“I’ve been reading these too,” said Hoshihara. “They’re pretty good, huh?”
“Yeah, definitely. Wow, would not have pegged you for a reader, Hoshihara.”
“Hey! Are you saying you think I’m stupid or something?!”
It was only after she pouted her lips and got all up in my face that I realized I’d said something potentially quite offensive. Panicking, I scrambled to apologize—though, in all honesty, it was her sudden proximity that was making me sweat more than anything.
“M-my bad, I didn’t mean it as a judgment on your intelligence or anything like that. Just that it doesn’t seem like the sort of thing a girl like you would be into… Er, I mean…!”
Crap. Something told me I was only making things worse now. Sure enough, Hoshihara leaned in even closer and glared up at me from below. As I felt a cold sweat trickle down my neck, I frantically tried to cobble together some possible explanation that could exhume me from this grave I’d dug for myself, but then…
“Well, you’re not wrong, I guess,” she said, pulling away. “I know I probably don’t look like your average bookworm—I wouldn’t really call myself one, either. I mean, I read a lot of manga, but that’s about it… Anyway, yeah, back in junior high, I wrote a book report on Of Moon and Men, actually. Just chose it randomly because it was one of the options available. Wasn’t all that interested when I first picked it up, but I ended up really loving it, surprisingly… It’s, like, the one series of books I try to keep up on.”
Aha. That makes sense…I suppose. It was quite the coincidence, then, that I happened to be reading through one of the few sets of novels she considered herself a fan of. At the same time, if she enjoyed these books so much, I couldn’t help but feel like she was missing out by not expanding her horizons beyond a single series.
“Why don’t you try reading some other books, then?” I asked.
“Huh?” she said.
“The author has another novel that’s pretty great too, you know. It’s called The Echidna’s Dream—another one that kind of uses war as a central theme, though it’s a one-off, standalone novel, unlike Of Moon and Men. It has more of a sci-fi edge to it as opposed to pure fantasy, so I’m not sure if that’s your thing, but yeah. It’s also got some semi-philosophical segments that I think are written in a really nice, digestible way, as well as some bits of dark humor here and there that really help soften the overall vibe. So it’s not a slog or a stressful read by any means, it’s more like—”
At this point, I realized I was rambling at a million miles per hour, which made me feel extremely self-conscious. I kicked myself for getting carried away; surely this sounded like nothing more than an obnoxious nerd rant to her.
But she defied my expectations yet again: her eyes lit up, gleaming with curiosity. “Wow, Kamiki-kun! You could be, like…a book reviewer or something!”
“Y-you think…?” I stuttered, relieved to know I hadn’t creeped her out. If anything, she seemed rather engaged.
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve been wanting to read more, too. There’s just so much out there to choose from, y’know…? Oh, hey! I’ve got an idea!” Hoshihara pulled her flip phone out from her pocket and whipped it open. “Here, let’s trade contact info! That way, you can give me any other book recs you might have!”
Wow. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d traded contact info with someone. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’d been asked to do so in my entire high school career.
“O-okay, yeah. Sure thing,” I said, trying my best to conceal my nervousness, lest I reveal what an uncommon occurrence this was for me. I reached into my desk again, and this time I found my mark right away. I pulled out my cell phone, flipped it open, clicked my way over to the contacts menu, and…
“Uhhh… How do you do the wireless info exchange thing, again?” I asked.
“What, you don’t know?”
“Just forgot, is all. I really don’t give my number out all that often, sorry.”
“Wow, really? But then…how do you even make friends?”
Believe me, I wish I knew. I ask that question every day.
“Ha ha. Yeah, I dunno, really…” I said, laughing it off. “Guess I just don’t have that many friends to begin with, ha ha…”
It was only after these words left my lips that I realized I probably shouldn’t have said them. Indirectly calling myself a loser just made it sound like I was fishing for reassurances, which no doubt put Hoshihara in a bit of an awkward spot as someone who hardly knew me. Yet she just let out a quick, noncommittal “huh” and reached for my phone.
“Here, lemme see real quick.”
“Y-yeah, okay,” I said, handing it over. Hoshihara started clicking and clacking away with all the thumb dexterity one might expect of a popular teenage girl.
“There, you’re all set!”
She handed me back my phone, and I looked down at the screen to see that a new entry had been added to my meager address book:
Natsuki Hoshihara
It was just written there in a simple, unadorned font like every other entry on the list, yet there was something about this specific combination of letters that made them almost shimmer on the screen. When I looked up again, I saw the owner of this name smiling back at me with a sweet, unabashed grin.
“Looks like you just made another friend! Congrats, Kamiki-kun!” Hoshihara gently clapped her hands together twice to celebrate the occasion.
“Heh… Y-yeah, th-thanks,” I said, stammering awkwardly. Whether due to generalized shyness or embarrassment, I could feel my cheeks growing flushed, and a fuzzy feeling welled up in my chest. I turned away in the hopes that she wouldn’t pick up on my discomposure, but thankfully she either didn’t notice or was too polite to comment. Instead, she walked back to her own desk and retrieved her backpack. Then, slipping her arms beneath the shoulder straps as she made her way toward the door, she turned back again to wave goodbye.
“Okay, think I’m gonna head home, then,” she said. “See ya later.”
“Yeah, see ya later…” I replied, echoing her words without even thinking.
The classroom fell quiet once more. Even long after Hoshihara was gone, that strange, fuzzy feeling in my chest refused to abate. In fact, I could actually feel my pulse quickening even more, until eventually my heart was beating so hard and fast, I could almost hear it. I couldn’t get Hoshihara’s smile out of my head; all of the words we’d exchanged just kept playing again and again in my mind on repeat. As the realization set in that she and I had actually found something we had in common, and that her number was now safely recorded in my cell phone, my body temperature continued to rise. I could talk to her again any time I wanted—and the thought sent a numbing chill of elation coursing through my entire body from toe to tip. My head was spinning with thoughts, and every one of them was of her. I found myself wanting to cry out as loud as I could for no reason whatsoever.