Ryuzaki Sakuno stepped in front of the crowd, her steps slow and timid. Tomoka gave her a gentle push. "Come on..." She said encouragingly.
She held the microphone tight to keep her hand from shaking and her knuckles were slowly turning white with the effort. "Te—team 3 re—representative, Ryuzaki Sakuno-desu." She started, her voice cracking.
"We can't hear you." Yujiro Kai from the Higa table shouted. He liked making fun of people, and he couldn't believe he'll belong to a team whose representative couldn't even speak up. That and the fact that he was the only Higa member in this team irked him.
Sakuno froze up. "Don't listen to him, Sakuno. Just read the list and be done over with it." Tomoka told her from behind, sending a glare towards the Higa table.
"Cabin 1, Red Cabin." Sakuno said, with a much firmer voice. "Seigaku, Kikumaru Eiji-senpai, Yamamura Kazuki-kun. Fudoumine, Ishida Tetsu-san. Josei Shonan, Tanaka Kouhei-kun. Shitenhouji, Zaizen Hikaru-san."
Kikumaru Eiji looked close to crying. "I'm going to be so, so, so alone in that group..."
"This isn't like you, Eiji. You're always so optimistic." Oishi commented.
"But I don't want to be separated from everyone. This is our last camp. Our last." Eiji pouted.
"Now, now... We'll be joining the activities together even with different teams." Fuji comforted him.
"And the freshmen needs someone to lead them. There are a lot of freshmen in your group." Inui added.
"Cabin 2, Blue Cabin: Seigaku, Kusakabe Makoto-kun, Kitamura Tohru-kun, Takada Motoki-kun. Rokkaku, Amane Hikaru-san, Kurobane Harukaze-san." Sakuno read, her voice more steady.
The three Seigaku freshmen faced the Rokkaku table three paces behind from theirs and bowed. "Yoroshiku-onegaishimasu." They chorused.
"Oh, look how well-mannered they are." Kurobane, known more popularly as Bane to the kids in their neighborhood, commented with a smile.
Amane 'Davide' Hikaru nodded. He couldn't come up with a pun for that one so he just kept silent.
Sakuno continued with her announcement. "Cabin 3, Yellow Cabin: Seigaku..." She breathed in, her heart thudding inside her chest. "Echizen Ryoma-kun."
Sakuno glanced at where Ryoma was sitting. He was staring at the immensely enormous pine tree in the far corner of the lawn, looking bored. He yawned once, sleepy tears forming at the corner of his bronze-gold eyes.
"Hmmm..." Ryouko said thoughtfully. "So that's where he is placed..." She added.
An stole a side glance at Ryouko. She had been so curious about what's going on between the Seigaku's pillar of support and its brand new manager ever since she heard Ryoma call Ryouko by her first name so naturally. She smelled something fishy, or more like honey-like.
Her stare shifted to Sakuno, whose eyebrows were downcast from Ryoma's lack of interest. "This girl had always liked Echizen-kun..." An thought. There might be a little love story brewing in this camp.
Sakuno was disappointed that Ryoma didn't look interested. "Hyotei, Mukahi Gakuto-san. Josei Shonan, Shinjo Reiji-san. Rikkaidai, Yagyu Hiroshi-san. Higa, Yujiro Kai-san." She said, quickly finishing up so she could comfort herself backstage. "The captain and vice-captain positions would be decided between Yamabuki's Higashikata Masami-san and St.Rudolph's Akazawa Yoshiro-san."
The announcements carried on until all six teams were completed. Team number 4, Kurihara Miyako's team included Seigaku senior Kawamura Takashi, Seigaku freshman Yamada Daisuke, Fudoumine junior Sakurai Masaya, Hyotei senior Kabaji Munehiro and Rikkaidai senior Marui Bunta in Cabin 1.
Placed in Cabin 2 were Seigaku senior Tezuka Kunimitsu, freshman Toshinobu Akihiro, Higa senior Hirakoba Rin, Rokkaku senior Itsuki Marehiko and St. Rudolph's Kaneda Ichiro.
In Cabin 3, three Seigaku freshmen Hirai Keita, Honda Mitsuki and Yoshida Azuma were placed together with Higa's Shiranui Tomoya and Aragaku Koichi. The three freshmen were not pleased. They knew that Higa was famous for their dirty attitudes.
The captain and subcaptain positions would be chosen between Horio Satoshi and Shishido Ryo, much to Horio's utmost horror and to Shishido's disgust.
"Miyako... Pray that Horio won't pick the captain's position or your team is as good as crushed." Mami whispered near her friend's ear.
"I dunno. I think it would be quite interesting to have a freshman as the captain..." Miyako answered simply.
In Team 5, Ayase Mami's team, Cabin 1 included Seigaku's Fuji Syusuke and Masamune Jun, Fudoumine's Uchimura Kyosuke, St. Rudolph's Yanagisawa Shinya and Rikkaidai's Nio Masaharu. Cabin 2 was composed of Seigaku's Inui Sadaharu, Ayano Keichi, Horie Kubota and Hoshimura Shuu, plus Shitenhouji's Oshitari Kenya.
The last cabin, however, had Seigaku's Oishi Shuichiro and Katou Kachiro, Yamabuki's Kita Ichiuma, Rokkaku's Shudo Satoshi and Shitenhouji's Konjiki Koharu.
