This was already bad enough, but on this day, even more misfortune was waiting for me.
Of all people, I ended up with Tomoki, Kohei and I, all three of us, at a loss in front of the mountain of building blocks.
That was how it went.
After the nap that day, we had free play time in the hall.
We could play whatever we wanted in the hall.
This is our favorite time.
The most popular game during free play is, without a doubt, dodgeball.
Most of the boys play dodgeball.
I like dodgeball, too.
I'm not very good at catching or throwing the ball, but I'm good at dodging, so I can enjoy it for a long time.
The girls are into games like jumping over rubber bands, Kagome Kagome, Hanaichimonme, and other trivial games.
When the teacher says it's free play time, everyone panics and wonders what to play.
Many people immediately try to join their friends.
Then people start gathering here and there.
They sing while holding up the index finger of their right hand.
For example, for dodgeball, they sing: "If you're playing dodgeball, stop with this finger.
If you don't hurry, you'll cut your finger off.
Let's blow this mountain away.
Five, four, three, two, one." This is how each game begins.
How a game ends depends largely on the type of game and who is in the pile on our finger.
Tomoki always ends up crying, and Kohei always gets into a fight.
Whatever these guys play, the outcome is the same.
When it comes to dodgeball, there are some people who are even more special: Kouji, Kazuyuki, and Daiki.
These three are good at throwing, catching, and dodging, so when they get together at dodgeball, it's only these three who dominate.
When it comes to free play, these three first sit on the bench in a line.
They don't gather anyone together.
Sometimes, even when dodgeball starts, they just watch bossily, grinning, without joining in.
We call these three "the Dodgeball Trio".
The teacher calls them that, too.
The teacher keeps an eye on "the Dodgeball Trio" to make sure they don't all end up on the same team.
But this day was different.
When the free play started, the teacher went off somewhere.
The dodgeball trio took advantage of this and all three of them joined the same team.
I said, "That's not good." But no one took my side.
They were so eager to play dodgeball that they didn't think about how it would end.
I cried, but no one cared.
I learned that if someone cried towards the end of a game of dodgeball, they would get attention, but if they cried at the beginning, they would be ignored.
The Dodgeball Trio watched the situation with grins on their faces.
But isn't it frustrating for everyone to have everything go according to the Dodgeball Trio's wishes like this?
Is it really fun for the Dodgeball Trio to fight a weak team with overwhelming strength?
How much are these people being fooled by dodgeball?
I've had enough of dodgeball.
In a pinch, I decided to play with building blocks.