I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

Currently, haunted houses take priority over plays with a single ticket, and cafes are no longer a match for them.

This is a fierce competition, and the results of the vote will be the main activity of Class J in the cultural festival, and will also run through the entire preparation process. All Kiyora can do is cast his precious vote for the non-haunted house option.

In order to find the most competitive option compared to the haunted house, Kiyorai secretly conducted a small survey within her class. With her social skills, it was easy for her to extract some information from unsuspecting classmates.

So she cast her vote for the play.

Anyway, she will still have to participate in the brass band activities, and since it is a national competition, even if she is selected to perform in a play, she will have a reason to decline.

He was calculating his next move with great speed and precision.

"So, based on the voting results," the voting had ended before we knew it, and there was an extra line next to the play compared to the haunted house, "it's confirmed that the cultural festival will feature a play."

YES!

Kiyoshi secretly clenched his fist.

"Kiyoshi?" Reina turned around, only to be surprised to see her childhood friend secretly gloating. "Why do you have such a happy look on your face?"

"Hmm? Is that so?" Kiyotaka twirled his pen, feigning innocence.

"Does Kiyora really want to perform in a play?"

"No, not at all. Besides, we're preparing for the national competition and cultural festival performances, so how could we have time to participate in play rehearsals?"

Reina nodded thoughtfully. "Is Kiyori going to practice today?"

Kiyotaro was completely bewildered by the question, "When did I not go to practice?"

"Didn't Qinglai go to the student council to help out yesterday?"

No...

"You're lying. When I went to the oboe club to look for you yesterday, Mizore-senpai said you went to the student council classroom."

"Ah..." Kiyoyori then realized what the other person was referring to, "I'm just going to take a look."

She tried to gloss over the issue by saying vaguely, "The voting for the play scripts has begun."

Kiyoshi pointed to the blackboard, signaling Reina to turn back, thus avoiding further questioning from her.

Although she was reluctant to admit it, Kiyoyori went to the student council's classroom because of something Asuka had said a few days ago. Before she could even react, she had already arrived at the student council, which is where the executive committee currently works.

Just standing at the door, Kiyotaka could sense the busyness inside the classroom. She didn't go in to disturb them because the committee was in a meeting. She could only see Yukinoshita diligently taking notes through the small window in the sliding door. Her serious and focused profile made Kiyotaka momentarily forget the time.

Staring at the gradually blurring white chalk writing on the blackboard, Qinglai's thoughts drifted away.

"Tachibana-san."

"Yes!"

The response was almost reflexive, but low laughter rippled through the classroom.

Even the usually serious class monitor, standing on the podium, couldn't help but purse his lips and push up his glasses. "Does Tachibana have any thoughts?"

"Ok?"

Kiyoshi, who had been lost in thought, hadn't quite caught on yet, while Reina, who was sitting in front of her, was laughing so hard she almost fell onto the table.

"Is Tachibana perhaps going to volunteer for the lead role?" The class president's glasses reflected a shrewd glint, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "Then how about—"

"Wait a minute," Kiyorai said, realizing he was about to fall into a trap, and immediately came to his senses. "The script has already been decided?"

"So, Tachibana-san wants to be in charge of the script? No problem!"

This conversation is going nowhere.

Kiyotomi stared silently at the mischievous class monitor. "I think the class monitor should know that the brass band is about to prepare for the national competition—"

“But I don’t think that’s a reason for you to shirk your responsibilities,” Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had been sitting silently by the window, said at this moment. “I know the brass band is very busy, but the cultural festival is a class-wide event and a school-wide event. I hope everyone can participate actively, whether it’s club activities or students who have joined the committee. Class activities should not be neglected.”

Speechless after being confronted by Hiratsuka Shizuka, Kiyoyori knew he couldn't escape this time.

"Whether it's work in front of the camera or behind the scenes, it's a collective activity that requires everyone's efforts to complete," Hiratsuka Shizuka said, giving Kiyori a meaningful look. "If there are any difficulties, we can help each other. Of course, the teacher also welcomes everyone's support."

“So,” Hiratsuka Shizuka turned around, picked up the chalk, and naturally wrote the four characters “Tachibana Kiyoyori” next to the word “script”. “I’m leaving the script to you, Tachibana. There’s plenty of time, so take your time writing it.”

Without giving Kiyoyori a chance to refute, he said, "If anyone has any good ideas, they can directly tell Tachibana-san, whether it's the theme of the story or the script itself."

"The deadline for submission to the Executive Committee is one week from now. That means we need to finalize the entire plan before the deadline, so please cooperate with Tachibana's work."

After receiving a positive and energetic answer, Hiratsuka Shizusa remembered Kiyori, who had been left aside all along.

"How about this, Tachibana?"

What else can I do?

Kiyoshi didn't dare say that in front of the Iron Fist Master, so he had no choice but to reluctantly agree, "Yes..."

Ah, that smile is so dazzling.

Seeing Hiratsuka Shizuka's triumphant smile, Kiyori turned away in anger.

..................................................................

"So it's all because Kiyoshi was distracted; he can't blame anyone else."

Reina sat back in her chair, looking at Kiyori's worried face with schadenfreude. "Have you come up with any ideas yet, great writer Tachibana?"

"Unfortunately, there's nothing there."

Kiyoshi angrily pinched Reina's cheek. Her own brain was as blank as the manuscript in front of her. No, at least the manuscript had printed spaces, but her brain was just a blank.

Now I can finally understand the pain that Shiwa-senpai suffered when she had a writer's block.

