Chapter 18 - The Confession Deadline Is Coming and I’m the Only One Without a ScriptThere''s a term for what I was experiencing.

    Narrative compression.

    It''s when a story, knowing the climax is close, forces every character to say Important Things? before the final choice.

    In normal life, that doesn''t happen. S~ea??h the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In this life?

    It happens with fanfare and schedule reminders.

    Monday morning, I opened my locker to find a pink note card taped inside.

    "You have three days to confess. Or we''ll do it for you." – Love Arc Management Committee

    I turned around slowly.

    Kokoro was sipping from a juice box, watching me like a hawk in a school blazer.

    "Did you send this?"

    "No."

    "Do you know who did?"

    "Hypothetically, if Aya and I were secretly managing your life for dramatic symmetry..."

    "...I am never opening my locker again."

    At lunch, Natsuki-sensei held a "special homeroom" where she laid out the new "Final Romantic Evaluation Schedule."

    It had bullet points.

    Charts.

    A PowerPoint.

    A section titled "Acceptable Forms of Rejection (With Dignity)."

    Tuesday.

    Aya cornered me at the vending machines.

    "You still haven''t said anything."

    "I''ve said plenty."

    "You''ve said nothing that would make a girl feel safe falling for you."

    "That''s because if I say it, it becomes—"

    "Real?" she cut in. "Yeah. We know. We''re all still here anyway."

    I stared at the can of melon soda in my hand.

    Somehow, it tasted like guilt.

    Wednesday.

    Kokoro and I walked home together.

    Not a date.

    Not a conversation.

    Just two people pretending the air between them didn''t hum with every unsaid thing.

    At my door, she stopped.

    Said nothing.

    Then looked up at me and whispered:

    "One more day."

    And left.

    I wanted to call her back.

    But what would I even say?

    "Please stop being brave. You''re making me look bad."

    That night, Sensei messaged me.

    [Sensei]: Come to the lab room. Now. No excuses. Or I''ll announce your bra size to the class.

    I didn''t have a bra size.

    But I went anyway.

    The lab was dark.

    Candlelit.

    Sensei sat on a desk, legs crossed, expression unreadable.

    "Kazuki," she said, "Do you know what a false choice is?"

    "...Is this a philosophy lecture or a seduction attempt?"

    "Yes."

    She sighed, then motioned to a piece of chalkboard behind her.

    There were three names written there.

    AyaKokoroSensei

    "Everyone thinks you have to pick one of us."

    I raised an eyebrow.

    "You disagree?"

    "I think you''re trying so hard to not pick, you haven''t asked why you''re hesitating."

    "I know why," I muttered.

    She ignored me.

    "There''s a part of you that believes if you say it aloud—if you choose—everything else disappears. You lose the maybes. The might-have-beens."

    She walked up to me.

    Tapped my forehead.

    "So your brain keeps stalling. Even though your heart already decided."

    "...Has it?"

    She smiled.

    A little sad.

    A little proud.

    "You''re not the first overthinking boy I''ve taught. But you might be the most exhausting."

    Thursday. The Final Day.

    They called it The Decision Bell.

    At 5 PM, the school''s clock tower would chime, and the girl who was chosen—or did the choosing—would meet the boy at the courtyard.

    Like some cursed Cinderella fanfiction.

    I stood in the hallway at 4:30, paralyzed.

    Aya passed by. Didn''t stop. Just said:

    "Fifteen minutes, genius."

    Kokoro passed by later.

    Didn''t even look at me.

    Just whispered:

    "You better not run."

    4:58.

    I stood in the courtyard.

    Alone.

    Breathing like I''d just run a marathon through glass.

    Then I heard footsteps.

    Two sets.

    Aya on the left.

    Kokoro on the right.

    They didn''t fight.

    They didn''t speak.

    They just stood.

    Waiting.

    4:59.

    I stepped forward.

    Opened my mouth.

    Prepared to—

    BOOOOOOOOM.

    An explosion.

    Actual, literal explosion.

    Smoke, confetti, and a dozen trumpets played over the school intercom.

    Natsuki-sensei appeared on the roof holding a megaphone.

    "SURPRISE EMERGENCY TWIST ENDING!"

    Everyone in the courtyard screamed.

    I collapsed.

    She continued:

    "Kazuki Haruma, congratulations! You''ve unlocked the Secret Route?! You don''t have to choose—yet! Because we''re extending the story to Volume 2! That''s right—this love hexagon is now a multi-season disaster!"

    Students clapped.

    Some cried.

    I screamed internally.

    Aya facepalmed.

    Kokoro whispered, "Coward," but didn''t leave.

    Sensei finished her announcement with:

    "Thank you for your service. Now return to your regular chaotic lives."

    Later, in the quiet after the crowd dispersed...

    Aya leaned on my shoulder and said:

    "You got lucky."

    I laughed bitterly.

    "Did I?"

    Kokoro appeared behind me and whispered:

    "This isn''t over."

    "I know."

    They both walked off in opposite directions.

    And I stood there in the empty courtyard.

    Caught in a romantic purgatory of my own making.

    And above it all, Sensei updated her chart:

    Love Polygon Status: To Be Continued.