The tie around my neck was neither too tight nor too loose, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling of discomfort. If I had to guess, it was probably because this piece of fabric didn’t belong to me.

          I tugged at the necktie.

          Sendai-san’s tie looked and felt exactly like mine. Maika and Ami hadn’t noticed I was wearing someone else’s, and no one else would either—it was just an ordinary tie.

          Only Sendai-san and I knew that our ties were different.

          「Shiori, that’s dangerous. You should stop focusing on your tie and watch where you’re going.」

          Maika said, tugging my arm. I had been completely fixated on the tie, but her voice snapped me out of it, bringing me back to reality. All the sounds I had tuned out suddenly came rushing in.

          The chatter of passersby and the hum of cars filled my ears at once, making my mind buzz, and I remembered we were on our way to the mall.

          Oh right, we were going shopping.

          I let go of my tie and looked straight ahead.

          The cultural festival was just around the corner, and even though I wasn’t thrilled about it, we were busy getting things ready. Earlier, a classmate suggested we add more decorations to the signs, so I found myself having to spend the afternoon shopping for supplies.

          「If you keep spacing out like that, you’re going to bump into someone again, just like last time with Sendai-san.」

          Ami said with a laugh, and Maika, sounding a little unimpressed, joined in with,

          「Never mind other people; you could end up getting hit by a bike if you’re not careful, so make sure you’re watching where you’re going.」

          「I’m sorry.」

          Among the people in uniforms and suits on the sidewalk, several bicycles were weaving through the crowd. They weren’t traveling that fast, but being hit by one would still hurt.

          I wasn’t concerned about missing the cultural festival, but getting hit by a bike and having to go to the hospital would be a hassle. It didn’t matter if I ended up as an outpatient or inpatient—I’d prefer to avoid it completely.

          I hadn’t met with Sendai-san once since the other day.

          With both the cultural festival preparations and her prep school lessons, our schedules never seemed to match. I tried reaching out to Sendai-san multiple times, but each time she’d say she had prep school, forcing us to reschedule. Yet, even those rescheduled plans often fell through due to festival preparations. If I were to end up in the hospital, our plans would be delayed even more.

          「You’ve been really fixated on your necktie lately. Did something happen?」

          Maika asked while pointing at the tie.

          「No, nothing happened. I was just making sure I tied it properly.」

          I took a large step forward, trying to escape the intense gaze piercing into my chest. But Ami, ensuring I couldn’t get away, grabbed me by the shoulder.

          「That’s a little suspicious. You’ve never been this concerned about your appearance before. Why the sudden change?」

          「It’s not that big of a deal. I just thought it looked a bit weird. By the way, what were we supposed to buy again?」

          Unable to come up with an excuse on the spot, I cut the conversation short and took the chance to rid my mind of the necktie that had been making me feel uneasy.

          「Don’t worry, I wrote it all down.」

          Maika pulled a folded piece of paper from her skirt pocket. When I glanced at the note, which had been attached to a notebook not too long ago, it was packed with items I couldn’t figure out the purpose of. If we bought everything on the list, we’d end up with a lot to carry back, but it was still better than working in the classroom.

          We grumbled about various things as we made our way to the mall.

          It wasn’t as hot today as it had been in the height of summer, but my blouse still clung uncomfortably to my back. Unlike with her tie, I couldn’t bring myself to wear Sendai-san’s blouse for some reason, so it remained tucked away in my closet. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but wonder what Sendai-san had done with my tie and blouse.

          I’d caught occasional glimpses of her around school, but I couldn’t tell who those parts of her uniform belonged to just by looking.

          I wanted to see her and ask her directly what she had done with my uniform.

          「I just want this cultural festival to be over with already.」

          I mumbled quietly, but Ami responded with,

          「Getting ready for it is a hassle, but the festival itself is pretty fun.」

          「Since it’s our last one, let’s visit as many places as possible.」

          「I mean, it’s not like I’m not looking forward to it or anything…」

          While Ami and Maika sounded excited, I could only manage to give a lukewarm reply.

          It wasn’t that I disliked the cultural festival—I had fun in the previous years. However, it was hard for me to get excited and join in the cheer of, “Let’s make this a great festival!” with the rest of the class when, in reality, only a select few were actually responsible for handling the work.

          It would’ve been fine if the popular kids were the only ones hyped about the festival, but instead, we were all dragged into their excitement.

          If only I didn’t have to go shopping today – I could’ve invited Sendai-san over to my place.

          Even if I rushed home now, it would be too late to call her over, but I still wanted to go home anyway.

          While I was absorbed in negative thoughts, I heard Ami’s optimistic voice say,

          「Well, let’s just take our time with the shopping before we head back.」

          「Ami, you know we’re not here to shop for ourselves, right?」

          Maika said as she waved the piece of scrap paper in front of her face.

          「Oh, come on. Shopping for this stuff’s going to be a piece of cake. I bet we can get it done quickly and still have time to kill before we need to go back.」

          「You sure seem relaxed about this.」

          「I mean, there’s no reason to take this errand that seriously. You agree with me, right, Shiori?」

          「Yeah, I guess so.」

          I wasn’t planning to adopt Ami’s easygoing attitude, but there was no point in stressing over things we couldn’t avoid. It was better to finish the shopping quickly and then do something fun together before heading back.

          The three of us entered the shopping mall together.

          Maika collected a bunch of materials I barely recognized, marking them off her list as she went. Ami and I, on the other hand, were reduced to mere pack mules, shuffling behind her like mindless drones, carrying out our tasks.

          「You guys want to get something to drink?」

          With Maika handling most of the shopping, we finished quickly, so Ami suggested we head to the food court next.

          Leading the way, she set off, and as we rode the escalator, our conversation turned to small talk.

          As we walked by a variety store, I found myself stopping in front of it. Normally, I’d overlook these kinds of shops, but today, a necklace with a small charm on a silver chain caught my attention—it seemed perfect for Sendai-san.

          Before I realized it, my feet were moving towards the store, while Maika’s voice echoed from behind.

          「What’s up? Did something catch your eye?」

          「Oh, no.」

          I answered immediately, and Ami, who had almost left me behind, came back.

          「Would it have been better if we’d gotten you an accessory for your birthday instead?」

          「If I had known you wanted that, I would’ve gotten it for you.」

          Maika sounded disappointed in herself, but I quickly reassured her otherwise.

          I genuinely appreciated the pencil case and book cover they gave me for my birthday last week. I had been using the pencil case ever since I got it, and the book cover was on the novel I was currently reading. Since I had specifically asked for these items, there was no way I would have preferred an accessory over them.

          「Oh, no, I don’t actually want it. It just caught my eye, that’s all.」

          Right, it was just something that reminded me of Sendai-san when I saw it. I could’ve easily bought the necklace with the five-thousand yen I usually gave her, but it wasn’t the kind of thing I could just buy and give her out of the blue. Besides, giving her a necklace felt too personal, and there was no reason to do that. If I knew when her birthday was, maybe I could’ve used that as an excuse, but I’d never asked about it before.

          … And even if I did know when her birthday was, I still wouldn’t give it to her.

          We didn’t have the kind of relationship where it was normal for us to exchange gifts. If I had no intention of giving her anything, there was no reason to even think about what might suit her.

          「Want to go in and take a look?」

          Maika asked, but I gave a brief reply.

          「No, I’m good.」

          「Okay, let’s keep going then.」

          Ami said, already walking ahead.

          「Are you sure you don’t want to check it out?」

          Maika asked again, but my answer stayed the same. There was no point in looking, and no reason to change my mind.

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