After gym class ended, everyone scattered off to their next classes.
"Sigh… I've got math next," Satsuki muttered, clearly annoyed.
Dragging her feet, she made her way to the math classroom.
Door opens.
"Yo, Satsuki," Hina greeted.
"Yo, Hina," Satsuki replied, dropping into her seat.
Hina leaned closer and whispered, "Hey, did you see what happened in gym class?"
"Oh yeah," Satsuki said. "That was so funny."
"That's mean, Satsuki," Hina said, her expression turning concerned.
"Oh, come on. You can't deny it—it was hilarious," Satsuki replied with a smirk.
"He just threw the bal—" Hina started, but stopped when the classroom door opened.
Nozomi walked in.
The room fell silent. Every pair of eyes turned toward him.
Looking nervous, Nozomi quickly hurried to his desk and sat down, keeping his head low.
"Wow… talk about silence," Hina whispered.
"Alright, everyone, take your seats," the teacher said, breaking the tension as they entered the room.
—
"Thank God class is over," Satsuki said with relief once the bell rang.
As she stood up, a flash of Nozomi crossed her mind.
Man… I kinda feel bad for him, she thought. He already seems anxious, and he totally embarrassed himself in gym class.
"Well, whatever. Time to see Kuroki," she said, her mood lifting.
She took off toward the cafeteria—
"Mmm…?"
She stopped.
Is that Nozomi?
He was sitting alone on the stairwell.
"Sigh… ahhh, I hate this," Nozomi muttered, slumped over, clearly upset.
Satsuki hesitated. "Whatever," she shrugged, about to walk away—
—but the incident with the wallet popped back into her head.
She stopped again.
Damn… I guess I owe him.
Turning around, she walked over to him.
"Yo," she said.
"Eek!" Nozomi jumped.
She sat down beside him.
"So…" she said casually, "why are you here?"
"Huh?" He said, blinking in disbelief.
"I said, why are you here? Hurry up, buddy—I'm on the clock." She leaned forward, arms crossed, standing in a yakuza-like stance.
"W-well, u-um…" Nozomi stammered. "I-I…"
"Mmm? What is it?" she asked.
"I want to be confident!" he suddenly shouted.
"…You want to be… confident?" She tilted her head, confused.
"Yes!" he yelled again. "I want to be confident!"
"Why?" she asked.
"Why?" He hesitated. "Well… I just want to live up to people's expectations of me."
"Expectations of you?"
"Yeah. I just… don't want to let people down anymore."
Flashback — Nozomi as a child
"I grew up in the countryside, and ever since I was young, I was always a bit above everyone else. I was fast. Strong. More athletic. The people in my hometown always had high hopes for me."
"I got unnecessary praise. Constant compliments from everyone around me."
"Nozomi, you're so fast—it's crazy."
"Nozomi, I have high hopes for you, kid."
"Nozomi, you're so cool."
"Nozomi."
"Nozomi."
"I hated it."
"You hated being praised?" she asked, surprised. "Why?"
"People don't understand how heavy it feels," he said quietly, "when everyone expects so much from you."
"I just want it to stop…" His voice trembled. "I don't like the spotlight."
"All those eyes on me… and when I fail—"
"They look at me differently."
"And—"
"Stooop~"
Just as he was about to continue, Satsuki cut him off.
"Look, dude," she said, straightening up. "I get it. You had a rough time. But you can't keep carrying all of that with you forever."
"But… how can I get over this anxiety?" he asked.
"Anxiety is just a feeling you get when you're testing yourself," she replied.
"Testing myself?" he repeated.
"Yeah. The only person stopping you is you." She crossed her arms. "You've gotta block out the distractions and just go for it. Don't let it hold you back."
She paused, then smiled softly.
"Look, I know not meeting people's expectations is hard. I really do. But… who cares?"
Nozomi's eyes lit up, like she'd just said the one thing he needed to hear.
"O-oh… okay," he said quietly.
Satsuki stood up and patted him on the back. "Alright, I'm off."
She waved him goodbye and walked away.
Her words lingered.
Nozomi took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling as he made a promise to himself.
He was going to change.
"…Okay," he said, clenching his fists.
"Let's go."