The rest of Hillary's Monday morning was rather uneventful. She sat through her classes, smiled with pride whenever her teachers brought up the fundraiser and finally got to replying to all the messages she'd received, both on her personal and club page.

By lunch, her usual table was already buzzing.

A quick look around the cafeteria revealed that the Blade Breakers table was down by two people.

But since it was Kai and Cassie that were missing, she didn't think much of it. Maybe Cassie had wanted a more private place for them to have lunch. She could never imagine Kai of all people to give in to such whims, but what did she know about dating anyway?

Aubrey, Luke, Ahanaa, Andrew, Noah, and Aarushi were all in mid-discussion when she joined in.

"Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence," Aubrey teased as Hillary slid into her seat. "Too cool to sit with us during the fundraiser, were you?"

"I was literally doing a hundred different things to make sure you enjoyed the fundraiser." Hillary replied dryly.

"Oh right, martyr work," Andrew said, giving a mock salute. "We salute your service."

"We were just going over everything you, Luke and Aarushi missed," Ahanaa explained. "You know, the fun parts."

"I heard about the flying muffin," Luke volunteered, eager to show off he still had fun despite being busy with the organising part. Hillary had no idea what he was talking about.

"Oh, that's not even top five," Noah clarified, turning a sly eye to Andrew. "There was this guy who was trying to flirt with one of the stall girls in the Waffles section. He then accidentally poured chocolate sauce into his own backpack!"

"Hey!" Andrew cut in, "At least he bought five waffles to 'make up for it.' Respect the attempt, dude."

"Of course you'd say that, waffle boy!" Aubrey said, rolling her eyes, causing everyone to break out laughing.

"You missed a lot, President." Ahanaa sighed, patting Hillary's arm reassuringly. "Also, can we please talk about the actual headline of the night?" She announced loud enough to grab all of their attention, looking pointedly at her twin.

Everyone immediately turned to Aarushi then.

Aarushi sighed, blushing profusely. "Do I have a choice?" she muttered. She couldn't seem to hold back her grin.

"No," came their unanimous response, excited now.

"Fine!" she mumbled, cheeks tinged a deep pink. "Royson asked me out after the concert."

Everyone started talking at once. Noah let out a low whistle. "Look at you, the newest power couple!"

Ahanaa whined teasingly. "Now I have to pretend I don't have a crush on Royson! This is going to be so hard..."

Luke gave his best friend a side hug, grinning mischievously. "I'm so happy for you Aarushi, really, but i think Royson could have done so much better than you... On the bright side, I don't have to listen to your rants anymore. I better wish that poor guy luck." He mocked, and quickly ducked to he side as Aarushi brought down her bottle to his head, making everyone laugh at their antiques.

"I'm so happy for you," Hillary gushed. "You two sounded great together." she added.

Aarushi turned to her then. "Thanks." she beamed, before joining and Aubrey and Ahanaa on their intense debate about what Aubrey's chances were with the lead guitarist in Royson's band.

Meanwhile, Noah leaned towards Andrew and said in a mock whisper, "Don't you think it's high time we tell Ahanaa that someone's been making doe eyes at her for the last two years?"

Andrew replied, equally quiet, "She'd still be clueless." He chuckled softly.

Luke choked on his drink. "I'm right here, you know." He glared at each of them in turn.

"Don't sit in our gossip zone if you don't have the stomach to hear it," Andrew smirked.

"Don't worry, Luke. I'm sure she'll notice before graduation." Arushi added cheerfully.

Luke rolled his eyes at her mock sweetness, resting his chin on his palm. "That's comforting." he huffed.

Hillary jumped in Luke's defence then, "Alright, alright! Enough of your teasing! Stop messing with the poor guy... Aarushi may overhear you!"

"I wouldn't worry too much about that Hillary" Andrew started,chuckling. "Ahanaa's oblivious enough that the only way for her to realise would be for Luke to spell it out for her, and from how that's coming along... I doubt it's going to happen in this lifetime." He sighed.

Luke groaned. "Why are you all so invested in my love life?"

"Because it would make a good story, even if it's a bit cliche! Sister's best friend to boyfriend..." Hillary quipped, poking fun at Luke's misery.

"And frankly, we're emotionally invested now." Noah added, flicking a peanut at him.

"I didn't ask for that," Luke muttered, reflexively swatting the peanut away.

Ahanaa, still mid-discussion with Aubrey and Aarushi about which guitarist was the cutest, turned to the others. "What are you guys talking about now?"

