Hashimoto Masayoshi POV
After leaving Kiyo and Nao to their date, I began making my way to the batting centre. Although, it would be more correct to say that it was an indoor training field that belonged to the baseball team. Since we were on vacation, they opened it so people could go and pass the time. Akito and Hayato were already there. The idiots couldn't even wait for me.
I invited Yoshida but he refused since he and Fukuyama would be going out to the movies today. I asked Shimizu as well, but he was going out with a senpai from the music club. And Nao was going out with Kiyo... So, yeah. Everyone was going out on dates while I was going to the batting centre with Akito and Hayato.
Well, not that I'd been particularly seeking a date. I had been more focused on class affairs.
"Yoshi-kun?"
As I was about to take the turn that led to the batting centre, I met with three beautiful girls. Matsushita Chiaki, the one that spoke and that I was the closest with was wearing a pink knee-length dress, that matched both her bonnet and her purse. Next to her, Horikita Suzune was wearing a more formal attire with a black skirt, and a greyish long coat over her white shirt, a carefully made tie around her neck. To Chiaki's right was standing a girl I had never interacted with, but that I recognised as Satou Maya, Chiaki's best friend who was wearing thigh-length socks, a red skirt with squares and an orange coat over her yellow pullover.
I greeted them, not wanting to be rude. The three of them were carrying shopping bags, although Horikita had fewer than the other two.
"Hey. What're you doing?" I asked, waving my hand amiably.
"Some shopping," Chiaki showed me the bags she was carrying. "We just had lunch, so we were going back to the dorms. How about you, Yoshi-kun?"
I quickly explained my project for the afternoon. Chiaki's eyes shone in excitement as she heard my plan.
"Can we join, Yoshi-kun?" Chiaki pleaded, leaning closer.
"Eh? Sure..."
I saw no reason to refuse.
"Great!"
"Why would we join, Chiaki-san? He's going to the batting centre," Horikita frowned, not thrilled by the idea.
"Well, I've never played baseball before, so I'm curious."
"You already forced me out of my room to go shopping. If you go, then it'll be without me," Horikita stated ever so stubbornly. "You can go have fun while I return to the dormitory."
"Come on, Horikita-san," Satou pleaded. "You had fun, right? I think it's a good idea for us to go as well. Oh, I'm Satou Maya by the way, I believe we haven't been properly introduced."
She offered her hand to me.
"Hashimo—" I was going to shake her hand as I introduced myself but, was promptly interrupted.
"This is Yoshi-kun, Maya-chan," Chiaki jumped letting her bags fall and hugging my arm. "Please call him so."
"... Are you sure?" Satou asked uncertainly. "I wouldn't want to call you something you're not comfortable with."
"It's okay," I assured. "I'm used to it."
It was surprising how people could get used to nicknames they initially didn't like. Especially if they came from friends.
"I see," she mumbled before reaching out a hand to me. "In that case, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Yoshi-kun," she declared with a bright smile.
I shook her hand, stating the pleasure was mine. Then, I spoke to the three.
"So, you're coming to play some baseball?"
Chiaki and Satou replied positively while Horikita still seemed reticent. To me, it was already a miracle she was standing here with us. After some back and forth, the first two managed to convince Horikita. That is to say, they forced her to come with us.
And so, now accompanied by three beautiful girls, I continued to make my way towards the batting centre.
The bad side was that I was now carrying half their shopping bags. Mostly Chiaki and Satou's since Horikita refused that I carried hers.
"And what have you been doing?" I asked while we walked. "You're quite an unusual trio."
"Oh, it wasn't just the three of us. Originally, Shinohara-san was with us as well, but she had to leave since she had to meet someone."
"A date, you mean~" Chiaki stated, a sly smile on her face.
"It's possible," Satou mused. "Although, I don't know with whom she would go on a date. I mean, as far as we know, she doesn't like anyone, right?"
"Shouldn't we let Shinohara-san keep her privacy?" Horikita intervened. "Who she goes out with is none of our business."
"Fine then," I shrugged. "Let's talk 'bout you, Horikita. Who do you like?"
"You're invading my privacy now?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Come on, Suzune-san," Chiaki pleaded. "He asked you nicely. It's not like he stole your phone and read your messages."