"Kiyori doesn't really like that kind of thing..." Reina thought for a moment, unsure of the best way to describe it, "...the kind from anime?"

"turn down."

Kiyoshi answered without hesitation.

What if I accidentally reveal my fetish? Absolutely not!

"Eri-san draws manga, right? Why don't we ask her for advice? She should have a lot of ideas, right?"

Reina doesn't usually deal with anything related to anime or manga. Although she knows Eriri can draw, she doesn't know the specific scope of Eriri's work.

"turn down!"

This is a worse proposal than the previous option.

However, it did serve as a reminder to Kiyoshi.

P.S.: Something really unpleasant happened today, making me fully realize what it means to be "a giant in words, a dwarf in deeds." Anyone can talk the talk, but when it comes to actually implementing plans, they all run away. I can't manage this group, I really can't. I'm just wasting my own time. I'm so angry I don't even want to write anymore!

There's another piece of bad news. I originally planned to update twice a day during the National Day holiday, but... things have changed at the last minute this year, no holiday... so, it'll only be one update. By the way, my favorites dropped today, so sad.

Chapter 05, Section 227: She's Like a Monster

"So, Shimizu-kun went to all this trouble to ask me out just for this?"

Kasumigaoka rested her chin on one hand and stirred her iced coffee with a small teaspoon in the other. The ice cubes moved slowly with her movements, making a crisp sound as they collided.

Before her lay a stack of blank sheets of paper, a black pen, and Kiyoshi, who seemed to be sitting on pins and needles but was trying his best to maintain a proper sitting posture.

"Is Shimizu-kun going to say something like, 'Please write a play script for me?'"

He narrowed his eyes dangerously, as if Kasumigaoka would pounce on Kiyoyori and bite off his neck the moment Kiyoyori uttered the first word of that sentence.

Kiyoshi, whose danger perception radar was at MAX sensitivity, immediately shook his head like a rattle drum. "Of course not, I just wanted to ask Senior Shiwa how to write a play script."

“Hmm—” Kasumigaoka put away his dangerous smile and slowly took a sip of coffee. “First of all, when you ask Shimizu-kun ‘how to write,’ do you mean the format or framework of the script, or the story itself, that is, what kind of story do you want to write?”

Seeing Kasumigaoka quickly get into professional mode, Kiyoyori also became serious. "I think it's more about the story itself."

Place the delicate coffee cup back on the coaster and gently wipe the rim with a tissue. "The second question: Is Shimizu-kun completely clueless about what to write, or does he have many ideas but don't know where to start?"

Kiyoyori thought for a moment, "I think it should be the former."

Although, just like before, I had no idea where to start.

"In other words, Shimizu-kun's mind is currently blank; he doesn't know what to write or how to write it?"

Kiyoshi nodded, and Kasumigaoka, as always, drew blood.

“Well, before we get to the main point,” Kasumigaoka asked the probing question, “since Shimizu-kun is so useless, why did we have him write the script?”

Speechless with choking, Kiyoshi had no choice but to shut his mouth: "..."

She was forced into it too!

Kiyoyori found his working self completely different from his usual self, which both intrigued and somewhat disheartening, because—

"I hope Mr. Shimizu doesn't underestimate the script. Although the quality of a performance largely depends on the actor's ability, as this is the most direct manifestation, all the settings in the story, including the characters' dialogue and the setting, are inextricably linked to the script. Only when a screenwriter grasps the character's personality traits can the actor get closer to the character's inner world."

Watching Kasumigaoka speak eloquently, Kiyoyori couldn't find a chance to interject, but this allowed her to experience the unique charm of "Kasumigaoka Shiko-sensei," different from "Shiwa-senpai," which she hadn't felt in a long time.

"What kind of personality will lead to what kind of behavior a character will do? If the character gradually goes out of character in the script, then the actor's performance will also be distorted, which will be reflected directly to the audience. This is undoubtedly the fault of the writer."

Perhaps it had been a long time since Kiyoyori had seen Kasumigaoka talk about writing so enthusiastically, and looking at him like this, Kiyoyori secretly smiled.

It felt like we were back to when we were just online friends.

"Are you listening, Shimizu-kun?"

Noticing that Kiyoyori seemed to be lost in thought, Kasumigaoka tapped the table with his knuckles in dissatisfaction.

“I was listening carefully.”

Kiyoshi picked up his teacup to cover his mouth. "I've participated in stage plays before, but those scripts were all adapted from famous works."

“Indeed, adapting classic works is a common and easiest way to do things like school festival plays. The stories and characters are readily available, so even copying them exactly wouldn't be a problem, it just seems a little lacking in sincerity,” Kasumigaoka said, cutting a small piece of cake with her fork and putting it in her mouth, a little white cream on her lips, but she seemed not to notice. “If it were me, I would definitely use a completely original story, but that's a bit too difficult for Shimizu-kun, who's a beginner. Adapting a classic work is an option. Does Shimizu-kun have any favorite novels?”

Actually, Kiyotomi stopped listening carefully when the other person was halfway through speaking. Her attention was drawn to the little bit of cream on the corner of her mouth. Despite being a mature and sophisticated older sister type, Shiwa-senpai had a touch of playfulness because of that little bit of cream, which was a side of her that was rarely seen.

It always feels very new.

only--

Kiyoshi, who has a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder, felt an itch to reach out and wipe the cream off the other person, but such an action would be too intimate and inappropriate.

But the person in front of me seemed to have no self-awareness at all.