Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Solace

Vol. 5: Chapter 18.3 - Celebration

Kikuchi and Mori decided to go to Keyaki Mall to blow off some stress. I think they'll meet with Sugawara and the others. 

I'm sure Horikita and Kikyou would like to do the same, so I thought I'd make a call and give them a suggestion.

"Is it alright if I invite Horikita and Kikyou?"

"Oh, by all means!" answered Airi.

"Why not?! The more, the merrier!" I heard Haruka shouting in the background.

After getting confirmation from the hosts of the party, I gave the nod to Horikita and Kikyou.

"We're still in our uniforms, though. Is it okay?"

"Don't worry about it. Ken and the others went straight to Airi's room so they're also in their uniforms." I'm also wearing my uniform right now. Students who changed inside the campus were required to wear it.

"Is my presence necessary?" asked Horikita.

"I won't force you if you don't wanna go, but you've got no plans, right? You can relax with us in this little get-together."

"You're the class leader, aren't you? You better start socializing or the other leaders will look down on you," said Kikyou.

"Is that so...?" Horikita looked skeptical. "Well, putting that aside, I don't really mind going. It's not like I'm a total stranger, being Ayanokouji-kun's friend and all."

Horikita concurred without much resistance. Seeing her be such an agreeable person makes me happy. 

"Huh-?" Her words froze Kikyou. Honestly, if I heard Horikita saying something like that for the first time, then I would've had the same reaction.

"Welcome, Kyou-chan and Horikita-san! Oh, and Kiyopon, too!" Haruka greeted.

So I'm just an afterthought now, huh? And that's coming from the person who said she'll sock me if I didn't come. 

"Your room is so cute, Airi-chan!"

"T-Thank you... Please, make yourselves at home."

"Then, I'll sit around here." Horikita grabbed a book from her bag and started reading.

"Alright! Now that we're complete, let's celebrate the end of this year's sports festival! Cheers!" Haruka raised her soda for a toast.

All of us followed suit before drinking.

"Celebrate, huh...?" Akito smiled wryly.

"Ah, don't be a stinker now, Miyacchi! We won as part of the Red Team, remember?"

"Yeah, thanks to the seniors..." said Ken. "Aghh! I really wanted to get MVP, damn it!"

"How does it feel to be in third place, potentially?" Akito asked with a smug smile.

"Hah?! What do you mean by third?!"

"Well, Shibata did beat you this time, and if Kiyotaka didn't get injured, he'd be MVP. That drops you in third place, right?"

"S-Shit... You're right! Aghhh, damn it!" Ken chugged down his soda like a drunk middle-aged office man depressed about his work.

After a few minutes, we proceeded to eat the food prepared by Airi and Haruka. It was just in time for dinner, so we probably wouldn't need to eat again later. Us guys just yakked about how we could've won while the girls had their own fun talk. Some interesting topics came up later on when our groups merged again as a whole.

Time passed and I came back from the restroom after washing my hands. My friends were noisily cleaning up the dining table while eating some leftovers. I hear my name pop up here and there in their conversations, but I decided to ignore them.