"Nothing important!" Andrew, Noah, and Hillary said in unison, smiling at how panicked Luke had looked for a second.

Aarushi caught right on with the topic and smirked at Luke's miserable expression. Ahanaa just blinked at them once before continuing her own discussion with Aubrey.

"See?" Andrew muttered. "Absolutely clueless!" he chuckled.

"Back to my suffering," Luke sighed.

"No, no," Aarushi said brightly. "Let's pivot before Luke starts monologuing like a sad poet. I have better things to talk about!"

Hillary's friends continued recounting their time during the fundraiser, running her and Luke through every shenanigans they'd missed when they'd been too busy organising the event.

She turned to Luke when the others got caught up in figuring out something, "I really can't thank you enough for stepping up during the fundraiser, especially since you didn't have to." she said, feeling immensely grateful to one of her newest friends.

Luke rubbed his neck, looking slightly embarrassed. "Come on Hillary, it's the least I could do. Don't get me wrong, you were managing everything wonderfully, but anyone would have gotten overwhelmed during the event. There were problems every five seconds, and you can't be everywhere, all at once."

Hillary agreed, "Yeah... But just the same, I wanted to thank you, in case you didn't know." She smiled softly.

Luke laughed at her insistence, "Your welcome." he replied warmly.

"I was thinking..." Hillary started immediately after, and Luke cut her off right away. "Holly goodness, Hillary! The event got over just a day ago, let everyone breathe for sometime!" He exclaimed dramatically, teasing her.

Hillary swatted his hand, "Stop being ridiculous! I'm in no hurry to organise more events. I was just thinking about giving the club more structure. Bring in more hierarchy than just a president and volunteers..." she explained.

"I'm listening..." Luke encouraged, genuinely interested now.

Hillary wrung her hands a bit, "I don't have a detailed plan in mind yet, but what do you think of it? Maybe we could have three clusters-Promotions and Finance lead, a Design and Program Coordinator and a Logistics Manager? And maybe a vice-president? I know the principal has made it clear that each club can't have more than one person in charge, but most clubs hardly have more than thirty students. We have more than a hundred. He can surely make an exception for us."

"He could, but you'll have to be really convincing." Luke pointed out. Hillary would have discussed more, but they were once again interrupted by their friends, who had finally straightened out their stories for the retelling.

By the time lunch began winding down, Hillary realised she hadn't laughed like this in days.

*****

Mr. Nakamura didn't look up immediately when the knock came—he was in the middle of approving the increased budget for the gymnastics team when the knock came. "Come in," he called out, not expecting anyone just after school hours.

He glanced up—and blinked.

Tachibana. Again.

He leaned back slightly in his chair, mildly surprised. "What a surprise, Ms. Tachibana. I didn't expect you to show up at my office anytime soon."

The girl stepped inside, still in her school uniform, bag slung loosely over one shoulder. She didn't look particularly nervous—just a little tired. Understandable. It had been a long week for everyone involved in the fundraiser.

"There was a matter I wanted to bring up with you, sir," she said. "But I didn't really get much of a chance in the morning..."

"Ah. I see." He said, removing his glasses and cleaning them slowly, buying himself a moment. Not because he didn't know what to say—he did—but because the morning had been a mess, and it was still lingering in his head.

"There was a reason I had specifically asked you to hand me the report after school hours on Monday," he started. "So that I could properly talk to you. But someone seemed to be in a hurry to 'coincidentally' join the conversation this morning."

She flushed, just faintly, lowering her gaze. "No need to worry, Ms. Tachibana," he added with a slight wave of the hand. "I have no intention of punishing you. It was a mistake on my part, really."

She looked up at that, surprised. Most students wouldn't expect him to admit fault. Not that he made a habit of doing it—but the situation this morning had spiraled before he'd even had his first cup of coffee.

"A few staff members came to me early in the morning, throwing accusations they'd heard online against Mr. Granger," he said. "I didn't get a chance to review the facts properly before calling him in. And the young man—understandably—was too frustrated to give a straight answer before turning defensive. I'm glad you came in when you did. The outcome of that meeting could have looked very different otherwise."

She hesitated, then nodded. "I'm also glad that you allowed me to join Tyson's meeting when I did, sir. He does have a reputation for being impulsive and slightly distrustful of authority."

Mr. Nakamura gave a short breath of amusement. "Yes, well. Antagonising him without cause didn't do wonders for his mistrust then." He rubbed at his temple briefly. "I wasn't there for the for the concert, but from what I gather, he was wonderful on stage. It was also very heroic of him, to stop the beyblade like he did, and not let the crowd panic."

