“No way..” Segawa wearily declined, having complete and utter refusal written on her face. “Why do I have to start a club with that guy over there..”

“S-same here!” I added. “I don’t see any need to be lumped together with that stuck-up woman over there.”

The moment sensei’s demand was born into this very world, it was immediately met with rejection. I actually feel sorry for the poor guy to a certain degree, but I also wasn’t in favor of the demand itself, so screw it.

The demand that sensei was pushing onto us was to start a legitimate, functioning club with the ryoma high's seal of approval. That in itself was seemingly impossible. 

First of all, an ordinary club needs to have at least 5 members to be even under consideration. Second, even if we were given enough time to recruit other members, does she seriously think that anyone in the right mind would join, knowing that Segawa was onboard? And lastly, I have an actual life that doesn’t involve staying late after school. I don’t have extra time on my hands that I could carelessly throw away just like that. I’m only a year away from entering college, and four years away from becoming a corporate slave. I mean salaryman. So there’s no way I’m going along with sensei’s demand.

But in response to our on-the-spot rebuttal, sensei showed no signs of wavering resolve.

"And who said any of you had a say in it? Neither of you two have the right to refuse.”

With sensei’s words finally out in the open, the three of us sank into uneasy silence, her words reverberate through the room for a decent amount of time.

I was at a complete loss for words, thinking of the right words to retort with. But on the other hand, Segawa, who was also devoured by the pause just now, finally snapped out of it and was able to get her senses back.

“A-and by that you mean?” Segawa asked, the tone of her voice still tinged with unease. “I’m sure I can refuse to such a demand under this country’s law.”

“You can, under normal circumstances that is. Mhmm.” Sensei nodded. “But sadly, the two of you aren’t under those normal circumstances at the moment.”

“How so?”

At that, sensei directed her gaze my way. “Hiraoka’s here because of that shallow essay he submitted to his teacher. While on the other hand..” She then paused, whipping her gaze toward Segawa. “I called you out here for reasons that I’m sure you’re already aware of.”

“And that voids my right to decline?” Segawa asked with a rather derisive tone.

“Mhmm,” Sensei nodded. “In short, this is a punishment for the both of you. Hence, your right to refuse is voided. Have you ever seen a criminal invoke his right to refuse during the process of being apprehended? You don’t right?”

“Umm..” I softly murmured, raising my hand in petition. “I actually have a ‘get out of jail free card’ at home that might be able to help. Or do I have to roll doubles on my next three turns?”

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“I actually don’t have much on me this month, but I think I can manage with only cup noodles for the remaining days...mhmm.” Segawa nodded. “How much do you have to pay to bail out of jail again?”

What, you’re dead-set on using real currency here? Are you that desperate to get out woman?

“Ah! Geez!” Sensei boisterously exclaimed, furiously scratching the back of her head in subtle rage. “Listen up! This sentence is non-bailable, and this isn’t some stupid board game. The two of you have to either fix yourselves, or wait till graduation to get out.”

“What’s this supposed to be, a life sentence..?”

“I guess you could call it that.”

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking,” Segawa prompted, raising a hand in question. “What exactly are we supposed to do in this club you want to start?”

As those words were completely relayed toward sensei, she broke into this huge grin as a conceited expression started playing on her face.

“Heeeh- You wanna know?” She teasingly asked.

“She probably doesn’t.” I interjected, averting my eyes from the two girls in front. “It’s not like she asked you what all this was about right? Oh wait, I think she did.”

“Huh..?” In response to my sarcastic remark, sensei’s face broke into annoyance as she slightly crouched her back, throwing a resentful glare my way. W-what, it’s not like it's my fault if you keep acting that way. Stop needlessly pushing the blame on me woman. “W-well, in a nutshell, the two of you will be helping troubled students like yourself out. That’s basically it.”

That’s it? That’s what this club is supposed to do? Do I have to start wearing a horned Poppman cap and some random pair of goggles now? I might be good at concentrating,but I’m pretty sure I don’t need a pair of goggles to do so. Also, my little sister’s blood related and my family situation isn’t that complex. I also don’t have a long-lost twin that was separated from birth, so I’m pretty much unqualified for the role.

“And what does being in a club with that guy achieve?” Segawa asked, putting her hand down as a puzzled expression clouded over her face. “I don’t see how something like this would be a suitable punishment for our shortcomings.”

“A-ahem!” Sensei sheepishly coughed, standing back up straight as she gave Segawa a rather indifferent look. “I believe that getting you two involved with other people will help you both grow as people. And somehow even get those twisted personalities of yours fixed.”

“Umm..my personality’s pretty straight, if I do say so myself.”

“Especially you.” Sensei firmly asserted, giving me a dead-serious look.

“Gehh…”

Usually, when a girl tells you something with those kinds of eyes, it’s basically the same as them saying ‘shut up if you want to see another day’, or somewhere along the lines. But since sensei’s eyes were more of the ‘ready-to-kill’ type rather than the ‘seriously-serious’ ones, she’s basically telling me to shut the hell up or else she’ll rip my guts apart and feed them to stray dogs if another word were to come out of my mouth. Just the thought of it was enough to send a chill down my spine. Gulp.

“Well, it’s not like I have anything to do afterschool, and having room all to myself does sound a bit intriguing.” Segawa furtively mumbled to herself, placing a hand on her chin as she dived into deep thought.

“Doesn’t it?” Sensei teased.

“Mhmm, mhmm.” Segawa nodded accordingly.

Oi oi, just in case you’ve forgotten, I’m also gonna be inside so there’s actually the two of us. Stop mindlessly erasing my existence from the world will you? I'm not acquainted with some red hair girl with a blazing katana, so I'm gonna be in the red here if you keep that up. And would you stop agreeing to every word sensei says, she's basically pulling you into her gingerbread trap just in case you weren't aware. But by the looks of it, you’re already enjoying the sweet candy inside her sugar-coated death trap. My condolences.

“I guess there isn’t really a choice is there... It’s not like fighting back would make any difference, and this whole club thing doesn’t seem too bad either.”

“So what, does that mean you accept?” Sensei asked.

Not like we have a choice either way...or do we, which is it really? 

“I accept your conditions,” Segawa answered, looking resolved. “I don’t see how something like this would help me grow as a person, but I’ll just see this as an opportunity to prove to you that I’m fine the way I am.”

“Mhmm!” Sensei nodded. “That’s the spirit. Although I’m not too sure about the last part.”

“Uhh..I’m actually still agains-”

“A’ight! That’s it for today!” Sensei said in a gleeful tone, preventing the rest of my words from being said. What, was my discretion really that irrelevant in this matter? 

In response to sensei’s proclamation, Segawa kept her things as she stood from her seat, making her way to the door with a step. “I’ll be taking my leave here. I’ll submit the club request form tomorrow during lunch break.”

As she slid the door open with ever-so-gentle hands, sensei replied with a faint "Mmm", and the door was slid close with a clatter, depriving us the chance to properly send her off. Rather, it deprived sensei the chance to properly send her off. I didn't really want any part in it. 

With that, sensei decided to take her leave as well. But of course, she didn't forget to give me a look that was threatening me to come tomorrow. Too much for a parting remark...

It was already past four by the time I was dismissed, sitting idly about in the dead-silent room. 

Guess I'll go home.