For the announcement of the secret event, all the students had to line up on the field based on their homerooms. We all stood until the principal finally walked to the center of the field.
He tapped the microphone once, then spoke. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. How are we enjoying sports day so far?"
The principal made a slow turn as his gaze traced everyone in the field. The crowd, as well as the students, screamed at the top of their lungs. The principal gave a wide smile.
"Good! I'm glad you are all enjoying this as much as I am! So, what better way to end it off than with a special event?"
Before the crowd could respond, he spoke over them.
"For the very last game, we will be doing a joint grade soccer match! All three years will be split in half, and representatives from each year will be chosen for the soccer match. However, there is a twist…"
The principal paused, allowing the tension to fester in the air. When he spoke again, his voice boomed.
"One of the teams will have someone from the Institute of Education as their teammate! And that teammate is none other than Julie!"
As much as I hated to admit it, my lips curled into a smirk. Finally, I could have my rematch with Julie.
...I want to win.
Murmurs instantly rippled through the crowd at the mention of her name. I wasn't too surprised. Julie was kind of well-known in the city.
In her student years, she got into fights, got in trouble with the police, but was also a renowned athlete in the area. Even now, she attended parties and social events every weekend to have fun—even though all it really did was expand her social network. So it was no surprise that everyone seemed to know her.
"Now, may the games begin! The game has officially commenced!"
Almost as if on cue, a teacher gathered all the third-years together and led us to a nearby tent. It was our homeroom teacher.
"Okay, class, usually we would do this by voting for who we want to represent our grade, but…"
She gazed over the sea of students before her eyes locked onto a specific student. The way she struggled to push the words out, I could already tell who it would be.
"I'm guessing… you all want Mei to represent your year."
The crowd roared as soon as her name was called. The teacher cleared her throat, silencing the cheers. "Mei, if it isn't too much to ask, would you mind representing us for this game?"
Realistically, no one aside from Mei would actually be willing to represent an entire grade. It was simply too much pressure—as well as work.
Everyone turned to Mei. She paused, just for half a second, before she gave us all a cheery smile.
"If that's what you all want me to do, then I'd be happy to represent our year!"
The crowd parted as Mei walked towards the teacher. Each person she passed gave her a supportive pat on the back, to which she would give them a small nod in return.
Once she arrived at the teacher's side, the teacher said, "Well, Mei, as the representative of the third year, it is your job to choose three other people whom you'd like to support you."
Mei rested her finger on her cheek as she pondered who to choose. But throughout the whole thing, her eyes kept drifting to three people.
"Then, if it isn't too much to ask of them, I'd like to choose Remi, Luna, and Hoshino."
The people who stood around us parted, giving us a clear path to where Mei stood.
Of course, it had to be me...
I shot her a pointed glare, to which she closed her eyes and smiled innocently. I clicked my tongue.
I guess it can't be helped…
The three of us quickly made our way through the crowd and joined Mei's side. Once we had, the teacher gave one last speech that I didn't pay attention to before leading the four of us to the soccer field.
Remi walked a little ahead of us before she turned around and asked, "Soooo, does anyone here actually know how to play soccer?"
Mei lightly raised her hand. "I used to play it in middle school, but I haven't touched it much recently." She then turned to Luna and me. "What about you two?"
Luna chuckled sheepishly while twirling her hair around her finger. "Well, the only sports I play are football and basketball. How about you, bro?"
"I used to play a lot back in elementary school, but after that I stopped and haven't touched it since."
Remi's lips curled into a hopeless grin. "Sooooo, what I'm hearing is—we lost."
"Ah! Ah! Ah~!" Luna stuck her finger up and pressed it against Remi's lips. Remi's brow furrowed as both her eyes crossed on Luna's finger. "If our first and second year teammates are good, then we still stand a chance! Also, if we get Julie–"
"Yeahhhh—that's not happening," I interrupted. All three of them turned to me with questioning eyes, but I continued staring at the field as I explained.
"Julie's my cousin, so–"
Remi opened her mouth and bit into Luna's finger. Luna reeled back and held onto it tightly while glaring at Remi. Remi didn't pay her any mind as she stomped towards me, now free of Luna's grasp.
"You're Julie's cousin?!"
I blinked, unsure what to say. "Uh, yeah? What about it?"
Remi grabbed me by the shoulders, her face a mix between anger and fear. "Julie… she beat up my Older Brother when he was in high school!"
