“What…….”

Startled, I turned around and saw Alex.

The president of the ‘Occult Club’ with a pale face devoid of color, black hair with purple streaks, thick eyeliner, and mauve lipstick completing the look.

Alex was a common extra in high school stories, a girl who loved the occult, rock, and punk, firmly believing that the sudden ‘awakening’ in this world was related to spiritual matters.

She had even pestered me for days, claiming my reason for becoming an awakened was also spiritual.

‘I thought she had been quiet for a few weeks.’

I stepped back half a step upon seeing Alex’s ghostly made-up face. Alex grinned.

“Long time no see, Juno. So, I hear you’re looking for a girl to go to the football game with?”

“Oh, hi. It’s been a while. Yeah, as you said, I’m looking for a friend to go with…… By the way, how did you know I was going to the football game?”

“The Ouija board told me.”

Alex replied with a smile.

The Ouija board is like an American version of a spiritual communication board.

I shook my head with a bitter smile.

“No way. You’re lying through your teeth……. You overheard the queen bees talking on the field, didn’t you?”

Busted.

“Still haven’t given up? I mean your research on the correlation between awakening and spiritual phenomena.”

Alex had been pestering me to do interviews or help with some basic research. Of course, I didn’t agree to any of it. Why would I?

Alex pouted her purple lips.

“I’m glad you remember even the title of my paper. But why won’t you agree to interviews and experiments, Juno? I’ve even drafted the outline. You’re our perfect research subject…….”

“That’s because my ability has nothing to do with spiritual stuff.”

“We won’t know unless we research it.”

“You’re so stubborn. If only you’d awaken too, then we could talk…….”

And why would I readily agree to your research when I don’t know what you might do to me.

Still, she seemed like a good kid at heart, so I decided to send Alex away with a smile. Just then, Alex brightened as if discovering something.

“Speaking of that, there’s one experiment we’re working on now. Jin, over here!”

“Jin?”

Alex waved happily at someone over my shoulder.

When I turned around, a short, chubby Asian boy with black hair wearing a blue checkered shirt was walking towards us.

“Ah, so you’re Juno. I’ve heard a lot about you from Alex. I’m Jin, an 11th grader.”

I blinked for a moment at his unique way of speaking.

“Hello, Jin.”

Jin wiped the sweat on his forehead with a yellow handkerchief, then pulled out a purple one from his back pocket to wipe his hands before offering me a handshake. Then he grinned.

I inwardly marveled at the sight.

‘Wow, a typical science nerd and otaku character.’

A common character in high school stories, usually someone who loves math or science and has a vivid imagination. Sometimes they play a supporting role, inspiring the protagonists with their quirky ideas.

Especially when trying to look stylish, they’d probably wear a collared t-shirt and a fedora instead of their usual checkered shirt.

“I didn’t know you two were friends, Alex and Jin.”

“We met a few weeks ago. We have a mutual acquaintance. Now Jin is in charge of our club’s research.”

“Oh…… What kind of research is that?”

I asked, suppressing a growing sense of unease.

“Research on becoming an awakened, of course!”

The two exclaimed enthusiastically as they pulled something out of their bags.

It was a murky, dark liquid in a glass bottle.

“W-What on earth is that?”

When I asked in shock, the two chuckled.

“This, you see, is a concoction we made by combining the essential elements for awakened that are circulating on the internet. We’ve formulated various hypotheses. Why and how did people suddenly become awakened? Is it because they exercise a lot? Eat too much sugar? Or because they’re smart? Is it genetic? Due to hormones? After much deliberation, we decided to tap into collective intelligence. We asked people on occult sites to write down the characteristics of awakened they’ve observed around them.”

“And then……?”

“We put all the elements of awakened mentioned in the comments into one place! Sugar lump cereal that some awakened supposedly eat daily, Gatorade, glazed donuts 7 days past expiration, Hawaiian pizza, lemons, unsalted butter used in low-carb high-fat diets, mouse urine, durian, leftover marshmallows from making s’mores at campfires…….”

“Please stop. Stop it.”

I clutched my head in distress.

Those site users were just trolling you with those comments, you fools.

“I’d rather be bitten by a radioactive spider!”

“We tried to find one of those too, but they’re not easy to come by.”

“Of course not!”

I exclaimed in shock.

I couldn’t just stand by and listen anymore. I had to atone for my mistake of thinking Jin was a science otaku. He wasn’t a science otaku, but a fool obsessed with superstitions.

