Over a few days of festival homerooms we’d locked in all the decisions, so today was day one of actual prep.
Our school’s festival is two days of cultural-festival content + one day of sports-festival content, so the prep load is heavy. The prep window is correspondingly long.
Class periods are shortened during prep to allow more festival time, which is paradise for students who hate studying. I was currently doing warm-ups on the schoolyard.
“Warm-up’s enough, let’s practice.”
“Yeah, I am not embarrassing you with my performance, Reona. Going all-out.”
I was on three-legged race, partnering with Reona. I was committed.
If I were doing a solo event I would not bother. But with Reona, I could not slack — losing badly would humiliate her by association.
Hearing that, Reona perked up.
“Right, I expect you to satisfy me.”
“Yeah, I’m going to actually try, that’s rare for me.”
“Looking forward to it.”
We tied our ankles together. As during the trip’s various close contacts, Reona was soft.
I was actively repressing distractions. I committed to giving my best, I cannot fail on the first step.
“Starting on my left foot, your right?”
“Got it.”
We counted off and took the first step. As beginners we weren’t smooth, but we hadn’t fallen — passable.
“Other pairs are struggling.”
“Yeah — falling on the first step is a coordination issue, but even pairs that clearly discussed it are stalling.”
“You and I have great compatibility, no?”
Reona was smirking. I answered without thinking.
“We’re succeeding because our heights are almost the same.”
Height differences change stride lengths — that explained the issues elsewhere. Looking around, similar-height pairs were doing better. Then I realized I’d done it again.
When Reona or Riona ask questions like this, they want romantic answers. I had delivered a biomechanical answer. After endless prior incidents I had learned nothing.
”…You were saying cool things earlier and now this. Sad.”
“Sorry.”
“You need education, Ryouya-kun.”
“What does education mean…”
“That’s a surprise for later.”
Reona smiled darkly. Sounded ominous.
It was probably already too late to recalibrate, but going forward I should watch my mouth.
We continued practicing through hydration breaks and were getting smoother. The skill would degrade overnight, but it would come back quickly.