“No way... R-Really?!”
“Yeah. He’s only responded to Kana and I.”
“...What did he say?”
“Well...there isn’t much to tell. Even though we asked him directly, he wouldn’t tell us the reason he’s absent, and his replies were really evasive.”
“...”
“Well, what’s certain is that he’s not hurt, and he hasn’t gotten sick all of a sudden. It’s clear that he’s healthy enough to respond.” I tried to speak in a cheerful voice even though the subject wasn’t that cheerful.
There was no worry of him being sick or hurt, plus I could get in touch with him. In other words, Ura’s absence wasn’t because of unavoidable circumstances, but rather his own volition. He knew what would happen if he skipped out on school three days before the festival, yet he still did it without telling anyone while cutting off communication with his classmates. It was like he was throwing it all away and trying to pretend these last few weeks of preparing for the school festival had never happened.
“I see...” Ibusuki said curtly as she stared off into space.
“Hey, Ibusuki... You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you?”
Her thin shoulders twitched at my question. “Wh-Why do you ask that...?”
“I can’t really prove it, but...ever since I started talking to you, something’s felt off. I mean...you’re not even mad.”
“...” Ibusuki turned pale and bit her lip.
From the outside looking in, it must have seemed like what Ura was doing was horrible. After all, he was skipping school, and he had gone off the grid with his classmates; it was totally irresponsible. Even his classmates who I glanced at earlier all seemed to show their annoyance toward Ura in their arguments and attitudes.
However, Ibusuki, the person who should have been the most troubled, didn’t seem upset. Normally, Ibusuki would have complained to me and said something like, “Just what is that idiot doing?!” But today, there wasn’t any anger or even annoyance showing in Ibusuki’s expression. Furthermore, it was strange that she hadn’t come to see Kana or me. I felt like normally she’d come straight to us and ask something like “Hey, I can’t get in touch with Urano. Do you guys know what’s up with him?” However, we’d had no contact from Ibusuki until I came to see her. Even the person who’d asked Kana for help with Ura wasn’t Ibusuki herself, but rather a girl from Ibusuki’s class.
“I thought that if you weren’t mad, you were worried that he wasn’t just skipping school and was actually sick or injured... But that’s not how it is, huh?” When I’d told Ibusuki about how I’d gotten in touch with Ura, what I saw on her face wasn’t relief, but acceptance. “The way you reacted was like you kind of expected that he was absent by his own will.”
“...”
“Hey, Ibusuki. If you know something, then tell me. What happened to Ura?” I tried to say it as gently as I could, but I ended up sounding like I was pressing her. Ibusuki looked down, and her shoulders shook.
“...I-It’s probably my fault,” she said, sounding like she was about to cry. Then she began to speak falteringly about the incident that happened yesterday after school. It may have been too trivial to call an incident, but for those two, it was probably a very serious event.
⚘
It had happened yesterday, when most of the preparations keeping us after school were finished and the majority of the class had already gone home. The only ones left in the classroom were me and my friends, Rin and Mai. Rin and Mai were helping me do some paperwork I was submitting to the festival committee. Well, it was less like helping me, and more like I was working by myself while they chatted next to me.
“Mai, are you going to invite your boyfriend to the festival?”
“No way! I don’t want the school to find out that I have a boyfriend.”
“Are you still pretending you don’t have a boyfriend so boys fawn over you? Are you having fun toying with the unpopular guys?”
“You’re making it sound bad. I’m just keeping their dreams alive. Besides, if there’s a better boy at school than my boyfriend, I’ll just trade up. I’m not fooling them, I’m just giving the boys here a chance.”
“It’s all about how you look at it, I guess.”
“How about you, Rin? Are you going to invite your new boyfriend?”
“There’s no way.”
“Yeah, I mean, there’s no way you could invite that old man here.”
“H-He’s not old! He’s only twenty-five!”
“This thing you have for older guys is a problem. That college guy from before was fine, but dating a full-on adult is a crime, you know? He’s a criminal.”
“Oh my god, shut up! Stay out of people’s love lives.”
...Seriously, why are these two having this conversation while someone’s working beside them?
Rin and Mai are good friends, but...when it comes to romantic relationships, we aren’t really on the same page. They’re so advanced that I can’t keep up. This is why I couldn’t ask them for advice that time with Momota...
“Hey, you agree with me, right, Saki? There’s no way you could date someone ten years older than you, right?”
“...What?” I was at a loss for an answer after Mai had suddenly swung the conversion my way.
“Y-Yeah... Well, it’s not totally impossible, you know. I think what’s most important is how the two people feel about one another.”
“Huh? Now there’s a surprise. Who knew you were so broad minded?” Mai seemed dissatisfied, while Rin silently nodded in agreement.
Before, I would have said that dating someone ten years older than you is unthinkable. Personally, I’ve never been romantically interested in someone that much older than me. I figured that when everything from where you are in life to your sense of values is different, there’s no way you could have a relationship with someone twelve years older than you.
But now I know those two. Looking at them has changed the way I think. When I see how seriously in love they are and how seriously they think about each other, I think they’re a wonderful couple. It’s not to say that if you have love, an age difference doesn’t matter—I think. At least, I’ll bet that those two don’t think that way. They don’t look away from the obstacles and problems that come with their age difference; they try to overcome them while accepting each other for who they are. That’s why that couple looks so precious and beautiful.
“Okay, I’m done!” I said. I’d been keeping my hands busy while mulling over those thoughts, so I’d completed the paperwork. “After I turn this in with Urano, I’ll be done for today.” Urano was making the final phone call to the store that we were renting the maid outfits from. He should be back any time now, I believe.
“Oh, way to go,” Mai said, offering me her canned appreciation.
“You sure are working hard at this, Saki. Were you always like this?” Rin asked, which made me think.
“Well, you know. I honestly didn’t think I’d work so hard myself.”
It wasn’t like I wanted to be the class representative or anything. Everyone was like, “Do it, Saki,” so I was like, I guess I’ll do it. I thought it would be fine if I could just do whatever and get the job done.
“But Urano is working harder than I thought he would. That’s why I thought I should work hard too, so I’m not outdone,” I said, accidentally sounding a bit happier about it than I’d intended. The two of them nodded in agreement, as if to say, “That’s for sure.”
“Who would have thought that he’d run the class so well?”
“He has no presence. I knew he was friends with Kanao-kun, but I’ve never seen him talk outside of class.”
“I’m sorry to say it, but I didn’t even know his first name.”
“Oh, yeah, me either. I mean, I wasn’t even sure about his last name.”
“When you first nominated him, Saki, I honestly thought it was some new kind of bullying.”
“He was all teary eyed and freaked out.”
“And sure enough, at first he was just scared and hid behind you...but now, the whole class is following his orders.”
“He’s smart, rational, and quick witted. At first, I didn’t like him telling me what to do, but he only says things that make sense, so it makes you feel like you’d rather follow his lead than push back on it.” Both Rin and Mai were speaking highly of Ura, and for some reason it made me feel proud.
“He he he. He’s a pretty amazing guy. I knew that all along, though,” I said with a smug face.
Well...I didn’t know he’s this amazing. It seems like he overcame his own limits all for the sake of working hard to make the school festival a success. I’m glad he did, but at the same time it feels kind of strange.
Hmm. Just why is Urano trying so hard?
“Hmm... It’s suspicious,” Mai said as she stared hard at me.