“I need you guys to help me,” asked Demund with his hands in a praying position. “I really want to make this happen.”

They were currently eating lunch behind the school. Demund had bought sandwiches for them and had invited them to join him where nobody else would hear them. There were about 20 minutes left until the next class, so Demund had to be hasty about it.

“Make what happen exactly?” questioned Riley. It was rare for Demund to buy them food or invite them out to somewhere. He had a bad hunch about this.

“I want to confess to Enariss,” Demund said bluntly.

“You what?” said Rhyne. “You—no, I understand. We saw it coming from a mile away.”

“You did? But I never told you!”

“Demund, you were very obvious about it,” said Riley. “Ever since Christmas, you have been gawking at her a lot during our study time. And you become sullen when you don’t get to sit next to her. You’re always trying to ask her questions. How do you explain that?”

“Well…she is the smartest out of us so…”

“Excuses. If you’re going to confess, just admit it.”

Demund sighed and put up his arms. “Okay, I admit it. I think I like her. Ever since New Year’s.”

“And you waited this long to tell us?”

“Well…I wasn’t sure, okay? I’ve never had a crush before. It just felt weird. Like I always wanted to be with her, but at the same time I felt nervous—”

“Yep, we got it.”

Rhyne sighed and shook his head. “You were right, Riley. You were right all this time.”

“What do you mean?”

Riley waved his hand in the air. “It’s nothing. Anyway, when and how are you going to confess? And how are we coming into this?”

“Alright.” Demund rubbed his hands together. “So, you realize the school festival is coming up soon, right? The one right before Spring Break.”

The festival’s official name changed annually. Every year, all of the seniors in the school would plan for it after school started. They would decide the events and games that would occur during homeroom and work on the props and other performances outside of school. Then finally, on the Friday before Spring Break, everyone could come and enjoy the fun that the seniors set up. The whole campus would be involved, and anyone who wanted to participate could and enjoy the event. Though outsiders had to pay a fee to enter.

“Demund, don’t tell me…”

“Yes. I’m going to confess to her at the festival.”

Riley and Rhyne both slapped their foreheads. But it wasn’t because Demund had said something unreasonable.

Confessions were common during the festival. In fact, there was even a legend about how if one confessed during the festival, their love would be requited, and the couple would at least last two years. School statistics by the News Club showed that over 65% of confessions made were accepted.

No, the event wasn’t the source of the problem.

The problem was Enariss herself. She had made it clear a couple of times that she wouldn’t be able to attend the festival. ‘I’d love to go, but I have things to do on that day’, she had said.

“You do realize that she can’t go,” stated Rhyne.

“I know. That’s why I’m going to confess after the festival.”

Riley raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean, after?”

Demund smiled. “Remember the other day we went to Enariss’s house to study?”

“Yeah?”

“I asked her dad why she would be absent on that day. It seems like they were going to go to an orphanage to commemorate something. He wasn’t clear about it, but it sounded important.”

“Okay? Go on.”

“Mr. Zarke said that they’d come back home by dinner. Which means she has all the time in the world after dinner.”

“After dinner? You can’t be serious.”

“I am. Remember how Enariss and I always run at night? We’ll do the same on that day, but instead of running, I’ll invite her to bike to the school. Then I’ll confess there.”

“What’s the point of confessing on that day then,” argued Rhyne. “They’ll have removed all of the equipment used for the festival.”

“It’s the idea that counts. And that’s where you guys come in.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Well, you don’t need to help. But it’ll be awfully great if you did.”

“Tell us the plan,” said Riley.

“Alright.” Demund took a deep breath. “You will help me set up some simple props and prepare the confession.”

“What do you mean, props?”

“I’m planning to decorate the tree that’s at the school with some lights. So when we arrive, the lights of the tree will go off and tah-dah! The perfect mood for a confession.”

“The Seniors won’t allow that. It might interfere with their stuff.”

“That’s why I’ll ask for permission. There’s lots of time left. I’m just telling you my ideas.”

“Okay. And then?”

“So, you’ll help me set up the lights and maybe help persuade the Senior class with me. It won’t be that difficult."

At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Demund threw his trash into a nearby can and picked up his bag.

“I’ll tell you more about it on a group chat,” said Demund. “You guys interested?”

“I don’t mind,” said Riley. “It’s not that difficult, right?”

“No, not really.”

“I’m in too,” said Rhyne. “This looks like it’ll be fun.”

Demund gratefully tapped his friends on the shoulder.

“Thanks, guys. I hope this goes well.”

Riley scratched his head.

“We’re screwed either way.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Let’s get to class.”

〄 〄 〄

D: [Guys, I thought about it again, and I don’t think it’s going to work.]

Ri: [Dude. What.]

Rh: [You’re just going to give up?]

D: [Don’t you think it’ll become too big if we involve the senior class? I don’t want to inconvenience them.]

Ri: [Then what are you going to do?]

D: [I don’t know. Maybe set up some portable lights and tape it on to the tree.]

Rh: [Sounds great. Just do it.]

