Chapter 8: 2.3

That day, after school. In the club room.

“I see. It can’t be helped.”

Nito said that with a wry smile when I told her that my recruitment strategy had failed.

“Well, it is unlikely that people will readily agree to join. After all, the Astronomy Club can be quite complicated.”

Today, as usual, she took off her shoes and socks and sat down barefoot.

Even in our previous high school life, Nito was always like this.

In this club room full of warm shades, the light blue color of her pedicure stands out.

“Well, maybe. But I’m sorry. If only I had succeeded, things would have been easier.”

“It’s okay, really. Here, look what I have!”

Nito then took a piece of paper from her bag.

“I made a design for a recruitment flier. What do you think?”

“Ooh! That’s good!”

It was fancy.

The words were designed to look like constellations. They were set against a pitch-black background that resembled the night sky.

ㅤ

“The Astronomy Club is recruiting members!”

“Come see the stars with us.”

“Beginners are welcome!”

“For more information, come by the Astronomy Club room after school!”

ㅤ

“Whoa…!”

I was impressed by the quality.

“Nito, I didn’t know you could design something like this.”

It was distinct, clear, and lively at the same time.

The work was of such high quality I would have believed her had she told me it was done by a professional.

I had no idea that she could do these things as well as she plays the piano.

“Oh no, it’s just amateur work. I thought it would be more likely for people to pick it up if it was cute.”

Nito chuckled.

She looked like she was melting into orange against the backlight of the setting sun.

“Well then, let’s start handing these out tomorrow.”

“Yup.”

“You know, I’m not sure how we’ll do, but let’s give it our all.”

“Yeah… that’s right!”

Her face lit up with an idea.

“Ah, well, let’s get ourselves pumped up for tomorrow.”

She said as she walked over to the upright piano.

“Oh, you’re going to play?”

“Yeah, I’ve been working on an original song lately, and I’m thinking of posting it as my first video. Can you do me a favor and listen to the preview?”

Oh, right. It happened this way before.

The day after the entrance ceremony.

In the club room after school, Nito played the first song she had ever written for me.

“If you don’t mind, I’d love to.”

“Let me know what you think.”

With that, Nito sat down on a chair and turned to face the piano.

At that moment, I could feel a complete change in her demeanor.

In an instant, she went from being a carefree high school girl to a talented musician.

I could already see the artist called “Nito.” I could clearly feel the aura of the genius musician.

Then she put her hands on the keyboard and played.

After the prelude, she sang.

The melody was dynamic and had a nostalgic feel to it.

The lyrics, which still needed to be refined, consisted of random English phrases and words.

Even in our previous high school life, I could already recognize her talent in music from the first time I heard her.

Compared to her older self, she’s still rough around the edges.

Her music and lyrics still have room for improvement.

But there’s definitely the essence of her charm in it.

I nearly burst into tears when I heard her perform live for the first time in a long time.

While I was absorbed in listening to the song, it ended.

As the afterglow of the sunset faded, Nito relaxed her shoulders and returned to her usual self.

And when she turned to me, she tilted her head anxiously.

“…How was it?”

She asked.

“I think I made a pretty good song.”

Unusually, she seemed unsure. Her pedicured toes were fidgeting.

This may be the first time Nito had let someone listen to her music.

And so I told her in a straightforward way how I really felt.

“Marvelous.”

She laughed heartily, thinking I was joking.

*

“Come and join the Astronomy Club!”

“The club room is located on the 4th floor of the South Building!”

With our voices raised, Nito and I handed out fliers to the students coming to school.

There were varied reactions. Some read the fliers and showed interest, others simply put them in their bags, and some glanced at us briefly or ignored us.

However, as I continued to distribute the fliers, I became more excited than expected.

“We’ll have to print more as soon as possible.”

“Right, we’ll ask for more paper copies in the teacher’s lounge after school.”

Things were going unexpectedly well.

Initially, I made a hundred copies in the teacher’s lounge. I thought it would be great to give them out during the recruitment period, but after three days, it’s as thick as a thin booklet. It turned out to be a happy miscalculation.

We stood in front of the entrance to the school just before it opened.

This place is our school’s leading site for club recruitment at this time of day.

