Why?

We finally reached our school, and it definitely looked a lot different from the usual days. A crowd of people could be seen waiting near the gate, and the noise of chatter and microphones being tested from inside the campus could be heard easily.

The front gates were presented with banners that had the words "Sports Festival" printed on it in bright red colours. I walked inside with Tsūmen and both of us were a bit taken aback by the crowd.

As we're walking towards the main building, I could see the flags waving at different spots in the front year, as well as the crowd of students near the clubs. Banners were hanging above our heads. 

Looking at all these, Tsūmen commented, "Doesn't it look more crowded than last year?"

"I thought so too." I nodded as it was indeed crowded, as it seems like the number of participants was high too this year.