Stealing Spree

“Can I have a little silence?” Shizu started. Because the buzzing of the students wondering why the Student Council had to make an announcement quickly filled the whole gymnasium, that became the first words that left her mouth.

As always, her default face she let the other people see was the one with her mask. Ah. Well, she’s already on her way mixing both personalities. She might still sound and look authoritative but she’s now a little lenient, even hearing the opinions and advice of other people.

Nevertheless, as I observed how the students reacted to her words, her authority was truly out there. It’s the kind of authority that could silence even the rowdy ones with a simple question. That’s amazing in and of itself.

She’s pushing for me to succeed her but could I really reign in this whole student body just like her? I’ve never been in this kind of position before. And even this moment, standing on top of a stage and being ogled at by them, was also a first.

After scanning the crowd and judging that everyone’s attention was on her, she continued, “Earlier this month, you must have heard of a certain incident. A donated item by an alumnus has been destroyed by students of the club where it was donated to.”

Even without naming the club, the students nodded and murmured the name of it themselves. And even though it’s just a whisper at first, with a lot of them saying the name of the club at the same time, the volume amplified, echoing through the whole gymnasium.

The members of the said club, especially those at the top of its hierarchy lowered their heads in shame. The shaved head captain especially stood out. He wanted to say something to defend his club but Shizu didn’t give him a chance.

“That incident has been settled peacefully. The students that destroyed the item have been punished for that behavior, suspending them for a week and not being allowed to play in the upcoming Inter-high tournaments. The leader of the club has also been pushed to take responsibility for the incident. And lastly, the instigator that the Administration managed to unearth was… as you might’ve expected, expelled from the school.”

I see. So that happened, huh? Someone was expelled. I wonder who decided it. Is it Hayashi-sensei? I don’t know. In any case, with Shizu opening her speech with that, the atmosphere in the gymnasium suddenly felt a little heavy.

As it is mandatory to join a club, every student, even the third years who were about to quit their clubs after the summer vacation, listened intently. None dared to interrupt Shizu’s speech. Some even became straight-up nervous and jumpy as though what they heard was something terrifying.

It could be that they’re hiding something or they’re just that easily scared.

“Now, we’re not here to scare all of you. This is just a reminder that no matter how well connected you are, there is no such thing as favoritism from me or this school. If you did something that broke the rules, regulations, peace, and order of the school, you should expect the consequence that would bite you in the back…”

No favoritism from her, huh? Should I tease her about her clear favoritism towards me and the Student Support Club?

Uh. Well, now’s not the time. But reading between her lines, that instigator was possibly someone important. Was the gossip about it suppressed to avoid embarrassment? Possibly. Perhaps, once I sat down in the office, I would become privy to those kinds of sensitive information that shouldn’t reach the student populace's ears.

That’s favorable for me but it would also be troublesome to resolve to know that I would be doing that alone…

“Because we are clearly short-staffed and the school valued its students’ freedom, everything has been handed to us, the Student Council. I’m aware of how I have been strict at enforcing the rules to all the existing clubs. However, that’s not enough because incidents such as what I mentioned still happened. Most likely, there are even some that haven't reached my ears. And I or we in the Student Council will aim to prevent that. For everyone’s sake.”

Perhaps thinking that her announcement was already over, someone started to clap. From one, it quickly became ten and in less than a quarter of a minute, thunderous applause flooded our ears.

Some even shouted her name, even louder than the cheers the Principal received earlier.

As for the attention that was focused on me, they’re now transferred back to Shizu. My presence returned to that of an insignificant character who’s only here to spoil the beautiful portrait of our capable Student Council President.

Shizu waited for at least half a minute before lifting her hand, signaling them to stop.

Seeing that, confusion arose. They hadn’t expected that. I also gulped down since this meant that my time to take the center stage was coming soon… As I thought, despite how indifferent or confident I was, there would still be moments like this when pressure could get to my head.

