Kenkyo, Kenjitsu o Motto ni Ikite Orimasu

Summer Camps finally here.I cut down on my luggage quite a bit, but my suitcase was still ready to burst. Its weird to be asking this myself, but what on earth did I bring.When we arrived at the health resort, it turned out to be on the level of a hotel. Even our rooms were just suites. Rather than a camp, isnt this basically just going on a vacation?The girl a.s.signed to my room was Nonose Maho-chan from another cla.s.s. Weve basically never spoken, but I wonder if well get along. She seems kinda nervous though.After resting in our room for a while, we had a barbecue in the hotel garden. All of the ingredients were prepared in advance, so all we had to do was roast them and eat.Since Im still technically the leader of the girls, I went with Cla.s.s Rep to check if everyone had cutlery and a drink. But well, there were full-time staff there, so it was just for show.Still, this is my first time eating barbecue in this life. Its a lot more extravagant than I remember it being though.Ooh! They have roast corn!

Oh my, but they dont have yakisoba.

I wanted some yakiika too.

What a shame.

Since its a Suiran-style barbecue, it feels more like a refined lunch than what I had in mind, but this kind of thing is fun too.I decided to try casually sitting next to Nonose-san. None of my group came, so today has been a total away game for me.Ill act low key and mix in with them.

I never thought that you of all people would be coming, Reika-sama.

I was surprised too, Reika-sama.

Truly? But I have always wanted to try it at least once.

You didnt last year, right?

Because last year I was stuck in remedial h.e.l.l.

Did all of you partic.i.p.ate last year as well?

This year is my first time.

This is my second.

Over half of the girls here turned out to be first timers. Thank goodness.

By the way, tomorrow is going to be hiking. Are you going to be all right, Reika-sama?

Uu-, thats what Im most worried about. According to the itinerary its only going to be a two-hour walk, but I wonder if Ill really be able to follow.

I shall do my best,

I declared with clenched fists.

After the barbecue was a short ceramics course. I used the manual potters wheel, but mine turned out a little warped. Im just really no good with my hands, am I. Well, whatever.Once night fell, after dinner was the fireworks event Id been waiting for!Perhaps because watching fireworks isnt something that upper cla.s.s think is suitable, Ive never had a chance all this time.But just the smell of fireworks really brings summer to mind, doesnt it. Today we only had handheld fireworks, so there was nothing like a rocket firework or one of those dragon things though. When I was a kid, those mouse fireworks really scared me because you could never tell which way they would fly.

Speaking of which, what on earth do people find fun about those snake fireworks. All they do is grow.

I never understood it back then, and I still dont understand it now. The fact that theyre still selling them means that people are buying them, right? Hmmm.Anyway, since Cla.s.s Rep was playing with hanging sparkler fireworks a little further away, I decided to come closer.

So you chose hanging sparklers? You would not prefer something flashier?

I really like these ones.

Hmm~ As expected of Cla.s.s Rep, the maiden.

It seems that Honda-san has not come,

I whispered, just loudly enough for him to hear.

In shock, the ember of the sparkler dropped to the ground.

She even came last year, so why&h.e.l.lip;

I see. You did not end up in her cla.s.s either, this year. Have things progressed since last time?

He shook his head.

What should I do, Kisshouin-san?

What, you ask? Could you not simply confess?

Thats impossible. If I got rejected, my whole school life would be over.

It might go well though.

But Honda-sans type is Enjou-kun.

Cla.s.s Rep began sulking.

Given that she was cla.s.s representative with him last year, perhaps she may have changed her mind after all the hardships she surely faced.

&h.e.l.lip;Kisshouin-san, could you go ask her for me?

We are in different cla.s.ses, so that may prove to be difficult.

At any rate, everyone finished playing with fireworks while the two of us spoke, and began to tidy up.

After the firework event ended, I returned to my room and then took turns in the bath with Nonose-san.To tell you the truth, I actually got a light perm as per Okaasamas instructions. I really wonder just how fixated she is on this stuff, but well, cant be helped.Anyway, as long as I followed the existing bends, it was possible to fashion some decent curls.Although, I didnt really want people to know about the perm, so I made sure to dry my hair properly.

Reika-sama. I find it hard to sleep with the lights on, so would it be possible to turn them off?

Certainly. Well then, let us turn off the lights.

I brought some playing cards too, but it looks like there was no time to play them. I wonder if Ill get to tomorrow.Anyway, time to turn off the lights and go to sleep.