Many members of other clubs were also recruiting around us.

“We’re the Tennis Club! Let’s play tennis together!”

“Brass Band Club! Last year we went to the nationals! Let’s strive together to become number one in Japan!”

“Judo Club! Judo Club! Judo Club! Judo Club!”

The sports clubs wore their uniforms and protective gear, while the brass band and light music clubs brought their instruments and performed live. We, the Astronomy Club, were plain compared to them. But somehow, we still put up a good fight.

At first, I was like, “I knew it would be a piece of cake the second time around!” and “Has my hidden talent come to life?” But then it hit me.

“…Ooh, Astronomy Club, huh?”

“Yes! If you’re interested, please do join!”

“Are you a member of the club?”

“That’s right!”

“Hmm, I’m a little intrigued…”

Nito sure is popular.

Among this year’s new students, she has gotten the most attention. Her enthusiasm drew a lot of interest.

“Do you come to the club room almost every day?”

“Yes, I do. That’s the plan for now!”

“Ooh, I see, I see…”

A male student nodded his head and had a grin on his face. His ulterior motive was quite obvious.

Man, guys are like this all the time! Has the club even crossed your mind?

But if you looked closely, it wasn’t just the boys who were attracted to her, but the girls.

“Oh, Nito, are you joining the club?”

“Yeah! You can join us as well, Rina, if you want to!”

“Hmm, what shall I do?”

Man, Nito’s popularity is unmatched…

How can one be so popular so soon after starting school…?

Well, I understand that Nito is in the so-called “honor student mode” when she’s out in public like this, and she doesn’t seem disliked by anyone…

Moreover…

“Good morning, Chika.”

“Ah, Mone, good morning.”

Some students even come to mingle with her every morning.

The representative of this group is a petite gal-type girl with brightly colored hair, colored contacts, and well-done makeup. Her name is Mone Igarashi.

On the day of the graduation ceremony, she was rushed to the emergency room after receiving the news of Nito’s disappearance.

The two seem best friends, just as they were before the rewrite.

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“Hey, how much longer are you going to do this?”

Igarashi-san hugged Nito as she said that.

“I go to school alone. I feel lonely.”

“Sorry, I think I’ll do it for the rest of the month.”

“That long, huh…?”

Igarashi-san pouted as she said that.

Then… she turned her face and gave me a blank stare.

Yikes, she doesn’t like me…

She must be upset that her chance to go to school with Nito has been taken away from her…

I want to apologize, but I doubt she’ll accept it.

You’re a high school student, though. So why don’t you just go to school on your own? It’s not a good idea to be too clingy…

“…Oh well.”

Igarashi-san slumped her shoulders.

“If that’s what you want to do, Chika, I’ll support you.”

“Hmm, thanks.”

“Well then, good luck.”

Igarashi-san waved and left.

Shortly after, another student approached Nito.

Seriously, what kind of crowd-puller is she? A mascot in an amusement park?

I then realized I didn’t hand out a single flier during the spectacle.

I’m just a deadweight on Nito, aren’t I?

Come to think of it, the number of fliers I have in my hand has hardly decreased since I started today’s activities.

All I remember was that I handed them out to about a dozen people…

“Oh, seriously… I’ve barely done anything!”

I felt anxious about the situation, which I’m now aware of.

Even though I wanted to help her, now I’m the one being helped!

“W-we’re the Astronomy Club! I’m looking forward to having you join us!”

As I panicked and raised my voice, I thought further.

I can’t just piggyback on her anymore.

In that case, I need to strategize and come up with a way to attract a larger number of new students…

When I looked up in thought, I saw the light blue sky like a watercolor painting and a pure white crescent moon floating alone.

If we were to push through, I think it would be best to use a recruitment strategy unique to the club. If we can’t convey our appeal, we won’t be able to interest people in us in the first place…

And I…

“…Ah.”

I suddenly had an idea.

“I see. I have to show them the stars!”

*

On the morning of the following week.

After preparing the recruitment strategy I created, I have the whole picture in front of me.

“Ooh, I like it!”

Nito was in childlike high spirits.

“This is amazing! It really does look like a starry night sky. It has the necessary amount of pizazz!”

Just as she said, countless stars were strewn in front of her.

