The timeline is, as usual, set before chapter one.
The perspective is also, as usual, that of the chemistry club advisor, who has not appeared in the story so far.
It snowed.
Winter, one day.
Two weeks have passed since New Year’s… that’s the feeling today, and the school was enveloped in cheers.
The reason? It had snowed.
…Yes. It seems high school students still don’t hate snow. By our age, snow is just annoying. But high schoolers still seem to have the leisure to enjoy snow.
So, in the morning, I went to prepare for today’s class in the science laboratory.
Just as I was entering, Katori was about to enter the laboratory too.
…Then, it got noisy inside.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaah!”
In the midst of Maito and Hariu’s synchronized screams, I also entered the lab.
“Whoa!”
“Ah, good morning.”
Turning to see Katori’s face, I shuddered.
No, this is… wow, that’s quite the spectacle. Again.
“What happened to your face?”
“I got taken out by the snow and dove onto the road.”
There was Katori, half of his face covered in wounds.
It looked as if he was currently bleeding. Quite a vivid sight.
“Don’t ride a bicycle on a day like this!”
“I didn’t have any other means of transport…”
“Even if it takes time, you should walk, really…”
“I thought I’d be okay. Strange, huh…”
And that’s how he ended up scraping his face… This guy, sometimes I just can’t understand him.
“Ugh, there’s dirt in the wound… I’ll go get some ethanol.”
No, go to the infirmary!… Oh, the nurse isn’t here yet. These guys usually come in early in the morning, huh…
“…So, why are you guys here so early in the morning?”
“We got wet from the snow… sorry.”
I see. They were drying their shoes and socks by a gas burner. Apparently, they were drying their clothes that got wet from the snow. Indeed, you can do such things in a lab.
“Just be careful with the fire, and it’s fine, Kariya.”
“Yes.”
“Trying to dry your pants too might not be the best idea, you know?”
“Ah, sorry.”
Whether he’s wearing something under his pants every day because it’s cold, or if there’s physical education today, I don’t know, but right now, he’s only wearing shorts on his lower half and looks cold. Really, what was he thinking?
“There’s also the simple need to stay warm.”
I’m a bit surprised by the uncharacteristic comment from President. This guy, whether it’s cold or hot, he doesn’t change his expression much.
…Then, I kind of got it.
I see, it’s not President himself who needs to stay warm. It’s about the others gathering around the gas burner. In fact, President himself was at the edge of the desk, spreading out a mathematics book. That must be cold, really.
“Hey, hey, you guys. There’s a stove in the classroom, right? Why don’t you go there instead?”
“Can you, teacher, get past the girls to the stove? I can’t.”
I was convinced by the tired voice of Suzumoto, who seemed to be taking advantage of the gas burner’s warmth.
Indeed, the barrier of girls is insurmountable. Flocks are strong. I get it, I get it.
“…So, what are you doing over there?”
“Ah. Teacher. Um, do we have any stock of newspapers?”
Toriumi and Hariu, rummaging in a corner of the laboratory where various things were piled up, seemed to be looking for newspapers.
…I got the hint.
“For stuffing in shoes?”
“That’s right. Ah, when I stepped on it, the puddle of snow turned out to be deeper than I thought…”
“When I stepped on what seemed to be a frozen puddle, it broke through…”
Are you kidding me? How old are you guys?
“The newspapers are not there but under that shelf.”
Maito came back holding a bottle of disinfectant ethanol. …I thought she was taking too long just to bring ethanol, but it seems she had gone to get a disinfectant alcohol spray hidden near the lift. Good job.
“Here you go, Katori.”
“Ah, thank you. …Alright, let’s do this.”
Katori opened the bottle.
And then, instead of using the spray in a gentle manner, he audaciously splashed the contents directly onto his face.
…Ah, I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that. It’s school property, after all…
“…There’s still mud left.”
It seems he was trying to wash off the mud that got into the wound, but some mud remained and was then sprayed off by Kadomi.