"That guy gives me the creeps." Kubota whispered to Jun, looking at Koharu whose body was squirming like an octopus, looking at all the boys he would soon call his 'harem'.
The captain and vice-captain position would be decided between Seigaku's Mizuno Katsuo and Shitenhouji's Hitoji Yuuji. Mizuno didn't like the position as much as Horio did.
The last team belonging to Osakada Tomoka had Seigaku's Kawada Yamato, Fudoumine's Mori Tatsunori, Yamabuki's Muromachi Toji, Josei Shonan's Ota Shou and Kiriyama Daichi in Cabin 1.
Cabin 2 included Seigaku's Ichinose Mamoru and Sakabe Tsuyoshita, Yamabuki's Nishikiori Tsubasa, Rikkakidai's Kuwahara Jackal, and St. Rudolph's Nomura Takuya.
The last and final cabin was composed of Seigaku's Iwao Keisuke, Hyotei's Ochitari Yuushi and Ohtori Choutaro, Shitenhouji's Ishida Gin and Rokkaku's Kisarazu Ryo.
The captain and vice captain positions would be belonging to Yamabuki's Nitobe Inakichi and shitenhouji's Koishikawa Kenjiro.
"I am in the most boring team ever created." Tomoka complained. She knew no one there, except her fellow freshmen, of course. Unlike the others, she was entirely dissatisfied with the drawing. She could do nothing but sigh.
"As for the Seigaku team who might be wondering where the remaining juniors and seniors, who will be arriving later with Ryuzaki-sensei, would be placed, they would not belong in any of the teams. The fourteen seniors and fifteen juniors would for form the team that would oversee and judge each competition that will be held between the teams and cabins. They will reside in the same building as the captains and vice captains and will have the whole ground and second floor to themselves." Mami announced.
"The room assignments of the captains and vice captains would be decided after the final drawing, that is, the final lottery that will decide the captain and vice captain between the twelve individuals that have drawn a white pingpong ball." Miyako followed.
"Would those twelve please stand and join us onstage for the drawing?" An announced.
The players followed and each captain and vice captain of the teams were decided. Team 1 had a promising captain by the person of Yanagi Renji. Saeki Kojiro of rokkaku is the vice captain.
"Waah... They fit the description of captain and sub-captain so well... See that word spelled on their faces? C-A-PA-B-L-E." Sengoku commented.
"It looks like we got lucky." Momoshiro said and whistled.
Ryouko's team had Sanada as the captain and Shiraishi as the vice captain.
"Terrible. Horrible, terrible combination..." Mizuki commented and tutted.
"Why? It looks amazing to me." Yuuta answered.
"Amai, amai, Yuuta-kun... (So naïve, Yuuta-kun...) You can't put two leaders in a captain and sub-captain positions. There's bound to be trouble when they have different opinions." Mizuki replied.
"Unless they are kind enough to compromise. They looked nice and reasonable to me." Yuuta thought but didn't open his mouth as he knew it would annoy Mizuki.
Team 3 had Yamabuki's Higashikata Masami as the captain and St. Rudolph's Akazawa Yoshiro.
"A captain in a vice captain position?" Nomura said. He didn't feel that Akazawa-san would heed someone else's orders.
Horio's hand was shaking when he placed his hand on the box labeled Team 4 Captain and Vice Captain Lottery. "Please, please, please, I beg you. Not captain, please not captain. Definitely not captain." He chanted under his breath, sounding really scared. He looked as if he was about to place his hand in a container full of venomous snakes. Well, maybe he'd rather put his hand on a container full of snakes than pick the captain's ball.
He felt inside the box and two balls can be found on both sides. He grabbed the left one. Just as he was about to take it out, he hesitated and picked the one on the right. He hesitated again and felt his way to the left. "Be quick about it!" Tanishi Kei shouted, making Horio jump out of his skin. The box fell and out came a ball by accident. It has the initial C on it. 'C' for Captain.
"Time out, time out!" Horio shouted. "that is so not fair. I didn't grab that!" He said in panic, pointing at the ball in accusation as if it decided to come out of its own.
"Rules are rules. You picked that one, regardless of by accident or not. Therw ould be no redraw." Ryouko said.
Horio looked as if he was frozen solid. "So merciless..." He thought.
"Sorry boy..." Yuuji said, tapping him on the shoulder and picking up the box to retrieve the ball with 'VC' written on it from inside.
Mizuno had the same fate as Horio, but in his case, his won hand did the fault. "How am I supposed to pull this off?" He asked himself.
Team 6 had Yamabuki's Nitobe Inakichi as captain and Shitenhouji's Koishikawa Kenjiro as the vice captain.
An clapped her hands together to call for absolute silence. "Now that everyone knows where they're supposed to stay, please proceed to your cabins and arrange your things there. We give you the whole night to relax and acquaint yourselves with your cabinmates. Tomorrow, all will rise at exactly 5:15 a.m. to wash up and prepare and at exactly 6 o'clock, we will share a light breakfast and the announcement of the first activity will also commence. That is all, thank you."
The players made noise as they all stood up from their seats, some chatting, some groaning amidst the tinkle of silverwares into plates and glasses. They have to say goodbye to their fellow teammates for now and meet up with their brand new team designed for the camp.
Not everyone was pleased with their positions but for now, all was well in the world and all that's living in it. Silence was observed and peace was at its reign...
At least on the first half hour.