Hoshino POV:
Cheers erupted from the bleachers of the athletic field. All the classes were gathered together on the field with our hands placed neatly behind our backs. At the center of the field stood the principal of our school. Instead of demanding that the crowd calm down, he simply waited with a big smile on his face.
After a few minutes, the cheering slowly ceased. It was only then that he raised the microphone and began speaking.
"It sounds like you're all excited for sports day! Well, so am I! I won't waste too much time dillydallying—we should already know how it works—so let's just get this started!"
The principal dramatically tossed the microphone across the stands.
The atmosphere ignited almost instantly. It was a chaotic symphony of whistles and cheers.
Then, with a voice louder than the one he had used with the microphone, he shouted, "May sports day begin!"
The first event to commence was the third-year women's sprinting. Mei, along with the other female representatives for the third-year classes, all gathered along the starting line.
"You can do this, Mei!"
"I believe in you!"
"Go Mei go!"
Students from our class began to cheer as Mei entered the field. She looked towards our class, and with her same cheery smile, gave a small wave.
It was nothing out of character. Of course, she would do this. It's not like she would ignore us or anything. But for some reason, I couldn't help but focus on her eyes.
Maybe I was just imagining things, but I could've sworn she was wearing concealer. Lily used concealer all the time to hide her eye bags, so there was no way I could have missed such a detail.
Well, she probably didn't get much sleep last night. A lot of people get too excited the night before the sports day, so it makes sense. And besides, it's not like it's rare for people to hide their eye bags at all.
A teacher walked up to the starting line with a flare gun in hand and pointed it upwards. Of course, our school has to do it as dramatically as possible.
"Get ready!" the teacher called out.
Everyone got into their positions.
A tense silence hung in the air as the runners all leaned forward, prepared to bolt at any moment. At the peak of that tension, the teacher shot the flare gun.
A loud *bang* echoed across the entire field, a plume of red smoke drifting into the morning air.
The runners dashed forward instantly.
Cheers erupted from the field as the onlookers supported their friends, their classmates, or their children.
Yet, I couldn't focus on any of that. The cheers and the clapping faded into muffled background noise as I focused on Mei's sprint.
She's… slower.
Not that she was noticeably slower, she was still far ahead of her competitors. But she wasn't nearly as quick as she was on the day we practiced together.
That alone would've been fine. People don't always run at the same speed they do in practice. Sometimes, the pressure of performing well gets to you.
But… that, along with the concealer. They were two very small details. But something just seemed... off.
...Did something happen?
"We have a winner!" the announcers called out, bringing everyone's attention back to the race. "The winner is… Mei!"
Everyone in our class stood up and cheered loudly.
"You did such a good job, Mei!"
"Keep it going!"
"I knew you could do it!"
Mei returned to the tent our class occupied, wiping the sweat off her brow. The moment she arrived, everyone huddled around her and showered her with praise.
I mean, what else were they supposed to do? Just say nothing? It's only respectful to compliment your classmate whenever they achieve something good.
Hearing everyone's warm, wholehearted support, she let out a shy giggle. She raised both hands, trying to create some space between herself and our classmates.
"Hehehe, guys, please—it's only been one round. Let's celebrate after we win, okay?"
"Okay!"
Everyone stepped back to give her some breathing room, though they didn't stop chatting with her.
I, however, was standing away from the crowd as I gazed at the field. As much as the Mei situation bothered me, it was now the first year's turn for the race. Which meant it was Lily's turn. As her Older Brother, I had an obligation to support her—I guess.
"Man, so Lily's running, huh?"
I turned toward the voice. Luna was standing next to me with her arms leisurely resting on the back of her head.
"So, do you think she's going to win?" she asked, keeping her gaze fixed on the field.
"Of course not," I replied flatly. "She can't do anything at all—much less anything athletic."
This was partially true. If I had to bet on it, I would bet against Lily. Not only because I always had to root against her, but because she's also, well—a bed rotter.
But judging by how the other first years looked, they didn't seem any different from her. So maybe she had a chance.
Luna scoffed, teasingly nudging me with her elbow. "And yet… you're still going to watch her?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?"
Luna sighed dramatically. "Hahhhh, once a tsundere, always a tsundere."
Oh, don't call me that!
Before I could retort, the sound of the gun being fired rang across the field, pulling my attention back onto the race. The runners immediately dashed forward.
Surprisingly, three people—including Lily—pulled ahead of the group.
She wasn't a blur like Mei, and she wasn't an overwhelming force of nature like Yu was. And yet, I couldn't help but look at her as she ran.
Well... shit.
She was actually… doing well. Or at the very least—she wasn't dead last.
A strange, unfamiliar urge welled up inside my chest. Something that was both warm and unfathomably heavy at the same time. At that moment, that was when I realized—
So this is why people cheer.
I took a sharp breath, allowing just enough air to enter my lungs for a small whisper to escape: "You can do it..."
But my cheer was completely drowned out by Luna's, who had cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs, "YOU CAN DO IT! LITTLE HOSHINO! WOOOOOOOO!"
Lily had originally been third among the leading group, but she managed to overtake second place just before she crossed the finish line.
The teacher announced the winner of the first-year sprint, but I didn't hear a thing. All I could focus on was my sister. She had crossed the finish line in second place with a bright, illuminating smile on her face. Her classmates all ran out of their tents and swarmed her, presumably showering her with much-needed praise.
Luna wrapped her arm around me and leaned in excitedly. "Oh my god! Lily did so well! Don't you think so, Hoshino?!"
I didn't bother pushing her away. I just kept my eyes on my sister and responded with an absent-minded nod. "Yeah... she did…"
Luna froze, staring at me with a look of surprise. "Well, that's a shock. You actually can be honest, after all."
"Of course I can, I'm not a tsundere."
Luna rolled her eyes, giving me a small shove in the process. "Sure, sure~ Whatever you say, mister insecure."
We both laughed it off.
But what else was she expecting? Lily was still my little sister, after all.
We began making our way back to our class, but before we did, I turned around and gave Lily one last glance.
Seeing her surrounded by all her classmates while looking so happy—so free, I couldn't help but smile.
Well done, lil sis.
With that, sports day had officially begun.