From North to South

The chapter opens with a description of the upcoming spring sports festival, which is to be held at the school. The narrator tells the students that he hopes they will participate. He tells them to warm up by running around the field. He then tells the girls that he is running away first because he is afraid that they will catch up to him. He also tells them that he will kick them away if they do not prepare themselves mentally. The girls tell him that they are running because they want to hide, but the narrator tells them not to worry, because they are cute when they reject others. He says that he cannot accept their hearts, and that he still wants to be with them, but he does not know how to be happy with it. He asks the girls if they still want to be friends with him, and they reply that they do, but that they have other things to do. He warns them that the other girls will not catch up with him. They then tell him to get back in the line and run, and he tells them they have to prepare mentally. They tell him he is bragging again, and when he says he is not bragging, they say he is. The countdown time for the race is one minute, and the students have to do sit-ups before the race starts. The class rep says that no one has signed up for the races below, so he will do them. He gives the students a list of the races that they can do, and tells them he sees that they run well, and asks them to give it a go. The students say that they cannot stand in front of people and be stared at by so many eyes