Horikita sighed in frustration, but she did reply that she saw no one in that way. She also added that that kind of relationship was a hindrance for her studies and professional project, but who cares for details?
Satou, Chiaki, and I agreed tacitly to have Horikita as our test subject and kept asking her questions and teasing her. She was surprisingly unfazed by most of it.
Before we knew it, we were in the complex where the batting centre was at. Although, it wasn't an enormous building like the special building, it did hold the standard of top quality of the school. Located next to the baseball field, this was a building the baseball team sometimes used to train. Sasahara invited me to pass by on more than one occasion but for one reason or another I had never entered the placed.
I wasn't immediately surprised when we entered since it didn't look at all like the training ground of a sports team, but like an actual place to hang around and have fun. The leisure area had several futons and couches and there were lots of people talking lively. Several vending machines were installed around the room, a few table football games were at the back alongside two arcade machines and a billiard table.
"Hashimoto?"
Turning towards the voice that had called my name, I noticed Sasahara standing behind the counter.
"Sasahara?" I spoke his name in a confused tone. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm working," he replied joyfully. "The baseball team manages the batting centre."
That made sense, I guess...
"Really?" Satou jumped forward; her tone filled with curiosity. "So, you installed all of this? Or was it already like this? Isn't it a lot of work for the team? I mean, we're supposed to be on vacation."
"The entire team helped to move everything, so, no, this isn't how it usually looks. It is a lot of work, but we're all happy to do this. It serves as a source of income for the team's budget," Sasahara answered the questions calmly, not taking the smile off his face.
"And you can do that?" Chiaki stepped in the conversation. "Doesn't the school regulate this?"
"The student council does," Sasahara corrected. "We have a permission to work until the 29th, so, we still have a few days left. And what about you? Are you batting?"
I nodded, and explained I was supposed to meet here with Hayato and Akito. Knowing Hayato, Sasahara said he had arrived about twenty minutes ago with someone and went to the box straight away.
They didn't even wait for me to start.
At least, Sasahara was kind enough to tell us where to find them. They did pay for my entrance, but I paid for the girls', so they could bat as well. Once that was done, we left Sasahara at the counter and entered the baseball area. There were a few people having fun while missing or hitting the ball. This place was certainly more popular than I thought.
We found Akito and Hayato near the end of the area. While Akito watched, Hayato was batting one ball after the other with powerful swings.
"Akito!"
He turned in our direction and raised his hand amiably, a smile on his face.
"Yoshi, you finally made it," his gaze went from me to my companions, and he greeted them as well. "Hey, it's surprising to see you here."
"We met while I was making my way here, and they wanted to come, so," I shrugged.
"Nice," Akito's smile grew. "Have you played baseball before?"
Two of them shook their heads. We all blinked seeing the girl that apparently had played baseball before.
"You've played baseball, Maya-chan?" Chiaki was the first one to ask.
"Well, I used to go out a lot during middle school, so, I may have gone to batting centres once or twice," she replied sheepishly while scratching the back of her head. "B-but I'm nothing great. I barely know how to hold the bat."
Clang.
We turned in Hayato's direction to see how the ball he just batted arrived at the other side of the area. Akito and I whistled seeing it. if this were a real baseball field, that would have been, if not a homerun, an impressive double or even triple.
"I'm screwed..." Akito muttered.
"Why?" I asked.
"We're betting cafeteria lunches for a month and—Do you want to participate?" he asked me, a grin appearing on his face.
"A bet where I'm sure to receive free lunches from you?" I showed him my best smirk. "I'll get the most expensive one."
Chiaki, Satou, and Horikita also entered the bet. After getting our bats, we began to play, according to our turns. Once Hayato was done, Akito went in, and I came in last. Regarding the girls, despite not being very strong, Satou managed to hit most of the balls the machine sent. Chiaki did moderately okay. As for Horikita, while her swing was good, the number of strikes she received was monumental, missing one ball after another.
Since, for one person to take care of the lunches of five others for a month was too much, we decided that the three at the bottom would pay lunch for the three at the top. Naturally, Hayato got first place, and I got second. Surprisingly, Satou got third place having missed less than Akito who got fourth by a slim margin.
I was prompt to brag about it on Akito and Chiaki's face. I was going to feast next month.
Hayato didn't say much, while Satou tried to cheer up Chiaki who wouldn't stop pouting.
