The school trip groups

“Alright! Groups are set, yeah?”

The homeroom teacher’s voice echoes through the classroom.

With the excitement from the cultural festival and sports day still lingering, preparations for the school trip have kicked off.

Sure, Aisa, Manami, Yuuki, and I have been hanging out a ton, so we’re kinda used to switching gears, but the rest of the class is still riding that event high. Or maybe it’s more like the school trip vibe is cranking that energy up even more.

The groups came together smoothly. There’s no strict limit on numbers for free time, so we ended up with the usual crew—basically the gang we always roll with.

The guys are Hayato, Makoto, and Akito. The girls are Aisa, Rikako, Aiko, Mie, and Yuuki.

“Some groups are still sorting things out, but those who’ve got their groups set, start planning your free time!”

As the teacher’s voice rings out, I can feel the class buzzing a bit as they glance at our group.

I know why. I totally get it, but I was trying not to dwell on it—until Akito just had to poke the bear.

“I mean, come on. You’ve got Yuuki, who made that public confession, Kouki, who turned her down, and Aisa, who got caught up in the whole thing… Of course people are gonna stare.”

“Haha, yeah! Plus, Yuuki’s already a celebrity—public confession aside, she’s the Yuki Usagi!”

Rikako jumps in, piling on.

“Ugh…”

Yuuki freezes up, but Rikako smoothly steps in to shield her from the class’s eyes. Gotta hand it to her—she’s good.

“Aisa and Fujino-kun are obviously gonna stick together, but I bet a ton of guys were hoping to snag Yuki Usagi for their group.”

Mie’s quiet but razor-sharp comment makes a few guys in the class visibly look away.

Yeah, makes sense…

“Alright, alright! We’ve got our group, so let’s start planning free time!”

“Sweet, let’s hit up Osaka!”

“I mean, we already did Kyoto and Nara in middle school, right?”

Aiko takes charge and shifts the topic. Gotta thank her for that.

The rest of the group seems satisfied with that deflection and gets back to business. Or maybe that whole scene was just a performance to throw off the nosy onlookers…

For the guys, Makoto ends up taking the lead on planning, while Rikako steps up for the girls.

Not that Makoto volunteered for the role, mind you.

“Oi, you guys, say something too!”

“Nah, we’re good wherever. It’s all yours, group leader.”

Akito slaps Makoto’s shoulder, emphasizing “group leader” with a grin.

Yeah, it was decided by rock-paper-scissors.

“Hayato, anywhere you wanna go?”

“Hmm? Well, with the tournament coming up, maybe a shrine to pray for luck?”

“Oh, yeah, a place like that might have charms or something for Manami’s souvenir.”

“True.”

We’ve been hanging out so much—tutoring or not—that it feels weird not having Manami here with us.

“So, where do our two event superstars want to go?”

Rikako saunters over to Aisa and me with a sly grin.

There’s a hint of mischief in her tone, but, well, I guess getting teased is par for the course. I thought we were done with this, but her smirk says otherwise.

“For a couple, maybe a shrine for love or something?”

Makoto chimes in.

But Mie shuts him down cold.

“They’re already together, so what’s the point? Sounds like you’re just asking for their love life to get tangled up with weird vibes.”

Mie’s gaze flicks toward Yuuki and Hayato.

Yeah… those two have their own thing going with Aisa and me, don’t they?

“But, like, love shrine or not, this temple’s supposed to be pretty cool, right?”

“For real, Rikako’s been dying to go there for the Insta vibes.”

“Exactly! Even a trending idol like Yuuki needs some aesthetic shots, don’t you think?”

Rikako’s going full steam ahead.

She’s coming on a bit strong, but… eh, I’ll let it slide.

“Anywhere else you guys wanna hit?”

“We’re covering Kyoto and Nara with the group itinerary, right?”

“Yeah, seems like we’ll hit the major spots.”

“Then I’m kinda leaning toward Osaka for free time.”

“Let’s do one day in Kyoto and one in Osaka for free time.”

Aiko’s steering the conversation, locking in the plan.

“Alright, we’re going with that!”

“Universal Studios is pricey, so I’m all about hitting Dotonbori for some takoyaki!”

“Gotta at least check out Osaka Castle, right?”

“Is Kobe off-limits or what?”

“Chinatown! That sounds fun!”

Everyone’s tossing out ideas left and right.

“Kouki, you got any must-see spots?”

“Hmm… honestly, with this crew, anywhere’s gonna be a blast.”

“Heh, true.”

“Oho, so you two lovebirds want some alone time, huh?”

Rikako’s back at it with the teasing.

“Quit messing around and let’s make some decisions.”

I try to brush her off lightly, but…

“I mean… maybe a little alone time wouldn’t be bad?”

Aisa drops that bombshell out of nowhere.

She’s got this look like she’s completely thrown caution to the wind.

“…Thanks for the meal. Anyway, we can’t submit a plan with separate groups, so let’s nail down the rough itinerary.”

Aiko, face turning red from getting dragged into this, tries to steer things back on track.

“That’s fine? The student council’s not gonna crack down on separate groups?”

Akito’s teasing prompts a sigh from Aiko before she responds.

“With a girl making declarations like that in the middle of class, trying to stop her would be pointless, don’t you think?”

Aisa, finally realizing what she just said, clams up for the rest of the conversation.