CH 63

Not A Lonely Festival (3)

“Oh my god! It’s Senior Jimbo!”

The moment Senior Jimbo entered the cricket field, all of the students on the bench became excited. On the second day of the festival, our cricket team was facing off against the Arts Department.

It should be an easy opponent to go against, since they aren’t the type who are usually physical. Still, the heat of the cricket tournament was greater than usual. The audience in the stadium were already packed, and the food stalls were so popular that people were lining up. If I hadn’t bought snacks in advance in the morning, I might have been stuck in line and not be able to get a seat.

While all the students were watching Senior Jimbo, I looked at Leto, who was sitting down and waiting for the strike.

Unlike the other players, he looked very confident with his legs crossed and arms folded. When I was smiling because it was very much like Leto, I realised the roasted chicken and scones I had bought for snacks were gone. When I looked to the side, Bona was sucking her fingers as if she had just finished eating something.

“Bona!”

“Oh, you scared me!”

When I shouted, Bona faltered and looked around for a corner she could hide. I couldn’t help but shake the empty box with regret.

“Bree, eat mine.”

Vivian, who was sitting next to me, offered his snack. He didn’t even touch his snack since he had no appetite. Bona’s eyes flashed as she stared at Vivian’s snack before I could even receive them. She gulped down her saliva as if she was starving. 

“Bona, don’t steal this. This is mine and Vivian’s share.”

When I spoke firmly, Bona couldn’t hide her disappointment. The three of us continued to sit side by side and watched the cricket match. A few days ago, when it was confirmed that Leto and Senior Jimbo would be playing cricket, I suggested that we watch them together.

I was glad to see Vivian again, who became awkward yesterday. We parted ways badly, but Vivian appeared and kept his promise on time. He casually greeted me and Bona and settled down, as if nothing had happened. On the contrary, he looked brighter than usual, so I let go of my worries.

But my pledge to make him smile still remained. I planned to make Vivian happy by spending time with him during the festival. If that was not enough, I thought it would be a good idea to go to the flower shop again after so long and buy a bunch of roses.

“Bree, I brought some milk. Would you like some?”

I immediately nodded my head at Vivian’s words. I felt bad for taking milk from him every time, but his milk never disappoints. It was delicious and savoury, so I naturally gulped it down. Even now, when I emptied the milk at one go, Vivian smiled shyly.

— Tak!

It was then. Senior Jimbo appeared to have hit the ball, and the ball floated in the air and went out of the field.

“Waaa!”

“Jimbo! Jimbo! Jimbo! Jimbo!”

Senior Jimbo’s performance stood out. All the students on our side were cheering for Senior Jimbo by chanting his name. Thanks to him, the score gap widened sharply even though it was early in the game. When the students from the Arts Department tried to dispel our spirits by shouting boo, we cheered even louder and the momentum surged.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

I heard Vivian’s admiration. Before he knew it, he was also staring at Senior Jimbo with admiration. On the other hand, Senior Jimbo shook off the dirt on his clothes and handed the bat to another runner, even as everyone’s eyes were on him.

“Jimbo! I love you!”

As he was making his way to the waiting room, a man who was passionately cheering for Senior Jimbo shouted. The shout was so loud that it made all the students in the stadium burst into laughter. Senior Jimbo didn’t mind and shamelessly threw a finger-heart to where the sound came from.

He was a senior who knew how to handle crowds well even when he seemed nonchalant and not competitive on the outside. The atmosphere of the stadium was great. Of course, we were all so immersed in the game that a little fight broke out between the Arts Department and ours. The competition was very fierce.

“You think the MVP this time will be Senior Jimbo again?”

Bona said, licking her lips.

“MVP?”

When I asked, Bona looked at me with a sideways glance.

“It’s an award given to the best performing player. If you receive it, you’ll be given the chance to talk on the podium for 10 minutes.”

“Isn’t that a punishment?”

To talk in front of the podium where students are watching for 10 minutes. Was it a speech contest?

“What are you talking about! The podium is a privilege that only professors can go up. It’s a place of honour. But a student can go up and talk for 10 minutes.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of it.”

Vivian joined in.

“I heard that Senior Jimbo won the MVP last year.”

I can’t believe senior had to talk for 10 minutes there……It was hard to imagine.