I was woken up early in the morning and after being made to exercise amongst nature, we finally had breakfast. Im not so good with mornings, so it was pretty tough.Since were hiking today, I made sure to put on sunscreen and a hat.My rucksack feels so heavy&h.e.l.lip; Im starting to regret coming here a little.Before long, the hiking finally began. It was a fairly gentle incline so I thought it would be fine, but it just kept going, and going, and it didnt take long for my will to break.And not only that, none of my other soft friends were here. I was now undeniably the last one. The leader of the girls was the last one. Argh, it hurts. I wanna go home.Nonose-san stuck with me to cheer me on. Im really being treated like extra baggage now. I wanna cry.After two hours, I somehow made it to the top. I got to enjoy cold milk and lunch here.Since I was close to collapse, Nonose-san acted as leader in my place. I really felt bad about it.On the way back to the hotel, with the heavy rucksack on my back, I thought to myself,I probably wont be going next year&h.e.l.lip;

Perhaps because of my exertions at lunchtime, at the stargazing event after dinner, the teachers explanations felt like a lullaby to me.Thanks to that, I immediately had a bath when we got back, and slept right afterwards.

And then I woke up in the middle of the night.&h.e.l.lip;Im hungry.I was too tired to really have an appet.i.te. Thanks to that I didnt eat much at dinner, did I. I might not be able to go back to sleep like this.But if I remember right, I brought some crunchy ume plums, didnt I. Maybe Ill eat those.Since Nonose-san cant sleep with the lights on, I put on a white cardigan and brought the pickled ume with me into the hallway.Before I began eating, I found a dim staircase landing in a corner, and sat there so that I wouldnt be seen.They were covered with honey and sweet, which made them easy to eat. Crunch crunch, crunch crunch&h.e.l.lip;

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Eh-?

I heard the nearby scream of a girl, and then the sound of somebody running away.Since I didnt want anybody to find out that I had snuck out of my room to snack, I rushed back into my room in a panic.Stripping off the cardigan, I tossed it ume and all into my bag to remove the evidence.As Nonose-san got up, I was all like Uh, yeah, I just got up as well, so we left our room together to see what was going on.Oh gosh, my bed hair is terrible. I guess this is because I didnt dry my hair properly before crashing. Ill tidy it up with my fingers.

Whatever is the matter?

I dont know either.

Only girls stayed on this floor. As everybody left their rooms to see what was happening, one of the girls suddenly screamed,

Over there on that staircase, there was this ghost and it was gobbling on b.l.o.o.d.y flesh!

The moment the other girls heard this, they flew into a huge panic, screaming ghosts and goblins, and in an instant the whole place turned into pandemonium.Uh, could it be that she was talking about me? Its true that my hair is a bit of a mess right now, and I was definitely eating red ume plums, but I wasnt gobbling anything, okay&h.e.l.lip;Apparently the one who spotted me was Occult-san. Occult-san woke up thirsty so she went to get a drink apparently. And then she apparently met a ghost.

And so she started saying stuff likeI have asixth sense.andTheres a dark presence on that staircase.andHer face was just filled with hatred.and before I knew it, some other girls started sayingNow that I think about it, I got a bad feeling too.andFor some reason I havent been able to stop shivering for a while now.and started to agree with her too. What do I do&h.e.l.lip;

After all this time, theres no way I can tell them that it was me. If I tell them that I snuck out to have a snack, theyre definitely going to think Im some huge glutton.I feel really bad about slandering the hotel with ghost rumours, but I care even more about protecting myself, okay~While I prayed that I wouldnt be busted, Nonose-san and the others came up to me and said,

Its okay, Reika-sama. As long as were all together, theres nothing to be afraid of.

Right. You dont need to be so frightened.

and tried to encourage me. Guh-&h.e.l.lip; my chest hurts!

Thank you, everyone.

Im sorry. I wont come next year, okay&h.e.l.lip;?

And so the whole ghost ruckus continued until the next morning. With the crunchy ume plums hidden deep in my bag, and with my hair curled to perfection, I set out for home.

Hanging sparklers, orsenkou hanabi (lit. incense stick fireworks)are a j.a.panese sparkler firework thats different to the sparklers we know. Instead of waving them about to have fun, you just hold them and enjoy watching them.

Its uh, quite a clich in anime, so I think you guys know what Im talking about: