University campuses were full of all kinds of people—students, professors, and even people from other schools.

         With so many faces around, it wasn’t impossible to run into someone completely unexpected.

         Still, the chances of that actually happening were next to none.

         I’d never run into someone from my high school and ended up becoming friends with them before, so I believed those kinds of dramatic encounters hardly ever happened in real life.

         Which was why I was so surprised when I saw Sendai-san at my university.

         I stared down at my phone.

         Saved inside was the contact information Sendai-san had shared with me just moments ago.

         「Maika?」

         Shiori, who was sitting right next to me, called out my name, and I looked up.

         「What is it, Shiori? Is something wrong?」

         「I feel like that should be my line. You’ve been staring at your phone this entire time. Did something happen?」

         Something had happened, but I couldn’t tell Shiori about it right now.

         I wasn’t going to tell her that I’d met Sendai-san earlier, or what we’d talked about. At least, not until Sendai-san came over to my place. For now, I needed to focus on the lecture that was about to start.

         「Oh, I dropped my phone on the way here, so I’m just worried I might’ve damaged it.」

         Of course, I hadn’t actually dropped it—far from it. I’d held it tightly the entire way to the lecture hall, careful not to let it slip from my hand. But I couldn’t tell her that Sendai-san was on my mind, so I had no choice but to lie.

         「Wait, what? Is your phone okay? Is it broken?」

         「It seems fine for now. Anyway, Shiori, have you decided what you’re going to do today?」

         「I told you earlier already, but I’d like to stay for one more night.」

         「Okay, sounds good.」

         「Sorry.」

         Shiori said with an apologetic look on her face, so I smiled and replied,

         「Don’t worry about it.」

         「Thank you.」

         I watched Shiori, who looked relieved.

         I didn’t mind her staying over, and it never bothered me either.

         But, well… I was still pretty shocked.

         I tugged back the feelings that threatened to drag me down, tying them tight and forcing them still.

         I swallowed the sigh that nearly escaped.

         Shiori had told me she was living with a relative.

         Her story had never quite added up, so finding out she was actually living with someone who wasn’t a relative wasn’t all that surprising, but still…

         I never imagined that person would be Sendai-san.

         Shiori and I were best friends, and we had always been together since high school. Well, maybe “always” wasn’t exactly the right word to use, but we were around each other long enough that it felt that way.

         And yet, she never told me the truth.

         The fact that Shiori and Sendai-san even knew each other, let alone were friends, was a complete shock to me.

         Last year, I’d had the chance to talk to Sendai-san directly, and I asked if she and Shiori were friends. She told me they weren’t.

         At the time, it was just something I’d blurted out—a question born from the small doubts that had piled up in my mind. I hadn’t had any proof, so I accepted her answer without giving it much thought.

         It wasn’t that I’d believed her, but it wasn’t that I hadn’t either.

         I’d just decided to let it be.

         And now, after hearing today that they really had been friends all along, I couldn’t process anything Sendai-san had just told me.

         It felt like I’d just finished cleaning my room, only to kick over the trash can and scatter everything again—then be forced to start over from the beginning.

         The doubts I’d once tidied away and convinced myself to forget were sprouting up again, making me want to view everything with suspicion.

         「… Maika? Earth to Maika.」

         A gentle tap on my shoulder pulled me back to reality.

         「Oh, sorry. I wasn’t listening.」

         I said, looking at Shiori, the one who’d kept the truth from me.

         「That’s fine, but are you okay? You’ve been completely spaced out this whole time. Are you feeling okay?」

         「I’m fine, I’m fine.」

         「… Um, was it something I did?」

         Shiori asked hesitantly, glancing at me.

         「Huh?」

         「Well, you know… I kind of imposed on you out of nowhere and have been staying over at your place for a while now.」

         「Oh. No, no, it’s not because of you, Shiori.」

         I smiled, but my mind slipped back to our high school days.

         To that winter break when Shiori and I had studied together.

         Back then, I’d asked her if she was friends with Sendai-san.

         She’d given me the same answer as Sendai-san—that the two of them weren’t close.

         But in truth, they’d already been close back then. And now, the two of them were even living together.

         「Are you sure?」

         Shiori asked anxiously.

         I wished I’d pressed her a little more back then and made her to tell me the truth.

         But even if I had asked—

         This isn’t good.

         It wasn’t good for me to keep thinking about this in the state I was in now.

         「Don’t worry. It gets a little boring being alone at home all the time, so I’m glad to have you over. It kinda feels like we’re roommates, doesn’t it?」

         「Really?」

         「Yep. Oh, what’s it like actually living with a roommate, though?」

         I asked casually, pretending the thought had just come to me as I put my phone away and turned toward Shiori.

         「Huh? Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?」

         「Just curious. I want to know what it’s like living with your relative. It might be useful for the future, you know?」

         「Are you thinking of getting a roommate, Maika?」

         「Maybe. You never know.」

         「It’s normal. Nothing out of the ordinary.」

         Shiori replied in a flat tone.

         She hadn’t talked much about her living situation the whole time she’d been staying over, so I hadn’t expected to get much out of her anyway. I wasn’t planning to press her about why she hadn’t told me the truth, or why she’d kept her friendship with Sendai-san a secret, either.

         Those kinds of conversations could wait until things had settled—after she and Sendai-san, who she seemed to have argued with, have made up.

         — At least, that’s what I told myself. Still, I hoped she would at least let me get away with asking about a few things.

         「Since you’re living with your relative, that must mean you guys get along pretty well, right?」

         The frustration of not being told anything as her best friend, mixed with some curiosity, made the words slip out before I could stop them.

         Even if I managed to piece together a few scraps of information, it wouldn’t be enough to form a full picture. Filling in the blanks myself would only lead me to the wrong conclusion anyway, so it was just a passing question I asked out of my own interest.

         「Yeah, kind of.」

         「I didn’t know you had relatives you were close enough to get into arguments with. You’ve never mentioned anything like that to me before, Shiori.」

         「I just never had the opportunity to bring it up.」

         「I see. So, does your relative look like you?」

         「Why do you think they might look like me?」

         「Well, because family members tend to look alike.」

         「I don’t think we do, though.」

         She said in a clear voice.

         「So, what kind of person are they?」

         「Hmm, let me think. They’re really nice, and they have long hair.」

         「What kind of description is that?」

         「Well, that’s just how they are.」

         「Hmm… I kinda want to meet them sometime.」

         「If the opportunity ever comes up.」

         Shiori said in a troubled tone, then quickly changed the subject.

         「Oh, right. About today’s homework…」

         Resisting the urge to prod her further, I replied, “What about it?”

         「There was something about it I wanted to ask you.」

         Shiori said, a little hesitantly.

         I guess we’re not talking about her relative anymore.

         We’d spent a lot of time together and talked about so many things, but that didn’t mean we knew everything about each other. Everyone had things they didn’t want to say—things they’d rather keep to themselves—and I didn’t think there was any need to force those into the open.

         There were reasons for everything—reasons for keeping quiet, and reasons for not wanting to tell me.

         And because Shiori was my best friend, I wanted to respect those reasons.

         She wasn’t the kind of person who’d tell lies for the sake of hurting someone.

         That’s why, I felt like I should just wait for her to tell me when she was ready.

         「Oh, the professor’s here.」

         Shiori said as I was in the middle of answering her questions.

         I turned toward the front and replied, “Okay, let’s pick this up later.”

         It had been almost two months since university started, and May was already coming to an end. I’d gotten used to this new environment full of unfamiliar things, but today’s ninety-minute lecture felt longer than usual. It just wouldn’t end.

         I glanced at Shiori, who hardly ever talked about the person she was living with.

         Unlike back in high school, she actually paid attention in class now.

         There were other things about her that had changed too, like the earrings hidden beneath her hair. She hadn’t worn any back then.

         It wasn’t strange that she had them now, considering I’d started wearing earrings myself, but when I’d once asked if she wanted to get matching ones, she hadn’t given me a clear answer. So when she suddenly decided to get her ears pierced, I couldn’t help wondering if it had something to do with a boyfriend—or maybe with Sendai-san.

         Come to think of it, did Sendai-san have any piercings?

         I’d been so shocked to see her on campus that I couldn’t remember at all.

         It wouldn’t be surprising if she did, but I couldn’t even recall what kind of clothes she was wearing today.

         I tore my gaze away from Shiori and looked back toward the front.

         This really isn’t good.

         The more I tried not to think about it, the more my thoughts circled back to Shiori and Sendai-san.

         I just couldn’t figure it out. Those two had nothing in common, and I couldn’t begin to understand why they were living together. I kept digging through the past, trying to make sense of the present.

         But there was nothing that connected them.

         Sendai-san had said they were living together because they were friends, but back in high school, she’d denied being friends with Shiori at all. She’d never explained why she’d lied then, or how they’d gotten close enough to move in together. Somehow, we’d only ended up talking about Shiori.

         There were plenty of other things that bothered me, too.

         If I really wanted answers, it would’ve been faster to just ask Shiori—who was sitting right next to me—than to chase down Sendai-san.

         — Not that I planned on doing that, though.

         I let out a quiet sigh and stopped myself from slumping over my desk.

         I was still in the middle of class.

         Straightening my back, I fixed my gaze on the professor.

         No matter how much I thought about it, I was just running in circles. Before I could make myself dizzy, I forced my thoughts away from Shiori and Sendai-san and tried to focus on the lecture.

         It didn’t make the class go by any faster, but at least paying attention to the professor’s voice kept me from thinking about things I shouldn’t.

◇◇◇

         After a long, long day at school, Shiori and I stopped by a family restaurant for dinner before heading home.

         When I opened the front door, I called out, “I’m home,” and Shiori followed right behind me, saying the same.

         This felt pretty nice.

         I’d never had a roommate before, so I didn’t really know what it was like, but having someone else in the apartment made everything feel a little brighter. Of course, that was probably because the person that was with me was Shiori, and I felt like if it was her, I wouldn’t mind sharing a place with her.

         That was how much she meant to me as a dear friend.

         Which was exactly why I wished she hadn’t kept the fact that she was living with Sendai-san from me.

         「Do you want something to drink, Shiori?」

         I asked, looking over at her sitting on the rug.

         「I’ll have some orange juice.」

         She said.

         「Okay, stay there. I’ll get it for you.」

         I took the orange juice out of the fridge, poured it into a glass, and set it on the table.

         「Thanks.」

         Shiori said, smiling at me.

         I sat down across from her, and we started chatting about random things when my phone buzzed.

         I looked at the screen and saw a message from Sendai-san that read,

         『I’ll be there soon. Is that okay?』

         Earlier today, I’d told her she could come over once she was finished with work. I’d invited her over hoping that it would help the two of them make up, which was my main mission for today.

         The two of them seemed to be avoiding each other.

         Shiori had been staying at my place, refusing to go back to the apartment she shared with Sendai-san. And Sendai-san, claiming she was busy with tutoring, had told me to tell Shiori to come home instead of coming here herself.

         There were a ton of things I wanted to ask both of them—and just as many things I wanted to say—but for now, getting them in the same room and sending them home together was my priority.

         I texted back with, “Yep, it’s fine. We’ll be right here waiting for you.”

         Then, I lifted my gaze from my phone to Shiori.

         「Are you sure you don’t want to go home, Shiori?」

         「Yeah.」

         「The person you’re fighting with is probably really worried about you, though.」

         I said, picturing Sendai-san’s face as I spoke.

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