Stealing Spree

The drawing of lots was done by having us write our names on slips of paper and putting them into a box. Shio would then pick five names randomly.

Because of that, the chance of being chosen was equal for everyone. She was truly being fair. Yet, why did it feel like her grin hadn't dissipated? Like she still had something up her sleeve, waiting for me.

It couldn't be that she had a surefire way of picking me out of 31 names, right? Yep. Most likely, that's the case.

The class whispered among themselves and the anticipation rose as Shio slipped her hand inside the box. She shook it lightly, the rustling papers akin to the shuffling of cards before a high-stakes poker game.

Looking around us, Ogawa, Fukuda and the rest of the boys who hated my guts were probably praying for me not to be picked. They're already so exhausted seeing me always getting the girls' favor. Too bad for them though. My gut feeling was already telling me that no matter the outcome, one of the five names that Shio would draw was going to be my name.

"It'll be nice to do it with you, Ruki," Aya whispered beside me. Her eyes sparkled, already imagining the possibilities.

"Mhm... It'll probably be fun. Don't you think so too, Satsuki?" I replied, turning to the grumpy girl sitting on my other side.

"I don't care, idiot. If I get picked and you're not there, I'll withdraw."

"That's so like you. But let's just wait and see," I chuckled as I reached over to squeeze Satsuki's hand, feeling the warmth of her skin and the softness of her fingers. She rolled her eyes and grumbled at my shamelessness but as always, she didn't pull away.

Behind me, Sakuma, who had probably been feeling conflicted ever since the camping trip, tried to join our conversation, "Maemura in brainstorming? Onoda. Won't we be in trouble if she gets picked?"

At his comment, Satsuki immediately fired back, "Huh?! What did you say, idiot? Are you picking a fight?"

Sakuma held his hands up in mock surrender as he chuckled at Satsuki's quick temper. "Calm down, Maemura. I'm just saying, you know how you get when it comes to planning. You might turn the whole thing into a battle royale if you're not happy."

"Dude, stop digging your grave further," I said before turning to Satsuki, who was already glaring at Sakuma.

"Hey, idiot Ruki. Should I bury him right now?" Satsuki whispered through gritted teeth. Her grip on my hand tightened as though she was using me as her restraint.

"Well, I don't think you still need to. He has already dug himself a hole to bury himself in." I smirked before turning to Sakuma whose smile was quivering a bit.

They used to banter like this before I stole her from him. But now, Sakuma couldn't get an upper hand anymore.

I could tell what he was trying to do. To restore some semblance of their past friendship. But after everything, it was impossible. The recent events during the camping trip, where he saw Setsuna-nee getting closer to me also didn't help. Even his attempts to treat me like a best friend had mellowed out.

I gave him a lot of advice before regarding her. Alas, even though I never meant to make Setsuna-nee fall for me, the situation was already gravitating toward it, especially when we had that date coming up.

He could sense that, of course. Wasn't that the reason why he was starting to hang out with the cuck group of Fukuda and Miyoshi? Yet, he's still trying like this.

Well, there's no point in me kicking him down the pit he's already in. I'd rather spend the effort in pampering my girls than dealing with him.

Soon, the drawing of lots started.

Mio held the box while Shio pulled the first paper out.

Anticipation rolled through the classroom like a wave as Shio opened her mouth. "Oh. What's this? Our representative is..."

She intentionally trailed her voice there but in the end, her eyes landed on me as she unfolded the paper. "Onoda Ruki!"

"What the heck?!" Fukuda exclaimed from the back and then other boys also followed. As for the girls, they all had varying expressions but mostly gasps of understanding. In one part of their mind, it only makes sense if I was picked. In another, they probably felt sorry for the other boys who were hoping I wouldn't. ⱤãꞐọ₿Ɛ𐌔

"S-sensei. Is that true? Is he really the first name to be drawn?" Miyoshi raised his hand and questioned with hope in his eyes. He was probably thinking that maybe, just maybe, this was rigged in my favor.

Well, he was probably not wrong but it's Shio, you know? He better not question her or else... her strict and commanding side would surely show.

"It is. Are you insinuating that I would rig it for Onoda-kun, Miyoshi?" Shio's eyes narrowed slightly, "Come here and read what's written on this paper."

Miyoshi swallowed his hope and nodded, walking up to the podium as he picked up the paper.

Upon reading it, his eyes widened, and he stuttered, "I-it's true, s-sensei. It's Onoda's name." He stepped back, bowed in apology and returned to his looking defeated.

Shio's eyes followed him before saying, "Look, if you're thinking I will favor Onoda-kun because he's my Student Assistant, then you're wrong. I will pick names as they come, no matter whose name is drawn."

If I didn't know any better, I'd really believe her but her smile from earlier had already given it away. In any case, do they really want to be picked as a representative? It's not like they'll get extra marks from it.

Fukuda, Miyoshi and the rest were probably just objecting for the sake of preventing me from getting all the attention again. They didn't care about that workshop. All they wanted was to stump me in order to satisfy their hurt ego.

Too bad for them. They wouldn't be able to accomplish anything against me in this classroom.

Not that I was taking pride in it. I also think that if Shio rigged it, she'd be a little unfair. I'll scold her later. Privately. For now, better to let the show go on.

"Does anyone still have an objection? To be fair, I'll give the five students who will be drawn a chance to object and step down if they don't feel like doing it." Shio announced, her eyes glancing around the classroom with a hint of challenge before landing on me again, her lips curling up. "Onoda-kun, what do you think?"

"I'd love to represent our class, Kinoshita-sensei," I replied while secretly putting on a playful expression.

"Good. Now let's move on to the next four names," Shio said as she once again put her hand inside the box.

Given what happened, no one objected anymore as the four names were drawn.

The second representative ended up being Shimura who was surprised because she was not expecting to be picked.

The third representative was Ogawa. Yeah... That guy had the main character's luck all along. He'd always get picked in cases like this.

The fourth and fifth representatives were no surprise to me. They're two of my girls.

Chii and Nami.

Satsuki, who was secretly hoping to be picked as well, squeezed my hand tightly in frustration. Aya was downcast but she looked up at me with her bright smile before saying,

"Good luck, Ruki."

I couldn't help but pat the adorable girl's head before comforting the grumpy Satsuki.

On the other hand, Chii and Nami looked thrilled.

"Ruu, we've finally got a chance to be grouped in an activity," Nami pleasantly said as she turned to me, her eyes filled with excitement.

As for Chii, the fake gyaru happily charged to my seat, her arms wrapping from the back of my chair.

She was immediately sent back to her seat though since we're still in the middle of the class. Although the boys were unhappy with the result, most of them started rooting for Ogawa as though he was their last hope.

What a bunch of idiots.

As for my girls who weren't picked, some of them were also feeling bitter like Satsuki. They wanted to do an activity with me, after all. Unfortunately, the slots were limited, and Shio fairly drew those four names.

After that, the rest of the class period was spent with Shio discussing the rules of the workshop and the criteria for judging our class's performance.

According to her, it wasn't supposed to be a competition but for the sake of hyping up the representatives that each class would be sending, the teachers decided to turn it into one without making it like a battle royale.

Maybe I'll hear more about it from Hayashi-sensei later.

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