“The speech was so moving that it made all the students cry.”

“I think all the guards passing by said even they cried in admiration? It’s difficult to imagine.”

Wow. I was stunned once again, but suddenly the cheering crowd became quiet.

“Huh? It’s Leah.”

It was Leto. Seeing the familiar sight of Arsene, the students looked at him and whispered. It seemed that they were quite surprised to see the person, who they’ve only heard from rumours, appeared.

“That guy is just as famous as Senior Jimbo. In a different sense, of course.”

Bona laughed and mocked Leto sarcastically. She was right. Unlike Senior Jimbo, who only had good rumours, Leto was filled with controversies and strange rumours. Especially because of his family. The abandoned daughter of the Arsene family.

Whenever Leto heard the rumour, he pretended not to care, but he took it sensitively. I jumped out of my seat while watching the whispering crowd. I could feel Bona and Vivian next to me startled in embarrassment. But I didn’t care.

“Leah! I love youuuu!”

I filled the field with a much louder voice than the guy earlier. The silence disappeared and laughter broke out again. Of course, I was embarrassed too, and Leto’s face turned redder as he held the cricket bat blankly. He searched for me in the crowd and shot a fierce glare.

It was quite terrifying.

After my encouraging support, Leto focused on playing. In fact, he could actually ease up because of the difference in score, but I knew Leto would still do well. Then, he hit the ball with one swing, dispelling my worries. If Senior Jimbo’s ball had been floating in the air, his ball went flying speedily out of the field.

“Woahh!”

The students were all amazed by his tremendous power. I knew he was going to do well, but isn’t this too good? Leto threw the cricket bat with a relaxed smile.

“That’s surprising. I thought she would be very sloppy.”

Bona murmured.

“Leah could win the MVP.”

Bona shrugged at my confident words. It’s great if Senior Jimbo wins the MVP, but he’s already won it before. This time, I wanted Leto to be on that podium and talk for 10 minutes. What would he talk about if got there?

The three of us were immersed in the game. The game was so thrilling that I couldn’t take my eyes off it, so I had lost track of time. I cheered passionately and shouted during the match that my throat bursted. And when Reze appeared, I came back to my senses. Everyone was cheering for Reze and chanting his name, but only Vivian couldn’t.

“Vivian?”

After a while, Vivian got up from his seat. He stood up with a pale face and suddenly smiled at me.

“Sorry, I need to go to the bathroom for a while.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

When I asked out of concern, Vivian shook his head. He hurriedly left his seat, saying that he would be quick.

“Don’t worry about it. He must have been rushing for the bathroom.”

I nodded at Bona’s nonchalant words. It could have been a real urgency to the bathroom. I thought I’d wait for a bit, but when I couldn’t see Vivian even after 10 minutes, I became nervous. In the meantime, Reze left the field without hitting a single ball, spitting out curses.

“Why isn’t he back?”

“Maybe it’s a big one……”

“Let’s go, Bona.”

“Why me too? I’ll stay in my seat.”

It would clearly be awkward if I went there alone. There was a big score difference anyway, and the game was about to end soon. All the students that came knew that the Magics Department would win even without looking. I forcibly dragged Bona’s arm, who refused to go, and left the cheering crowd.

When I dragged the grumbling Bona to the bathroom, I noticed the long line. Vivian was nowhere to be found between those lines. Could he be in the bathroom?

“What do you want to do? Go inside the bathroom?”

Ignoring Bona’s words, I headed to a secluded place behind the bathroom. Even there, Vivian was nowhere to be found. Even if Vivian wasn’t in the bathroom in the first place, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack to search for Vivian in this large place. I was wondering whether I should go back to our seats again, but I could feel a presence in front of me.

“Bree? Bona?”

It was Vivian. He was not in the bathroom, but holding a chicken snack in his hands.

“Why are you guys here?”

“Why? To find you……Hmph!”

“Nothing, Bona complained that she wanted to eat a snack, so we came out to buy some.”

I quickly covered Bona’s mouth and said. Vivian then smiled awkwardly and held out the chicken snack in his hand.

“I already bought some. You don’t like chicken?”

“No, I like it.”

When I immediately responded, Vivian was relieved. Looking closely at Vivian’s face, I noticed that his eyebrows were slightly wet.