Horikita accepted her defeat... at first... then she argued with us since she didn't want to leave but to continue training. We left her do for a while, leaving Hayato to give her tips here and there.
In the meantime, we headed to the leisure area and play some table football. I teamed up with Satou and we faced Chiaki and Akito. For about half an hour, we played a total of three matches. Chiaki and Akito won the first one, but Satou and I made two magnificent comebacks to win the second and third games.
By the time, Horikita and Hayato joined us. The former seemed quite annoyed while the latter looked like his life expectancy had been reduced.
"How was training?" Akito asked, gazing at Horikita.
Hayato passed a finger through his neck.
"Kito-kun and I are combing back tomorrow," Horikita affirmed categorically. "It's just so annoying..."
"You only need to pay attention to the ball," I said amused.
"That's what I'm doing!" Horikita complained stubbornly.
"Why do you miss them, then?" Hayato spoke.
His comment granted him a glare from Horikita. In response, Hayato sighed tiredly and went towards one of the vending machines to buy something to drink.
"Whatever," Horikita mused. "Can we go back to the dorms already?"
We've been here for about two hours. And before this, she had been shopping with Chiaki, Satou, and that other girl Shinohara. It was understandable if she wanted to go to her room and rest. However...
"Eh? But, Suzune-san, it's not even 4 pm," Chiaki complained. "How about we go to the karaoke?" she turned to look at us.
"Yes! Karaoke," Satou applauded visibly thrilled by the idea.
"Yeah, why not?" Akito shrugged. "It's not like I have anything else to do."
Much to Horikita's despair, Hayato and I agreed as well. Karaoke sounded like fun. Besides, I didn't want to end my day here and go back to my room.
"Hey DJ kamase yeah yeah yeah
Nomou rai rai rai
Hey DJ kamase yeah yeah yeah"
As soon as Satou ended her song, she fell on the couch behind her, exhausted.
"That was amazing, Satou," Akito complimented. "I had no idea you could sing so well."
"Thank you, Miyake-kun," Satou said. "But I'm not that great, all I do is follow the lyrics."
"I do that as well, and I sing awful," Chiaki declared with a wry smile.
"Well, I had a lot of practice, I guess," Satou scratched her cheek sheepishly.
"Yeah," I joined in. "First the baseball and now this. I'm going to start thinking you spent your whole middle school life going out and doing this kind of thing."
Satou let out a nervous chuckle and promptly changed the topic taking a bag of chocolate candies out of one of her shopping bags and offering to everyone, before placing it on the table. Hayato, Chiaki, and I accepted one while the others refused. The next turn was Chiaki's, but she promptly refused to sing and passed on the microphone to Hayato.
"Why don't you sing?" Hayato asked as he began to search for a song since he didn't want to sing the next one.
"I'm not really good at it," Chiaki scratched her cheek nervously.
"That's an understatement, Chiaki-chan," Satou chuckled amused, taking a sip of her drink.
"Is that bad?" I asked.
"...No," Chiaki denied uncertain.
"Yes," Satou affirmed with a face that cleared send the message 'don't let her sing'.
"So, that's why you refused to sing in Kiyotaka's birthday," Akito thought.
"That's weird, though," Horikita spoke. "I would've thought you'd sing beautifully."
Horikita's words were spot on. Considering Chiaki's voice and personality, one could very well think she would sing as elegantly as she was. Apparently, that wasn't the case. And considering we were between friends and being a good singer mattered little, Chiaki's singing must be really bad for her to refuse so categorically.
"... Well, no one can be good at everything, right?" Chiaki laughed slightly.
I actually would like to see how bad she actually was at singing but decided to drop it since Hayato started his song. It was bad but bearable.
As he continued with his song, a notification arrived at my phone. I promptly grabbed it and saw that it was a message from Haruka containing a link that she sent to our group chat. Chiaki and Akito also looked at their phones.
Curious, I opened the link. I was redirected to a post in the forum with a video simply titled The Dancer Prodigies. I played the video and let out a snort at the image that appeared. Nao and Kiyotaka were dancing on that machine the arcade had. They were trying to follow the rhythm of the music and the movements of the figures on screen.
Now, that is being bad at something.
Not even I was that bad in that game.
These childhood friends were certainly the most weird.
"Are they supposed to be dancing?" Akito asked, taking his phone closer to his face.