Afterwards, Katori was treated with medicine that Kariya seemed to have and had band-aids that Maito seemed to have on him applied. Katori was… well, treated for now, anyway.
By the way, the disinfectant alcohol, having been reduced by about ninety percent of its contents, was casually placed back in its original spot by Hariu, pretending as if it had simply evaporated.
He even loosened the cap a bit, preparing an excuse that “it must have evaporated.”
…I know nothing about this…
That was the end of the morning, but then there was after school.
After classes, when I came to check, the group was already gathered around the gas burner.
“What are you guys doing?”
“Ah, teacher. It’s okay. We’re actually working on something here.”
Looking over, indeed, they were cooking something.
It was blue, so maybe copper sulfate? That one is… clear, so I’m not sure what it is.
“We decided to make a large crystal for the science exhibition classroom next week.”
Indeed, they are participating in an event like a science classroom for elementary and middle school students at another school next week.
But the activities for that event had been decided about two weeks ago, and there was no “crystal exhibit” planned.
“So, we’re currently dissolving copper sulfate, table salt, and alum.”
I see. Well, having more exhibits is not a bad thing, and I don’t mind.
…Everyone is still not moving away from the gas burner, though.
“…Because it’s cold?”
“Yes!”
Well, it’s good they’re honest.
While taking warmth, they still managed to do their work… and, using the waiting time as an excuse, they started spreading out a deck of cards.
…Well, I don’t mind.
“Okay, let’s start the game of shadows.”
…Well, I don’t mind! But what are you guys betting this time?!
“My starting hand was too terrible.”
“…Wow, it looks cold outside…”
Seems like they were playing a game like Daifugou, and Suzumoto and Kadomi ended up being the Daibinmin and Binmin.
They started putting on coats and threading their necks through neck warmers with distant looks in their eyes.
…Well.
“Good work—! Ahaha, I got to stay warm and cozy!”
“Man, going outside in this cold, good luck with that—”
“Damn, remember this…”
“It’s just going out to grab some snow, right?”
“Then you go, Hagasaki.”
“Absolutely not.”
…And then, Suzumoto and Kadomi went out with black paper, a digital camera, and a magnifying glass.
“What did they go out for?”
“They went to collect snow.”
…Ah, not “collect” but “capture,” right.
Indeed, snowflakes can be about 1mm in size, so their crystalline structure can be observed with the naked eye.
With a magnifying glass or a digital camera with macro capabilities, you can take pictures of them.
Suzumoto and Kadomi must be trying hard to catch falling snowflakes on black paper and capture them with a digital camera before they melt.
“Since snow is also a crystal, we decided it would be good to include it in the exhibit.”
Well, it’ll be a timely exhibit, and it’s bound to be beautiful, so why not.
“It also served well as a punishment, didn’t it?”
…Yeah, well, that’s fine…
Then, those who stayed inside continued to boil substances like copper sulfate, salt, and alum, made insulating containers out of Styrofoam (since a slow decrease in temperature is necessary for growing large crystals), and worked hard using threads and chopsticks to suspend the seed crystals.
Thinking about how they never left the gas burner, I felt they had a good spirit.
“This might have been warmer in the computer room…”
Maito complained, and I agree.
This school has air conditioning in classrooms and some special rooms, but not in laboratories due to ventilation requirements or lack of funds.
However, the computer room has air conditioning, and even without it, it’s a bit warmer there because of the computers humming along.
“It’s fine. It’s more comfortable here.”
“…Yeah, the warmth from the fire is nice, yeah.”
However, these guys seem to find comfort in the chilly laboratory.
“Hmm, maybe we can play another game before Suzumoto and Kadomi come back, right?”
“Ah, let’s do it. They might complain, but…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Let’s do it.”
Well, you can’t spread out cards and chat away like this in other places.
…But that’s not the only reason, of course.
“Damn, it’s cold!”
“Welcome ba…choo!”
As we were talking, Suzumoto and Kadomi returned, shivering.
“Good job, guys!”