“H-Hey? Juno! What are you doing!”

I immediately snatched the bottle containing the unidentified murky liquid. Jin and Alex, who had helplessly lost the bottle, looked at me with shocked faces.

Until now, I had tried not to care about what Alex was doing in the occult club, but this was something that had to be stopped if one had even the slightest concern for fellow students, or if one wanted to prevent suspicious poisoning incidents or mass food poisoning at school.

I spoke gravely to the two who were alternating between looking at me and the bottle, stomping their feet.

“Alex, Jin. I’ll tell you a very special top-secret for your sake.”

“A top-secret?”

The two’s expressions changed. I took a deep breath and said bluntly.

“If you drink this, your livers will quickly rot, or you’ll get stomach cramps, or you’ll immediately get food poisoning.”

“What?! Is that true?”

“Yes. Because there’s a very spiritual and terrifying power in this bottle. I can feel it.”

The two gasped.

“Trust me. I’m an A-class awakened, so I can sense invisible things. I feel a very mystical energy from this juice. If you drink this, something big will happen.”

As I shook the bottle while speaking, the two’s faces turned pale.

“It might be fine for an awakened like me, but if non-awakened like you drink this, your body’s energy will weaken and you’ll never be able to become awakened. So it’s better to pour this down the drain.”

I said, dramatically raising both arms in an exaggerated manner. The two swallowed hard with completely entranced faces.

“Then what should we do? To become awakened without drinking that juice, I mean. We put so much effort into making it.”

I pretended to ponder as I turned away.

“Well, to gain power you don’t originally have requires long research. There’s a saying that with great power comes great responsibility, so it’ll take quite some time. But don’t worry. If you promise to throw away this juice, I’ll agree to a couple of interviews for your awakened research.”

Glancing slyly at the two, I saw Jin and Alex nod, completely swayed. It was fortunate that such a crappy act worked.

‘Still, it’s better than watching a classmate drink some strange liquid and perish before my eyes.’

Today, I practically saved these two’s lives.

After pouring all the liquid down the drain, I lectured the crestfallen kids.

“From now on, get my permission before making and trying to drink things like this. Since I’m an awakened, my word is law and doctrine. Everything on the internet is nonsense. So just listen to me. Understand? Promise me you’ll report everything to me and get permission before doing anything dangerous.”

“Y-Yeah. Got it.”

“I’ll do the interview when I have time. Contact me on Outstagram.”

“Okay.”

The kids who had been dejected at losing their carefully made juice quickly returned to their usual selves at the mention of an interview.

I let out a long sigh as I watched them.

* * *

After the incident with the unidentified juice poured down the drain, I trudged back to the classroom.

I didn’t even bring up the football game to those two. Going with them would only open up a path of unwanted occult talk.

So when asked who I went with on Friday’s game…….

“I didn’t expect you to approach me first, Juno.”

Arriving in front of the stadium, I glanced at the darkening sky and then shifted my gaze.

It was Michelle from the school newspaper club.

Michelle chuckled, holding the Canon camera she said her father had passed down to her.

“I was just looking into ticket prices for our school’s football game, so I’m glad you gave me a free ticket. The school does provide support, but dealing with receipts is a hassle and complicated, so I was wondering what to do.”

“I’m glad you like it. But being in the newspaper club, do you follow all the sports department’s games?”

To my question, Michelle answered as if I was asking the obvious.

“I might not for other games, but I have to follow all the games where ‘that’ Victor McQueen is playing. He’s the lifeline that keeps our newspaper club alive.”

“Huh? Victor?”

I stopped on my way to the drink stand outside the stadium and turned to Michelle. She tied her curly black hair tightly and said resolutely.

“To make people read the school newspaper, scandals are essential. Even we usually publish normal articles but put scandals on the very last page. That determines the sales volume. So who do you think is our school newspaper club’s regular customer?”

I looked at her sparkling eyes and reluctantly answered.

“Um…… McQueen?”

“That’s right! Even if it’s not a scandal, articles with McQueen’s photos help. Quite a few girls cut out his pictures to keep. The fate of the newspaper club depends on him!”

“I doubt it’s that serious.”

Michelle chided me for not understanding.

I scratched my forehead and asked.

“Then what about Adrian? Wouldn’t publishing Adrian’s photos help sales too?”

Michelle grinned slyly and asked.

“Aha, is Adrian more your type?”