CH 201

The Cherry Blossom season has arrived.

The cherry blossoms no longer flutter, and the leaves on the trees have begun to turn red as if to signal the end of summer season.

The heat that envelops my body is replaced by a pleasant cooler breeze.

The hottest event awaits the students at the Sakura Academy before the end of the summer.

An athletic festival, free from daily studies, and a school-wide celebration that overflows with the individuality of the students.

The students’ awareness of the Student Council elections is now in the past, and their focus has shifted to the biggest event that is just around the corner.

The student council, likewise, is about to enter its busiest time of the year.

A season that has the potential to alter the various expectations and anxieties greatly in their studies, club activities, love, youth, and future of the student is just right ahead…

The School of Cherry Blossoms has to undergo a brief change into the School of Festivals.

It is the students who will create this change.

They think independently, make suggestions, and take action.

In a school where students are left to manage their own initiative, it is more difficult than it sounds.

If we fail to prepare for this, the greatest celebration will turn into the greatest disgrace.

The question is the leadership of those who stand at the top of the organization, the trust of the students, and flexible thinking.

The challenges that will come are many.

Rise of unexpected people and the troubles that accompany them.

We will have to prepare our own ways to solve the problems as much as we can expect.

If we are juniors who only rely on others, that person will not be able to leave with peace of mind.

What I recall between my steps toward the student council office are the words that were said to me when I joined the student council.

I’m not confident that I’ve ever been able to answer that expectation so I have to judge calmly and objectively…

This is the first and last time.

I only have a short time period, this Sakura Festival, in which I can act for that very purpose at the same place.

To be recognized by that person.

I want to be recognized by someone who has no admiration, no love interest, just someone who genuinely represents the ideals of the people around her.

My feelings might be similar to when I confronted my friend and competed with him.

Perhaps I just want to satisfy myself.

Student council was not the place where I was called because of her personal feelings, but it was the place where she recognized me, Shinra Minato.

Maybe I just want to get the final word on a question that I have been asking myself.

The executive committee is supposed to be led by a junior who is seemingly dependable but is also extremely prone to unexpected developments.

Although she has not expressed it in words, she has a dependable friend who will support her.

Worrying might turn out to be a groundless fear.

She should concentrate on her own position.

As assistant to the student body president, it is my job to support her in her task.

I let out a deep breath as if to re-motivate myself in front of a room in a corner of the school, and then put my hand on the heavy iron door.

I looked at the figure of the senior who welcomed me with a smile.

I wonder what the person with that smile is thinking right now.

Is it anxiety or anticipation for the big event that is just around the corner…?

With these questions in my mind, my day as a student council member begins again today.

Before we choose the next generation of students and pass the baton to them, we will learn something.

We will learn about our predecessor, who has been called the best of her generation.

We will see the scene created by her existence, which until now we have turned our eyes away from as someone who lives in a different world from our own.

Let the Sakura Festival begin!