Ever since we swapped bodies for the first time, Keita and I were asked to sit far apart from each other so as not to touch each other by accident. However, we never returned to our initial seats despite the nonexistent risk of swapping because of us being stuck in each other's bodies.

The bell to end the school day chimed. Even though everyone raced out of the classroom to get a spot in the club they wanted, Keita waited just past the door.

I approached him and asked, "Why are you waiting here?"

"I just wanted to wish you good luck," he smiled.

"Good luck will be useless if we don't even get to sign up."

He laughed nervously, "Right, I'm sorry. Let's go."

Guilt crushed my chest as soon as he turned around. I grabbed his shoulder to stop him. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to sound that way. Good luck to you too. I'll give my best to get you in the club."

Smiling, we nodded at each other and walked together to building B, which was the other half of the school. Keita took the stairs up since the Robotics Club was on the third floor, while I simply walked through a tunnel to head outside.

One-third of the field became visible as my eyes adapted to the brightness of the sun. The rest of it gradually appeared from behind the trees as I walked toward it.

Although we had a few P.E. classes during the past week, it still was amazing to see such a big field at a high school, surrounded by a running track and several grandstands. It was things like this that made me realize I was in the best high school in the country.

However, it was even more shocking to see a huge crowd gathered around the field, especially concentrated in the middle. I couldn't see anything, so I had to walk around the running track until I was able to see the field.

The members of the marching band were warming up for their performance; some stretched, while others quietly played their instruments. Whether they were cheerleaders or musicians, they all wore the distinctive marching band white, sky blue, and purple colors.

A few minutes later, they finally moved to specific spots on the field, forming a wavy pattern. It looked weird at first glance, but I realized they were mimicking the shape of the river in the school's logo when the girl at the front raised the flag.

Drums were the first instruments to be played, followed by all kinds of brass and percussion instruments. It didn't take long for them to start moving all around the field in unison.

Not only was their precision incredible, but I also couldn't understand how they could keep playing their instruments while moving and dancing so much. Imagining how much discipline and practice something like this required only made me feel miserable. Luckily, I was doing it for Keita.

The cheerleaders joined in soon after. Obviously, they were able to do more spectacular choreographies since they were holding no more than pom poms.

I was sure they were going to ask us to dance during the trial, so I focused as much as I could on every moment to memorize it—despite sucking at memorizing things.

Several minutes later, the performance ended, and they didn't look tired at all. Everyone clapped as the band removed their instruments and the flag was lowered.

The same girl that was holding the flag grabbed a microphone and her voice sounded through a speaker in the middle of the field.

"Good afternoon, everyone! We appreciate your attention and cheers, but I'm sure you're eager to become part of the most successful marching band in the country that is also among the top ten in the world."

In the world?!

"Yes!" the crowd replied.

"I like your spirit. Remember that experience is required whether you want to join the band or the cheerleading team. This is because, aside from normal classes, we're extremely busy preparing for shows and competitions. We barely have enough time to practice, let alone learn an instrument or gymnastics from scratch. I hope you understand."

This is going to be tougher than I thought.

"Without further ado, let's begin with the process. The people that want to join the band, make a line on the right side of the field in front of the guy over there. The people that want to join the cheerleading team, make two lines on the left side of the field: one for girls in front of the girl over there, and another one for guys in front of the guy. Thank you."

As soon as the girl stopped talking, the crowd dispersed. Some of them ran to make a line to join the band, but the majority simply walked back into the building. I had noticed they looked somewhat older, meaning they probably were seniors that had come just to watch the performance.

The minority approached the left side of the field. Luckily, I was very close to where the lines were supposed to be.

A few girls had already lined up, but the guy's line hadn't even been made when I arrived.

"Do you want to join?" asked the guy wearing the cheerleading costume.

I opened my mouth to answer, but no words would come out. Only then did I remember how hard it was to socialize in Keita's body; I had forgotten since I hadn't talked to anyone the entire week.

I merely nodded.

"Wonderful," he smiled. "Please stand in front of me. We'll wait to see if more guys want to join."

Not even five seconds had passed when two guys lined up behind me.

We waited for a few more minutes but no more guys arrived. The rest of the lines were already moving further into the field, so the cheerleader asked us to follow him.

The rest of the cheerleading team greeted us. They seemed to be around twenty people, the majority of them girls. However, the hospitality didn't last for too long.

"I'll be honest with you," sighed the cheerleader, "we only have two spots available. There usually are more spots and at least five guys who want to join, but leaving only one person out is going to make us feel even worse," he laughed nervously.

I glanced at the two other guys, who also glanced at each other.

Finally, my heart began to beat faster. It took longer than I had expected since it always happened in Keita's body.

"Alright. There's no reason for us to keep waiting, so let me explain the details," continued the cheerleader. "You just watched us perform one of our many choreographies, so you'll compete for the two spots by performing it."

I knew it.

"Don't worry, you don't have to dance the entire thing, and we'll perform it again so that you can memorize it. However, I want to make clear that you don't have to do every single step if you're not confident because you could hurt one of the girls. Also, you're not wearing proper clothes to do this and you could hurt yourselves. Got it?"

