Sendai-san had brought up the topic of going to university once right before the start of summer vacation. I had already expected that she wanted to attend a university outside the prefecture.
What she said the other day simply confirmed what I already knew, but I couldn’t help feeling shocked nonetheless.
More accurately, what I found most shocking was that it was still bothering me, even though it was something I had already expected to hear.
I could guess why Sendai-san wanted to attend a university outside the prefecture. It likely had something to do with what I saw when I visited her house during summer vacation.
She wanted to get away from home.
At least, that’s what I think.
If my guess is right, then there wasn’t anything I could do to change Sendai-san’s mind.
… No.
This isn’t right.
It wasn’t that I wanted to change Sendai-san’s career path, and even if I did, there was no point in trying. Our relationship would end as soon as we graduated from high school. Besides, her career choice was hers to make—it wasn’t something I had any say in.
Even though I knew all that, I hadn’t moved an inch since Sendai-san went home earlier. I’d been sitting in the same spot where she had been before she left.
We didn’t have dinner together today, so I hadn’t eaten yet.
But I wasn’t hungry.
I slowly got up, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed for the bathroom. I felt that taking a long bath would lead to more unnecessary thoughts, so I decided to take a quick shower before heading to bed.
At this rate, I’d have no trouble getting into the university I wanted to apply to. I wasn’t good enough to attend the same university as Sendai-san, but since I wasn’t aiming for a prestigious school anyway, it wasn’t an issue for me.
Sendai-san was way too concerned with my business and tried to interfere too much.
Earlier, she had casually suggested that we apply to the same university, even though she didn’t know my grades. While I was confident my father would agree to let me attend a university outside the prefecture, my current grades made it clear that I had no chance of getting in. Even with the studying I did over summer vacation, it would be far too difficult. I’d bet that if Sendai-san saw my scores on the upcoming midterm exams, she’d agree with me.
It’d be a waste of time to apply to a university I knew I couldn’t get into.
「Ugh, why am I even thinking so seriously about this?」
After tossing and turning for a while, I turned off the lights.
My father still hadn’t come home yet.
I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy whenever all the lights in the apartment were out.
「Everything’s fine.」
‘I’m not scared,’ I thought to myself as I closed my eyes.
I wasn’t sleepy at all, probably because I went to bed much earlier than usual. Still, I closed my eyes, hoping I could fall asleep anyway.
One sheep, two sheep.
I tried the age-old method of counting sheep, but sleepiness never came. In the end, I only managed to doze off briefly late into the night, and without getting a proper night’s rest, it was already time for school.
I entered the classroom while my sleep-deprived mind was still in a daze.
Even an hour into class, my head still felt foggy, and I couldn’t retain anything the teacher was saying. Before I knew it, third period had ended, and Maika was calling out to me.
「Let’s go, Shiori.」
「Huh?」
「Our next class is in the audiovisual room.」
「Oh, right.」
I quickly grabbed my textbook and notebook and stood up. Before I could double-check that I had everything, Ami took hold of my arm and pulled me out of the classroom and down the hallway.
I wasn’t the type to go to bed or wake up early, but I usually slept at a reasonable time. It wasn’t normal for me to feel this groggy and sleep-deprived, having my mornings ruined like this.
It was all Sendai-san’s fault that I couldn’t pull myself together.
Her talking as if she could decide my future for me was what made me so tired and unable to focus in class.
It was so irritating.
To vent my frustration, I stomped down the hallway, but the sound of my footsteps helped clear my foggy mind. After shaking off some of the haze, I started walking briskly again when I heard Ami call out to me.
「Shiori, look in front of you.」
「In front of me?」
「Come here.」
Maika pulled me aside by the arm, causing my body to tilt slightly.
I shifted my focus from my feet to what was directly in front of me.
I made eye contact with Sendai-san.
―― Huh? Sendai-san?
But how?
… Wait, no, it’s not weird to see her here.
Since we went to the same school, running into Sendai-san wasn’t unusual, but it was the first time we had ever made eye contact while at school.
While I was preoccupied with being surprised by both the obvious and the unexpected, I suddenly realized I had bumped into Sendai-san, who had been diagonally in front of me.
「Whoa!」
It was more than just a bump—it actually hurt because our shoulders collided. Since Maika was still holding my arm after pulling me away earlier, she managed to keep me from falling.
「Are you okay, Shiori?」
Maika asked as she helped me regain my balance.
「I’m fine.」
I replied as I adjusted my posture.
When I looked back at Sendai-san, I saw that Ibaraki-san and her other friends had joined the scene.
「You alright, Hazuki?」
「Yeah.」
I couldn’t take my eyes off Ibaraki-san, who was having a conversation with Sendai-san similar to the one Maika and I were having.
―― The spot next to Sendai-san belongs to me.
The thought briefly crossed my mind, but I immediately tried to brush it away as I heard a familiar voice calling out to me.
「I’m sorry. Are you okay?」
Sendai-san stared at me and asked with an aloof tone.
We weren’t allowed to act too familiar with each other.
I knew that, but I wasn’t good at dealing with her when she was like this.
I turned my gaze away from Sendai-san.
「… Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sorry as well. I was spacing out.」
If blame had to be assigned between the two of us, it was probably my fault.
Even though I was looking right in front of me, I wasn’t watching where I was going.
Maika and Ami had repeatedly warned me to pay attention while walking, but I was so distracted that I didn’t notice. Though, if I had to pinpoint the reason for my distraction, it was all because of Sendai-san, but I couldn’t say that.
「Are you okay as well?」
I asked, repeating the words that had been said many times in the past few minutes, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to say Sendai-san’s name out loud.
「Yeah, I’m good. I’ll help you pick those up.」
Sendai-san said as she picked up a textbook that had fallen on the floor. Watching her do this made me realize I no longer had my textbook or notebook in my hands.
「Sorry. I’ll pick them up myself.」
I squatted down to pick up my notebook, but as I reached for my pencil case, Sendai-san grabbed my wrist.
「I’ll get it for you.」
Sendai-san said in a gentle tone.
But she wouldn’t let go of my wrist.
She was holding onto it so tightly that it was starting to hurt.
「No, I’ll get it myself.」
If we were in my room, I would’ve demanded she let go. But since we were at school, I tried to handle it more politely.
「Oh, sorry.」
The hand that had been gripping my wrist tightly finally released its hold.
「Did you get everything?」
Sendai-san asked as she gave my textbook back to me.
「Yeah, I did. Thanks.」
「Don’t worry about it.」
Sendai-san flashed a doll-like smile before walking away. She quickly vanished from view, leaving only the sound of Ibaraki-san’s voice echoing down the hallway.
I brushed the dirt off my textbook, notebook, and pencil case before calling out to Maika and Ami.
「Let’s go.」
「―― Did you do something to upset Sendai-san?」
Maika tapped me on the shoulder and asked with a curious look on her face.
「What do you mean?」
「She was staring you down and grabbing you by the wrist. Are you sure you didn’t upset her?」
「Isn’t it just because I walked right into her? It did hurt quite a bit.」
I couldn’t imagine that Sendai-san was staring me that hard.
It did hurt when she gripped my wrist, but it hadn’t left a mark.
I couldn’t understand why Sendai-san had done that, though.
I glanced at my wrist where she had grabbed me.
It looked exactly the same as it did before I bumped into Sendai-san.
I sighed, wishing that there had been something left behind that wouldn’t fade away.
TL: Whenever I see Maika’s name show up in a part, I instantly feel relieved because I know it’ll be a short part and usually does not involve Sendai. Maika is my angel and Sendai makes my life more difficult.
Ave Lilium Translations 