Chapter 89

“High School Boys and Tricks” is the 89th chapter of the manga.

Cover Page
End scene of Chapter 88. Hidenori walks away from the manga café, teary-eyed.

Detailed Summary
Motoharu and Mitsuo are walking home at night, when Mitsuo offers Motoharu a piece of gum. He accepts and is about to take it, when a thought strikes him. He wonders if it could be the type of popular prank that involved a hidden lever snapping around one’s figure upon taking the gum. In typical fashion, he decides to go along with it for Mitsuo’s sake.

Motoharu bravely grabs the gum and pulls it out. Much to his surprise, it’s an ordinary piece and he eats it, thanking Mitsuo. Mitsuo then says his hand would probably be smelling of lemons by then. Hearing this, Motoharu tenses up. He recognizes it to be the setup for another prank in which the victim sniffs his hand and the prankster gives him a blow in the face.

Despite the danger involved, he resolves to play along and sniffs his hand. It turns out that it really smells of lemons, stunning him. Moreover, Mitsuo doesn't hit him either. After a brief silence, Mitsuo asks Motoharu to say “deer” 10 times. Motoharu realizes what this trick is supposed to be and acts unaware. After he says his part, Mitsuo asks him what Santa Claus rides. Motoharu blurts out ‘reindeer’.

Mitsuo praises him for getting the answer right, leaving Motoharu dumbfounded. He wonders why Mitsuo doesn’t know that the real answer is ‘sleigh’. Mitsuo then asks him if there were more uphill or downhill slopes in Japan, to which Motoharu immediately answers ‘downhill’.

Mitsuo begins to wonder, seeming unsure about the answer himself. Motoharu is astounded that the question was genuine and not a trick question. Thinking to himself that Mitsuo doesn’t understand the first thing about how pranks work, he becomes determined to show him. Taking out his own packet of gum strips, he offers Mitsuo one.

Mitsuo gladly accepts, taking a piece, when a cockroach crawls from the packet on to his hand. He yells in sheer horror. Motoharu then takes off the roach, revealing it to be a dud, and he tells Mitsuo he got him good.

For a while, Mitsuo bows his head in grim silence. Looking up, teary-eyed, he curses Motoharu before running off and leaving him behind. A slightly embarrassed, apologetic Motoharu stares after him, realising that playing pranks on Mitsuo was a mean thing to do.

Characters
In order of appearance:
 * Hidenori (cover)
 * Motoharu
 * Mitsuo