Chapter 57: Choir Competition
Choir Competition
Two days after I learned that my body had died.
As if it were the natural course of things, I set out for school, carrying out the obligations of someone now possessing Iori’s body. The early January morning was bitterly cold—the kind that made you instinctively shrink into yourself. But compared to the biting chill of my hometown, the city’s winter was still mild.
“Good morning.”
Boarding the train at the usual time, I found Tachibana-san seated in her usual spot.
When I greeted her, she silently closed the book she had been reading and tucked it into her bag.
“What were you reading?”
“Nothing important.”
Two days ago, perhaps because of the cold, she had been unusually talkative. But today, she was back to her usual self—unwavering, composed—and I couldn’t help but smile wryly.
The book she had put away wasn’t the size of a paperback, nor was it a standard hardcover. It was closer to the dimensions of a magazine.
Maybe it was a fashion magazine or something along those lines.
The thought of Tachibana-san reading a fashion magazine was oddly amusing. With her striking beauty—one that easily drew envious stares—one might assume she cared about such things, yet her attitude toward appearances had always seemed indifferent.
Then again, that time she wore a kimono, she had revealed a side of herself that appreciated beautiful things—a side that was unmistakably feminine.
“What are you smirking about?”
“Nothing. Just thinking that you looked really cute in that kimono.”
“…Seriously, what are you even talking about?”
She let out a deep sigh, utterly exasperated. But when she turned away, I could have sworn I caught a fleeting glimpse of a smile.
After that, we didn’t talk much. Each of us spent the rest of the ride lost in our own thoughts, waiting for the train to reach our stop. It was just like always—familiar, effortless, with nothing feeling out of place.
Once we arrived at school, we spent the time before homeroom studying together, with Tachibana-san helping me. She had been the one to suggest it.
“I’m bored.”
That was the only reason she gave for helping me.
Lately, our classmates had been giving us curious looks, likely noticing how often we were together.
But Tachibana-san wasn’t the type to care about such things, and I wasn’t the type to be bothered unless someone directly said something. As a result, an atmosphere distinct from the rest of the class naturally formed around us.
And so, morning homeroom began.
“Alright, let’s get right to it. Do you all know what event is coming up next month?”
Sugo-sensei, who usually spoke in a casual manner, deliberately adopted a formal tone. He was probably just playing around.
“Huh? What?”
“No idea.”
“Don’t care.”
“You lot have zero enthusiasm for school events, huh?”
As the class collectively voiced their disinterest, the teacher hit them with a sharp dose of reality.
“School festival. Sports day. You’ve ranked dead last as a class in every competition so far. It’s honestly pathetic. You only get three years of high school—shouldn’t you be more fired up about this?”
His impassioned speech was met with nothing but indifferent stares.
“So? What’s the event?”
“Honestly… You freshmen really have forgotten everything the upperclassmen taught you during the entrance ceremony, haven’t you?”
If it was something covered during the entrance ceremony, then it must have been held in early April, right after school started.
In other words, it had nothing to do with me.
“Ahem. Next month, we have the much-anticipated Choir Competition.”
The Choir Competition, huh?
Now that I thought about it, I had participated in one back in my own high school days, too.
In this school, major events were packed into April and May, so this would be the first time since ending up in this body that I would experience an event requiring real class unity.
It was impossible not to be reminded of the youth I had spent in my former body.
“Alright then, since there’s nothing else to go over today, let’s quickly decide on a conductor and an accompanist.”
…I had heard about this before.
Apparently, when assigning students to classes, the school ensured that each class had at least one person with piano experience.
Meaning the conductor would be chosen through volunteers, but the accompanist was likely already decided.
“First off, our accompanist will be Tachibana.”
“…Alright.”
Tachibana-san responded with clear reluctance.
I had no idea she could play the piano. That was a genuine surprise.
After that, the class moved on to selecting a conductor.
It was a struggle. Most of our classmates had no motivation whatsoever, so no one volunteered.
In the end, the role went to Hirota-kun, one of the few students who had taken music lessons.
As for the song we’d be performing, Sugo-sensei had already chosen it on his own.
And so, starting this week, we would be practicing for the Choir Competition—twice a week after school, plus once a week during music class, using the music room.