"That's good," Hayato mumbled looking at my phone over my shoulder.
He was obviously referring to the fact that Nao and Kiyotaka were on a date. Like me, he entered the bet to predict when those two would start dating, the date limit he chose was today, of course. Unlike me, who put 15000 private points on the table, Hayato went for one of the smallest tiers, betting 2000 points; he wouldn't lose nor win much.
Thanks to my relationship with Nishikawa, I knew that of all the students that participated, there were still half on the game. Most bets had been placed at some point during the winter break with Christmas and New Year's Eve as the dates chosen the most. Considering this, I decided to place mine on the day following Christmas which wasn't that popular and would give me a fairly good income. To tell the truth, my main reasoning had been that Nao would want Karma to lose that bet, but she didn't seem to care when we talked earlier, so, everything was in the air.
"Huh... I thought it'd be New Year's Eve," Akito mumbled, grabbing another one of the chocolate candies Satou put on the table.
"Really?" Satou seemed surprised at Akito's guess. "I thought it would be the day of the closing ceremony, so I already lost."
"They're really going to date, huh," Chiaki mumbled, staring blankly at her phone.
"Well... it was predictable, Chiaki-chan," Satou placed a hand on Chiaki's back, speaking reassuringly.
"I guess that's true. I never had a chance."
"You never really did anything to get one," Horikita said harshly.
We all glared at her the instant those words left her mouth. Unfazed, Horikita didn't budge.
"You're exactly the right person to give love advice," I argued.
"I only give my honest opinion as a friend," Horikita declared conceitedly. "Chiaki-san never tried anything to get ahead of Tomori-san."
"Right..." Chiaki spoke half-heartedly. "I mostly remained on the sidelines while Nao-san and Kiyotaka-kun got closer and closer."
"And you didn't take advantage of the fact that you were classmates," Hayato mentioned, eating one of the chocolate candies.
You're not helping either, Hayato.
I mean yes, I rather have the King dating Nao, but we don't need to send Chiaki into another depression
"Well, I suppose I never really believed in my victory," Chiaki scratched the back of her head. "They're childhood friends, after all."
"Maybe you still have a chance, though, Chiaki-chan," Satou tried to cheer her up. "There's nothing official yet."
"Yeah, good luck with that," I mocked.
"Why not?" Satou followed. "Love is war, right? All Chiaki-chan has to do is see it as a class conflict and create a strategy like during the special exams."
Chiaki paled after hearing that comment.
"Satou-san," Horikita put a hand on her shoulder. "Tomori-san is known as one of the best students in our year and she's the student council's vice-president."
"I know that, but... I don't know, don't the two of them have a similar position in the class? Like a consultant for their leader?"
"Tomori is Sakayanagi's right hand, not a consultant," Akito explained Nao's position to Satou who nodded, as an 'Oh' escaped her lips.
"In any case, you should watch somewhere else," Hayato stated calmly. "Thanks to Nao, Ayanokouji's abilities will be of use to Class A."
Instead of sharing Hayato's opinion, I mainly feared it was the other way around and Nao's abilities would be of use to Class D. But I didn't mind it. I had my ticket to that class secured.
Horikita immediately refuted Hayato's comment and they engaged a heated argument in which she gave one reason after another to explain why the relationship between Nao and Kiyotaka wouldn't affect completely one class over the other but give and take from each one. Hayato replied with short phrases that basically annoyed Horikita. So, I stopped listening.
I leaned to take another one of the chocolate candies when a shout from Horikita got my attention.
"Everyone knows Yoshi's after Ibuki-san!" She uttered; her arms wide opened in exasperation.
"Ahhhh?!" my face was showered with confusion. "What are you saying now?! It's Mio who's after me!" I clarified standing up.
Not that I blamed Mio for falling for me but the idea of the two of us together was out of the question. Not only I wasn't interested in love. It could affect my work... Although, having an ear inside Class C with everything that was happening there didn't seem like a bad idea.
"That's not what I've heard, though," Horikita sat down, on her face was printed a smug smile.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
It was Haruka.
It had to be Haruka.
That little, curious, brat that loved rumours.
Horikita chuckled. "I wonder~"
My eyes immediately turned to Hayato who was calmly drinking from his soda.
Oi, oi, what's happening here?
