Chapter 171: Chapter 170 - Our Classroom
The mood in the class changed after homeroom.
The tense silence, which had persisted throughout the day, started to disappear.
And in its place appeared something more pleasant.
Laughter.
Chatting.
Sounds which normally enlivened this classroom.
Today, nobody tried to suppress them.
---
Minami put the yearbooks onto the table at the front of the class.
"Before the ceremony begins," she said, "you will have some free time."
The moment she finished speaking...
The whole class burst into life.
"Sign my book!"
"Don’t say something stupid!"
"Too late!"
Yearbooks flew between the desks faster than anyone could follow.
---
Akari showed her yearbook proudly.
"Attention!"
"I have one rule."
The class looked at her.
"If you write something boring..."
"I give your page one star rating."
Rika looked extremely seriously.
"I was going to write five pages character analysis."
Akari made an emphatic gesture.
"Approved!"
Aoi sighed.
"This completely contradicts the idea of a yearbook."
---
In no time, everyone started moving around the class.
People who did not talk all year started laughing.
Classmates thanked each other.
Old misunderstanding turned into amusing stories.
The class was full of the memories written while making new ones.
---
Kuro looked at his yearbook.
The first page was filled with a message.
And Kuro knew the handwriting perfectly well.
It was Mina.
Thank you for listening, even if I could not express my thoughts clearly.
Keep being as nice as you are.
I’ll always support you.
There was a drawing of a flower next to her name.
Kuro smiled.
"She looks like a flower."
Before he could turn the page...
The yearbook disappeared from his hands.
"Hm?"
Akari was already halfway through the class, raising it above her head.
"My turn!"
"Akari."
"No peeking!"
"I wasn’t doing it."
"Yes, you were."
"...Maybe."
---
On the opposite side of the class...
Rika was seated near the window.
Instead of requesting signature in her yearbook...
She was quietly drawing.
The pencil smoothly moved across the page.
The sketch slowly became six familiar faces.
Laughing Akari with raised arms.
Glasses correcting Aoi.
Gentle smile of Mina.
Kuro seated near the window.
And herself...
Looking at them.
She smiled.
"...Our last classroom."
---
Rika approaching each classmate desk by desk
One classmate smiled awkwardly.
"I always thought it was impossible to talk to you."
Rika blinked.
"...Really?"
"You seemed so serious."
She smiled softly.
"I was usually just nervous."
The classmate laughed.
"I wish I had known that before."
"So do I."
---
Meanwhile...
Mina was walking around the class carrying a basket.
In the basket there were dozens of handmade bookmarks.
Each of them was unique.
Pressed flowers.
Small watercolors.
Simple inspirational quotes.
Each student received one.
When somebody asked why she made so many...
She smiled shyly.
"I want everyone to use it."
Not to store it away and forget.
---
Kuro studied his bookmark.
There was a sunrise painted on the top of it.
And at the bottom...
One phrase.
Every ending becomes someone’s new beginning.
Kuro quietly traced the words with his thumb.
---
Near the back of the class...
Akari sniffed suddenly.
Rika raised her head.
"...Are you crying?"
"I am not."
"You are definitely."
"It’s my allergies."
Aoi glanced toward the windows which were closed.
"There is no pollen inside."
Akari folded her arms.
"But there are indoor allergies."
"They are rather rare."
"So you think that it is possible?"
---
Mina quietly gave Akari the tissue without saying anything.
Akari accepted it.
Keeping up the pretense.
"...See?"
"It’s for my allergies."
Nobody objected.
Sometimes lying was nicer when everybody decided to believe it.
---
Several minutes later...
Kuro got his yearbook back.
He opened it to Akari’s page.
The message almost filled the whole sheet.
You worried too much.
You apologized too much.
You listened to everyone.
Remember to let people listen to you next time.
And in the corner in huge letters was written:
DON’T BECOME A BORING ADULT!!
Kuro laughed loudly.
"...It seems that she is right."
"You like it?"
Akari asked proudly.
"It’s perfect."
---
The class was buzzing with activity.
The sound of pens scratched across the paper.
Laughter of friends recalling embarrassing stories.
Shouts of surprise after finding photographs hidden inside the yearbooks.
For a little time...
Nobody thought about goodbyes.
They just enjoyed the time spent together.
For the last time.
Then, looking at the clock at the front of the class, Minami realized...
That only one hour remained until they will leave the class...
As high school students...
For the last time.
The hour passed much faster than expected.
