Chapter 16: The Vice President’s declaration

The door to the student council room loomed in front of me like the entrance to a lion's den. I took a deep breath, clutching my freshly prepared notebook against my chest. Today was my first official day as vice president of the student council, and I was determined to prove that I could bring order to this chaotic circus. No, not just prove—I was going to transform this council into the well-oiled machine it should have been all along.

"Alright, Sayori," I whispered to myself. "You've got this. Just go in there, lay down the rules, and let them see who's in charge."

Summoning every ounce of courage I had, I pushed the door open.

The scene inside was… not what I had prepared for.

Riser was sprawled out on the couch—yes, the couch—flipping through what looked like a manga while munching on a bag of chips. Hana sat cross-legged on the floor, stacking what appeared to be a precarious tower of erasers. Several other council members were scattered around, chatting idly or playing card games. The student council room looked less like the nerve center of school leadership and more like an after-school hangout spot.

"Good morning, Madam Vice President!" Riser said, grinning up at me with crumbs on his face. "Welcome to paradise."

I blinked. Twice. "What… is this?"

"This," Riser said, gesturing grandly at the room, "is a stress-free work environment."

Hana snorted from her spot on the floor. "Stress-free, my butt. You just don't want to do actual work."

"Hey," Riser replied, holding up his hands, "productivity comes in many forms."

"No," I snapped, stepping fully into the room and slamming my notebook onto the table. "Productivity comes in one form: actual work. What on earth have you people been doing?"

The room fell silent for a moment as everyone exchanged glances. Then Riser tilted his head thoughtfully. "Well, we planned next week's assembly. Sort of. Hana had a brilliant idea to make it a karaoke contest."

"It's not a brilliant idea," Hana muttered. "You just said that because you wanted to sing."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache forming. "Where are the meeting minutes? The agendas? The—anything remotely resembling work?"

"Oh, we don't really do minutes," one of the members piped up. "Too boring."

"Boring?" My voice rose an octave. "Do you have any idea how important documentation is? How do you track progress? Set goals? Measure—"

"Relax, Sayori," Riser cut in, waving his hand dismissively. "We don't need all that stuffy paperwork. We just get things done in our own way."

"In your own way?" I repeated, incredulous. "You mean this—this chaos?"

"Chaos is subjective," he said with a shrug.

I took a deep breath, reminding myself not to lose my temper. "Alright. Clearly, there's room for improvement. From now on, we're going to implement some structure. First, we'll start by creating a proper meeting schedule—"

"Boooooring," Riser interrupted, drawing out the word as he flopped onto his side dramatically.

"—and assigning specific roles to each member—"

"Even more boring."

"—and we'll hold weekly check-ins to track our progress."

Riser sat up, his expression mock-serious. "Sayori, I respect your ambition, but have you considered the possibility that this might kill our vibe?"

"Your vibe?" I stared at him, wondering how someone so ridiculous could possibly be president. "What even is your vibe? Incompetence?"

"Fun," he corrected with a grin. "Our vibe is fun."

"This is the student council, not a summer camp!" I snapped, my frustration bubbling over. "We're supposed to lead the school, not lounge around eating chips and making eraser towers!"

"Hey, this is a highly advanced eraser tower," Hana said defensively. "You couldn't build this even if you tried."

"I wouldn't try," I shot back. "Because I have actual work to do."

"Alright, alright," Riser said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "You win, Vice Prez. We'll try things your way. For now."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he said, standing up and brushing crumbs off his blazer. "Let's get to work. Lead the way, oh fearless leader."

I didn't trust that grin of his for a second, but I wasn't about to back down. "Fine. Everyone, take a seat. We're starting with a review of our current projects."

The next hour was a test of my patience. Every time I tried to introduce a new system, Riser found a way to derail it with a joke or a ridiculous suggestion. When I proposed creating a shared calendar for deadlines, he suggested adding "snack breaks" as a mandatory event. When I assigned specific roles to each member, he immediately swapped everyone's assignments "for fun."

"Riser," I said through gritted teeth, "this is serious."

"So am I," he replied, spinning his chair around lazily. "You're overthinking it, Sayori. The council is fine the way it is."

"Fine?" I echoed. "Riser, this isn't fine. This is barely functioning!"

"Functioning enough," he said with a shrug.

I groaned, slumping back in my chair. Why did I even bother?

"Hey," Riser said, his tone softening slightly. "Look, I get that you want to make everything perfect, but sometimes, you just gotta roll with the punches. The students don't need a flawless council—they just need to know we're here for them."

I blinked at him, surprised by the sudden sincerity in his voice. For a moment, I almost believed he knew what he was talking about.

Then Hana snorted. "Wow, big bro, that almost sounded profound. Did you read that in one of your manga?"

The room erupted into laughter, and the moment was gone. I sighed, rubbing my temples. This was going to be a long semester.

...…

The Vice President's Awakening

The day wasn't supposed to be this chaotic. I'd come into the student council room with a clear plan: review the new event proposal, assign tasks, and get through the rest of the week without letting Riser drive me up the wall. But, as usual, nothing went according to plan.

