On the last Sunday of our summer break, Maika invited me to hang out with her. I had nowhere I needed or wanted to be, so I had no real reason to turn her down.

          We wandered around, checked out a few stores, and made conversation before finally sitting down to rest at a café we had frequently visited throughout our high school years.

          It was just an ordinary Sunday.

          We chatted as Maika cut into the pancake in front of her. The scene was no different from last year’s summer break, but I knew if I were to be left alone at home right now, my mind would be consumed with thoughts of Sendai-san, so Maika’s invitation felt like a godsend.

          「Ah, darn. Tomorrow’s the last day of summer break.」

          Maika groaned as she stuffed her face with her pancakes.

          「Did you finish your homework already, Shiori?」

          「I did.」

          「Really? Is it because you’re starting to feel the pressure of having to take entrance exams this year? I mean, just last year you would leave it until the last minute.」

          「Well, you know, now that we’re third year students, I thought maybe it was about time I started taking my studies seriously.」

          In reality, it was all because of Sendai-san.

          But there was no way I could ever mention that, so I kept quiet as I poured maple syrup over my French toast.

          Taking a bite, I found the outside crispy while the inside was fluffy and as soft as pudding. As I swallowed it, the taste of the mildly sweet maple syrup lingered in my mouth.

          「Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve ever seen you order French toast, Shiori. You’ve been doing a lot of things that aren’t like you lately. Is the world about to come to an end or something?」

          「Now you’re just exaggerating. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve finished my homework early, and sometimes I just feel like eating French toast. Isn’t that normal?」

          「I guess so, but didn’t you say you disliked French toast?」

          「I did say that, but I’ve come to learn that it actually tastes pretty good.」

          Initially, I thought I wouldn’t like French toast, but after trying it, I found that it was quite palatable.

          I didn’t want to attribute it all to Sendai-san, but I had come to like French toast enough to order it at a restaurant like today. Yet, the thought of French toast inevitably brought back memories of that day, prompting me to absentmindedly stab my fork into the French toast before me.

          Which was softer, the toast with egg on it or Sendai-san’s lips? A completely pointless thought entered my mind. Despite French toast being a sweet dessert, I couldn’t help but connect it with the taste of blood, even though it wasn’t usually something found in French toast.

          The lips I had bitten into were soft, and more blood had come out than I expected. The red fluid had felt slippery to the touch, and when I had pressed down hard on her wound, Sendai-san had shot me a nasty glare.

          I could recall the memories I associated with French toast so vividly, it almost felt like Sendai-san was right beside me.

          「Maybe I should’ve ordered pancakes instead.」

          I said while staring at the plate across from me as I brought a bite of French toast to my mouth.

          「Do you want to go half-and-half? I kind of wanted to try the French toast too.」

          「Sure.」

          Agreeing to Maika’s suggestion, we handed each other a portion of our food.

          「Oh yeah. Do you want to hang out again tomorrow? It’s our last day of summer break in high school, so we might as well make the most of it.」

          Maika said, as if the idea had just popped into her mind, while taking a bite of the French toast.

          「Mm, I have plans already.」

          「Ami said she had a date tomorrow as well. You guys sure are hard to get a hold of.」

          「I don’t want to hear that from you, Maika. You spent the entire break at cram school, so it’s been even harder trying to make plans with you this year than last year.」

          「Well, that’s not something I could help. Wait, what have you even been up to, Shiori? You seemed pretty busy this year.」

          「I wouldn’t say I was busy. I just had a lot going on at home.」

          Of course, by “a lot going on,” I was referring to my arrangement with Sendai-san, so I didn’t want Maika to press me on it any further. However,

          「A lot going on, you say?」

          Maika asked, giving me a look that seemed to encourage me to elaborate.

          「Yep, a lot of things.」

          「How suspicious. We haven’t even talked about what we did over the break yet either.」

          「There’s nothing suspicious about it.」

          I said while trying to swallow my feelings by taking a bite of the pancake. It was fluffy like the French toast but had a slightly different texture and taste.

          I’d have to dig deep into my memory to find any instances of having someone by my side during a vacation, whether it was summer or winter. That’s how often I was left alone.

          But this year, I spent over half of summer break with Sendai-san.