At first, there was the sound of pens scratching across paper everywhere.
But then...
It became obvious that only a few pages were left.
---
Finally, Rika put her sketchbook down.
"I think..."
"I’m finished,"
Akari instantly peeked over her shoulder.
"Let us see!"
"Well..."
"It is just a quick sketch."
"That never stopped you before."
Sighing a bit, Rika showed them the sketchbook.
The classroom fell silent.
On the page...
Their classroom was perfectly captured.
The sunlight shone through the windows.
Yearbooks lay open at many desks.
Mina was giving out bookmarks.
Akari was laughing in the middle of the room.
Aoi was writing in someone’s yearbook.
Kuro was sitting near the window with a gentle smile.
And in the corner...
Minami was watching over everyone with a very subtle smile on her face.
No dramatic poses.
No exaggerated expressions.
Just an ordinary moment.
Something that people don’t usually notice when they live their life.
"...Wow."
It was Akari who broke the silence.
"It’s beautiful."
Mina smiled softly.
"It is so much like us."
"Yeah."
"It really captures the atmosphere."
Rika scratched the side of her cheek.
"I wanted to preserve that memory."
Looking at the drawing for a long time, Kuro said:
"I think..."
"...it is something that each of us will remember forever."
Smiling, Rika said:
"Then it was worth doing."
---
Walking around the classroom with a basket one last time, Mina stopped near Minami’s desk.
"Sensei..."
"I prepared one for you too."
Minami seemed genuinely surprised.
"For me?"
Nodding, Mina said:
"You’ve always encouraged us."
"So..."
"I thought you might need one as well."
Taking it very carefully, Minami said:
"It is really simple."
A watercolor branch of a cherry blossom tree spread across the top part of the bookmark.
And below that, there were some words.
«Thank you for helping us bloom in our own time.»
For a short moment...
Minami could not say anything.
She just smiled.
"...I will cherish it."
---
Near the windows, Aoi quietly took out her phone.
Akari instantly noticed it.
"...Wait."
"You are taking a photo with your phone?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I believe this moment should be documented."
Dramatically gasping, Rika said:
"The rarest event in history."
"Aoi takes a photo of herself!"
Akari seriously nodded.
"We are watching history."
Sighing, Aoi said:
"Would you all gather before I reconsider my choice?"
In a couple of seconds...
The six of them stood in front of her.
Immediately throwing an arm around Kuro’s shoulder, Akari stood with Mina on his other side.
Holding her sketchbook in hand, Rika stood next to them.
Setting the timer, Aoi walked back to take a photo of herself.
Kuro looked around.
"...Ready?"
Grinning, Akari shook his head.
"No."
"Perfect."
The timer began to count down.
Three...
Two...
One...
Click.
Six friends were captured in that picture.
Not perfectly posing.
Not perfectly lined up.
Just perfectly themselves.
---
Looking at the photo, Aoi smiled after a few seconds.
"It came out nicely."
Akari leaned over to see it better.
"...You are smiling."
"Yes."
"You should do it more often."
"I’ll consider the statistical benefits."
They all laughed.
---
Laughter fell into comfortable silence.
Looking around the room, Kuro saw all those memories in every desk and on every wall.
Now it didn’t seem like an ordinary classroom anymore.
It seemed like a Chapter of their lives.
One they would never live again.
---
The door to the classroom opened.
Teacher from the graduation committee entered.
"Five minutes to the ceremony."
The atmosphere instantly changed.
There wasn’t any panic.
There wasn’t any rushing.
Instead...
Everyone silently returned to their places.
Straightening up their uniforms.
Putting away their bags.
Checking ties and ribbons.
---
Standing at the front of the class, Minami looked at each of them one last time.
There was pride in her eyes.
But there was also a bit of sadness.
"You all look ready."
Trying to smile but looking nervous, Akari said:
"I don’t feel ready."
"No one ever does."
Minami answered softly.
"But sometimes..."
"The next step happens anyway."
---
Looking at the room one last time, Kuro stood.
The sunlight was still shining through the windows.
Everything seemed exactly as it always did.
But he knew...
Next time he enters that classroom...
He will no longer be a student.
Taking a breath, Kuro smiled.
"...Let’s go."
One by one...
Classmates got up.
The classroom, that was so full of laughter, quarrels, dreams, and ordinary moments, was emptying.
Behind them...
The room was silent.
Waiting for another group of students to start their own story.
Ahead of them...
Gymnasium doors were open.
Their graduation ceremony...
Was about to happen.