In any case, from the crowd below, with my eyes homing in on my girls, I saw them all looking at me, cheering silently and encouraging me wordlessly. There were also those who were aware of my relationship with some of them, like Kana’s friends led by Momoiro-senpai, Rae’s friends from Class 4 and Satsuki’s clubmates scattered on different levels.

They’re all anticipating what my presence on the stage meant.

Well, there’s also some attention to those somewhat hostile to my presence. There’s Ichihara, Fukuda, Ogawa, Tadano, Kenji and lastly, the members of the Baseball Club including the Baseball Guy from our Class and the shaved head captain.

Looks like I also racked up enemies, huh?

“As a result of that, we, at the Student Council, decided to create a deterrent for such an incident to occur once more. Spawning from the office of the Student Council, I have raised to the Administration the creation of a special branch of the Student Council. The Disciplinary Committee.”

As Shizu finally unveiled the reason we stood here, I quickly made my move. Following her presentation, I walked to her side and waited for her to step back before taking the microphone as well as the center stage.

But before doing so, I turned my head slightly to Shizu, “Great job with the speech. You’re now using ‘we’ instead of ‘I’. That’s a great improvement.”

Yep. Noticing that little detail, I just couldn’t wait to praise her.

“You idiot. This isn’t the time for praise. Go on. I’ll back you up if you ever stumble or stutter.”

“Understood, President.” My lips naturally curved into a smile which the girl returned with a quick one, she didn’t want to take off her mask in front of everybody, after all.

However, it seemed like I was being naïve…

“Hey, what is that? That 1st year. He’s casually talking to the President.”

“Right? What’s his deal? I mean. Isn’t he also standing next to her earlier?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Haven’t you heard the President's announcement? He’s most likely the one that will represent that new branch… Really? A 1st year? Even if it’s the President, it’s not wise to joke like that.”

“What joke? Does the President ever joke around? Even in the classroom, she’s always serious.”

“Is that so? Then this new branch will be a huge joke.”

“Totally. This is uninteresting.”

Although that conversation started with someone commenting on how I seemed chummy with Shizu, it quickly devolved to devaluing what she just announced.

Well, I could understand why they’re apprehensive. I’m a first year, after all. To be given that seemingly important position, they couldn’t accept it easily.

Anyway, I first ignored those and fixed my posture. My eyes scanned the whole student body and took notice of every little thing that I could pick out.

“Alright. Can I get your full attention up here? I know you’re wondering why a 1st year like me is in this stage. The Disciplinary Committee that the President has just announced will be headed by me, the Disciplinary Officer. 1st year, Class 1, Onoda Ruki.”

Not counting those murmuring idiots, with the help of the microphone, my voice covered the whole gymnasium. And starting my speech with an introduction was clearly effective. It piqued their interest and most of them were now waiting for my next words.

Now, what should I do? I should say something shocking but I guess they’re waiting for the clarification about the new branch of the Student Council.

Hmm…

I looked around and my eyes instantly settled on the shaved head Captain of the Baseball Club.

As soon as our gazes met, his forehead creased instantly and a frown formed on his face.

Why did I do this? Simple, everyone knew which club Shizu was talking about earlier. And with me focusing on him and seeing that reaction, they would be able to deduce that something happened between me and the shaved head idiot…err… senior.

“The previous incident is serious. Serious enough that someone paid for it even though it’s not entirely his fault. As the Disciplinary Officer, that’s something I will aim to prevent. You can befriend me but I will not be lenient on rulebreakers. Like the president said, no favoritism.”

“Oh. That’s right. It doesn’t answer the prominent question in your mind, right? Why is a 1st year appointed to this position? If you want to find out… You can find me at my office. I’ll show you why.”

Ending my speech with a smile, I bowed and turned around.

I did great, right?

However, no applause came for me. Moreover, Shizu had her hand on her forehead, Eguchi-sensei had an awkward smile on her face and the other two Guidance Counselors were shaking their heads.

… I messed up, huh? Like I thought, I’m not fit to be in the spotlight.