          That meant she was the person I spent the most time with during any vacation out of everyone I knew. However, most of that time was spent studying, so there really wasn’t anything suspicious about it.

          At least, that’s how it should’ve been.

          Neither of us had intended on doing the secretive, unspeakable things we usually did — well, that was how it was supposed to be, anyway.

          ―― Our relationship was rapidly falling apart at the seams.

          「Hmm, are you sure you’re not hiding anything?」

          「I’m not hiding anything.」

          As I reasserted myself, I thought back to what happened a few days ago.

          That was probably the most unspeakable thing that happened this summer.

          I did something that went against our rules.

          I hadn’t meant to do it, but things just turned out that way.

          I touched her because I wanted to touch her, not because I had any ulterior motives. I really didn’t. At the same time, I felt incredibly conscious of her gaze, so I did something I wasn’t supposed to do. And then I touched her a little more than usual, but maybe I went too far.

          When Sendai-san came over two days later, on Friday, we didn’t take any breaks. Not that it was the reason why, though.

          「Ugh, I wish we had another week off.」

          I stared at Maika, sensing the despair in her voice as she spoke.

          「Even if your wish came true, you’d be asking for another week off after it’s over.」

          「Of course. Wouldn’t you want to have more days off too, Shiori?」

          「No, I’ve had enough of summer break already.」

          「Whoa, that makes you sound like such an honor student.」

          Maika said teasingly.

          But I really did feel like summer break had gone on for too long.

          Tomorrow.

          After tomorrow, it’ll all be over, and school will start once again.

          If summer vacation continued on like this, I felt it was only a matter of time before I would break a rule I absolutely couldn’t break. If that ever happened, Sendai-san and I might never be on good terms again.

          Just one more day.

          As long as we can get through tomorrow without any incidents, everything will be fine.

          I knew I wouldn’t be able to fix things if I broke a rule, so I had to do whatever I could to avoid breaking them in the first place.

          「Well, since summer vacation’s not getting any longer, what should we do for the rest of the day?」

          Maika asked, poking her fork into her French toast.

          「Hmm…」

          After pushing Sendai-san out of my head, I made a few suggestions.

          We ended up going with some of those ideas, did a few other things on the side, and then went our separate ways.

          When I got home, I had dinner, took a bath, and then crawled straight into bed. I fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes and woke up before my alarm went off. I didn’t sleep very well, but it wasn’t too bad either, so my mind was in relatively good condition.

          I went through my routine, just like always.

          I wore the same clothes I usually did and ate lunch at my usual time. While waiting for a message from Sendai-san, I started reading the book I had recently bought. Within an hour, she messaged me and then came over.

          As soon as I met Sendai-san at the entrance, I handed her the last five-thousand-yen bill for the summer break. She tried to protest, saying I was paying too much for one session, but I forced her to take it before sending her to my room.

          I went to the kitchen, poured a glass of soda and barley tea, and brought them to my room, setting them on the table like always. Textbooks and workbooks were scattered open across the table. As usual, Sendai-san sat down next to me.

          I looked over at Sendai-san.

          ‘Her hair is in the way,’ I thought to myself.

          Sendai-san hadn’t braided or tied her hair, obscuring her face and preventing me from seeing what sort of expression she was wearing for the last day of summer break. All I could see was her intense focus on the textbook in front of her.

          Wanting to take a good look at her face, I reached my hand out. However, before I could even touch her hair, Sendai-san shot me a suspicious glare.

          「Stop staring at me and focus on your work.」

          Sendai-san said as she poked me on the forehead with her pencil.

          The ticklish feeling on my forehead reflexively caused me to push her hand away.

          I had paid her five-thousand-yen earlier.

          But it wasn’t meant for what I was trying to do just now. It wasn’t something I was allowed to do, so stopping here was for the best.

          However, even though I knew that I shouldn’t, I reached out and touched Sendai-san anyway, moving my face closer to hers. But before our lips could meet, she poked me on the forehead with her pencil once again.

          「Miyagi. It’s a little early to be taking a break, but are you going to do it anyway?」

          The voice that asked the question sounded quiet and subdued.

          I couldn’t gauge her emotions from looking at her facial expression either.

          「……」

          I’m not taking a break.

          We really shouldn’t take one.

          But despite thinking that, I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.

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