Riser was late—again.

I was halfway through assigning roles for the school festival when the door burst open, and in strolled the man of the hour. Or rather, the boy of the hour, because no self-respecting adult would show up ten minutes late to a meeting with an unwrapped popsicle dangling from his mouth.

"Morning, Vice Prez!" he said brightly, strolling in as if he hadn't just disrupted my carefully planned meeting.

"Afternoon," I snapped. "You're late."

"Time is relative," he said with a shrug, plopping down in his usual chair and leaning back so far it creaked ominously. "Besides, I brought snacks!"

He tossed a small packet of candies onto the table. It slid across the surface and stopped directly in front of me. I stared at it, unimpressed.

"This doesn't excuse your tardiness," I said, crossing my arms. "We've already started."

"Perfect timing, then," he said, grinning as he unwrapped the rest of his popsicle. "Catch me up, Vice Prez."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling my patience stretch thinner than the wrapper he'd just dropped on the floor. "Fine. We're discussing the school festival. Specifically, how to organize the student council's booth."

"Easy," Riser said, spinning his chair lazily. "We'll do a haunted house."

"A haunted house?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow. "That's hardly original."

"Exactly," he said. "Classic ideas work for a reason. Plus, we can make it super fun. Imagine the principal in a ghost costume."

"That's…" I paused, unwilling to admit it was actually a decent idea. "We'll consider it. But first, we need to—"

My words were cut off by a loud crash. I turned just in time to see Riser tipping his chair too far back, his arms flailing as he fell over. Before I could move, he grabbed onto the edge of the table for support—only to pull me down with him.

The next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the floor, Riser on top of me, his hands pressed against my chest. My actual chest.

For a moment, there was complete silence. Then his eyes widened, and a deep blush spread across his face.

"Uh… I didn't mean to—" he started.

Slap.

My hand connected with his cheek before he could finish his sentence. "Idiot!" I yelled, shoving him off me. "Watch where you're falling next time!"

The other council members stared at us, half-shocked and half-amused. Hana, of course, was the first to laugh.

"Wow, big bro, you've really done it now," she said, smirking. "Maybe we should call this the 'Riser Molestation Incident.'"

"I didn't mean to!" Riser protested, rubbing his cheek where I'd slapped him. "It was an accident!"

"Accident or not, you're an idiot," I snapped, standing up and brushing myself off. "And for the love of everything, stop spinning your chair!"

Despite the embarrassing incident, the rest of the meeting carried on relatively smoothly. Riser even managed to contribute a few decent ideas—when he wasn't busy doodling ghosts in the margins of his notebook.

By the time the meeting ended, I was ready to call it a day. But as I packed up my things, I couldn't help but notice something unusual.

Riser wasn't leaving.

Instead, he was sitting by the window, talking to a first-year student I didn't recognize. The boy looked nervous, clutching a piece of paper like it was a lifeline. I couldn't hear their conversation, but I watched as Riser leaned forward, his expression uncharacteristically serious.

Whatever he said seemed to work. The boy nodded slowly, a hesitant smile forming on his face. Riser ruffled his hair playfully and sent him on his way.

I frowned, curious despite myself. "What was that about?" I asked as he stood up.

"Just helping out," he said casually. "Kid's struggling with a speech he has to give tomorrow."

"You're helping with speeches now?" I asked skeptically.

"Hey, I'm full of surprises," he said, grinning. "And besides, he looked like he needed someone to talk to."

I opened my mouth to respond, but the words caught in my throat. There was something about the way he said it—so simple, so matter-of-fact—that made me pause. He wasn't bragging or looking for praise. He'd just done it because he could.

"Anyway," he continued, slinging his bag over his shoulder, "I'm starving. Wanna grab something to eat?"

"Why would I—" I started, but he was already out the door.

Later that afternoon, I found myself wandering the halls, lost in thought. Riser's words kept replaying in my mind. He looked like he needed someone to talk to.

It wasn't the first time I'd seen him helping someone, but for some reason, it stuck with me more than usual. Maybe it was the way the boy had walked away smiling, or the fact that Riser hadn't made a big deal out of it. He just… did it.

"Why does he have to be so frustrating?" I muttered under my breath.

"Talking to yourself now?" a voice said behind me.

I jumped, turning to see Hana smirking at me. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," she said, shrugging. "Just enjoying the show. You've been pacing back and forth like a crazy person."

"I'm thinking," I snapped.

"About my brother?" she asked, her smirk widening.

"Of course not!" I said, a little too quickly.

"Sure, sure," Hana said, waving me off. "Just don't fall for him too hard, Vice Prez. He's got that whole 'irresistible charm' thing going on, y'know?"

I rolled my eyes, refusing to dignify her comment with a response. But as I walked away, I couldn't shake the feeling that she might not be entirely wrong.

The next day, I arrived at the student council room early, determined to get some work done before the chaos started. To my surprise, Riser was already there, setting up chairs for the day's meeting.

