The door slammed shut, the echo of my footsteps fading into the hallway. Back in the club room, the silence was broken by a roar of pure frustration.
"He called us liars? Who does he think he is!?" Ozawa Sora shouted, his face turning a blotchy red.
"Calm down, Ozawa-kun," Yokota Masayuk said, though even his calm voice had a trace of irritation in it.
"Of course I'm calm!" Sora yelled, slamming his hand onto a stack of scripts. He was anything but calm.
Emi stood in the center of the room, her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched at her sides. She wasn't just angry, she was insulted. "I'm going to talk to the teacher. This is a mistake."
She marched out of the room, her heels clicking sharply against the floor as she made her way to the faculty office.
"What do you mean you can't transfer him, sensei?" Emi demanded, standing in front of Tsuruta-sensei's desk.
Tsuruta-sensei didn't even look up from his paperwork. He just took a slow sip of his tea. "As I told you, Shiraki-san, I cannot transfer Tamotsu to a different club. This is where he belongs."
"But he called us liars! He walked out! He clearly doesn't want to be there, and we definitely don't want him!"
"Not my problem," Tsuruta-sensei replied coldly. He finally looked up, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips. "Why do you think he'll fit in the Drama Club, anyway?"
Emi paused. She thought back to the way Hamasaki had looked at her on the roof, the way his face changed from a cold mask to a blushing mess, and then back to ice again.
His "acting" wasn't intentional, but it was incredibly realistic. He was always playing a role, even if that role was 'The Loner.'
"I mean... he might have the personality for it, and his expressions are... vivid," Emi admitted to herself. But out loud, she snapped, "That's not going to happen! We can't work with someone like that!"
Tsuruta-sensei let out a long, theatrical sigh and leaned back in his chair. "If that's what you want, fine. But there are consequences for a failing club."
Emi felt a chill. "What consequences?"
"If the Drama Club cannot maintain its full membership, I will have to deduct 5% from the final grade of every student in that club. You'll all be 5% lower than the class average."
Emi felt like a bolt of lightning had struck the room. Her grades were everything to her. She was a top student, and a 5% drop was a disaster.
"That's not funny, Tsuruta-sensei," she whispered.
"It's not a joke," he replied, his eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief. "And this includes everyone. Ozawa, Yokota, Tamaki, and Kaba.
They all suffer if Hamasaki leaves."
"WHAT!?"
The scream from the drama club room was loud enough to be heard in the next building.
"What do you mean we'll get 5% lower marks!?" Ozawa Sora yelled, clutching his head.
"I mean, that's not a huge problem for me," Yokota said quietly, checking his latest test scores.
"Maybe for you, but for the rest of us, it's a tragedy!" Sora snapped.
They all looked at Emi, desperate and furious. Tamaki Madoka looked like she was about to cry. "What should we do, Emi-chan?"
Emi sat down in the center of the room and closed her eyes, her mind racing. She hated that guy. She hated the way he looked at them, the way he judged them. But she hated losing even more.
A few seconds passed in tense silence. Then, Emi opened her eyes. They were burning with a new kind of determination.
"There's only one thing we can do," she declared.
The club members leaned in, hopeful but confused.
"We are going to convince Hamasaki Tamotsu to come back to this club. No matter what it takes!"
Sora's jaw dropped. "Bring him back? I'd rather lose the 5%!"
"I thought you weren't smart, Sora," Yokota muttered.
"Shut up, Yokota!"
"I know you don't like this," Emi said, walking over to the window and looking out at the courtyard where students were laughing and talking. "But it's the only way. And... maybe it's just me, but I think he might actually be the perfect actor for us. He's already hiding so much behind that mask of his."
She tightened her grip on the windowsill.
"Hamasaki Tamotsu... we will bring you back. Whether you like it or not."
---------------------------------------------------------
"Tch. Me? A bad guy, huh?" I muttered, my voice echoing in the empty hallway. "What am I even doing in this school anyway?"
I walked with my hands shoved deep into my pockets, my shoulders hunched. The image of the club members' shocked faces flashed in my mind. "I'm never going back to that dumbass club. Not in a million years."
"Yo, Hamasaki!"
I groaned internally. This guy again? I didn't even have to turn around to know it was Sama.
"Hey! How was your club? Is it fun?" Sama asked, catching up to me with that exhausting, high-energy bounce in his step.
"Like hell it would be fun," I shot back.
"Wow, didn't expect that response!" Sama laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway, in my club, they actually made me the President! Isn't that cool?"
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. What kind of idiot thinks this guy is suited for a leadership position? "Whatever," I muttered.
"C'mon, that's mean, Hamasaki!" Sama pouted. "Anyway, since I'm the President, I have a mountain of work to do already. Gotta go. See ya!" He waved and sprinted back toward the sports fields.
I didn't think much about it. I just wanted to disappear. I went back to the classroom, slumped into my seat, and jammed my earphones in. I let the music drown out the world until my eyes grew heavy.
"Yo, Hamasaki! Let's play!" In my dream, the sun was bright, warmer than it ever was now. A younger version of Maekawa Akio was waving a soccer ball at me.
We ran, we laughed, and for a moment, I was just a kid.
"Maekawa, that's not fair!" my younger self cried out, laughing.
"Haha... Hamasaki!" Suddenly, the voice changed. It wasn't friendly anymore. It was mocking.
"Hey... Hamasaki Tomatoes!" I looked around frantically, searching for the source of the name. Then—
BANG!