"Whatever," I huffed, letting myself fall on the couch. "What are you gonna do, Chiaki?"
"Eh?"
She suddenly snapped out of her thoughts, looking at me with widened eyes for a second, she recomposed herself and waved her hand brushing the matter off as she stated there was nothing she could do.
"What I'm more curious about," Satou intervened, visibly attempting to drop the matter of Kiyotaka and Nao dating. "Is this story of you and Ibuki-san. She's from Class C, right?"
"She is," Akito nodded. "Do you know her?"
"Vaguely..." Satou mused, a finger on her chin. "Do you have a picture?"
With a nod, Akito fiddled with his phone for a moment before showing the screen to Satou. Her eyes widened, recognising who Mio was.
"Oh, yeah, she's the Class C spy that infiltrated our class during the island exam!" she turned to me with a smirk. "So, that's your type of girl, Yoshi-kun?"
"Perhaps," I shrugged.
If dating Mio could help me graduate from Class A, then she was definitely my type. But, if there weren't any merits to dating her, then it was useless. As simple as that.
"That's great!" Satou applauded cheerfully. "I fully support you, Yoshi-kun."
"I said perhaps," I retorted. "I didn't say I would date her."
"So, first Kiyotaka-kun and Nao-san, and now, you and Mio-san," Chiaki mumbled.
"You have Akito over there, if you're that desperate," I told her.
She glanced at Akito and grimaced, mumbling something about having high standards. It was surely supposed to be meant for herself but, everyone heard her.
"Harsh," Hayato's voice echoed in the room.
"Come on," I smiled gesturing towards Akito. "He ain't Kiyotaka but, he isn't that bad."
"I have to agree with Yoshi, Chiaki-san," Horikita spoke, her glass on her hand. "Despite everything, Miyake-kun is one of the few respectable boys in our class."
"Oi, what do you mean despite everything?" Akito interrogated rueful.
"Don't be sad, Akito. That just means you can put all your attention on Haruka!" I blurted out without thinking, although I could feel the smirk on my face.
"Dude..." Akito stared at me blankly.
"What? It's the truth. It's been what? Three months? Four? And you still haven't confessed?"
This revelation submerged us into another silence for a good twenty seconds that passed so slowly, one could think the world had been paused.
"Well... That was something," Horikita mumbled at last.
Chiaki had a completely shocked face, while Akito continued to stare at me blankly. Hayato gave him a few taps on the back.
"Eh???!" Satou instantly jumped forward. "Wait! Wait! Wait a minute! Everything, pause! Stand by!" she kept shouting while doing a T gesture with her hands all over. "You like Hasebe-san?!"
"Off-topic!" Akito bellowed instantly. "We're talking about—"
"It's a like like being in love and I want her as my girlfriend or like like she's cool to hang out with?" Saotu leaned closer to Akito leaving their faces millimetres apart. "Yoshi-kun said 'confess' so it must the first one, right? Right?"
"I--I---"
"Coming back to the subject, what exactly are those standards of yours, Chiaki-san?" Horikita inquired elegantly.
"Right!" Satou lost interest in Akito and pressed her friend. "Tell us, Chiaki-chan."
Akito sent a grateful look to Horikita who nodded slightly acknowledging him.
"...You already know them," Chiaki replied, wary, visibly having preferred to have the attention on Akito.
"Yeah, but they don't... besides, I'm not sure if I remember correctly."
Chiaki sighed, before straightening her posture and began to describe her standards for a boyfriend.
"Well... both his appearance and personality should be first-class. And... his family background as well. I also want his parents to have received a high level of education and accomplishment."
We remained in silent, with one question in our minds, none of us really dared to ask. That was, until Horikita voiced it, of course.
"What's Ayanaokouji-kun's background?"
There was no reply.
And understandably so. We all knew Nao, Kiyotaka, Karma, and Misaka were childhood friends and had been in the same school. But besides that, ...we might as well be talking about a stranger.
If we considered everything, their distribution in each class was weird. Indisputably, all four of them should be in Class A. My theory was that doing something like that would have unbalanced the class competition too much, although I couldn't confirm that. It was also possible that they messed up their interview or their entrance exam somehow, but even if that was the case, the separation of one in each class seemed far-fetched. Usually, I would have tried to probe Nao for information; considering how I always failed to get information out of her, I decided to shut it on this regard.
