"Who is it?" She fished out her phone, her frown turning into the cracked ground. The name of her mother occupied the calling screen. Tapping the green button with a sigh, she put the phone on the table, pressing the broadcast call button.
"What took you so long?" her mother asked without any greetings.
"I'm planning my tour for the press now." Her pen tapped across the map, pondering if she should include a stop by hand-colored T-shirts place.
"Just use the same route as before. What's there to plan?"
Ueno frowned, slightly growling. Her mother's quest for the perfect image started to make her sick, questioning why she had tried so hard to please her.
"There are new places this year. I can't just walk past them, can I? That would give this Fest a poor reputation."
"Alright," her mother's voice came out cold as ever.
The next silence on the other side couldn't mean anything good.
"Have you got one?"
Her daughter bit her lip. Figured this was why her mother called. Now she was away, but she would return for Saturday evening to pose for photographs under the giant firework. It was another spectacle that made this School Fest unique.
"I'm working on it."
"What!" she shrieked, but this time her voice didn't scare Ueno.
Somehow, she didn't care if her mother hated or yelled at her now. Her pinkie twitched a bit.
"They don't trust me yet. What did you expect? Instalove?" Ueno couldn't help but irritate her.
"Whatever! I don't care if you need to crawl in front of them! Get it done, you good-for-nothing!"
If the phones were like in the old days, Ueno would hear slamming from the other side as the call ended. Biting her lip, she lowered her head.
"Dang it!"
\\_(''>_<'')_//
When Sunday came, Kagetsu kept all the excitement inside of him, releasing it after he was miles away from the hospital. The first thing he did at home was to stretch his body a lot, doing push-ups, and jabbing and kicking the air.
Rigaku had to stop him before he would start running up and down the stairs. The aroma of Mrs. Sato-san's muffins did the trick too, planting the boy on the chair with a full plate in hands.
Aiyoku showed everything they had for their Reach For The Stars stall, and his younger brother loved all of it.
They now had only hours before the preparations started, so Kagetsu had to be up to date to help them with everything. The construction required muscles none of them had like their youngest sibling.
Before they realized it, the morning peacefully as much as the hectic preparations allowed it. The school provided all the needed material, reusing the wooden planks from last year that were still in good shape.
The company placed it all over the weekend, so the students could use their strength to build their stalls. Even the noble ones had to put some muscles into this, but they usually hired external people or students to do it.
The lower class had to work on it on their own, which wasn't very problematic. The older students provided insight into how to build the stalls while the kouhais helped senpais in return. The same went for the Kamini brothers.
"Hey, Ri, are you sure?" Kagetsu asked, keeping the wood in place.
"Yes, I'm." He held a nail in one hand and the hammer in the other, ready to strike. "This is simple—aiaiaia!"
His oldest brother jumped onto his feet, holding his hand and screaming while blowing at his red thumb. The people turned their heads, and after a second of processing the crazy dance Rigaku performed, they laughed.
Rigaku's lungs couldn't keep up with the demand for air, and they soon needed a break. Thankfully, Freya placed a cooling pack on the throbbing thumb, giving Rigaku peace of mind.
Taking deep breaths, he calmed his racing heart.
"Stop laughing!" he snapped at his brothers, who laughed harder after his words. Rigaku rather looked away, trying not to think about why Freya was shivering. "It looked so simple. So why I messed up?" he mumbled. "Do I have two left hands?"
Aiyoku hugged him around the neck from behind as he sat next to him.
"Don't worry, bro. You still have nine fingers."
"How amusing," Rigaku deadpanned him as his brother snickered.
"Yeah, the first aid is ready to go anytime." Kagetsu didn't try to mask his amusement. It wasn't often their oldest brother messed up something.
Rigaku puckered his lips. "Jerks," he mumbled, earning a double hug.
"You know we don't mean it in a bad way." Aiyoku placed his hand on the covered thumb.
Kagetsu did the same. "Yeah, but your dance was too funny not to laugh."
The oldest brother smiled. "There is so much I need to learn."
"We have an entire week for it." The blonde brother winked. "No need to rush."
"Agreed, and you are the only one who knows how to read in those papers." Kagetsu pushed them forward.
Freya stood up, giving them thumbs up.
"Then let's go."
The rest of the group threw their hands in the air with a war cry, resuming the work. First, they needed to make the podium, ensuring it could hold both horses and people.
Six short pillars held the borders, and two stood in the middle. Using thread and Rigaku's strict eyes, they placed the pillars. Despite it seemed simple, it took them a few hours, unless they had external workers like all noble senpais.
"I don't know how you, but I'm starving!" Kagetsu swiped the sweat off his forehead, holding his rumbling stomach.
"Great idea. We did a good job here."
"Let's see if there is a place in the canteen," Rigaku suggested, expecting only a few free places.
"Nyaa! Sandwiches!" a girl's voice reached them.
They turned her way, seeing a girl in black and white maid-like uniform with cat ears with a plate of sandwiches.
"Come get your Neko-wiches!" she called, and students came and got one by one until none remained.
"Hi," Kagetsu called. "Does this mean Cat Coffee is open?" He came closer to his classmate.
She bristled, realizing she grabbed the attention of one of the Greek Gods. Hiding her face behind the empty plate, she muttered, "N-No, Kagetsu-san, I'm only running early promotion among students and spreading our ad. I-It would honor us if you c-could pin it to your stall."
She offered them an A5 big ad featuring the logo, and three pictures of offered meals, and the map where to find them.
Rigaku took it, examining it. "This is a great idea. Would you like to start a collaboration?"
The girl yelped from behind the plate, pushing it down. "R-Really?"
"Hai." He nodded. "How about you selling special sandwich? Let's say with a picture of the star on it"—Aiyoku flashed him a wide smile—"Said customers could get a ticket for 25% off Polaroid photograph. And those buying a photograph from us would get a ticket for 25% off or a 1+1 at your place, whichever would work with you."
The girl turned red like a tomato since she was talking with Greek Gods. While she was only staring, it was still a great accomplishment in her book.
"I-I must ask Senpai!"
"Let's go," Aiyoku suggested. "We can discuss the details over lunch."
"Yes!" The girl jumped into the air, leading them back.