I could smell antiseptic.
Am I alive? Am I being kept alive?
Apparently humans can go crazy just from being confined in a white room.
If that’s true, I wonder if I’ve already gone crazy……
What was the “Bookmark of Demise” in the first place……?
At any rate, there was no way anyone could be satisfied with that kind of answer.
It was so idiotic.
The steady rhythm I had been hearing began to echo.
Ah, I wonder if it’ll start again…….
“E-ki! See ya!”
“See you tomorrow, E-ki!”
After school, while my classmates were in the midst of going to club activities, I did not head for home, but instead walked towards a place that was completely clear of people.
As I returned each and every one of their greetings, I headed for my destination.
A two-story, deteriorating wooden building. My destination was one of the rooms on the second floor.
—And so, “as usual,” I opened the door to the music room.
“Yo!”
—Apparently, for each person, there’s an answer that can score full marks in a self-analysis.
Actually, even outside of a self-analysis, I was sure of that.
In any case, I was a man with energy as his strong point!
“Oh, it’s E-ki~! Hey there!”
The one who called out my name while raising a hand in greeting was A-no.
In truth, she was a fan of retro games, or so I’d heard, but you wouldn’t be able to guess that at all from her appearance. Overall, she was a female student that gave off an impression of being a “speed type,” with her lightweight body that lacked any excess fat…. Especially around her chest area…. you know….?
“Die!”
“Uwah?!”
Suddenly, A-no aimed an incredibly sharp punch at my face.
“….Wh-What do you think you’re doing?!”
“….Eh?! Are you psychic?!”
“So you admit it!! Lose one life and die!”
Another lethal punch was thrown at me, barely skimming my ear.
Unlike that mustachioed man in the video game, I only have one life here….!
“…..U-Uh, um, err…. Please… d-don’t fight…..”
A small figure walked up between us.
He was smaller than A-no, and his face even more feminine than hers, but though he was timid, his charm point was his snaggletooth that peeked out whenever he smiled. Despite being so feminine in all areas, his name included, he was a male student.
Saying that he’d grow into it before long, he wore a loose uniform that he’d bought a size too big, but it was obvious that his overly-long sleeves were just another moe point in the end.
“….As I thought, in terms of being girly, it’s A-no’s loss by a landslide—”
“Again?!”
This time, A-no’s attack hit me right in the ribs.
Anyway, what’s B-ka blushing for?! What are you, a girl?!
The female student that was reading in the back of the classroom shut her book and looked over at us.
She was even shorter than B-ka, and if she were to stand next to me, she’d look like a pretty petite girl.
Well, height-wise, she’s on the small side, but…. when it comes to her chest and the excess fat there, she actually… had quite… a bit of it? I would say….
“Die!! Die and don’t ever choose continue!”
“Again?! You too?!”
Wait, hold on, this isn’t normal!
And as all this went on, C-na went back to reading her book.
“Ahaha~ E-ki, you’re so funny as always~ (crunch crunch)”
D-suke laughed while munching noisily on a bag of snacks.
He was taller than me, stooped over when he walked, and was usually eating some kind of snack.
…..The introduction got a little long, but basically, the five of us always gathered in this music room.
Although we met in the music room, we weren’t part of the Brass Band Club, or even the Light Music Club.
….That said, the club had actually been on the verge of being abolished, but since it seemed interesting, I dragged the others along. Since we had only just recently revived it, we had yet to do anything in terms of club activities.
“….Hm? What was that, all of a sudden?”
“….I only joined… because…. I wanted to make movies…. you know. (crunch crunch)”
“…I’m interested as long as it’s horror. Also, I can help out with editing using a computer.”
“….Ah~ I borrowed it too, but I didn’t really get the ending.”
As D-suke and C-na carried on with their own separate conversation, A-no piped up.
“How about you, B-ka?”
Just as I had expected, everyone agreed on making the movie.
“So, this is what I’ve come up with! I’ll be the director, screenwriter, and producer! And the four of you will be the cast and staff for this project…! Let’s aim to get it done by this summer! So, how’s that sound for an initial plan, guys?”
“Well, that depends on what kind of movie it’ll be, but…. It sounds good so far.”
“….I think that sounds fine.”
Everyone reacted like they usually would, but I could tell that they were all really excited.
“…….Now then, the premise, which you’ve all been waiting for…”
I picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote out the long title on the blackboard in big letters.
“The movie will be about us creating a new urban legend…. And as for the title, I thought it’d be best to make it sound grandiose and dramatic, so this is what I came up with!”
In the classroom illuminated by the sunset, our long-awaited summer began…..
“—The title will be Bookmark of Demise.”