I Quit the Going-Home Club for a Girl with a Venomous Tongue

Title: Past Afterimages

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“How’s it going? With the student council.”

It’s been three days since I started helping out the student council.
In other words, it’s been three days since Saeki Shiho led me to executive committee.

For the past three days, I’ve had to go back and forth between the student council and the executive committee after school.
It wasn’t all too hard though.

“It’s kinda interesting.”

I replied to Niwatari Tsuru, the secretary of the student council.

The student council was actually pretty interesting.
It was an organization that was involved in all sorts of projects, so it was a good opportunity to broaden my horizons by getting to know the clubs, community, and the school board stuff that you might not normally get involved with.

“I’m happy if that’s the case.
There’s a lot of strange perspectives on the student council, so if you think so, I appreciate that.”

Tsuru was right.
My image of the student council had indeed changed.

“But I don’t think I would actually join.”

“Right.
It’s not like I ran for office either.
Fufu.”

“What are you going to do today?”

“I’m gonna check how many materials and tools we’re borrowing.
With the girl next to me.”

Arina agreed with a sullen face.

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“Well then, let’s get moving.”

After relaxing in the student council room, Arina and I decided to get to work.

The members of the student council were concentrating on making promotional posters.
I thought that Tsuru, who had been talking with me, was going to go back to work on the posters, but instead, she said she was gonna follow us.

“Tsuru, is your work fine?”

“Yep.
I’m already done.
I don’t have much of an aesthetic sense, so I’m leaving the posters to them.
I focus too much on the small stuff.”

She may look like a gal, but she’s always been one of the smartest girls in the school.
She might look dumb, but when you talk to her, you’ll realize just how smart she is.
Her knowledge and insight are unfathomable.
That’s why she’s interesting to talk to.

“It’s amazing.
You’ve got the best brains in the school and are the most beautiful girl in the grade.
How can I become as extravagant?”

“You’re already the number one weirdo in our grade.”

“Who, me? I’m in the top three?”

Tsuru giggled.

As usual, Arina looked down on me, calling me a weirdo.
It was the usual.

At a time like this, I’d be happy if she would say, “No! Sui is a wonderful person!”

“I’ll crush your eyes.”

That would be impossible, though.
Blackmail is her favorite thing to do.
Come to think of it, I don’t think Arina has ever called me by my first name.
Neither Sui nor Sakaki.
It was either ‘you’ or ‘mealworm’.
What is this blatant discrimination? Even though she calls Shirona and Tsuru by their names.
I’m a real person of Japan with a name.

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We left the student council and headed for the warehouse.

I was in the lead, and Tsuru and Arina were behind me.
We walked in a triangle formation.

I was shocked when I realized.

In the background, Tsuru and Arina were talking amicably.
What kind natural disaster is this? Arina was talking with some of resistance, but their conversation was going well.
Tsuru was smiling happily.
I looked behind me and saw that it wasn’t a recording being played back, but a real conversation between two humans.
Apparently, Arina was really talking.

Whenever she talked to me, she was the worst, but not with Tsuru.
I was horrified to see Arina, who always hurled abuse at me, had succeeded in making contact with normal humans.
It was a sign that the world is ending.

When we arrived at the warehouse, the first thing I did was turning on the lights.
The place was dusty, so we opened up the windows and doors.
The girls coughed, and one particularly poisonous tongued woman told me to, “suck everything in, please.” Of course, I ignored her.
I’m not a vacuum cleaner.

“Let’s check it out.
Tsuru or Arina, read the list out to me.”

“Got it.
Arina-san, here.
I’ll read this one.”

Tsuru handed one of the two lists to Arina.

I didn’t feel comfortable asking the girls to do the heavy lifting in such a dusty area, so I decided to do it myself.

“Then I’ll go first.
Twelve ladles, nine chopping boards.”

“Roger that.”

I found the plastic baskets where the cooking tools were jumbled up and fished through them.

“Twelve ladles, nine chopping boards.
They’re here.”

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“Got it, check check.”

Next is Arina.

“Five wood, ten screwdriver sets.”

“Okay, okay.
Five wood, one screwdriver set, two screwdriver sets….
ten.
Okay.”

“Amazing.
You can count.”

“Right? I can do arithmetic too.
Can you say all the letters of the alphabet?”

I started counting the tools.
Tsuru and Arina took turns reading out the lists, and I just kept searching.

I was amused by the contrast between Tsuru, who sat elegantly with her legs together, and Arina, who sat with her legs crossed with an attitude.

The girly Tsuru had an elegant demeanor, while the intelligent and beautiful Arina was intimidating.
It was funny.

As I became an obedient machine that listened to them, I found something interesting.

“Oh, this is a picture from last year’s festival.”

The slightly faded photo was a group photo.
It was a small group, so it might have been a class or cultural club.

The photo showed Mine Aki-senpai.

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She was someone I got along with in the health committee when I was a freshman.
She liked to make jokes and we got along well.

Aki-senpai also went to the same school as Arina when she was in junior high.

“Hey, show me.”

I handed the photo to Tsuru.

Arina also leaned in to get a look at it.

Not long after, Arina frowned.
She wrinkled her brow as if she had just seen something repulsive.

“What’s wrong, Arina?”

It was obvious something was off.
Arina replied with one eye closed.

“Sorry, but I’m heading home first.”

“What’s wrong, Arina-san? Are you feeling sick?”

“No, I’m fine, but I need to head home today.”

“Okay.
Let me know if you need anything.”

Arina handed her list to Tsuru and gave me a weak bow.
That wasn’t like her.
It’s also not like her to give me a bow.

Arina was absent from school for two days.