
"Anyway, more importantly… Are you sure we can leave it up to those two? I dunno about leaving everything up to them so close to the deadline…"
"O-of course we can. Say what you will about them, but they're loyal to a fault. I don't think they'd deliberately sabotage us just for a joke."
Though I say that, I'm actually having doubts myself.
There was something off about how the two of them acted when they came up with the idea.
"Haaaa…"
Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll work out.
The only thing I need to focus on is the campaign.
Well, that and if I can even make it to school on Monday to begin with.
"You're not helping if you sigh like that, you know. It's making me nervous."
"Sorry, I was thinking about something else."
"'Something else'?"
"Well…"
Come to think of it, there's no reason not to tell her about it, is there?
She has a right to know, what with all the effort she's putting into this.
"The train running from my neighborhood to the city won't be up on Monday morning."
"… What?"
"Y-yeah. There's maintenance scheduled to take place on the railroads from 3-7 A.M. Even if I take the first one up to the city at 7 I still won't make it in time for homeroom."
"That's…"
She looks down.
I wouldn't call it panic, but she certainly does seem worried.
"I'll try to see if I can get Rachael to organize an uber or something, but I don't really want to keep asking her for money like this."
"Rachael? Ohh, the waitress? What's your relationship with her anyway?"
"Uhh, she's kinda like my mentor in a way. She's the one who helped me get the job at Smooters, and she sometimes helps me with home-work and stuff during breaks."
"Hmmmm…"
She stares at me kind of suspiciously.
"W-what?"
"Sounds like you have a lot of respect for her, huh…?"
"Y-yeah…"
I don't get it, why does she sound so accusatory about this?
Hold on, is it the same thing Chloe was worried about?
"Wait Scarlet, it's not like that!"
"Hmmm, really? So what part about her don't you like, then? Is it the Smooters tank top or the shorts?"
"I-it's… wait, are you jealous or something?!"
"W-why would I be jealous of a loser like you?!"
"You're totally jealous! Why else would we even be talking about this?!"
"I'm not!"
"You are!"
"Hmph!"
She folds her arms and looks away.
Seems like that upset her more usual.
I honestly understand women less and less every day.
Before the conversation can further progress, the door to the SF clubroom swings open as if on cue.
"Yo."
"Osu."
Nick and Sig offer up their greetings and stroll into the room after closing and locking the door behind them.
The energy they're giving off is much different than what I've come to expect from them.
They're both too mellow. Too quiet.
Without saying much, the two of them take their seats at the table and turn to face the two of us.
Well, to be more precise, they're mainly looking at me.
Their unsettling gazes are making it hard to focus.
"Uhh, what's up guys? You're acting kinda strange right now."
"Y-yeah, it's kinda giving me the creeps…"
Scarlet shifts her chair backwards a bit.
Is their new demeanor triggering her Androphobia or something?
"Well, you don't need to worry about that. Right, Nick-kun?"
"Indeed, Sigmund. This is how we always act."
Really? I don't buy it.
Mellow voices like those don't suit you two! It's like you're whispering!
"W-well, it doesn't matter. More importantly, Chase was telling me that you two thought of a way to distract Jen? I don't mind doing the interview, but you have to promise me that Jen won't walk in half-way."
"Ohh, there's no need to worry about that, Scar-chan."
"Hehehe… Really. You underestimate the combined efforts of the 'Fated Ones'."
Okay, now I'm getting creeped out too.
"S-so?"
Scarlet seems to be squirming nervously in her chair.
"W-what are you going to do about Jen?"
I gulp.
I don't know.
The bad feeling I got from when they discussed this in the morning was coming back in full force.
It's like a snake is coiling itself around my body.
I can't move.
All I can do is stare the serpent in the eyes as it slowly drains the life out of me.
Why… do I feel so weird about this?
"Chase."
"Y-yeah?"
I almost jumped out of my seat.
"Go into the washroom and change into this."
Nick hands me a bag which I assume is full of clothes.
"… So I'm the secret weapon? What, am I going to disguise myself as a teacher or something?"
"Hehe, nevermind that. Just go do it…"
"Hurry up, Chase-dono…"
I'm not sure what this is all about, but if it's just changing into a disguise then it should be fine, right?
…
Right?