"Understood," both of the guys replied, while I merely nodded.

"Wonderful. Let us get ready. Ah, please stretch while we dance."

He approached the rest of the team. They had a short conversation before three guys—including the cheerleader from before—and two girls stepped away, while the rest of the team moved aside to make more space.

One of the cheerleaders pulled a speaker closer. She connected to it with her phone and played the same song the marching band had played to test the speaker for a second. She then skipped to the second half of the song.

They began dancing and we began stretching. I focused as much as my mind let me to try and memorize it, but useless thoughts kept distracting me.

Luckily, it was a tiny fraction of the original, as the cheerleader had explained. The three male cheerleaders walked back with the team, while the two girls stayed.

The two other guys and I were asked to begin. They didn't even tell us our positions, so we simply chose at random.

My heart wouldn't stop hammering my chest. I hadn't felt such an adrenaline rush in a while. However, they didn't waste any time to start playing the song.

Although I was on the right, the steps of the cheerleaders on each side were identical. I had to wait for the girl on my left to finish with her steps, then I grabbed her hand to help her spin four times. As soon as the last spin was completed, I held her waist with my left hand and raised my right arm at the same time as her.

After staying in that position for a second, I grabbed her waist with my right hand to help the cheerleader in the middle lift her since he had to lift one leg of each girl.

Once I couldn't reach her waist anymore, I swiftly moved my left hand under her right foot to keep propping her until I couldn't extend my arm up anymore. We stayed in that position waiting for the song to reach a certain part.

Eventually, we had to lower the girls. We needed to be quick, yet I was extremely careful to lower my hand at the same speed as the cheerleader in the middle. Once low enough, the girl jumped out of our hands.

The male cheerleader in the middle then had to help the two girls spin as they switched sides. I grabbed her waist with my right hand to catch her and she leaned onto it for the both of us to raise our hands.

It was done. The music stopped playing and the cheerleading team cheered at us. However, one of the girls suddenly kneeled on the grass.

"Thank God, I'm alive," she trembled.

"Were we that bad?" worried one of the guys.

The male cheerleader from before approached us. "She's always overly dramatic, but it's also nerve-wracking for two rookies to lift you that high up. There have been a few accidents in the past, none of them serious, fortunately."

The other girl that had performed the dance with us helped her stand up and they both walked away.

"Please give us a minute to discuss the result," said the male cheerleader before walking back with the rest of the team.

The two other guys and I stood still on the field.

Memorizing part of the choreography beforehand helped a lot, and even though it wasn't the same choreography, practicing during the week reminded me of the old days back in gymnastics class. However, my heart was about to come up my throat once the distractions were over.

"You both were amazing," smiled one of the guys.

"You too," the other guy replied.

They both stared at me, waiting for me to say something, but I merely looked away from them. I tried my hardest to say anything not to appear rude, but it was impossible when my chest was about to explode.

"By the way, aren't you the guy that swapped bodies with Araki and got stuck?"

Obviously, the question was directed to me. I only managed to look at him for a second, yet I was able to answer.

"Yes."

"Does that mean that you're Araki?"

I nodded.

"Amazing. I didn't expect you to be good at this."

For a moment, I forgot how nervous I was. It was the first time that a stranger's praise didn't feel fake. However, I was promptly brought back to reality when the male cheerleader returned.

"I have the results, so I won't make you wait any longer." He raised his arm and, with his finger, pointed at the guy in the middle. "You are in."

"Yes!" he quietly celebrated.

My heart beat even faster. Any more anxiety would make me pass out.

The cheerleader raised his hand again and, with his finger, pointed at the other guy. "You're also in."

"Woo-hoo!" he shouted in excitement.

Suddenly, I felt nothing more than pressure crushing my stomach.

"Please go with the rest of the team to sign up," the cheerleader asked the two other guys.

They walked away, while the cheerleader stayed in front of me. My head had become so heavy that I couldn't raise it to look at him, although I wouldn't have done it even if I could.

"I'm very sorry," he apologized. "The three of you were incredible, but you were the one that seemed the most indecisive and imprecise with your movements."

Many words crossed my mind, none of them appropriate enough to say out loud. Yet, the only thing I was able to say was, "I understand."

"We also overheard that you're Araki in another guy's body. I don't know if I would classify it as cheating, but it definitely isn't fair to be judged for a physical activity like this in this state. Again, I'm sorry."

For some reason, that affected me the most. A lump formed in my throat, so I walked away without saying anything.

Before I realized it, I had arrived at the parking lot and found Mom and Keita without even looking for them.

"How did it go?" Keita smiled at me.

As soon as he asked that, a tear escaped out of my eye. I looked away and lowered my head for them not to see it.

"I didn't…" My voice broke, so I didn't even try to continue.

Out of nowhere, Mom hugged me, but it still didn't feel right to cry.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you tried your best," smiled Keita. "Regardless, any club will be fun, so why don't we go look for one together?"

I knew he was trying to make me feel better, yet it worked. Helping him find another club was the least I could do after failing him.