Finals are now over. We all get out of the classroom and relax in our own way. I stretch, Mai and Mizuki calm their pulse, Akane and Kaguya overthink their answers and Hikaru…looks proud?

  “It was so stressful! Kaito, take me to a movie please…”

  “Come on, Mai. Let’s all go in that case.”

  Everyone agrees and we head to the cinema.

  Mai came with the first idea.

  “Let’s go watch the new action movie! It features Kaizuki Souryuke, the star of the new generation!”

  Mizuki looked like she remembered something.

  “Speaking of which, Kaito, did you ever act in a movie with him? I heard you also did acting every now and then when you were younger.”

  “Yes. I remember him, he was always a kind person. We had the same start in the industry, but he eventually grew and became a star. I’m a flop, all because I didn’t have the mental strength to overcome an event. I’m happy for him.”

  “I see…(I’ll make you star in a movie with him for sure.)”

  “Any other ideas?”

  Akane also came with an idea.

  “Let’s go watch a romance!”

  “No, the action movie!”

  “No, the romance movie!”

  The two of them looked fiercely at each other. Mai was like a Lion, while Akane was like a tiger.

  Kaguya tried to intervene.

  “Guys…wa-“

  “YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!”

  Kaguya starts crying.

  “Kaitoo, they are being mean to me!”

  “Guys, come on. Let’s split up if we can’t decide on one movie.”

  “But we all wanted to watch a movie together…”

  “Try and split up in groups.”

  The groups become :

  - Romance : Akane, Kaguya, Hikaru

  - Action : Mai, Mizuki, Kaito

  “No fair! I want to watch the movie with Kaito too!”

  “Then, midway through the movie, I will come to the other group. Deal?”

  “Sure! Fine by me. Come to the action one first.”

  “Okay…(what a pain.)”

  Kaito, Mizuki and Mai head to room 14, to watch the action movie, while Akane, Hikaru and Kaguya go to room 18 to watch the romance movie.

  “Kaito! Be sure to relax! You stressed out teaching us everything up until now. I’m happy to see a movie with you! Right, Mizuki?”

  “Sure is! Maybe you will get back into normal acting too, Kaito!”

  “Don’t force your luck. I have no talent for acting. Voice acting is my field of work. My voice would be great for movies, but my acting skills are mediocre. Think about trying to lie to a teacher about your dog eating a homework, and then you try to show him an online picture.”

  “Oh…I see. We’ll stick to voice acting then. But I may have a job for the two of us, in the acting field. Interested?”

  “I guess…you won’t stop bothering me until I come with you there, right?”

  “Exactly!”

  “Then I have no choice…”

  “Guys, the movie is starting!”

  Action unfolds quickly. Guns blazing, swords piercing, metal shaking, thunders clapping, everything you would expect from a top-class movie.

  Mai comes closer to me, presses her chest on my arm and clings to it.

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  “Kaito! Isn’t this movie so cool? Souryuke’s acting is so good! It doesn’t even feel staged!”

  (Hehe, try not falling for that, Kaito!)

  I start to blush and try easily to push Mai away, but she was unmovable.

  “I-I guess…Mizuki, you come here too!”

  And like that I grab Mizuki and pull her closer to me. To not let any room for interpretation. She started blushing. Hard. Then she starts talking to herself.

  “W-what?! He pulled me closer?! What is he-he-he-he thinking?! Maybe it’s because Mai is also there? Oh…he pulled both of us closer because we’re close friends, I guess…but…what if…I guess I could leave it like this for a while…”

  I didn’t realize what I did. I was so flustered by Mai that I acted out of instinct. I wonder what Mizuki thought of that…

  “I’m sorry, Mizuki!”

  Mai was confused.

  “What?”

  “Nothing! I must get going to Akane’s group! Catch you later!”

  And like that, I sprint off from the cinema room.

  Mai started questioning Mizuki.

  “What happened?”

  Mizuki looked like a happy kid. She was moving a bit in her chair and she was kicking her feet.

  “H-h-he pulled me towards him! It caught me by surprise! Kaito-kun….I love you so much!”

  Mai looks terrified.

  She started developing serious feelings for him?! Last time we talked about this, she never mentioned anything about this….she just said she wants to keep his voice all to herself! That’s different. I already have Akane as a rival for Kaito’s love, now Mizuki too?! Man this is going to be tough….but…at least he’s free. He can take a liking to one of us. Before he couldn’t have felt anything, for any of us. More like he didn’t want to…in order to protect us. Man, he is so…careful, and perfect…wait, no, back to Mizuki liking him!

  “What do you mean…love you?”

  “I love his voice! But-“

  “Oh, haha, I knew it!”

  Mizuki puts on a bright smile, half-closing her eyes while blushing.

  “Let me finish. I love his voice, but…I also love him as a…”

  Mai nods.

