Date Her Instead Vol. 5

Chapter Ten: And So The Festival Begins

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The next day, Kanako got up extra early. The cultural festival was set to open to the public at 9 a.m., but students had to be there at least an hour before to double-check all of their supplies and set-up. This way, if anything was wrong, there was still enough time to fix it. For Kanako, she had to worry about this twice over due to her being in two groups. Considering Rina was in charge, she was sure she didn't have to worry about the Cooking Club, but her class was a different story. Just yesterday before they wrapped up, a girl had managed to rip the sleeve of her maid uniform. "I really hope that's the worst of it," Kanako thought as she got ready.

As she finished getting dressed, she heard a knock at her door. "Um, Kanako? You up?" "H-H-Haruna?!" Kanako exclaimed when she heard the voice. She was in the middle of tying on her bow, and the surprise was enough to cause her hands to slip and pull it too tight. "Gah!" she let out as the bow shot up to her neck, choking her. Taking a breath after pulling it down, she adjusted it before opening the door.

"G-Good morning," Kanako said uncertainly. "Morning. Were you okay in there? I heard you make a weird noise," Haruna said. "I was just avoiding death by ribbon..." Kanako said, though Haruna had no clue what she meant. "A-Anyways, why are you here?" "Since we don't have access to the stage or any free spaces, we can't really practice, so we were given the day off," Haruna explained. "I see... Ah! Look at the time! We need to go!" Kanako panicked, but Haruna bonked her on the head. "Chill out shortstack. It's not like they're taking attendance or something." "Muu... I thought you retired that name..." Kanako pouted.

After their conversation, the two girls made their way downstairs and Kanako had something quick to eat. "Good luck today," her mom called as the girls left. Once out the door, they began walking down the sidewalk when Kanako thought of a question. "Wait, should you really be getting the day off if the play is tomorrow?" Haruna shrugged. "I mean, we've been practicing like crazy, so it should be fine. Besides, everybody was so high-strung yesterday that this is probably for the best." "High-strung?" Kanako repeated. "Yeah, Chiyo was putting a stop to fights all day. Then, on top of the natural stress of performing, Akitsuki-san is practically killing us with her demands," Haruna said. "Akitsuki-san? She's involved?" Kanako asked. "Didn't I mention that? She actually the director, if you can believe it," Haruna said. "Akitsuki-san as a director? Y-Yeah, I can see how things might get bad if she's the one in charge..." Kanako said.

Last year, Akitsuki had been in Kanako's class. When it had come time for the cultural festival, it had very nearly been a disaster thanks to her antics. "G-Good luck," Kanako said quietly. "It's a little late for that," Haruna said with a small laugh. "Besides, we only have the one show anyways, so if we bomb, it's not like we have to do it again." "I-I guess so," Kanako said. Due to the amount of events planned for the stage, Haruna's class had only been given one slot, and it was for the second day. In a way, that was a good thing. If the class somehow really did mess up, they could just go straight to the end of the festival instead of having to be miserable through the rest of it.

As they continued on their way to school, a loud voice called out to them. "Haru-chiii! Kana-chaaan!" Within seconds of hearing their names, a girl was upon them. "Hey you two!" Chiyo said excitedly. "I see you're walking together." "Y-Yeah, so what?" Haruna said. Chiyo stared at her, then looked at Kanako. Figuring out Chiyo's silent question, Kanako just shook her head slowly. In response, Chiyo let out a sigh. "Figures." "Huh? What figures?" Haruna asked, but she didn't get an answer.

While Chiyo kept talking with Haruna, Kanako became lost in thought. "So she thought we might've become a couple..." Really, it seemed like a fair assumption. Haruna and Kanako had hardly gone to school together for quite some time now. Of course suddenly seeing them together might give Chiyo the wrong idea. "Although, why did she come to pick me up this morning anyways?" Kanako wondered. She had asked why Haruna was there, and she had gotten an answer, but it hadn't been quite what Kanako had meant. Rather than "Why are you here at my house right now?" she wanted an answer to the question, "Why are you here when you haven't been for weeks?"