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Merry Christmas!

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One day in June, Kasumi-sama passed words to me that Tomoe-senpai was calling me to the Student Council room. Apparently it was some secret…

I opened the door in trepidation to find Tomoe-senpai and Stalking Horse there.

“Sorry for calling you out here, Kisshouin-san. Come sit down.”

Tomoe-senpai beckoned me towards one of the couches. Right next to Stalking Horse. Who glanced at me for a moment before averting his eyes.

After sitting down on the sofa opposite ours, Tomoe-senpai looked at my face, and then Stalking Horse’s.

“I actually called the two of you here because I wanted the two of you to serve in the Student Council next term.”

“Hah?”

“Eh?”

Serve in the Student Council!?

In middle school the member of the Student Council served until the end of Term 2, but in high school it’s only until Term 1. Right after the Summer Break the Student Council President retires and an election is held. Once the new Student Council President and Vice President are elected they nominate the other members. The students they nominate are told in advance though.

And apparently I was one of them.

“Arima, I know you were the Student Council President in the middle school section. You’re an obvious choice. You’ll accept, of course?”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really have a problem with it but…”

Stalking Horse looked confused as he glanced my way. Mn. I know what you mean. Why the hell is a Pivoine girl like me here, right? I’m basically asking the same thing.

“True, Kisshouin-san is a member of the Pivoine, but since primary school she’s served as Class Rep a number of times. Not only that but she’s honest and hard-working. This is something I know very well too. Not only that, but she’s one of the Pivoine members who get along more amicably with the Student Council. It’s really a new faction, you could say. That’s why I really hope that she’ll accept.”

Uwahh~ I’m happy that Tomoe-senpai trusts me so much, but defying the Pivoine like that is really too scary. I’d completely ruin myself if I did.

“I am terribly sorry, Tomoe-senpai. That is probably asking a little much. I am still a Pivoine member in the end.”

“You can’t be both?”

“I would probably be seen as a spy by both sides…”

Scaryy. I’m actually in the Pivoine so I know better than anyone else just how scary it would be to anger them. At worse I might be bullied until I drop out of school. Ah, but well, it’s the Student Council’s job to help with bullying isn’t it.

Anyway, the elitist Pivoine and egalitarian Student Council are like, conceptually opposed, so there’s no way I could be a member of both. It wouldn’t make sense.

“Mmn, I guess you can’t after all.”

Tomoe-senpai stretched.

“You know, I thought you might say that but since it was you I was just hoping that you might. You’d be like a bridge between us after all. But I guess the divide between the two groups is even more intense during high school, isn’t it.”

Yes. It’s not just a divide, it’s like the Mariana Trench.

“Then just you for Student Council then, Arima. But Kisshouin-san, you’ll help out in your role as Class Rep?”

“Yes. Whatever I can.”

Next to me, Stalking Horse was looking at me suspiciously. What the heck. Didn’t we get along in middle school? I was Class Rep then too. Aah, but then again I was the one who collected the handouts while it was Monk Boy who actually brought them to the Student Council Room.

Don’t tell me that he thought I pushed all the work onto Monk-kun!? That’s offensive! I worked my butt off!

And I thought we were stalking horse buddies too.

Why are you looking at me like that! You’re supposed to be the Vice Chief of the Forever Alone Village!

“What.”

“Nah, nothing.”

Tomoe-senpai smiled helplessly at the two of us.

“Arima. Kisshouin-san is somebody you can rely on in a crisis. Don’t be prejudiced just because she’s a Pivoine. You need to have an open mind.”

“…But then what’s with that nickname of hers.”

Nickname!?

I heard his mumble with my super hearing.

“Mizusaki-kun. What nickname might you be referring to?”

“Uh… It’s nothing.”

How can it be nothing! Are people calling me by some weird nickname behind my back!?

Could it be that’s why the boys all avoid me!?

“Mizusaki-kun.”

“I don’t know anything!”

“You lie. When a person lies they look up and to the right. Just as you did a moment ago.”

“Why do you know stuff like that!”

Oniisama taught me. Problem?”

“Anyway, I said I don’t know, okay! It’s Makkie or something, okay!”

Makkie? Makkie because I’ve got makigami(curled hair)!?

I’m not sure if I should feel offended or not. I mean, at least it’s not Curls. Isn’t it a bit cute? Makkie. Boys, you can call me Makkie if you want!

Stalking Horse was covering his eyes with his hands. Is he that afraid of me seeing through his lies? Bro, the moment you do that I can tell you’re lying. Is there some other weird nickname?

“Now, now, you two,” said Tomoe-senpai as he came between us. “You’re the two kouhai I trust the most. That’s why once I graduate and leave, I hope that you’ll support the Student Council together.”

Since he stopped us I’ll leave it for now. I can always investigate later.

More importantly… Graduating, huh… Even though I’m finally in the same section as him again, he’ll be gone after just a year? That’s so lonely.

“Oh? Is something wrong, Kisshouin-san?”

“No…”

Wow. That’s really so lonely.

Tomoe-senpai is really balanced so things aren’t too bad between the Student Council and Pivoine right now, too.

Actually, it’s really only him that doesn’t mind the Pivoine. The next Student Council President wouldn’t want me in it anyway.

I wonder what’s going to happen after he leaves. I don’t want things to get tense.

“Anyway, that’s all I had to say. Arima, we’ll hammer out some of the details for next term, so please stay behind for a bit. Kisshouin-san, that’s all I had to say. Thanks for coming.”

“I understand. Then Tomoe-senpai, Mizusaki-kun, gokigen’you.”

“Take care, and stay safe.”

“…You too.”

After that I headed straight for the car waiting for me.

I’m feeling a bit down for some reason. I know! Tomorrow I’ll eat some snacks! It’s been a while! Maybe the Lucky Turn crackers I’ve hidden in my closet.

*

The next day I caught hold of Satomi-kun and questioned him about my nicknames.

“Your nicknames?”

“Yes. Yesterday Mizusaki-kun mentioned something to that effect. I heard about Makkie, but are there any other nicknames I should know about?”

“Makkie? Oh, because of your hair. Ahh, I dunno, not right now?”

“Right now? Then in the past I have had other nicknames? What were they?”

“Eh… Ahhh, Goddess… I guess…?”

“Goddess?”

“Ahh! I really don’t know much about it! But nobody uses it now, okay! It was just in middle school! I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again, promise!”

Goddess…? The first that comes to mind is Aphrodite, but that’s already taken. That boy who got rather enthusiastic with his violin performance on our trip. His hair is a bit of an afro so everyone calls him Afrodite. Except that’s a bit of a mouthful, so really it’s just ‘Dite’ now.

As for other goddesses, there’s like Venus or like Athena and stuff? Those are the famous ones after all. But there are so many Greek goddesses, aren’t there. Well whatever.

“I suppose that will do, for now.”

Satomi-kun let out a huge sigh of relief and ran back to his ring of friends.

…Goddess, huh. But gosh, what if it’s really Venus. Oh no!

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