One by one, all the students finished their swimming tests. Finally, it was the turn of the female students to swim according to their roll numbers. Just like before, the male students didn't miss the opportunity to watch and evaluate the skills—and appearances—of their female classmates.
Right after all the students completed the 50-meter freestyle swim, Machio blew his whistle to get everyone's attention.
"Great job, everyone! For the rest of the class, you're free to use the pool. But remember, follow the safety rules! No pushing or dunking your friends!" He exclaimed enthusiastically.
"HORAYYYY!!!"
"Thank you, Machio-sensei!"
Cheers of joy immediately erupted from the students, who quickly spread out to various areas of the pool. Some immediately jumped into the pool, creating splashes of water in all directions. Others chose to sit by the edge of the pool, chatting with their friends.
On one side of the pool, Hayasaka Ai—a transfer student from Shuchi'in Academy—was surrounded by several female students from class 2-B. With her blonde hair tied to the side and her friendly demeanor, she seemed very familiar with her new friends despite having only transferred to Ohananomitsu High School a few days ago.
"Hayasaka-san, you really have such great skin! What's your secret?" One of the girls praised.
"Ah, there's no secret. I just use sunscreen regularly, seriously! You can do it too!" Hayasaka replied with a thick gyaru accent.
"But Shuchi'in Academy is an elite school. The beauty treatments must be expensive." Another female student chimed in.
"That depends on the individual!" Hayasaka waved her hand while laughing. "Not everything has to be expensive to be good. I'll tell you some great brands later!"
The girls seemed even more fascinated by Hayasaka's friendliness and humble attitude.
Not far from them, Miura Yumiko—who had long been known as the "Queen" of class 2-B—stood with a sour expression. Beside her were only Yuigahama Yui and Ebina Hina.
"Tsk, how annoying. What do they see in that girl? Just because she's from an elite school?" Yumiko clicked her tongue, blaming Hayasaka for the exclusion she was experiencing from her classmates.
"Yumiko..."
Yuigahama tried to calm her down, but honestly, she knew the reason for the rapid change in social dynamics. In just a few days, Yumiko's position as the center of attention and the top of the hierarchy among the girls of class 2-B had been shaken. However, considering Yumiko's short-sighted character, she chose not to say anything.
"Don't worry. It's just the 'new student' effect. They'll come back soon." Ebina patted Yumiko's shoulder.
"I hope so."
But Yumiko couldn't hide the hatred in her eyes as she watched Hayasaka laugh freely with the girls who used to follow her like ducklings.
On the other side of the pool, Masachika sat alone by the edge of the pool, his feet slowly swinging to touch the surface of the water. His eyes observed the social drama unfolding among the female students.
"Conflicts among women are terrifying. There's no physical fight, but the psychological battle is much more brutal." He muttered to himself.
"By the way, why hasn't Ren returned yet? It's been almost fifteen minutes since he excused himself to the restroom. Does he have a stomach ache? I wanted to challenge him to a swimming competition."
*BLUP-BLUP-BLUP!*
Right at that moment, ripples appeared near his feet. A moment later, a head with silver hair emerged from the water. Alya took a deep breath, then with a graceful movement, lifted herself out of the water and sat next to Masachika.
Water dripped from her slender body. Her soaked school swimsuit clung to her body, accentuating every curve and contour clearly.
"Gulp..."
As a normal teenager going through puberty, Masachika couldn't take his eyes off the sight before him—especially when he could clearly see the two protrusions on Alya's chest indicating that her nipples had hardened from the cold.
With the instinct of a woman who noticed a lecherous gaze, Alya immediately crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her eyes glared sharply at Masachika.
"What are you looking at, Kuze-kun? You pervert!"
"Ahem, it was an accident." Masachika cleared his throat, trying to defend himself. His face turned red from being caught in the act.
Seeing his flustered reaction, the corner of Alya's lips twitched slightly, forming a faint smile that was almost invisible.
"Ty takoy truslivyy malchik. Khotya ya ne vozrazhala by, yesli by eto byl ty. (You're such a coward. Though I wouldn't mind if it were you)." She said in Russian.
"..."
Alya didn't realize that Masachika, who had studied Russian in his childhood through movies and self-study, actually understood Russian quite well.
'Her thoughts and words are completely opposite. Is this what they call a tsundere?' Masachika complained in his heart.
Of course, he kept his Russian language ability a secret. If Alya ever found out that all her feelings expressed in Russian could be understood by him, she would be extremely embarrassed.
"By the way, Kuze-kun, have you seen Masha?" Alya looked around, trying to change the subject.
"Maria-san? No, I haven't seen her since earlier. Maybe she went to the restroom?" Masachika shook his head.
Alya frowned. "Weird. It's not like her to disappear for so long."
Meanwhile, behind a wall not far from the pool, a pair of young people were lost in their own world. Hidden from public view, but still at risk of being discovered at any moment, Ren and Masha stood facing each other, breathing heavily.
Masha's back was pressed against the cold wall of the storage building. Her wet brown hair was disheveled, some strands sticking to her flushed cheeks. In front of her, Ren stood with one hand on the wall, while the other explored places he shouldn't be touching on a girl.
"Ren-kun... we shouldn't... What if someone sees?" Masha whispered in a restrained voice, her eyes alternating between looking at him and scanning the surroundings worriedly.
Ren didn't answer with words. His lips greedily found Masha's, silencing the girl's worries in a deep and demanding kiss.
"No one will come here. And if you can keep your voice down, no one will suspect anything." He whispered after releasing the kiss, his lips now moving to her neck.
His fingers skillfully slipped under her swimsuit, touching sensitive areas that made the girl bite her lip hard to suppress her moans.
Masha's body trembled slightly, caught between the coldness of the wall and the heat of Ren's body pressing against her.
"But... Alya-chan must be looking for me..." Masha tried to weakly protest, though her body instinctively responded to every touch from Ren.
"Five minutes. I've been waiting for this chance since I saw you in that swimsuit."
Masha finally gave in to the sensations overwhelming her body. Her hands, which were initially hesitant, now actively circled his neck.
As the man's hips moved more intensely, Masha had to bite his shoulder to muffle her voice.
Unbeknownst to them, the time for the physical education class was running out, and someone was indeed looking for them.