Chaoskouji

Arc 5 Chapter 7 - A Day at the Pool

On the last day of holidays, I met in the lobby with the strangest group of people.

Late last night Kikyou had sent me a message, inviting me to go swimming. Although I had already known that some of my classmates were going swimming, I hadn't expected an invite, since the organiser was none other than my sworn enemy Yamauchi.

I exited the elevator into the busy lobby at 8:30, the agreed upon time, only to find I was the last person to arrive.

"Augh, Ayanokouji what the hell are you doing here?!" As expected, Yamauchi objected to my presence, but I was surprised he didn't know I was coming.

"You didn't tell him?" I asked Kikyou.

"Ah, I invited him along, Yamauchi-kun. I hope that's alright?" As expected of the classroom sweetheart, Yamauchi, backed by Ike, instantly took back any complaints they had made about my presence. I could tell they didn't like it, but they dared not go against Kikyou, their shared crush.

"You're late."

And just as predictable, Horikita showed her distain for my presence in a much more effective manner.

"We agreed to meet at 8:30, and here I am."

"You weren't here at 8:30."

I tilted my head slightly in confusion. "Horikita, the time 8:30 is not clearly specified enough to refer to an exact second. In accordance with that ambiguity, my arrival here at 8:30:53 is still within the acceptable range of 8:30 as our meeting time. While I was later than most would expect, I was not, by definition, late for our meeting."

"Social convention, however, would prevail that arriving early to a meeting is expected behaviour, in order to account for any unforeseen delays, such as the traffic in the elevators. Everyone else arrived before 8:30, so that when the approved time came, we would not be late."

As expected, she didn't back down.

"And yet, social convention does not dictate whether I am late or not. Yes, it is expected to be followed, but it is not a rigorous law that must be adhered to. Therefore, there can be no consequences for violating it. All of this concludes that while I did not arrive when you expected me to, I still arrived at the appropriate time."

"But- "

"Suzune, give it a break. Much as I hate to say it, you won't be able to keep up with this dude."

Sudou came to my defence in order to spare me from what would have been a scathing remark. I could have argued back, but with our stubbornness, we would have remained here all day, and never made it to the pool.

"Fine. Let's get going." A short acceptance from Horikita, and all I was likely to get.

"Yay! Time for a day at the pool," Kikyou exclaimed. Ike and Yamauchi had stars in their eyes as they watched her give a small jump of excitement.

It was an incredibly odd group that made our way down to the pool. Ike and Yamauchi swarmed over Kikyou the entire way, and she replied with just as much entheusiasm. Meanwhile, I was left with Horikita and Sudou, where I inquired to the former why she came.

"I thought it would be a good chance to get along with my class members."

In other words, she took it as an opportunity to network. I was impressed at this decision. It wasn't her idea, having received an invitation from Sudou, but she took the chance for what it was: an opportunity to get the dumbest members in our class on her side.

An entire day wherein she could sway Ike and Yamauchi to support her was a generous offer, and I was pleased to see she was willing to make moves, not just assume that she could stand alone and win.