I gave her a blank look. "Okay? What am I supposed to do with that information? Be surprised?"
I've had countless people—both students and teachers alike—give me the same reaction when I told them I'm Julie's cousin.
Remi scoffed. "What?! How insensitive can you–"
Before she could finish, Luna covered her mouth and dragged her away. Her arms flailed violently as she struggled to rip herself free of Luna's grasp. When they were far enough away, Luna let go, and the two began their little couple's quarrel—again.
I shook my head before turning to Mei. "Anyway, as I was saying, Julie would never be on the same team as me. In fact, she would do whatever it takes to play against me."
Mei didn't seem troubled by that in the slightest. "I see. Then, I guess all we can do is try our best!"
I didn't know whether she was saying that because she genuinely believed it or because she wanted to lighten the mood, but that really was all we could hope for.
We eventually made it to the field. Everyone else was already there. I didn't recognize any of the second years, but I did recognize two of the first years. They recognized me, too.
Upon seeing me, one of their faces creased into an ugly scowl; meanwhile, the other one's face brightened, happily waving at me.
"Ah! Pleasant seeing you here, Big Bro!" Yuka cheered.
"What the hell are you doing here, Brother?" Lily muttered.
Lily's scowl deepened. She jabbed Yuka in the rib, causing her to crouch down and groan in pain, but my sister didn't care one bit.
"I told you to stop calling my Brother 'Big Bro'! You need to stop hitting on your friend's Brother!"
Yuka looked up at Lily with tears in the corner of her eyes. "B-but…" her voice trailed off—until she shot up and screamed, "But he's so ho–"
Before she could finish, Lily's hand shot forward and clamped around her mouth, Lily's face growing even darker.
"I'll make sure you never talk again if you finish saying that."
A bead of sweat rolled down Yuka's face, and she gave a meek nod. "Yesh mahm!" she cried, but the sound was muffled.
I took a deep breath before tapping Lily on the shoulder. "Uhh, I think she learned her lesson. You can let go of her now."
I was really flattered that Lily was doing all this. After all, I thought Yuka was funny—albeit a little weird. But this might be going too far.
Lily gave her one last sharp glare before letting her go. Yuka collapsed onto the grass as if she had passed out, but that was probably just for show.
"Anyway, why are you here?" I asked. "I didn't expect you'd actually play soccer."
Lily shrugged. "Yeah, I wouldn't. I think this sport sucks."
You think all sports suck…
"But Yuka was chosen as our year's representative, and she chose me. So I didn't really have a choice."
Upon hearing her name, Yuka's eyes flickered back to life, and she jumped off the ground. She leaned in just a little closer to me with a wide grin.
"Don't you think it's impressive, Big Br— I mean… sir? That I got chosen?! Praise me!"
"Yeah, no." I waved my hand, brushing her comment off.
Yuka slouched dramatically, then clung to Lily while sniffling. "Lilyyyyyy, your Big Br– Sir, is being mean to meeee."
Lily tried shoving her off, but Yuka didn't budge. They both got into their own little tangle. I took a couple of steps back and watched from a distance while suppressing a smile.
"So, Lily's your sister?"
Mei, who had been beside me the whole time, finally spoke now that it was just the two of us.
"Yeah, she is," I replied.
Mei's smile softened—just a little bit. "I see…"
I took a glance at her. Even though she was staring at Lily, it looked like she was seeing something farther, out of reach. Her eyes flickered, and she turned to me with a warm smile.
"You have a good relationship with her! I'm a little bit jealous."
I scoffed. "Don't be. The grass is always greener on the other side. You want a sibling because you don't know the pain of having one. I have one and would love nothing more than to give her away."
Mei giggled. "I guess that's true. It's just…" she paused for half a second, taking a sharp breath, "I'd like a relationship like yours and your sister's. You really love her, don't you?"
"Whoa." The words came flying out before my mind could process them. "Love is a strong word. I'd say I… put up with her. But love? That's a stretch."
By the time I finished talking, I was slightly out of breath.
By the time I caught it, I realized that Mei had been staring at me with wide eyes the entire time. I couldn't help but look away.
Well, I basically just outed myself with that one. Good going, me.
Mei opened her mouth, but before the words could come out, footsteps approached us from the right. We both turned.
It was the student council president, Mikhael, Yu, and behind them…
I felt the corners of my lips nudge upwards ever so slightly.
Of course, luck is never on my side. But I'll let it slide this one time.
Julie.