Why is that bastard acting like that again?
That was the first thought that came to Henry’s mind.
It was obvious he wouldn’t feel good if it hit him, so why was he deliberately egging him on to do it? Henry frowned, unable to understand.
He was about to answer that he didn’t want to, when laughter suddenly burst out from beside him. It was Aiden.
“Hey, Henry. Just go hit the target for him.”
“Why should I?”
A sullen voice came out involuntarily.
He had tried to mess with him before, but that time had long passed. Now he didn’t even want to associate with that bastard.
Create a debt over Hazel’s matter, and just remain that kind of relationship until graduation.
That was the plan Henry had made.
Dropping Declan into the water was far, very far from such a goal.
He wasn’t an idiot. Why would he do something he didn’t need to do and create trouble? That bastard had told him to throw it first, but who knew what would happen if he actually hit it.
For these reasons, Henry didn’t want to step forward.
However, Henry’s grand plan had become nothing but bubbles from the moment Aiden stepped in.
Because everyone around knew that Aiden had been standing with Henry’s group for quite a while.
When even Aiden started egging him on, public opinion began to form telling Henry to throw once.
Everyone had interested faces. Due to the anticipation that Henry Lowell might drop Declan Russell into the water tank.
“That guy doesn’t care about anything right now, so he’s doing that because he wants to escape from the crowd, right?”
“…What does that have to do with me?”
“You don’t know when those black-hearted bastards will actually try to hit the target properly, and if he calls a completely different kid to solve it, that kid might fail, right? That’s why he specifically called you. There’s no way the football club’s quarterback can’t properly throw a sponge ball like that.”
Aiden explained the situation to Henry in a small voice.
Henry could understand the reasoning in his own way. Of course, understanding didn’t mean he wanted to do it.
“Then you do it.”
Henry said to Aiden, still showing he didn’t want to do it, but…
“Can’t. I have to go buy chicken. I’m counting on you for that guy, Henry.”
Having finished speaking unilaterally, Aiden disappeared as if running away, dragging Joseph along.
When Henry, who had frozen for a moment in bewilderment, lifted his foot to catch up with him…
“Oh! Who do we have here! Henry Lowell from the football club! Will you be doing it?”
The emcee running the booth didn’t miss the opportunity to draw even more people’s attention. Henry, whose name had been called out loudly, had no choice but to be caught.
The expectant eyes of people directed at him. Declan staring at him intently.
Aiden’s words didn’t seem to be lies. Declan Russell had been wearing a fed-up face the entire time, from the moment Henry first discovered this booth until now.
After contemplating, Henry finally gave his answer.
“…Yes.”
That he would do it.
“One dollar for 1 throw, two dollars for 3!”
“One throw is fine.”
Henry answered the emcee with a relaxed smile as usual.
“Oh, as expected, the football club’s quarterback is different! Is that it?”
He threw out a playful joke as he led Henry through the layers of people standing around to the very front.
“That wasn’t my intention, but I won’t miss.”
At Henry’s words, cheers erupted from all around.
If an unknown person had said it, it would have been dismissed as bravado, but it was a reaction that came because the one who said it was Henry Lowell.
Leaving behind the reactions pouring toward him, Henry received the ball the emcee handed over.
Beyond the low fence, the target next to the tank was at a distance where he could hit it even if he threw it roughly with one hand.
About waist height for Henry. A circular target plate protruded out, and behind it was the structure connected to the chair seat where Declan was sitting.
As soon as Henry received the ball from the emcee, he threw the ball straight away without any delay.
The ball flew with speed and force that was hard to believe it was made of sponge.
Bang—!
The ball hit the metal plate serving as the target precisely and fell to the ground.
Everyone was engulfed in silence for a moment at the unbelievable loud noise when there should have been no sound at all.
With a creaking sound, the seat tilted.
Splash!
Declan fell into the water.
Only after water splashed up to the surface did cheers and laughter burst out among the spectators.
Even while thinking he shouldn’t feel this way, honestly, Henry’s mood wasn’t that bad. Even though his plan for the remaining year and a half had gone awry.
Columbus’s group’s expressions rotted, and didn’t he make Declan drink water?
