Soon, it came time for the bus to depart. We were still the only two passengers aboard when the doors finally closed with a psssh of compressed air as the engine kicked on and the driver pulled out onto the road. That settled it: There was no way we’d be going back to Tsubakioka on the same flight as everyone else now. We’d successfully made our escape from the class trip and were now veering off into our own adventure.
“Man, my heart won’t stop racing,” I said. I’d never broken any school rules before, so the thought that we’d abandoned our whole group during the class trip sent an exhilarating chill down my spine. “Guess we’re officially delinquents now, huh?”
“Oh, please…” said Ushio, rolling her eyes with a smile.
About ten minutes after our bus departed, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Someone was trying to call me. “Aw, dang. It’s Hasumi.”
“You going to answer it?”
“I don’t think so… Then I’d have to explain everything.”
Not only that Ushio and I had left to go on our own trip together, but that we were heading from Sapporo to Wakkanai and wouldn’t be back in time for our flight. I didn’t feel confident that I could succinctly distill all of those details in a way that he could understand and sympathize with. And even if I could, there was no telling whether he’d keep that information to himself or feel compelled to tell the teachers.
Eventually, my phone stopped buzzing. Shortly after that, I got a text message: “Dude, where’d you go? We’re all eating breakfast without you.”
“Damn,” I said. “That’s gotta be the first text I’ve gotten from Hasumi in months. He must be actually kinda worried about me…”
Part of me felt a bit bad for not even giving him a basic update—but a bigger part of me felt way too mentally preoccupied with everything else going on right now to really care. It had been quite the eventful morning already, and the full reality of what we’d done still had yet to completely set in.
“Oh, hey… I’m getting a call too,” said Ushio. “It’s Natsuki.” She looked at me, silently asking what to do.
It would probably be a good idea for us to explain the situation to Hoshihara, at least—even if she might be a little hurt that we’d run off on our own without looping her in. I probably should have let her know last night, in all honesty.
“You should answer it,” I said. “I think she deserves to know.”
“Yeah, okay,” said Ushio.
She picked up the call, and I leaned closer so I could listen in through the tiny cell phone speaker.
“Hey, Ushio-chan? Are you okay?” asked Hoshihara. “Where are you right now? We’re all down here at breakfast, and no one knows where you are. We’re getting kind of worried.”
“Sorry, Natsuki,” said Ushio. “It’s kind of a long story… Are you free to talk?”
“Yeah, I’m just eating breakfast with everyone, like I said.”
“Are there any teachers around?”
“Huh? No, not right now… Ms. Iyo’s running around the whole building looking for you and Kamiki-kun, though.”
“Gotcha.” Ushio closed her eyes and slowly exhaled as if to muster her resolve—then opened them right back up again. “Listen, Natsuki. I’ll tell you what’s going on, but I want you to promise me you’ll try to stay calm. And if possible, I’d appreciate it if you could make sure that no one else overhears this conversation.”
“Y-yeah, of course… Gimme one sec.”
Through the speaker, I could hear the sound of Hoshihara pushing back her chair to stand up. I assumed she was moving to a more secluded location.
“Okay… I’m good to talk now, whenever you’re ready.”
Ushio proceeded to explain the situation—starting all the way back from the break-up conversation we had in Otaru, much to my surprise. It seemed she really did intend to tell Hoshihara everything.
Hoshihara, for her part, listened with rapt attention—at points gasping along the way in response to each subsequent revelation. Thanks to Ushio’s skillful summary, the two managed to cover all the important bases in only about five minutes.
“Okay, got it. So in other words…you two are running away with each other, basically?!”
“Er, well, I mean… Mmm…”
Ushio glanced at me as if hoping I’d throw her a lifeline. Although I felt like Hoshihara might be interpreting this as more of a romantic getaway than it actually was, I supposed her assertion wasn’t technically inaccurate, so I nodded.
“Yeah, something like that,” said Ushio.
“Ooh!” Hoshihara squealed. “Wow, that’s so bold of you two! Sounds like you’re in for a real adventure! I’m kinda jealous, honestly!”
She was clearly excited for us. On top of that, she didn’t seem bothered that we’d left without telling her, which was a relief.
“So I’m guessing I shouldn’t tell the teachers about this, then?”
Ushio covered the mouthpiece of her phone and faced me. “What do you think?”
I’d already been mulling this over during the course of the call; it was something we had to be very careful about. “I think she’d better not, yeah. Don’t want to put her in the weird position of having to communicate that for us, and we don’t know if they’d try to call the transit company and get them to turn the bus around or whatever.”
“Good point.” Ushio returned to the call, saying, “Yeah, I think it would probably be better if you didn’t say anything, Natsuki. And not just to the teachers but to our other friends as well. Though I do feel bad for making them worry…”
“Hey, no worries! I totally get it. You two made this decision for yourselves, so obviously you’re gonna want to see it through to the end. I’ll be rooting for you both!”
Ushio cracked a smile. “Thanks, Natsuki… That means a lot.”
This made me feel warm and fuzzy inside too. Although I still didn’t know whether we were making a wise decision, simply knowing that we had Hoshihara’s support was enough to make me feel somewhat reassured.
“Oh, by the way, is Kamiki-kun there with you right now?”
“Yeah, he’s right next to me,” said Ushio. “He can hear you.”
“Okay, then I’ll just say this to you both: Once you make it back to Tsubakioka, you’d better tell me all about your adventure. And if you’re okay with it…maybe the three of us can all go out and get food again together sometime too.”
“We definitely will. I promise.”
Agh, damn it… I feel like I’m gonna cry. This sentiment from Hoshihara was so incredibly sweet, it was like the warmth of her goodwill filled my heart. That I’d somehow managed to become friends with someone as considerate and kindhearted as her was one of the few accomplishments I felt were truly worth being proud of.
“Well, all right! You two have a great time, then!”
“Thanks again, Natsuki. Talk to you later.” Ushio set her phone down in her lap, then gently exhaled, like she needed a moment to bask in the afterglow of this conversation. “We’re definitely going to have to buy her a souvenir.”
“Yeah, for sure.”
I wondered if there was anything Wakkanai was famous for. I had no idea how prosperous of a town it was, but I was sure we could at least find a gift shop somewhere. All I could hope for was that this bus ride would fly right by so we’d have as much time to explore as possible. I was really looking forward to this; despite a few remaining anxieties and reservations, my mood was absolutely on the upswing now.
Though I would feel even better if this snowy weather would clear up.