She nodded, her expression warming. "He's a good guy sir—doesn't let the fame get to his head too much. Works hard when he wants to. But his charm with a crowd present... it's absolutely infectious."

Mr. Nakamura made a small sound of agreement. Hillary spoke with affection, not starry-eyed admiration. She must know him well, he realised.

"I believe you know each other quite well," he said, raising an eyebrow. "His comment while standing up to Mrs. Yoshida was quite striking..."

She tensed slightly before recovering, "We studied in the same middle school, sir," she clarified.

"I see." And he did. More than she likely thought.

He let a pause stretch, then folded his hands together. His tone lowered, more serious now. "I should have stepped in sooner when things began to escalate with Mrs. Yoshida. And as for her... remark—it was uncalled for. Unprofessional. I've spoken to her privately."

Hillary relaxed slightly, the quiet kind of relief that didn't need words.

"She seemed to think she was 'motivating' you by reminding you of your gender," he said, tone dry. "As if leadership came with disclaimers. That's not the culture I want to encourage here." he emphasized.

"Thank you, sir," she said quietly. "I didn't want to make a scene."

"I know," he said, meaning it. "Which is why I appreciated how you handled it. You kept your dignity. And... for what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to hear that."

She offered a faint smile. "I've heard worse."

He exhaled, "That doesn't mean you should have to," he replied. "And it certainly shouldn't happen inside these walls."

He leaned back in his chair then, "Now, what was the matter you came to speak about?" he asked, coming back to the topic at hand.

She sat up straighter at that. "I wanted to propose a more structured leadership system for the club."

As Hillary spoke, he found himself nodding slowly. Three clusters. Coordinators. A vice-president. Hillary moved through her points with clarity and confidence, occasionally glancing at him to make sure she wasn't overstepping. She wasn't. Not even close.

Mr. Nakamura listened, quietly impressed. Not because it was flashy—because it was sensible. She understood scale. She understood structure. Most students her age were still figuring out delegation.

"That's... quite a proposal," he said after a moment. "Ambitious. But not unfounded."

"I think it would also help the club a lot," she added, "and give more people a chance to grow into leadership roles. It's not about titles—it's about accountability."

The last line made him smile. "You sound like someone already building an institution, not just running a club."

She flushed lightly, but didn't drop eye contact.

He leaned back, arms folding across his chest. "Just between us," he added, "I've actually been waiting for someone from your club to bring this up."

She blinked. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yes. For the past few years, the club had been holding on—surviving off legacy, not evolving. I didn't want to interfere until someone stepped up with a clear plan. And now here you are."

She flushed again, just a bit.

"Truth be told," he continued, "I think the structure you're proposing makes perfect sense for a group your size. It's time the club evolved."

Her expression brightened. "Does that mean—?"

He didn't answer right away. There were policies, of course. Exceptions needed paperwork. And approvals. But it wasn't impossible. Not with a case like this.

"I'll make it happen," he said finally. "No official word yet—I'll need a formal proposal to push through the exception, but I don't anticipate much resistance. Just give me something on paper."

Relief flickered across her face. "Of course. I'll get started on it right away."

"Not right away," he said, pointing a finger. "Rest. Let the fundraiser settle. Focus on the National Swim Championships—it's just a fortnight away. You've earned a break."

That finally brought a real smile to her face. Tired, yes. But grounded.

"I'll try, sir."

"Good." He stood and extended a hand."Keep up the good work, Ms. Tachibana."

She took his hand with a steady grip and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, sir."

As the door shut quietly behind her, Mr. Nakamura returned to his chair with a quiet sigh.

He glanced at the clock—late. His inbox hadn't shrunk in the last hour.But a faint smile lingered as he reached again for his pen.

Some days, the job still felt worth it.

*****

Words: 2490

*****

A/N: Sorry for the slightly late update! I completely forgot about posting it today(had the chapter ready a week ago though) 

So, What do you think of it? A slightly light chapter after chapters of chaos. It's good to see Hillary enjoying her life a bit after everything that's happened, isn't it? Especially given that the blade breakers are going though a rough phase(3 out of 4 people in the middle of a cold war. . . Don't worry though, things are going to get heated soon enough! 

This chapter may look silly, but it's important though! You will find out soon enough! 😌

Vote and comment guys! I love hearing from you guys!🫶🩷🩵

Happy reading!