C40

Chapter 40: Everyone's Questionnaire

Confirmation regarding the events of last Monday after school

Name: ____________________________________

① Were you inside the classroom last Monday after school?

　□ Yes　　□ No

　*If you answered "No", please end here.

② Please write down what you remember happening inside the classroom at that time.

③ If there was anything you saw or heard that left a particular impression on you, please write it down.

④ If there was anything you yourself did or said on the spot, please write it down.

⑤ How do you personally feel about what happened?

⑥ Did you ever think about consulting or reporting the events of last Monday after school to the school or a teacher?

　□ Yes　　□ No

　Please write the reason why you thought that way.

⑦ If there is anything else you would like to convey to the school, please write it down.

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An oppressive air that didn't feel like morning still lingered in the classroom.

Though the students were in their seats, no one called out to anyone as they usually did. Moving without purpose, they kept their focus squarely on the papers before them.

Thick clouds spread outside the windows.

It might rain by afternoon. It was that kind of sky.

Amidst the heavy atmosphere, a single sheet of paper rested in everyone's hands.

After staring at the paper for a moment, the students read through the lined-up questions one by one. As they read a few lines down, their gazes halted, and a subconscious tension gripped the hands holding their pens. Sweat seeped into their palms, transmitting dampness to the fingertips pressing down on the paper.

Before long, the tip of a pen began to race across the paper somewhere in the room.

That movement was somehow unsteady, and the characters born from the slightly trembling pen tip were messier than usual.

On the other hand, some students sat frozen, unable to move their hands while gripping their pens. Each time their gaze returned to the questions, tension tightened in their fingertips, and they stared over and over at the paper.

Everyone lowered their gaze to the paper, tracing their own memories.

◇

The Boy Who Laughed

As I read through to question ④, my pen stopped.

[If there was anything you yourself did or said on the spot, please write it down.]

(...Do I have to write this down?)

I knew what I should write.

That day, I joined in and laughed along with the others. I’m usually close with Kujo, and even that day, I didn’t think what Kujo was doing was wrong. When we were told to keep quiet, I thought that was fine too. As long as it stayed within this class, it would end there—at the time, I genuinely believed that.

But now, I had to write down on this paper what I had done back then.

My palms were faintly sweating.

Re-gripping my pen, my gaze drifted to Watanabe, who had been laughing right beside me back then. Watanabe’s pen tip was moving slowly across the paper.

I quickly looked back down.

(...What is he going to write?)

Would he write the honest truth...?

If he writes it, the school will find out he laughed. If that happens, of course we'll be questioned, right...?

What kind of things would they ask, and what kind of punishment would be handed down...?

Thinking about that suddenly made moving my pen terrifying.

On Friday, I joined the surrounding guys in blaming Kujo.

Since they started it, it has nothing to do with me. Until just now, I thought that way.

...But I laughed.

I can't put all the blame on Kujo.

After hesitating for a while, I pressed my pen tip against the paper and wrote down everything as honestly as I could remember: what I saw, what I heard, and even the fact that I laughed right there on the spot.

Even after finishing and putting down my pen, the sweat on my palms didn't recede, and a heavy weight still lingered deep in my chest.

◇

The Bystander Female Student

My gaze halted as I read through to question ⑤.

[How do you personally feel about what happened?]

(...Feel?)

Friday's events flashed through my mind.

The reason Kujo and the others were being blamed by everyone in the class felt natural, considering the reason Tachibana had stopped coming to school.

Besides, being dragged into it ourselves was honestly a nuisance.

So, it had nothing to do with me.

I didn't do anything that day, nor did I join Kujo and the group.

I was just there... That's what I thought.

However, when I tried to write my feelings for question ⑤, the words wouldn't come.

Tachibana was pitiful... I thought that.

But up until today, my irritation at being dragged into it ourselves had been much stronger than my concern for Tachibana.

...Thinking about it that way, I somehow stopped understanding myself.

I shifted my eyes directly to the next question.