  “Guy.”

  The moment of Mai’s relief shattered. She was speechless.

  “Didn’t we have a conversation about this before?”

  “Did we?”

  “Yes, back then I didn’t want to get in yours and Akane’s way with him. You two mentioned your love for him, while I wanted to voice act with him. Meanwhile, I grew to love him too! He’s such a perfect person, like a gemstone hidden deep in the mountains!”

  Worrying filled the room.

  “I see…”

  Silence.

  Inside Mai’s heart and mind, everything was overloaded. She never felt so worried before. Her precious childhood friend she loved so much, was also loved by two of her best friends.

  I'm done with the first half of the movie, so I head to the other group, who was watching very focused.

  “Hey, I’m done with Mai’s movie. It was pretty cool!”

  Hikaru gets up from his seat.

  “Then I will go to Mai and Mizuki. It’s not cool to let 2 girls all alone.”

  “Okay, Hikaru.”

  Akane turned to me and started her aggressive mode.

  “Sit down here faster!”

  She pulled me on the chair, just between them. And then she “hmph-ed” me again.

  “Hey there, Kaito!”

  “Hey…Kaguya”

  “Was the other group’s movie any good?”

  “I guess…let’s talk when we’re done.”

  The three of us continue to watch the movie. I was one hour late, so I didn’t quite know the plot, to begin with. Not even 5 minutes after I arrive, I can sense a familiar feeling. Yes, you guessed it, someone was clinging to my arm. It was Kaguya.

  “Kaito, isn’t this movie so romantic?”

  “Uh…I guess?”

  “You two, silence!”

  And like that, Akane noticed the scene. Kaguya also realized what she was doing. She pulled back immediately.

  “Sorry! I got so much into the movie that I started to imitate them…”

  Stay calm, stay calm.

  “It’s okay, no big deal.”

  On the other hand, Akane was red. She was mad at Kaguya for doing such a move.

  “Then you come here too!”

  Akane starts pulling my arm, and suddenly I find her clinging to it.

  Okay, so it happened to EVERY SINGLE ONE of the girls in the group. It almost seems like something you’d find in a manga volume. Leave that thought aside, what is she thinking?! I thought she hated me. Or, at least , I thought she was cold to me, not necessarily hate me. There were plenty of moments where she showed a bit of kindness and warmth…

  “Since we’re watching a romantic movie, let’s recreate the atmosphere. Kaguya, scoot over!”

  “Huh?”

  “SCOOT OVER!”

  “But…”

  “Fine, don’t do it then. You’ll miss out.”

  What is going on here?!

  And like that, Kaguya clung to my other arm, just like she did a few moments ago.

  “What is this…”

  “Don’t get the wrong idea! It’s just to live the movie better in a similar atmosphere! Right, Kaguya?”

  She was starting to sweat and stutter.

  “Y-yes, sure!”

  I’m clinging to my…hero, while watching a romance! Great! But…can I live this moment for my whole life? He is so warm and kind…and he’s always there for me…I want to cherish every second of this!

  My heart kept pounding fast until the end of the movie. I couldn’t focus on anything other than the two scenes. I can’t say I couldn’t enjoy being so close to my 4 best friends, but…is it right?

  The movie finishes. They both get up.

  “It was great!”

  “Akane, let’s go to another romance movie sometime soon!”

  “Sure!”

  We gather up with everyone at the main entrance.

  “Everything good? The action movie was great!”

  “So was the romance one. You missed out, Mai.”

  I take a look at everyone with heavy eyes and mutter a reply among my tiredness.

  “Let’s talk the details later. I’m tired, let’s just head home and call it a day.”

  As the sun sets, we go towards our homes and start to fantasize about the long summer break that was ahead of us.

  The next day comes by in a flash. At exactly 8AM, Mai wakes me up like a tornado alarm and I see everyone gathered on my couch.

  “What’s this about…”

  “Let’s plan our summer vacation!”

  “It’s 8 AM….come on.”

  “Those who wake up early get far! Come on.”

  And so we sit down and start planning our summer vacation. Mai takes leadership.

  “I want us to go on a beach trip! Let’s enjoy the sea!”

  “But…Kaito’s going to be with us…”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “It’s not! What are you thinking of?!”

  “Nothing. Anyone got an objection?”

  Nobody moves.

  “Then it’s set. How long should we stay there?”

  “3 nights?”

  “Sure! Plenty of time. If we still want more we can go there again.”

  Suzuki was not present so she couldn’t be with us. I wish I could’ve took her with me..

  Akane rises up and proposes something.

  “Let’s also go to Kyoto, during the summer festival!”

  “Great idea! Let’s go!” said Mai, backing her up.

  “Any objection?”

  Nobody moved a muscle, again.

  “Then we have 2 trips planned for the summer. Let’s have fun!