Stealing Spree

After letting the three girls leave first, I composed myself and decided to walk out of the shower room without a shred of embarrassment. Given that the sound of our lovemaking had already been broadcasted within the room, trying to act oblivious or sneaky about it was pretty much useless.

My only shot of not being seen was if the girls within the other stalls remained inside, too embarrassed to face me. Or if the door was blocked by their bodies, giving me a chance to leave unnoticed.

But that's asking a lot, isn't it? As I opened the door and began walking on the narrow corridor leading to the door, I caught sight of the other girls peeking out of their stalls.

I don't know what's in their head but as soon as our eyes met, most of them hurriedly retreated inside their stall, shutting their doors closed with a squeak. It was like I was the big bad wolf and they were the little piggies, hiding from the huffing and puffing that could blow their houses down.

As if!

Of course, since I said 'most', there's at least one girl who bravely stepped out of their stall. And it was none other than Umeda.

She had her towel wrapped around her body but her cheeks were as red as a ripe tomato. Nevertheless, her face was anything but embarrassed.

Yeah. Really brave that she wasn't even in her swimsuit right now. Is she not afraid for that towel to slide off of her body?

"I knew it would be you, Onoda-kun." She said with a cheeky grin that could probably make another boy falter.

"Good job guessing, Umeda-san. Are you going to stop me from leaving?" I replied with a smug smile, not bothering to hide my exhaustion.

"Stop you? As if I could do that. But are you really not afraid to be caught? This is the girls' shower room, you know? And all of us here heard that..." Umeda trailed off, her smugness fading into curiosity.

I shrugged, a bit too casually for the situation. "I know you heard it. What do you want me to do? Try to sneak away? Anyway, good thing you're here... Please tell them not to report me."

"What the hell, Onoda-kun? I heard you're shameless but not to this extent." Umeda's eyes rolled in disbelief as she crossed her arms, squishing her breasts together in a way that was both unintentional and incredibly distracting. "But well, won't you owe us for our silence, then? Personally, I don't think it's worth it to tattle about this but Onoda-kun, you should also observe decency, no? As for the others... well, I can't convince them for you."

Her eyes roamed around the other occupied stalls. Clearly, they're all listening to their conversation given that there was no sound of running water at the moment. They were just too embarrassed or were still in disbelief at what they heard or witnessed.

"Alright. I'll owe all of you one if you keep quiet about this. Can you get their names for me? I didn't see them all properly. I promise I won't take back my words. You can always look for me. Anytime. Anywhere." I said without faltering.

At this juncture, continuing to be shameless and determined was the key to getting out of this situation. However, I would still reserve caution that one or more of them would not be able to hold their silence. And that's fine. I was clearly the one at fault, after all.

"I'll make sure to make it up to each of you in one way or another," I continued as I reached for Umeda's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

She flinched a little given her shoulder was bare. Obviously, I didn't let my fingers linger on her skin.

"You're quite the smooth talker, Onoda-kun. But don't think this means you're off the hook." "Of course. I'm glad you're this understanding though."

"You're just unbelievable, Onoda-kun. I think your reaction is more intriguing. You're not afraid at all. If I imagine other boys in your situation, they'll try to come up with a bunch of excuses or just run away. But you... you're calmly negotiating as if this is just a normal issue for you."

"Ah. Don't praise me like that. You see, I'm like this because I accept the fact that there's no running away from this... I mean, you heard all of that. It's only right for me to face criticism.' I chuckled, hoping to ease the tension in the air. "But really, I'd be happy to help in any way I can to keep the peace. Maybe I can give you a... special lesson on something or maybe help you with your studies?"

Umeda facepalmed as she couldn't hold back her laughter, "Fufu... Stop that, Onoda-kun. Let's talk about the compensation at another time. Go now before someone else comes. I'll look for you later to tell you what the others decided."

I nodded, taking my chance and dashed out of the shower room. But before doing so, I raised my voice, enough for the other girls within their stall to hear, "For the last time, I apologize to all of you for hearing that... I'm the one at fault so, please don't be afraid if you feel like I've violated a rule. For now, I'll get out and run away from here. Look for me if you want me to pay for your silence."

Naturally, I didn't hear their responses anymore as I quickly left the shower room. The echo of their gasps and whispers still ringing in my ears, I couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness for what might come next. Would they really keep it to themselves? Or would the rumor spread like wildfire?

Both can happen. But at this point, it's useless to think about it anymore.

Before returning to the pool where everyone should be gathering for the end of today's swimming class, I ran outside, circling the gymnasium before going into the boys' shower room to wash off my sweat. It's just to make an illusion that I had just finished showering when I joined them.

As I stepped out of the shower area, I acted as naturally as possible and joined up with Hino and Shirai who also just finished showering.

"Yo. Onoda. I didn't see you anywhere. Are you in the shower room all this time?" Hino asked with a suspicious look.

"I think he is." It was Shirai who answered him. "I saw him leaving earlier. But really, Onoda- kun. Do you hate swimming? I saw you surrounded by girls earlier. Sorry, I can't help you out there. They all looked so eager to cage you up."

This dude... Is he really this naive? Or he's just acting like one to help me out? Whichever the case, it's a good thing for me.

I nodded at them, feigning innocence as I scratched the back of my head, "You two noticed, huh? Maybe it's the payment for being so popular."

"What the heck, Onoda? Are you bragging?" Hino laughed, slapping me on the shoulder.

Maybe I am. But well, it's not important anymore, right?

"Dude. I'm just being honest. Do you want me to say I'm unpopular?"

"Okay. Stop. Now that feels like a slap on my face."

"Haha. That's the woe of popular guys." Shirai laughed.

I turned to him and asked, "Oh? Are you in the same boat, Shirai?"

"Well, not to the same extent as you. You're extraordinary." He shook his head.

Hino looked like he wanted to retort but before he didn't have a chance to do so anymore.

Ryouko-san's eyes locked on us as soon as we emerged from the corner. Everyone was already lined up properly. Most likely, she's just waiting for the rest to return from showering to dismiss the class.

With this, the three of us silently traversed the remaining distance, joining our classes. But Ryouko-san's eyes silently settled on me. Understanding what she wanted me to do, I walked to the front and stood next to her, taking up the role of her Student Assistant again.

As I faced everyone, I could tell my girls were snickering among themselves. As for Umeda and probably those who were in the stall earlier, they all had this meaningful smile as they stared at me.

I wonder what they agreed upon?

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