[Did you ever think about consulting or reporting the events of last Monday after school to the school or a teacher?]

My gaze fixed on [No], and the tip of my pen stopped right beside it.

(...Consult?)

I had never even thought about such a thing.

That day, and every day after, I never once thought about talking to a teacher. It wasn't because I was scared, or because I didn't know what to do.

It was just that I didn't think I needed to do anything.

(Because I thought it had nothing to do with me.)

As I tried to write down that reason, my pen stopped again.

I was an outsider.

Everything Kujo and the others did, and everything involving Tachibana, I thought had nothing to do with me at all.

That's why I did nothing.

I didn't want to get involved in troublesome matters, so I chose not to look.

(...No, that's wrong.)

It wasn't that I "did nothing." I might have decided for myself: "I will do nothing."

The moment I realized that, the word [No] looked entirely different than it had just moments before.

◇

The Timid Male Student

My hand holding the pen froze as I read up to question ④.

[If there was anything you yourself did or said on the spot, please write it down.]

(...I didn't do anything.)

I thought that, but when I remembered Tachibana, the pit of my stomach grew heavy.

That day, we watched as Tachibana was cornered by Kujo and the others.

I thought it was pitiful, and I wanted them to stop. Even so, looking down, I thought that if I spoke up, I might become the next target.

(Kujo and the others doing things like that were terrifying...)

I stared at the paper in front of me without being able to write a single thing.

I turned my eyes to question ⑤.

[How do you personally feel about what happened?]

"I think it was an act that damaged Tachibana's dignity."

Remembering Tachibana's expression from that day caused a sharp ache deep in my chest. Holding onto that sensation, I wrote those words.

When I read question ⑥, which followed right below, my hand stopped again.

[Did you ever think about consulting or reporting the events of last Monday after school to the school or a teacher?]

My gaze locked onto [No].

(...Couldn't I have told a teacher?)

Stopping Kujo and the group on the spot was impossible.

Yet, I could have consulted a teacher after school, or gone to see a teacher along with a friend... yet I did nothing.

Even though I thought Tachibana was pitiful, I couldn't take a single step forward on my own.

(I didn't have the courage to tell a teacher.)

After hesitating for a while, I lowered my pen point to the paper.

I checked [No].

It took a little while before I began writing down the reason.

◇

The Female Student Who Had a Crush on Kujo

I read through to question ⑤.

[How do you personally feel about what happened?]

Holding her pen, the female student stared blankly at the page for a while.

That day, because it was what Kujo said, she had accepted it and simply gone home.

However, as Tachibana stopped coming to school and the atmosphere in the class worsened day by day, something changed within her as well.

(...The fact that I thought a guy like that was cool makes me look like such an idiot.)

The tip of her pen slowly began to slide across the paper.

"I think Tachibana did nothing wrong."

"I think what Kujo did went too far."

"I think there was no need to go that far in front of everyone."

"Even thinking about it now, I can't agree with that method."

Having written that much, the girl stopped her pen once.

(...Because of that jerk, the rest of us are taking the heat.)

She shifted her eyes to question ⑦.

[If there is anything else you would like to convey to the school, please write it down.]

There was no hesitation left.

"Kujo told us to keep what happened that day as a secret exclusive to this class."

"He told us not to talk about it outside."

From there, she jotted down whatever thoughts came to mind, one after another.

"Suzumura-san kept saying 'Stop it,' but it made no sense how he used that as an excuse to blame Tachibana."

"Saying things like 'I'm counting on you for today' while trying to look cool..."

"Kujo has this intense self-infatuation vibe going on; it's honestly at a level where watching him makes you feel embarrassed for him."

Her pen didn't stop.

Without caring about typos or misspellings, she scribbled away purely on emotion.

Before long, the margins of the answer space ran out.

I wrote "Continued on the back" at the bottom, and flipped the paper over.

And mercilessly, text multiplied on the reverse side as well.

◇

The Jealous Male Student

I briskly filled out the first three questions on the distributed questionnaire in order, without a moment of hesitation.