I jolted upright, my heart hammering against my ribs. Tsuruta-sensei was standing over my desk, his palm flat against the wood.
"Hamasaki 'Tomatoes'... did you fall asleep in my class?" he scolded, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
I realized with a start that I'd slept through the entire lunch break and half of the next period. The classroom was full of students, and several were snickering.
"Come to my office after class, Hamasaki," the teacher barked before returning to the chalkboard.
I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Nobody woke me up? Well, I already expected that, I thought bitterly.
"Actually, Ichirou-kun tried to wake you," a voice said from right beside me. "But you were sleeping so deeply it was almost scary."
I turned my head, my eyes widening. "Why are you sitting next to me?"
It was Emi. She was staring at me with a look of pure exasperation. "What? Did you not notice me at all? I've been here since the bell rang."
"Nope," I said without hesitation.
Emi ground her teeth and clenched her fist ready to punch me.A dark aura radiating from her. Her expression clearly said, 'I'm going to kill you.' I felt a genuine shiver of fear and immediately looked back toward the window.
This day literally cannot get any worse, I thought.
After the final bell, I trudged to Tsuruta's office. I didn't even knock before opening the door.
"So, what trouble am I in now?"
"You already know," Tsuruta responded coldly from behind his desk.
"For falling asleep in class?"
Bang.
Tsuruta actually fell off his chair. He scrambled back up, looking flustered. "No! Not that! You left the Drama Club and called all the members liars, you idiot!" he yelled.
"Yeah? And?" I had no shame. I didn't care what he thought of me.
"Are you really just going to quit?"
"Yeah. Because I hate it," I said.
The bluntness of my words seemed to shock him. Tsuruta-sensei sat back, searching my face for any sign of a joke. He found none.
"But without you, the Drama Club will be nothing," he tried, his voice dropping to a more serious tone.
"Not my problem," I replied.
"You and the members will get a 5% lower mark on every test."
"Don't care."
Tsuruta-sensei leaned forward. "Even if you don't care about your own marks, don't you care about the others? You're dragging them down with you."
"Nah."
I absolutely hated the idea of that club. I wasn't going to let guilt-tripping work on me. Tsuruta stayed silent for a long time, letting out a deep, defeated breath. I thought I'd finally won. I thought he was going to let me go.
Then, he started to laugh. A low, scary chuckle that made the hair on my arms stand up.
"What's with the laugh, teacher?" I asked, taking a half-step back.
"Nothing," Tsuruta said, his eyes glinting with something I didn't like. "You can go now, Tamotsu."
"Okay then..."
I left the office, feeling a sense of victory, but also a strange weight in my chest. I headed for the school gate, ready to put this day behind me.
Back in the office, Tsuruta-sensei watched the door close. He picked up his phone and dialed a number.
"It's all up to you guys now," he whispered to the empty room. "Good luck, Shiraki Emi."
I walked toward the main entrance, feeling a rare sense of satisfaction. I had looked a teacher in the eye, told him I didn't care about my grades, and walked out. For the first time, being a "bad guy" felt like freedom.
I reached the shoe lockers, ready to swap my indoor shoes and disappear into the sunset. But as the glass doors came into view, a figure stepped out from behind a pillar, blocking the light.
"Hamasaki Tomatoes... prepare yourself. I'll make you join the Drama Club no matter what!"
I froze. Shiraki Emi stood there, her arms crossed, a terrifying mix of a smirk and a scowl on her face. My heart skipped a beat, not out of romance, but out of pure dread.The teacher must have blabbed.
"Move, Shiraki," I growled, trying to push past her. "I'm going home."
"Oh, you aren't going anywhere," she said, her smirk widening. "Did you really think we'd just let you walk away and take our grades with you?"
I looked around, realizing the hallway was strangely empty. It wasn't just Emi. They had planned this. Like a well-rehearsed play, the "cast" began to reveal themselves from their positions across the school grounds.
The Back Entrance: Kaba Ayame stood by the secondary doors, blocking the path to the bike racks. "No more running, Hamasaki-kun!" she called out, her cheerful smile looking surprisingly predatory in the evening light.
The Rooftop: High above, leaning over the railing, Ozawa Sora glared down at the courtyard. "You damn bastard! Don't even think about getting away from me!" he roared. To him, this wasn't just about grades, it was a grudge match between rivals.
The Football Field: Standing tall near the gate to the athletic grounds was Yokota Masayuki. He adjusted his glasses, looking like a professional strategist. "Hamasaki Tamotsu, I'm sorry for this, but I had to do this for the sake of my friends," he said, his voice calm and gentlemanly.
The Classroom: Back in Class 1-C, Tamaki Madoka clutched a mop, her knees shaking as she guarded the rear windows. "Why am I alone here? I'm scared... but I can't let him back in!" she whispered to herself, her resolve flickering but holding.
I looked from the front door to the back door, then up at the roof. They had every exit covered. I was a cornered animal, and the Drama Club was the cage.
Emi stepped forward, the sunlight catching the fierce determination in her eyes. She reached out and grabbed my collar, forcing me to look at her.
"You're not a bad guy, Tamotsu," she hissed. "You're just a coward hiding from a script you're too scared to read."
From every corner of the school, their voices seemed to echo at once, a unified chant that chilled me to the bone:
"YOU WILL NOT LEAVE THE DRAMA CLUB!!!"
I stood there, my bag heavy on my shoulder, realizing that my "quiet" school life had just officially turned into a high-stakes production. And apparently, I was the lead actor.