Clubs- Part 1

"Today, at 5pm in gymnasium number 1, there will be a club fair. For those of you with an interest in clubs, please come to gymnasium number 1. I repeat, today──"

An announcement was made as we were having our lunch in cafeteria. Clubs. I am planning to join soccer club while Ai is for tennis club. She will try to get on the council as well. If she is able to join, I will try too.

"Hey Hoshino! What club will you be joining?" Shibata asked me.

"Soccer club. And everyone?"

"That's great! I am also joining soccer club!" Shibata said excitedly.

But the other guys did not seem too interested in joining clubs.

I was currently having lunch with Shibata, Kanzaki and some other boys. Sadly, Ai was not with me and having her lunch with some girls.

"Let's visit the clubs together!"

"Umm, let me ask Ai-"

"Hey you simp! Why do you have to ask her permission? You going on a date again? I saw how boldly you were h*lding h*nds in front of everyone on the first day. Keep it down, will ya? It's like you are intentionally showing off to us."

Everyone in the cafeteria who could listen to Shibata's loud voice nodded in agreement.

"But I wasn't showing off. Isn't it like, really common?"

Somehow, the boys with me looked like I did something horrible to them, like I stole their water when water supply has been cut off for a week.

"Gah. Lucky bastard!"

I turned around and glanced at Ai, asking for what to do. She smiled indicating to go with them and she will go with the girls.

"Let's go together. Ai will be going with the girls."

Suddenly, the girls started cooing us.

"Wow look! Understanding each other with just gestures! How cute~! I might get diabetes just by watching them."

I could only fill my mouth with food to hide my embarrassment.

Anyway, at 5pm, we arrived at the gymnasium.

The various clubs put a show to secure members. But relatively, this school had less clubs than our middle school. But that wasn't much of a surprise as we had 8 sections in each grade, meaning it had a strength of about 960 students compared to 480 students here, about half the numbers.

After seemingly every club were done with their promotion, a serious looking glasses guy with black hair came to the stage. He was about 170cm in height, which wasn't that tall.

He looked over the us with a calm look. But he was completely silent.

Maybe his mind went blank. Maybe he felt nervous and his voice didn't come out.

"Do your best~"

"Did you forget to bring your notecards~?"

"Ahahaha!"

The first years threw those words at the person. However, the senpai on stage didn't waver at all. Neither the laughter nor the encouragement seemed to reach him.

Even when the laughter started dying down, his apathetic face didn't change. The students started wondering "What is this senpai doing?" and the gym got noisy. Even then, he didn't stir. He just stood there quietly, looking at the first-years.

The relaxed atmosphere gradually shifted in an unexpected direction. It was an electrifying change in mood. Eventually, the whole gym was enveloped in a tense and quiet atmosphere. There were no instructions given out, no one dared to talk—it was a dreadful silence.

No one could open their mouths to talk. This silence has been going on for 30 seconds alreay. He was being really annoying. But it was amazing how he quieted down everyone by just being there, standing silently.

After some time, he started talking.

"My name is Horikita Manabu, and I am the student council president."

"The student council is also looking for first-years to replace the graduating third-years. There are no strict requirements to apply for the position, but those who are interested should not be affiliated with any other clubs. Generally, we do not accept any candidate involved in other clubs."

His tone was soft, but the mood was still tense. He alone silenced the whole gym.

Of course, it wasn't his position as the student council president that gave him that power. Horikita Manabu also carried a powerful aura. His presence dominated the whole gym.

"Also, we, the student council, are not looking for anyone that has a naive way of thinking. Not only will that kind of person fail to get elected, they will inevitably become a stain to this school. The student council is only responsible for regulating the students, but the school expects much more. Those of you that understand can become potential candidates."

After that unwavering speech, he walked off the stage and exited the building.

Because no one dared to speak, none of the students spoke up when he left the gym. The students didn't know what would happen if they tried to talk. Everyone felt that way.

But I just went where Ai was after shooting Shibata an apologetic glance.

"Ai, what are you going to do? He said that the council doesn't accept people involved in clubs."

My voice was audible to everyone due to the silence.

"Hmm, I will check out both the council and tennis club. But it looks like I will have to choose from one of the two. Honestly, I don't care either way. But the President seemed unusually serious and looks hard to get along. I might just not join due to him being the President."

I intentionally used this atmosphere. With this, even if President Horikita rejects her from join the council, it will not do much damage. Some will think that it wasn't that appealing and President Horikita himself may be the reason.

Cutting our conversation, Secretary Tachibana-senpai started speaking on the mic.

"Everyone, thank you for coming. With that, the club fair is over. We will now open the reception area for anyone interested in joining. The reception area will only be open until the end of April, so anyone interested after then can bring applications directly to the club."

Well, time to join the soccer club.