“Things would be easy if the whole of humanity could just be chill, like you and me,” Ayase said.
“Well, yeah, but that’s not how it works.”
I didn’t understand her sensitivity to formal language. But as long as I knew it was something she didn’t like, I could avoid pointlessly stressing her out.
All it took was a practical, mechanical approach.
If everyone went over their emotions with honesty and figured out their differences, they could all be happy. But for some reason, that wasn’t how the world worked.
“My friends at school don’t take me seriously when I talk like this,” she said. “Instead, they laugh and ask me if I’m trying to get them to sign some kind of agreement.”
“That sounds tough.”
“Yeah. So I cut ties with all but one person.”
“Wow, that’s… Geez.”
That sounded like quite a bold, daring move. But the way she laughed cheerfully as she told me about it was strangely refreshing.
“They were all people I didn’t mind losing,” she continued. “Trying to get on their good side seemed like a waste of time when I had no idea what they were thinking or when they might explode.”
“Point taken… Oh, speaking of time, standing here’s kind of a waste. Want me to help you sort out your stuff?”
“That’s nice of you.”
“You might repay me one day, so it’s a win-win.”
“I see you’ve thought this through.”
“I wish you’d stop teasing me…”
“I meant that as a compliment. Okay, where should we start?”
She looked around the room, thinking it over, then started mumbling to herself.
“I guess I gotta start with that. Otherwise, we won’t get anywhere,” she said, pointing to a cardboard box. “I’d like to put that one away first. Do you have a box cutter?”
“Yeah, sure.”
I went to my room, got a box cutter from my desk drawer, and approached the cardboard box she’d pointed to.
“Oh, just hand it to me. I’ll do it,” she said.
“Don’t worry, it’s no trouble opening a box.”
“That isn’t what I meant. It’s just that…”
Ayase seemed to want to say something, but I had my back to her and was already slicing through the masking tape. There was a loud ripping sound, and I saw white material in the box. I understood her reaction then and regretted what I had done.
“That box contains…clothes,” she said.
“I wish you would have told me that sooner!”
I averted my eyes from what I had just seen and backed away, panicking. Ayase chuckled at my reaction. It must’ve been obvious I was a virgin.
“Ah-ha-ha. You don’t have to treat it like it’s contaminated,” she said. “That’s a little insulting.”
“Don’t you know how tempting stuff like that is for a teenage guy?”
“It might be if I was wearing it, but once it’s washed, it’s not that different from a handkerchief.”
“Oh no, don’t hold it up like that. Please.”
She pulled out the white cloth and playfully fluttered it in the air. I knew it was only a piece of fabric, but it made me oddly anxious.
We were on the same page regarding interpersonal relationships, but it appeared we had some major differences.
“I’ll handle my underwear,” she said. “Would you mind hanging up my school uniform?”
“Uniforms are pretty provocative, too,” I shot back.
“Settle down. If you get excited by everything, you won’t be able to help. Come on, don’t think. Just work.”
“R-right. Don’t think. Okay.”
I repeated the words and picked up her uniform, which consisted of a shirt, skirt, and cardigan. I couldn’t help noticing how soft everything felt.
“Huh?”
My hands stopped moving. The tie, probably designated by the school, was a distinctive light green—the color of young leaves. As soon as it entered my field of vision, I was overwhelmed by a powerful sense of déjà vu.
“Hey…Ayase. Is this from Suisei by any chance?”
“Yeah. Are you surprised that a flashy girl like me goes to a prep school like Suisei?”
“That’s not why I’m surprised… I go there, too.”
Suisei Metropolitan High School was a school in Tokyo’s Shibuya district for elite students. It took pride in its alumni’s high rate of enrollment in top colleges. The curriculum was strict, but students were allowed to take part-time jobs if they kept up their grades, and that flexibility was what had appealed to me when I’d chosen a school.
Talk about a strange twist of fate. My dad remarried, and I wound up with a stepsister who was not only my age but also went to my school. At least she wasn’t in my class. That would have been truly awkward.
I looked at Ayase to gauge her reaction and saw her narrowing her eyes beneath her feathery bangs. She appeared to be thinking.
“So you go to Suisei, too…,” she said. “I see…”
“…I’m sorry. Dad should have checked beforehand.”
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. Mom didn’t check, either.”
“But it’ll be awkward. I’ll just pretend I don’t know you when we’re at school.”
“Huh? No, that’s okay. Though, maybe you’ll be more comfortable that way.”
“What do you mean by—?”
I swallowed the rest of my sentence when my phone suddenly started vibrating. I pulled it out and checked the screen, which said simply, Work.
“Go ahead and take the call. I’m not interested in tying you down, and it doesn’t bug me if you talk on the phone in front of me.”
“We really do think alike,” I said, meaning it from the bottom of my heart.
I tapped the TALK button as I left Ayase’s room. A call at this hour probably meant they wanted me to fill in for someone who couldn’t work their shift. It turned out exactly as I’d thought, and though I was annoyed, I agreed to help out. I was a real yes-man.
I finished my call and went back to Ayase’s room, where she was still unpacking. I saw her turn to me, looking bored.
“What did they want?” she asked.
“They want me to fill in for someone at work. Sorry, I won’t be able to help you anymore.”
“That’s okay. It’s my job anyway.”
Ayase wasn’t the least bit bothered by the sudden change in plans. She took it in stride, like this was all business as usual.
A beautiful girl my age, with a flashy, rebellious appearance. From my point of view, she had all the elements of a ticking time bomb—exactly what I didn’t want. But because of her mature attitude, I was able to talk with her with minimal anxiety.
“Okay, then,” I said. “I’m off.”
“See you.”
Her tone was matter-of-fact, and she went right back to work. She was nothing like what you might expect from a younger sister. But she was the most comforting type of person I could have asked for as a new member of my family, and I left the room relieved.
I was at a large bookstore near Shibuya Station.
It was located just past Shibuya Crossing outside the Hachiko exit, which was always full of tourists and YouTubers shooting videos with tripods and selfie sticks.
Looking up at the large display screen blasting commercials about smartphone games at maximum volume, I parked my bicycle and walked into the eight-floor building where I worked.
My part-time job was here at this bookstore.
I’d always been a bookworm and devoured everything from children’s books to foreign literature, even mysteries and fantasies, until they lost all their flavor. I don’t read; I devour. That’s the best way to put it. And the bookstore where I work, filled with the fresh paper smell of newly printed books, was pure heaven.