The school’s dark brown getabako[1].

There, my handmade “glow-in-the-dark star-shaped cards” are glued to countless numbers of them.

And each has this…

ㅤ

“The Astronomy Club is looking for new members!”

“For more information, please visit the club room on the 4th floor of the South Building!”

“You are free to take this card home with you!”

ㅤ

Incredible calligraphy.

The opportunity to view the beautiful starry sky is the essence of the Astronomy Club.

Personally, my interest goes in many directions, such as discovering new celestial bodies, gathering information about dark matter, and pursuing new theories about ‘Oumuamua[2], but the common attraction for many people is still this—the stars shining brightly in the night sky.

So, I thought, why not show them?

Show something like the starry sky to leave an impression.

And this was the outcome.

There are one hundred fifty in all.

It was crazy hard to make and put up because I did it all alone, but I hope this will help attract the freshmen to the Astronomy Club.

Moreover…

“It’s a glow-in-the-dark card, you know.”

I picked one up and gave it to Nito.

“It gets really dark at the entrance of the school in the evening. So when you go home from school, it lights up and looks like a real starry sky.”

“Oh, wow.”

Nito pulled both my hands to cover it. She wanted to make sure the card would glow in the dark.

“Nice. I’m surprised you came up with this idea.”

“I-I know right…? Well, yeah, it glows when it gets dark…”

I felt her pulling me closer as I said that.

The softness of Nito’s stomach pressed against me made me secretly uneasy.

Again, with this skinship. She’s thin, warm, soft, and I don’t know anymore… It’s more than enough to excite a teenage boy …

Meanwhile, classes were about to start, and the students were on their way to the entrance.

They passed by the other clubs also recruiting, and when they got to the getabako…

“…Whoa! What’s this?!”

“Wow, stars!”

It was a surprise for many to see the changed scenery from yesterday.

“Ooh, Astronomy Club…”

“I didn’t know such a club existed.”

Listening to what they said, Nito and I unconsciously looked at each other.

“…Yay.”

“Oh, I have a feeling people will be interested in this one.”

Students arrived at the entrance one after another.

They were all surprised by the star cards—some said, “Can I take them?” and took them home. Yes, yes, it’s okay! If you’re interested in the Astronomy Club, please take it home with you! I made it easy to peel off the card on that assumption!

One by one, the cards stuck on the getabako disappeared.

Still, there were enough left that they wouldn’t miss seeing them again. Yeah… that was part of the plan. It was worth it to get up early in the morning and post them all over the place…

“By the way, how did you get permission to do this?”

Suddenly someone spoke.

“I don’t think there has ever been a club that has done this kind of recruitment strategy before. How did you get through to the faculty?”

“Hey, if you did it without permission, they’d be so mad!”

“…Ah.”

Permission. Get through to the faculty.

“…I forgot I had to talk with them in advance!”

I shrieked.

“Seriously? You haven’t told even one of them?”

Nito, who was standing next to me, widened her eyes.

“Yeah… I was busy making the cards!”

“Huh?!”

I see… That’s right!

Even the distribution of fliers usually requires an application.

And for this particular recruitment strategy, one must first obtain permission to do so!

“Hey, let’s go to the teacher’s lounge right now. And then explain the situation.”

“A-agreed! Worst case, we’ll be forced to rip everything off…!”

We nodded to each other once more, and Nito and I made a beeline for the teacher’s lounge.

ㅤ

The result.

For the time being, we got permission to post it during the recruitment period…

I got a scolding from my homeroom teacher, Chiyoda-sensei.

He also told me to clean up the mess every day because it might pollute the area.

Of course, I’ll look after that as well…

[1] A getabako is a shoe cupboard in Japan, usually situated in the genkan, an entryway or porch of the house or building. Usually there are big getabako in schools, and each student has their own section. Sometimes students store personal things there as well, or use them to leave love letters.

[2] ʻOumuamua is the first interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System. Formally designated 1I/2017 U1, ʻOumuamua was discovered by Robert Weryk using the Pan-STARRS telescope at Haleakalā Observatory, Hawaii, on 19th of October 2017, approximately 40 days after it passed its closest point to the Sun on 9th of September.

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