"You really are great friends, huh?" Hayato mumbled taking a sip of his drink.
"Hmm... if you think about it, we don't really talk much about ourselves," Akito commented.
Akito was right. We would hang around and joke a lot but, we rarely spoke about our lives before ANHS. Our families, the reasons that motivated us to come here, our old schools. At best, we knew each other's tastes and hobbies.
Horikita sighed and stood up.
"Since no one's going to speak, I'll go first," she said, placing a hand on her chest. "My name is Horikita Suzune, I was placed in Class D because of my self-important and haughty attitude – I've been working on that for some time now. Since grade school, I've always done my best to get top grades and be a model in both academics and sports, trying to follow the example of my older brother, which you know as the former student council president. I came here to follow my brother's steps and prove him that I, too, can excel. Therefore, I'll work, alongside my classmates to reach Class A and graduate at the top... By the way, you are all free to call me Suzune, if you wish."
Finishing, Horikita sighed in relief as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Seating back in her place, Chiaki jumped and wrapped her arms around Horikita in a deep hug.
"Suzune-san!" she cried. "I'm so proud!"
As Suzune tried to get Chiaki off her, I examined the other's reactions. We certainly hadn't been expecting something like that. Judging by Satou and Akito's reaction, one would think they just witnessed a miracle.
Although it probably was. At the beginning of the year, when all the reconnaissance work had been done, the name Horikita Suzune had never been marked as a name to be worried about.
"Yosh! My turn now," Satou jumped joyfully. "My name is Satou Maya. To tell you the truth, I decided to attend this school because of the one hundred percent acceptance rate. As you may have guessed, I spent most of my middle school life going out and having fun... I do want to be more useful to my class, though; so we may reach Class A, so, I'll try my best. And please, call me Maya," she ended her presentation with an energetic smile.
After Satou, we all introduced ourselves, explaining more about us, so, we could get to know each other better.
So, Akito explained how he neglected studies in middle school in favour of archery which he became fond of during that time, even participating in national competitions and how he decided to come to this school after one of his teachers recommended it to him, convinced the 'change of scenery' and the one hundred percent rate were good incentives for Akito to grow.
Paraphrasing Matsushita, she basically explained how she had a lucky life with loving parents in a comfortable environment. She decided to attend the school because of the promise of a stable and promising future but ended up in Class D because of her negligence. After the announcement in May and some other elements that caught her attention during the first month, she decided to be more active in class affairs and contribute to the fullest to their advancement to Class A.
Hayato simple stated that he had played a variety of sports and had a quite good physical ability. Chiaki, seemingly happier, bombarded him with questions about the sports he had played but, didn't get much information since Hayato's replies were always short and concise.
As for myself, I followed the pattern, declared truthfully that I came here because of the acceptance rate, and that I liked to play tennis since I was little, which was why I entered the tennis club here, even if I barely went to practice.
We continued chatting and joking, while singing karaoke and sharing stories and experiences from our past, good and bad, funny, and embarrassing, it didn't really matter.
Sadly, our time at the karaoke came to an end at 8 pm when the manager kicked us out because they were going to close. Among complains and pleasantries, we left the place. The restrictions like curfew were still in place but, because of winter break, we had permission to stay out a few more hours.
Making our way towards the dormitory, we continued to chat lively and only separated when the elevator arrived at our respective floors.
I returned to my room exhausted and yet, pleased. It was a curious group that I wouldn't have befriended if it wasn't for Nao. Still, I couldn't help but feel grateful for it. Certainly, even I had to admit that, amidst all the class competition this school promoted, it was nice to pause everything and have fun.
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The song is the ending of Paripi Koumei/Ya Boy Kongming, I strongly recommend that anime. To me, it's one of the surprises of the season without a doubt.
There was supposed to be the story of Mikoto, Ibuki and Hiyori's day here but, I have no motivation to write it since I want to move on to the next chapters. They were supposed to meet Chikujoin on their way to the movies and she would've joined them. At some point, they would meet Ryuuen reading on a bench as well, and talk a bit. I wanted to have some scenes with Hiyori and with Chikujoin teasing Ibuki and such, but well... I'm sorry. This is supposed to have happened, though. You can comment or imagine your versions of it.
The next chapter should be two-three 'secret' meetings.
Thank you for reading.