It felt refreshing. Henry’s lips twitched, unable to completely suppress a bright smile.
Declan, who had found his balance in the water, came up out of the water. It wasn’t a small-sized water tank, but perhaps because he was so big, the water only came up to about his waist.
Though they had even put on a life jacket in case of an accident, it wasn’t a water depth where the life jacket seemed like it would serve its role.
Water dripped down from Declan’s soaking wet hair. His faded blond hair looked even darker.
He roughly swept back the hair that had collapsed along his head shape with one hand as he came out of the water.
Because what Declan was wearing happened to be a thick hoodie, water poured down from the clothes like a waterfall. Coming down from the low stage, he clicked his tongue and turned to a side where there were no people and took off the hoodie.
Like wringing out a rag, when he grabbed both ends of the hoodie and twisted it, it spat out a whole lot of the water the clothes had absorbed.
Seeing him put the soaking wet clothes back on, Henry asked cautiously.
“Um… hey. Are you okay?”
What answered Henry’s question was not Declan, but the emcee.
“Now then! According to the rules! Will you designate the next person to sit on the chair?”
To continue the atmosphere, he asked Declan in a very bright voice while holding out the microphone. Then Declan’s gaze, soaking wet, turned toward Henry.
Henry recalled Aiden, who had disappeared dragging Joseph along as if running away just moments ago.
Ah, fuck. No way.
“Henry Lowell.”
The ominous feeling didn’t miss. Aiden didn’t just look like he was running away—he actually was running away!
To avoid the sparks that would fly at him, predicting this would happen.
“Hey!”
“Is this internal division within the football club?”
The emcee, who had been looking back and forth between the two, burst into loud laughter and asked.
“Lowell. Will you come up? Of course, you can refuse if you don’t want to.”
At his question, Henry hesitated briefly.
With so many people here, there was no way Henry, who had hungered for people’s attention from birth, could refuse this.
“Afraid of water?”
…Declan’s words sounded like a provocation to Henry.
Henry went up onto the stage beyond the fence without hesitation. Cheers poured toward such a Henry.
He received and put on the life jacket the emcee gave him, and sat on the chair that was utterly precarious.
“Now then, who will… Oh!”
As Henry thought, Declan stepped forward without hesitation. The emcee looked at him with joy and asked about the number.
“How many?”
“One.”
Declan handed over bills, and the emcee who received the money handed over the ball.
Like Henry moments ago, Declan also threw it straight away as soon as he received the ball.
The sponge ball that children mainly played with hit the target with a thunk! sound.
At the same time as Henry, who knew what would happen, tightly closed his eyes and held his breath—
Creak, splash—!
The seat flipped over just like that and he fell into the tank filled with water.
This time too, a huge cheer burst out. The sound was so loud that he could hear it even underwater.
Henry, who came out of the water cursing under his breath, was just as soaking wet as Declan. Henry moved his head left and right to shake off water, and slightly rolled up his shirt to wring out water.
In a thoroughly rough voice, Henry asked the emcee.
“The person who was the target can designate the next person, right?”
“What? Yes…”
The emcee answered in a slightly flustered voice.
“Is it also okay to designate someone who’s not here? I’ll go catch them.”
“Who, who are you going to do?”
The emcee asked, gulping. His face read “surely not me.”
“The guy who told me to throw the ball. Aiden Smith.”
Only then did a smile spread on the emcee’s face, which had been extremely tense. From the side came the sound of Declan snickering.
“Yes! Of course it’s fine. Bring him anytime. I’ll keep the seat open!”
Leaving behind the extremely excited emcee, Henry came down from the stage.
Henry, who recalled the location of the place Joseph had mentioned, immediately turned to look for him.
“You’re going to go like that?”
He would have gone, if only Declan hadn’t called out to him from behind.
At Declan’s words, Henry unconsciously lowered his head to check his own sorry state. Unlike Declan, because he was only wearing a thin t-shirt, his body was showing through.
Ah…
“Go change first. You’ll catch a cold. I’ll help you catch Aiden.”
To someone who didn’t know better, it would have seemed like an utterly kind thing to say.