D: [But I want to make it more special.]

Ri: [My brother is in the senior class. Want me to ask him?]

D: [You can? Please do.]

*Time ticked by*

Ri: [Since the festival starts from the morning, they’ll be packed and gone by dinner. You’ll probably be free to go to the school during the night.]

D: [How about the garden?]

*Time ticked by again*

Ri: [They aren’t allowed to use it. My bro says it’s because the principal doesn’t want it to get damaged.]

D: [Oh.]

Rh: [Can’t you ask him for permission?]

D: [Hmm. I can try. Maybe come up with a nice excuse.]

Ri: [Good luck with that.]

〄 〄 〄

Demund nervously stood in front of the Student Council Office. After deciding that he couldn’t walk up to the Principal himself, he turned to asking the students who ran the school. He could see the President inside; the back of his black hair was visible through the glass on the door. He also spotted the elegant Vice-President to the corner of the room making some kind of tea.

He took a deep breath and knocked.

“Hello? Who is it?” said the Vice-President.

“I’m Demund, a Freshman. I’ve come to ask about something.”

“…come in.”

Demund pushed opened the door to the room and entered. It was warm inside. The President had gotten up and turned around to face Demund. He adjusted up his glasses and moved some papers to the side.

“Welcome to the Student Council. Come sit over here,” he offered.

Demund walked to the spot that the President pointed out and sat down on the sofa. The President sat across from him and put his hands together.

“So, what is your question?”

The Vice-President set some tea for Demund, which he gladly sipped. After clearing his throat, he finally spoke up.

“I’m here to ask about some love advice. Or rather, how to confess.”

“Hoh?” The president slid his glasses up once more. “This seems like a serious matter. Kary, would you mind leaving the room for a sec? This is a serious matter between males.”

The Vice-President smiled and smacked the President on the head with a rolled-up piece of paper. “Just get on with it, President. What’s the harm in me hearing?”

“We-well, since it’s about love, I thought that—”

He received another smack on the head and shut up. The Vice-President went ahead and sat next to the President. Demund raised his eyebrows. Was it his imagination or was the President blushing? He seemed to be slightly smiling even. He looked back at the Vice-President.

She was blushing too? What was wrong with this place?

“So, what’s your question?” asked the Vice-President.

Demund regained his senses.

“I’ll get straight to the point. I want to confess to a girl under the school’s tree.”

“You mean the one in the garden?”

“Yes.”

“You can do that. There’s no rule against it.”

“The thing is…” Demund took another sip of tea to quench his throat. “I wanted to confess on the day of the festival. But not during the festival. At night, when everyone is gone.”

This time the President spoke up.

“It’s not against school rules to enter the campus during the night as long as it’s before twelve. Why not go ahead and do it?”

“I was planning to. But I wanted to make it more…special.”

The President clasped his hands together again in a serious manner while the Vice-President sipped some tea.

“How so?”

“By adding some lights to the tree?”

“Lights? To the tree? Ah, so that’s why you came here. You need permission from the Principal to decorate the tree.”

Demund nodded. As expected of the President of a prestigious school. He was a quick thinker.

“At night…this might be tricky.”

The President got up and fetched a sheet of paper from the desk at the end of the room. He returned to Demund with a pen and gave it to him.

“Fill this out. We’ll send it to the Principal and see if he allows it.”

Demund quickly started writing down the necessary information into the blanks of the form. Name, Date of Request, Additional Information. Along the way, he felt a little embarrassed. What kind of student would fill out a form just to make a confession? Maybe he was going too overboard.

He handed it back to the President, who inspected it quickly and passed it on to the Vice-President.

“Stamp it and send it to the Principal.”

The Vice-President nodded and got up, moving to the desk at the back.

“That’s all we can do for now. The Principal really loves that tree, you see.”

The President leaned closer to Demund.

“But one thing that the students of this school aren’t that aware of is that the Principal absolutely adores high school romance. You have a high chance of being allowed.”

“Really?” said Demund. That was interesting news. “Thank you for your help. When will I know the results?”

“That’s for the Principal to decide. But be warned. He might make it a little bit extravagant. He loves to mess around a lot.”

“The Principal?”

“Yes, the Principal. Why do think the Student Council is made up of people like us?”

“You mean people like you, President,” stated the Vice-President from the back of the room. “Also, it was the students who voted for us, not the Principal.”

“You get the idea.”

The President turned his face back to Demund.

“And that’s it. Look forward to it.”

Demund got up and bowed to the two members. They waved at him as he left the room.

“Hmm…”

The President fetched his tablet from the table and opened up the student registry for TISE High. After scrolling through the names, he found Demund’s picture.

“Aha. Demund Blanner, grades are…surprisingly good? No, they’re very good. Perfect scores on almost everything. And wow! He checked out 146 books during this year. Kary, add that to his information. This guy isn’t some slacker. He probably deserves it.”

“Pres, you just have a soft spot for smart people.”

“Well…doesn’t everyone?”

“Maybe.”

The Student Council members returned to their duties.