Then, my hand froze at question ④.

[If there was anything you yourself did or said on the spot, please write it down.]

Keeping my gaze lowered, I thought about it for a moment.

Things from back then floated into my mind.

When I saw Tachibana being made a public spectacle, I had laughed.

--Serves you right.

Those words had echoed inside my head.

It wasn't that I particularly hated Tachibana, but ever since I found out he was dating Suzumura-san, I just couldn't stand it.

...Why him?

Even though I liked Suzumura-san too, every time I saw the two of them talking happily, a deep turbulence churned in my chest.

That's why, when I saw Tachibana in that kind of situation, I laughed and gossiped about him behind his back.

...Well, I'm not stupid enough to write something like that in a questionnaire.

I wrote "None" in the answer space for ④, acting as if nothing was wrong.

Still... Suzumura-san was feeling down lately.

I glanced sideways toward Suzumura-san.

She had no energy today either. Ever since Tachibana stopped coming to school, she'd been like that the whole time. Whether in class or during breaks, she just sat in her seat and barely moved.

Being gossiped about by the girls in the class must have taken a heavy toll on her mentally.

At times like this, it's definitely better for someone to be by your side.

Instead of forcing empty cheers, just listening and quietly staying close to her. Wouldn't having someone who truly understood her by her side be the thing she'd be happiest about?

At least, more than Tachibana—that thought crossed my mind.

If right now, while Suzumura was hurting over Tachibana, I were to stay by her side and treat her kindly... wouldn't she slowly open her heart to me and eventually come to rely on me?

...No.

Maybe she'd even end up falling for me just like that.

If that happened, Tachibana would be full of regret too.

After all, this is real romance.

I can cherish Suzumura-san more.

I can look after Suzumura-san properly.

Thinking even that far, I found myself twirling my pen.

Besides, Kujo was currently being blamed by everyone, tumbling down the class caste.

--Isn't this a chance after all?

With Suzumura-san in her current state...

Thinking that, I continued filling out the questionnaire with an innocent expression.

◇

The Regretful Boy

Facing the questionnaire paper, my pen had stopped for a long time.

The events of that day wouldn't leave my mind.

When Tachibana was made to stand in front of everyone, I had laughed. I had thought I was simply matching the mood because everyone else was laughing. It wasn't like I wanted to hurt Tachibana. I didn't think it was funny, either.

Even so, I laughed.

From that night on, I relived that scene over and over. Even after returning home, it would cross my mind at random moments. Why on earth could I laugh back then? What kind of person was I to laugh along with the crowd in a situation like that?

No matter how much I thought about it, no satisfying answer came up. Because everyone else was laughing. I just got swept up in the atmosphere. Even if I could line up excuses like that, it didn't change what I had done.

I just grew disgusted with myself.

Ever since that day, the atmosphere in the classroom had changed bit by bit. Once Tachibana stopped coming to school, that change became visible day by day. And then on Friday, everything that had been accumulating burst out into the open all at once.

Kujo and his group were being blamed by everyone in the class. What's more, within that circle were guys who had laughed while watching Tachibana back then.

Seeing that sight, I couldn't hide my shock. The guys who had laughed at Tachibana back then had no right whatsoever to blame Kujo and the others.

From Tachibana's perspective, those of us who laughed were also perpetrators.

I hadn't done anything myself. I hadn't participated in the fake confession, either. But those of us who laughed on the spot were human beings who had hurt Tachibana in his eyes.

Could we really say that the laughter and gossip from back then had nothing to do with Tachibana stopping school? To Tachibana, it must have been just as painful as being fake-confessed to.

I couldn't pretend the laughter from back then never happened.

I didn't want to make excuses.

That is why I began writing down what I did, piece by piece. The laughter back then, my weakness in failing to consult a teacher—including all the inconvenient truths, I acknowledged it all as my own doing.

And then I ran my pen across the final answer space.

--I want to apologize to Tachibana.

I wrote that down.