Chapter 10
The entire group was partying and singing karaoke for a few hours. They talked, they sang, they laughed. Everyone was having fun. Sometime during this, Yamane-san sat next to me, looking like she wanted to say something, but was contemplating whether she should say it or not. It hit me after looking at her face, and I started speaking to her.
"So, Yamane-san."
She jumped slightly and responded.
"Y-yes?"
"To answer your question from earlier today. I thought about it and decided."
She had a look on her face, like a mix between nervousness and excitement, probably freaking out just anticipating what I might say. I continued to speak.
"If you think that I can help you with your studies, then I guess it would be silly of me to reject that."
Her face then lit up, like the sun was shining on her and all worries that she could have been feeling were wiped away. Her eyes glowed and she was just beaming with happiness. Hironaka-san must have seen this because she spoke up.
"Ooh, me too! Would you mind helping me study, Fukushima-kun?"
When she said that, the entire room's attention turned towards me and everyone was asking me pretty much the same thing. I had to cave to their demands.
"Okay, okay. I'll help tutor you all."
Even though I said that Hironaka-san added another condition.
"Oh, there's something else that must happen as well."
I responded.
"Which is?"
She smiled.
"Why not make this into an official group?"
I didn't know what she was getting at. Yamane-san said what I was thinking.
"Like a friend group?"
Hironaka-san immediately responded.
"Yes, exactly. What do you say, Fukushima-kun? Does that sound like a good idea?"
I could feel the entire room staring at me. I caved to them due to not wanting to feel the anxiety I was experiencing.
"Sure."
Hironaka-san was happy at that response. She started to ask everyone in the room.
"What do you think, Yamane-chan? Are you interested?"
She got slightly embarrassed but answered confidently.
"Yes, I wouldn't mind that."
Hironaka-san continued asking.
"What about you, Okimoto-chan?"
Okimoto-san was more hesitant, but she agreed as well.
"Well, I guess I have to. I don't know what type of lewd things he'll do to you two."
Hironaka-san laughed but continued asking. This time, with the boys, and they responded accordingly.
"Hell ya! After experiencing that soccer match, I want to get him to join our team."
That was never gonna happen, but things change. Maybe they'll convince me. Hironaka-san then asked Tanaka-san.
"Tanaka-san, do you want to join us as well?"
We all looked at her. There was a long pause before she answered. Then, after a minute and what appeared to be her thinking carefully, she answered.
"After some consideration, I'll accept your offer."
Hironaka-san nodded in agreement and acknowledgment. She then asked Tsuchida-san and Yoshikawa-kun.
"What about you two? Do you guys want to join in as well?"
Tsuchida-san looked at Yoshikawa-kun. Yoshikawa-kun then answered.
"As much as I appreciate the invite, I unfortunately have to decline. I'll be too busy to hang out with you guys, that includes studying. However, I'm sure that Tsuchida-san would be more than happy to join you guys."
Something about what he said seemed off somehow. No one else seemed to notice, but the way he said that. Maybe I'm overthinking this. It's been pretty quiet for the past week, so maybe I'm being paranoid. Well, that was my original thought until I saw Yoshikawa-kun put his hand on Tsuchida-san's shoulder. What's interesting is that the second his hand landed on her shoulder, she moved slightly away from him. It was so subtle that no one noticed. I barely noticed, but I did. Well, that's interesting. Tsuchida-san then responded.
"Yeah, that sounds good."
Her tone was the same as if everything was normal, but that slight nudge away from Yoshikawa-kun was interesting. After Tsuchida-san responded, Hironaka-san started speaking again.
"Well, it's official: we are all a friend group. Now, what should we name ourselves?"
Everyone got quiet and started thinking about it. Then Yamane-san spoke up.
"What about…the Fuku Group?"
Hironaka-san responded.
"The Fuku Group?"
Yamane-san got a little embarrassed.
"Y-yeah. Well, Fukushima-kun is the one who brought us all together, so I think that naming the group after him is the least we could do."
While I don't like the idea of naming the group after me, I appreciate the sentiment. And, since everyone seemed to like the idea, it was hard to refuse that. So I begrudgingly accepted.
"That's a fine name, I like it very much."
Yamane-san got even more embarrassed and Hironaka-san looked satisfied. She began speaking again.
"Alright, let's put 'er there."
She put her hand out in the middle. It looked like she wanted to cheer. After she put her hand out, all three boys put their hands on top of hers. Tsuchida-san then put her hand on top of theirs, then Okimoto-san. All that was left was me and Yamane-san. Everyone looked at me, waiting for me to add my hand. I then added my hand, and then Yamane-san added hers on top of mine, though she seemed hesitant, and when her hand touched mine, she jumped a little. Hironaka-san then started speaking again.
"Now that everyone's here, let's celebrate the formation of this new friend group."
Everyone appeared happy when she said that.
"One…two…three."
When she got to three, everyone threw their hands up and exclaimed.
"YEAH!!!"
So, I guess I'm now officially in a friend group. I never would've expected to join one this soon. Everyone was laughing, talking, and just enjoying themselves in general. I wonder, will I be able to feel the same as those in this friend group?