(There were two things haru should never be trusted with:
1. Anything flammable or sharp or hot or cold or... well just don't give Haru things
2. Matters of the heart.)
(The clubroom smelled like cheap incense and the disappointment of cold noodles.)
(Haru, ever the self-proclaimed prophet of romance, sat cross-legged in front of a teacup he'd flipped upside down.)
"I've consulted the signs," he declared. "Romance will strike today."
"Your cup is upside down," Momo said flatly.
"It's symbolic."
"Of being wrong?"
"No," Haru replied, dead serious. "Of seeing love from another angle."
(Takumi, who had absolutely zero faith in Haru's "visions," slurped his noodles with the exhaustion of someone who had emotionally checked out five meetings ago.)
"You predicted romance last week and ended up shipping the lunch lady with the vice principal."
"They were both at the vending machine!" Haru snapped. "Fate doesn't wait!"
"They were arguing about expired juice."
(Rina, as usual, sat cross-legged in front of her cactus, eyes closed. She opened one dramatically.)
"I sense… emotional vibrations."
"You say that every time," Momo groaned.
"This time they're… juicy."
(Haru shut his eyes like a monk.)
"There is a girl. She will confess her love today... behind the old storage building."
"That's weirdly specific."
"The tea has spoken."
(Momo checked her watch.)
"You have one hour to be right."
(The Fake Psychic Club, in all its chaotic glory, crouched behind a bush. Why? Because dignity was for clubs with funding.)
(It was lunch break. The sun was shining. Love was supposedly in the air.)
Takumi sneezed. "I think I'm allergic to pollen. And stupidity."
"No one made you come," Momo muttered.
"I had nothing better to do... well maybe sleep would not have been to bad."
(Silence.)
(Footsteps.)
(A girl from Class 3-C appeared, clutching a letter like it was a live grenade.)
(Everyone froze.)
"Holy crap," Takumi whispered. "He might be right this time."
"Shh!"
(The girl stepped forward, visibly trembling, as a boy turned the corner.)
"Yamamoto…" she breathed.
"Oh god," Momo whispered. "If this actually happens, I'll let him predict my entire week."
(Yamamoto stopped in front of her.)
"Yes?" he asked gently.
"I… I really like you!" she blurted out.
(Silence.)
(The group held their collective breath.)
"...That's very kind," Yamamoto said. "But I actually came here to confess to your twin brother."
(Takumi stared at Haru.)
"He was technically right."
(Haru beamed like he had summoned Cupid himself.)
"Love did strike."
(Rina wiped an invisible tear.)
"I sensed the rejection. So powerful. So raw."
(The girl fled. Yamamoto looked like someone had handed him two versions of reality. Both unpleasant.)
"Well," Momo sighed. "I hope the stars told you how to explain that at the student council meeting."
Chapter 2 End