Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume8 Chapter4 3

Eriko, Sei, Youko. Part 3

Youko accepted her diploma and stepped down from the stage.

Eriko looked at the program of events – since camellia class was the last class, and they were already up to "Mi", the distribution of certificates would soon end.

Next up was the principal's formal address, followed by the dean and guest speaker's congratulatory addresses. It was enough to make anyone sleepy, not just Sei.

Despite her boredom, Eriko didn't turn around to look for the bear-man. Doing so would put her on the same level as an elementary school child on parents day.

She wondered if she should rest her eyes for just a little while. Because, unfortunately, she'd probably have to open them again for the farewell address and formal reply.

"Freshman representative, first-year peach class, Mizuno Youko."

The first time Eriko heard Youko's name was at the middle-school entrance ceremony.

Well, the words "Mizuno Youko" would have been neatly printed on the class list when it was published, but it wasn't an interesting enough name for a stranger to have that Eriko's eyes would have stopped to look at it, let alone remember it.

They had assembled in their classroom prior to the entrance ceremony, but since they'd been told beforehand to sit in alphabetical order, this put the "To" of Torii and the "Mi" of Mizuno in the same column, but one at the front and the other at the back. Anyhow, once she'd spotted Sei sitting across the aisle from her, Eriko hadn't had the composure to survey her surroundings. She'd got into a brawl with her back in kindergarten. After that, they'd snarl at each other whenever they met in the hallway, so-called mortal enemies.

Mizuno Youko.

Therefore it was a name completely unknown to Eriko when the vice-principal called it out at the entrance ceremony.

Youko stood up from where she was seated as part of Eriko's class and walked to the front. That was probably the first time Eriko saw her face, too. At the very least, it wasn't a face she'd seen at Lillian's elementary school. Her straight, jet black hair was cut, straight, at the nape of her neck, giving her the look of a beautiful young woman.

Her speech was magnificent too. Her words were unhurried and easily understood, and while her voice did seem to tremble slightly, the nervousness came across as innocence.

(Hmm.)

For some reason, it looked as though she'd been blessed by the heavens with a number of gifts. At the time, Eriko was experiencing a mild case of shock.

It wasn't as though she'd wanted to give the address. But she did feel a bit uneasy about being in the same class as Youko.

The freshman representative was decided based on grades. Therefore, it was clear that this "Mizuno Youko," who had joined the middle-school by taking the entrance exams from outside, had received top marks. Even the students coming from elementary school took the same entrance exam, purely for form's sake. Eriko did pretty well, even by her own standards. But apparently Youko must have done even better.

It was probably to be expected when comparing herself to someone who had studied for the exam, but even so, Eriko had always been able to succeed without trying. If she'd have to work hard to cling to her status as an honor student, then that felt like a complete denial of her current self, and that was no good. Eriko wasn't particularly interested in things that could only be achieved by studying.

Therefore, she swiftly decided to withdraw from the competition.

There was no need for two honor students in the class. That position was ceded to Youko. Eriko wasn't being a poor loser, she'd steadily lost interest in taking a leadership position.

But when it came time to select the class representative, Eriko's plan came undone. Despite not being a candidate, when "Mizuno Youko" was elected, Youko herself nominated Eriko as another class representative, basically a partner. The plausible seeming reason she gave was that after just three days she wasn't all that accustomed to Lillian's. But that was undoubtedly an act of retribution against Eriko.

Basically, for the entire year, Eriko was tied to the person she wanted to keep as far away from as possible.

"If you'd please, Torii-san."

Even to this day, she couldn't forget Youko's triumphant grin. As petty revenge, Eriko made up her mind not to tell Youko that the standard manner of addressing someone at Lillian's was first-name plus "-san."

(Although she corrected that pretty quickly.)

As she listened to the principal's address, Eriko fiddled with her tie out of boredom.

Youko had an incredible capacity to learn.

– Your ribbon has such a pretty shape, Eriko-san.

She could still remember it. The day she realized she was no match for Youko.

"Your ribbon has such a pretty shape, Eriko-san."

Youko said smoothly. From memory it was after gym class had finished, just when they'd returned to the classroom.

"Ah, now that you mention it."

Some other classmates looked at Eriko's chest and nodded.

"Really?"

Youko was quite skilled at giving compliments. Knowing her, she could easily discern someone's strengths and weaknesses, but she only called attention to their good points. Because she was so accurate, it didn't feel like flattery. It was probably because she'd been brought up receiving compliments that she spontaneously complimented other people.

"Is there a secret to it?"

Youko focused in on Eriko's ribbon, gently touching it.

"A secret?"

It wasn't something she was conscious of, so there couldn't be any secret. But looking at Youko's ribbon, it didn't have a particularly bad shape.

"Actually, I noticed it a while back. I tried watching you tie it today in the locker room, but it was bam-bam-bam done."

Youko asked Eriko to teach her how she tied her ribbon. But everyday she tied it without paying conscious attention, so she wouldn't be able to teach that. When Eriko said this, Youko asked if she could watch while Eriko tied it a couple of times.

Youko was, fundamentally, a diligent person. After watching Eriko untie and retie her ribbon five times, she'd mostly taken the technique on board. She was able to tie her own ribbon in a way that looked quite close to Eriko's.

"But I can't do it as well as you, Eriko-san."

Youko seemed satisfied as she said this, and turned her attention to something else. Eriko wasn't particularly interested in what had caught Youko's attention, but she was incredibly fascinated by Youko the person.

Like the way she didn't hide her efforts, or the way she was satisfied with the results after she'd done all she could – these were things that were unimaginable to Eriko, but Youko did them so naturally. Add to that the way she was always cheerful, never troubled.

Eriko realized that the ability to work hard was a talent too. For someone who didn't know what they wanted to do, but desperately wanted to find something where they wouldn't be beaten by anyone, the wide and shallow, unflagging accumulation of labor, and futile concentration of effort could only be thought of as painful.

But even so, Youko had gone out of her way to compliment her. Eriko thought she should be on guard to ensure that, at least in ribbon shape, she was never surpassed by Youko. It wouldn't take any time. All she had to do was tie it like she had up until now.

Squeak.

At the end, when she was satisfied and pulled the ends tight, her mood tensed.

She'd tied her ribbon this morning too.

Today was the final time she'd wear her school uniform.

"Everyone please be upstanding."

At the MC's command, everyone in the auditorium stood up. After the congratulatory address came the singing of a hymn. From the parents seating area, the sound of rustling paper was mixed in with the sounds of people standing up. They'd been given copies of the hymn's lyrics and score when they entered.

Eriko pretended to smooth the pleats of her skirt and snuck a glance at the seats behind her. But the bulk of students already standing formed a barrier between her and the guest's seat she was interested in, so she couldn't tell what the situation was back there.

The sound of the music teacher playing the prelude on the piano rang out.

Had Yamanobe-san arrived?

Somewhere in the auditorium, was he singing along too?