"Alright, here we go! What will it land on? What will it land on?"
Ijichi Nijika tossed the die, watching it spin across the floor...
(As long as it's not bungee jumping, anything's fine.)
The die was about to stop on bungee jumping when Saiki glanced at it. A flash of light passed through his eyes, and the die flipped over to "school topics" instead.
"Alright! School topics, aka dad jokes. Let's get started!"
(What a lame pun.)
"Then let's begin. Bocchi-chan, you go first."
Gotou Hitori paused for a moment before speaking: "Um, um... why did you all choose Sobu High School..."
Ijichi Nijika: "Close to home."
Yamada Ryo: "Close to home."
"Oh, I see..."
(That's it?)
Ijichi Nijika: "So what about you, Bocchi-chan?"
Gotou Hitori answered with a vacant look in her eyes: "My house is really far from this school. The main reason was I wanted to go to a high school where no one knows my past."
"Beep beep!" A whistle sound effect rang out.
Ijichi Nijika: "Okay, Bocchi-chan's school topic is done. Next up, Kusuo-kun, your turn?"
[Do I have to? I'm just a guest here, basically a classmate and friend who came to watch. I'm not in the band, so I don't need to participate, right?]
Ijichi Nijika explained: "I've already considered you part of this band, you know. Even if you don't want to perform, being an assistant or something would be pretty nice!"
Saiki froze at that answer, then showed a faint smile.
[I don't want to.]
"Then why did you choose this high school?"
Gotou Hitori glanced at Saiki. She was a little curious too—she had never asked: "I want to know too. I remember your house is pretty far from here as well, Saiki..."
Saiki: ...
[How should I put it... A change of pace, a new place to train myself...]
Ijichi Nijika: "Eh, really? I wouldn't have guessed..."
Yamada Ryo looked at Saiki: "I thought you were some noble young master who ran away from home because you couldn't stand the strict family rules anymore, so you told your family you were going out to 'train' yourself but actually just came here to slack off..."
(Are you God or something?)
"Hahaha, Ryo, your imagination is something else."
Ijichi Nijika: "So Kusuo-kun, you actually have a lot of friends at school too. You just seem a lot like Bocchi-chan on the surface."
[Friends and classmates? Yeah, I have a few.]
"Mm-hmm. In school you definitely need at least a couple of close friends and classmates. Otherwise, school life..."
Ijichi Nijika trailed off midway and glanced at Gotou Hitori, who was hiding behind Saiki and drawing circles on the floor with her finger.
"Bocchi-chan, what's wrong?"
Gotou Hitori muttered under her breath: "Sorry, sorry... It seems like I'm the only one at school who doesn't have any friends or classmates. I can't really talk about fun topics..."
"Kusuo-kun, isn't he your friend?"
Gotou Hitori: "Saiki is someone I knew from junior high. I don't have any others..."
Gotou Hitori patted Saiki on the shoulder: "Hahaha, that's right. I don't need more. I only need Saiki as a friend. Mm, that's right. You don't need too many friends who understand you—just one is enough."
[That kind of thinking isn't great. You should still make a few friends, even if they're just casual ones. And... stop patting my shoulder.]
Ijichi Nijika pointed to Yamada Ryo beside her to comfort her: "It's fine. Ryo doesn't really have friends at school either."
Yamada Ryo: "Mm. At school I only have Nijika as a friend."
Gotou Hitori seemed to discover something new. Her eyes lit up [So Ryo-chan is the same type as me.]
(Is it really that easy to jump to conclusions? I feel like you two are completely different types of people.)
Saiki thought Ryo was quite similar to his junior high self, and no matter how he looked at it, she didn't seem like the social anxiety type.
Ijichi Nijika: "On holidays she goes exploring abandoned ruins by herself or browses second-hand clothing stores."
(Okay, I take it back.)
Gotou Hitori listened to what Ijichi Nijika was saying, and the only connection she felt with Yamada Ryo snapped [No, Ryo-chan is just someone who likes being alone. A social anxiety person wouldn't even dare go into a clothing store alone. Being a loner and liking solitude are already separated by a terrifying chasm.]
...In the later throws, whenever it was about to land on bungee jumping, it would suddenly flip to music, funny stories, or something else.
Ijichi Nijika threw and landed on performance. She glanced at Saiki: "Performance topic, huh... Even though our first show had no vocals, I still hope we can find a lead singer eventually?"
[Why are you looking at me?]
Ijichi Nijika leaned on the table and continued: "Originally the guitarist was supposed to sing, but now I don't know who to look for next..."
"A tone-deaf guitarist," Gotou Hitori thought [Could they be like me with social anxiety... No, someone with social anxiety wouldn't even dare run away.]
Ijichi Nijika: "Lead singer... My singing is terrible. What about you, Bocchi-chan?"
Gotou Hitori startled and shook her head vigorously to indicate no.
"Yeah, figures."
Then she looked at Yamada Ryo.
Yamada Ryo wiped a fake tear from the corner of her eye: "If it centered around me, it would turn into my personal solo concert. The band would fall apart because of me..."
Ijichi Nijika: "Where does that confidence come from?"
(This girl might actually be capable of it...)
[Lead singer? I think you won't have to wait long before you find one.]
Ijichi Nijika put her hands on Saiki's shoulders: "Kusuo-kun, do you have someone else you can introduce to me?"
Saiki pried Ijichi Nijika's hands off.
[We'll see. You should find one soon enough.]
Ijichi Nijika said reassuringly: "If Kusuo-kun says so, then I'm relieved. I was actually thinking of having you be the lead singer, but it looks like you're not really interested. Even though your musical talent is so high—you must have practiced before. Why not?"
[I don't actually have much interest in music. I only play for fun occasionally. My family made me practice, so I do it once in a while.]
Gotou Hitori: "Saiki-kun, I remember your dad is the director of a hospital, right? Are you planning to take over the family business in the future?"
Ijichi Nijika: "A hospital, huh? That's the same as Ryo. Ryo's family runs a hospital too."
[I don't plan to inherit the hospital or anything. Too much trouble. I'll just be an office worker in the future.]
(As if. Of course I'll find something easy—like being a novelist. With psychography I could pump out hundreds of thousands of words a day.)
"Alright then. Once we get a lead singer, we'll start writing our own songs. Ryo can compose, and Bocchi-chan, you can write the lyrics."
Gotou Hitori: "Eh! Me?"
"How about it? Good idea, right?"
(Is this really okay? Gotou writing lyrics... She probably won't want to, even though I remember she plays guitar so much, but...)
Gotou Hitori lowered her head, suddenly full of enthusiasm [From elementary school through all nine years of junior high, the moment class ended I would go straight to the library and stay there. Now is it finally my time to shine? Hehe...]
(Okay, looks like she's actually excited about it.)