"Morning," he said, flashing me a smile.

"Morning," I replied cautiously. "You're here early."

"Figured I'd get a head start," he said, straightening one of the chairs. "Don't want you yelling at me again."

I crossed my arms, trying to hide my surprise. "Well, it's about time you started taking this seriously."

"Don't get used to it," he said, winking. "I'm only doing this because I know it'll make you happy."

For some reason, his words made my face heat up. I turned away, pretending to adjust something on the desk. "Idiot," I muttered under my breath.

As I watched him work, I found myself noticing things I hadn't before. The way he moved with an easy confidence, the way he greeted each council member by name as they walked in, the way he made everyone feel at ease. It was infuriating—and yet, I couldn't help but admire it.

Maybe Hana was right. Maybe I was starting to fall for him. But if I was, I wasn't about to let him know.

...…..

Riser's POV

The Vice President's Awakening

I fell for her pretty hard.

I think I knew it, too—probably way before I was ready to admit it. And, honestly, I was not ready to admit it. Feelings like that weren't exactly in my skill set. I mean, come on, I'm the carefree guy! The fun guy! The guy who's supposed to float through life without a single serious thought weighing me down. But there it was, creeping up on me like a pop quiz I forgot to study for.

And the worst part? I couldn't stop thinking about her.

Every time I saw her, it hit me all over again. Her long pink hair swaying behind her like some kind of anime protagonist, her pale blue eyes sharp enough to cut through steel, and, of course, her tsundere energy.

She'd scold me with that "You're an idiot, Nafutori" tone of hers, then follow it up with a cute little huff that made me want to tease her even more. And don't get me started on that time I accidentally—accidentally—grabbed her chest.

I tried to play it cool at the time. Really, I did. But let's be real: that memory wasn't going anywhere.

The day started like any other—me lounging in the courtyard, soaking up the sun while half-listening to Hana complain about Sayori.

"She's such a pain," Hana grumbled, kicking a pebble across the path. "Always acting like she knows better than you. And those speeches? Ugh, so boring!"

"Hmm," I said, staring up at the sky.

Hana stopped mid-rant and glared at me. "You're not even listening, are you?"

"Of course I am," I said, sitting up with a grin. "You're saying she's boring and a pain. Got it."

Hana rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

"Maybe," I said, leaning back on my elbows. "But you're still here, aren't you?"

She muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Only because you're my brother."

After that, I decided to swing by the student council room. No particular reason—just wanted to see what everyone was up to. And by "everyone," I obviously meant Sayori.

She was there, as usual, buried in paperwork. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, a few stray strands falling into her face.

"Busy, Vice Prez?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe.

She looked up, startled, then quickly masked her surprise with a scowl. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Not really," I said, strolling in and plopping down on one of the couches.

She sighed, clearly exasperated, but I caught the faintest hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

Throughout the day, I kept running into her. Not on purpose, obviously. It was just… coincidence. Totally.

First, I "coincidentally" ended up behind her in line at the cafeteria. She was debating between two types of sandwiches, her nose scrunched up in concentration.

"Go for the tuna," I said, leaning over her shoulder.

She jumped, nearly dropping both sandwiches. "Do you have to sneak up on people like that?"

"Part of my charm," I said with a wink.

She rolled her eyes but grabbed the tuna sandwich anyway.

Later, I saw her in the library, struggling to carry a stack of books taller than she was.

"Need a hand?" I asked, appearing at her side like a helpful ghost.

"No," she said stubbornly, wobbling under the weight of the books.

"Okay, but if you fall over, I'm not responsible," I said, stepping back to watch the show.

Sure enough, three steps later, the inevitable happened. The books went flying, and she landed in an ungraceful heap on the floor.

"Don't say it," she warned, glaring up at me.

"Say what?" I asked innocently.

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I hate you."

"Love you too, Vice Prez," I said, crouching down to help her pick up the books.

By the time evening rolled around, I was still thinking about her. About the way her face lit up when she was explaining something she was passionate about. About the way she'd tilt her head slightly when she was deep in thought. About the way her eyes sparkled when she smiled—not that she smiled at me very often, but I'd seen it enough to know it was a rare and beautiful thing.

I couldn't tell her any of this, of course. She'd probably laugh in my face—or worse, slap me again. And besides, what would a girl like her want with someone like me?

She didn't even know the truth about me. About my family. About the money. I didn't want her to know. I didn't want anyone to know. The last thing I needed was for her to start seeing me differently because of something as stupid as money.

"Talking to yourself now?"

I jumped, spinning around to see one of the janitors standing a few feet away. I hadn't even realized I'd spoken out loud.

"Uh, no," I said quickly. "Just… thinking."

"Right," the janitor said, giving me a knowing look. "Well, whatever it is you're thinking about, it seems pretty important. Good luck with it, kid."

"Thanks," I said, waving him off.

As he walked away, I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"I really do care for Sayori Dolorez," I muttered under my breath.

Unbeknownst to me, the janitor paused just around the corner, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.