After Shouting "Raise Your Hand if You Would Go Out with Me!" in Front of the Blackboard — Part 1

 It all started from a truly casual conversation.

As usual, during break time, I was goofing around in the classroom with my friends, Okajima and Kawakami.

Suddenly, as the conversation hit a lull, Okajima blurted out, "Ahhh, I really want a girlfriend…"

"It's already the summer of our second year in high school, right? I feel like it's time I at least got one girlfriend," Okajima said, resting his chin on his hand.

Both Kawakami and I agreed with Okajima.

"For real. All the popular guys out there are probably going to have an amazing summer vacation… but at this rate, we're going to have a totally boring one."

"Exactly! Ahhh, I don't care who it is, I just want to date someone!"

Hearing Kawakami’s weary words, I grinned and made a dumb suggestion.

"If that’s the case, why not just go up to the front of the class and shout, 'Raise your hand if you'd go out with me!'? Maybe someone will raise their hand!"

"Are you stupid? What kind of punishment game is that?"

"Nah, come on. I bet there are at least a few girls who are getting nervous about spending the summer alone. You never know unless you try."

"If you're so confident, why don't you do it, Shiota? Since you think it'll work?"

"Yeah, the person who suggested it should go first," Kawakami chimed in, immediately backed by Okajima.

Suddenly, the spotlight was on me.

"Uh, well…"

"Go on! Go on!"

"Shiota-kun, let's see you do something cool~~♪"

I tried to refuse, but my two troublemaker friends started clapping in rhythm, grinning widely.

Their clapping drew the attention of the whole class.

…Well, I guess I have no choice. I was the one who suggested it. Besides, we're known as the class clowns, so even if I do this, it'll just end up being a joke.

Resigning myself to fate, I decided to go all out. With a loud, exaggerated battle cry, I ran to the front of the classroom, slammed my hand on the teacher's desk, and shouted:

"Raise your hand if you'd go out with me!!"

I raised my hand high in the air and looked around the classroom.

Okay, everyone, laugh it off. I’m already prepared for the reaction. I'll dramatically cover my face with this raised hand and shout, "At least one person, raise your hand!!" The classroom will burst into laughter at the sight of a guy who's been rejected by every girl. Perfect.

Then… a hand went up.

Followed by another hand, raised energetically. Then another, shyly hesitating, but up nonetheless… Three hands in total.

Three hands went up. ...Wait, what?

……

……

I looked again at the three people who raised their hands.

Yep, all girls. Definitely girls. This isn't some joke where it turns out they were actually boys.

…Well then. …Yeah, I see…

Completely caught off guard, I slowly lowered my raised hand and, with a bright smile, shouted:

"Thank you!!"

Then, smoothly stepping down from the teacher’s podium, I returned to my seat and gave a thumbs-up to my two dumbfounded friends.

"Surprisingly, it worked."

"Wait, wait, hold on!!" Okajima and Kawakami shouted in unison.

Yeah, that’s the reaction I was expecting.

"Huh? Wait, what!? What just happened!?"

"What!? Seriously, what just happened!?"

"Calm down… it’s probably something like, 'I'll go shopping with you' or something. That’s the punchline."

"No way!!"

"Forget about Hiyama and Nagasawa, but Nanano-san isn't that type of person!!"

"Nah, they're just joking. They were all playing along with my joke. For sure."

"No way! If that's what you think, I’ll try it out myself!!"

With that, Okajima suddenly stood up, ran to the front of the class, and shouted to everyone:

"Raise your hand if you'd go out with me!!"

……

……

……Silence.

Silence fell over the classroom.

"...I see."

Okajima quietly said, and then slowly returned to his seat, slumping heavily into his chair.

Looking up at the ceiling, he let out a long sigh before speaking with a firm expression.

"See?"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry."

"This is the first time I've ever seen a man shed such beautiful tears…"

Feeling really sorry for him, I handed him a tissue. Okajima wordlessly looked up at the ceiling, placed the tissue on his face, and remained silent.

He… he’s dead…

"Well, now that we’ve sacrificed Okajima, let's gather up the three girls who raised their hands earlier, shall we?"

As I gazed at the resurrected Okajima with a slightly awkward expression, Kawakami beckoned with a wave of his hand.

In response, the three girls who had raised their hands earlier started walking toward us.

The first was Hiyama, the blonde gal who raised her hand right away. Next was Nagasawa, the energetic girl with brown twin-tails who raised her hand shortly after. Lastly, there was Nanano-san, the black-haired, glasses-wearing bookworm who raised her hand hesitantly at the end.

“So…,” Kawakami started to say.

“I’ll ask,” I interrupted, cutting him off. I stood up, turned to face the three girls, and asked the question again.

“Uh… so, you all said you'd go out with me, but… why?”

Hiyama was the first to answer, twirling a strand of her permed blonde hair around her finger.

“Well~~, I mean, I’m single right now, so I thought dating Shiota wouldn’t be so bad.”

Ah, yep, that’s what I figured. It’s that casual vibe, right? Makes sense.

“Same here! I think Shiocchi’s funny!”

Yeah, that’s about right. With Nagasawa, it doesn’t really feel like she’s thinking of this in a romantic way. More like a friend—probably just going along with it.

“Um, well… I’ve actually been interested in you for a while, Shiota-kun…”

Huh?? This last one seems a bit more serious, doesn’t it?

As Nanano-san shyly glanced my way, speaking with embarrassment, I smiled at her, though inside I was starting to sweat nervously.

“…I see. Thanks!”

I replied with a refreshing smile before quickly sitting back down, giving Kawakami a thumbs-up with a strained grin.

“That was a bit more serious than I thought.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t a joke! That was real!!”

“Wait, what? Am I going to die today?”

“Yeah, just die already! Get it over with!!”

So, I’m going to die today, huh? I looked out the window to see a clear, sunny sky. Oh, such nice weather. Wow, look at those contrails.

“And? Who are you going to date?”

As I tried to avoid looking at the three girls and escape from reality, Kawakami's sharp-eyed stare dragged me back.

“Huh? Uh… well…”

This is bad. I can feel the piercing gazes of the three girls on me. I can feel the attention of the entire class focused on this situation.

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