“Wow, wow… Look, there’s a fire here, come over here to the warmth!”
“Show us the pictures.”
Suzumoto, shivering, handed the digital camera to Hagasaki, who immediately started browsing through the photos.
“Wow.”
“Ah, that’s nice. Let me see too.”
“Can we use these for the exhibit?”
As everyone happily viewed the photos, I also got to see them, and there were many good shots of snowflakes.
Hmm, not bad. This should entertain not only elementary and middle school students but their parents as well.
“Really cold…achoo!”
“Wow, Kadomi’s hands are really red.”
And then, attention turned to Kadomi’s hands, which were so red, one hoped they wouldn’t get frostbite.
“Creepy that Suzumoto’s color doesn’t change… Ah, cold.”
“Your hands are so warm. What are you, a child?”
While Suzumoto’s hands remained unchanged despite the cold, apparently due to his nature.
On the other hand, Maito’s hands were warm… Is she perhaps sleepy right now?
“Let’s measure the temperature!”
…And Toriumi, oddly enthusiastic about such things, brought over an infrared thermometer.
This device is handy because it doesn’t require direct contact to measure temperature quickly, though it had almost been forgotten due to lack of use.
“Let’s see, Kadomi’s is… Oh. 22°C.”
Toriumi immediately measured Kadomi’s hand temperature.
“Cold.”
“I’d say.”
Considering they were outside, that might not be too cold.
“Suzumoto is… Oh, 20°C.”
“…I was the one touching the snow more, wasn’t I?”
“Kadomi must have better circulation.”
“That might be true, but when human extremities like hands are rapidly cooled, the blood vessels dilate to increase blood flow. That could have temporarily boosted the warmth.”
Hmm, now that you mention it, touching cold water suddenly does make your hands tingle afterwards. So that’s why.
Where does President get all this seemingly useless knowledge from? I’d like to take a peek inside his head just once. It must be more bizarre than the three great oddities.
“Ah, I’m at 28°C.”
“Toriumi is always warm, even in winter.”
While teasing each other, they enjoyed pointing the infrared thermometer at their hands… and then.
“Let’s see Hagasaki’s… Hm?”
Toriumi kept recalibrating and measuring Hagasaki’s hand temperature, muttering to himself in confusion.
…I took a look.
“…15°C”
…Hagasaki’s hands, upon inspection, seemed…
“Hagasaki’s hands are kind of… you know. They’ve got that corpse color. Hahaha.”
Yes, that. Corpse-colored.
Not red or white but… purple.
Hagasaki… seems to have incredibly poor circulation. Yeah. It’s surprising that his temperature is lower than someone who went outside and touched snow.
But 15°C. 15°C.
“He’s definitely zombie-colored.”
“Well, well, the infrared thermometer measures surface temperature, right? I don’t think Hagasaki is actually a living dead or anything like that?”
“Who’s calling me a zombie!”
“Premature burial…”
“I’m definitely not dead or buried!”
“I’d believe it if someone told me Hagasaki’s hands were fake.”
“Ah, so…”
“Ah, how are the shoes doing? Pretty good?”
“Oh. They’re damp but… hmm, within acceptable limits?”
Meanwhile, the shoes of those who got soaked seemed to have dried somewhat.
They must have changed the newspaper a few times during class.
“Should we head home soon?”
These guys didn’t just come here today to dry their shoes, right? They did do some work, so I can’t really complain!
“Yeah. It looks like the snow might get worse.”
“I wonder if the trains are running.”
With the snow getting worse, trains might stop running, so from my standpoint, it’s better to send the students home sooner rather than later. I won’t oppose.
“Be careful on your way home. Don’t step into any snow puddles or ice. And be careful riding your bikes.”
“Okay!”
“Sure thing.”
“Goodbye.”
I’m skeptical about them actually being careful, though.
They put the copper sulfate solution into the Styrofoam containers for its “hibernation” and energetically headed home.
…I bet this will turn into beautiful crystals by tomorrow. Right?