Early morning. Five days of struggle later.
I was at Bon Senga, a bakery near Toyohashi Station, following my morning training. According to my parents, it was a timeless spot, and the adjoining café corner certainly had the retro vibe to match. As they liked to remind me, it hadn’t changed a bit since their day.
My food for thought: buttercream bread and cream soda. The topic of rumination: the struggle. There was no other way to really describe that first day. The gap between me and the president had seemed insurmountable, but through the magic of video, we could look back, study, analyze, and correct my form. Now, I was proud to say she was only an arm’s length away.
I had the afternoon to practice as I saw fit. As I threw back some ice to chew, I made a mental note to do my workout routine later and then squeeze some more running in.
Right about then was when Tsukinoki-senpai showed up, donning a plain sweater and a light jacket. She took a seat in front of me and crossed her legs. A pair of slim-fitting pants clung to them. “Sorry if I’m being a bother. I assumed you were busy.”
“Was on my way back, so no worries. I thought you said Tamaki-senpai would be with you.”
“Doofus forgot to pick up his change-of-address form. Should be scrambling to city hall right about now. He’ll be here eventually.” She asked the kindly looking waitress for a coffee and castella, then slipped a card out of her pocket. “My new address. Come say hi.”
“Thanks, but you could’ve just messaged me.”
“I’m telling everyone in the lit club in person. Indulge me.” She removed her glasses and started cleaning the lenses. They already looked clean to me. “I wanted to come to the club room, but, well, they put on a whole ceremony and everything just to kick us out. Awkward coming back right after.”
“I guess.”
“I mean, look at me. I can’t walk up looking like this. And putting my uniform back on would be like, I dunno, some kinda tasteless cosplay. Do I look like the kind of person to visit my alma mater in tasteless cosplay?”
“Whatever you say. Is it really that weird?”
“Describe to me a single family-friendly scenario where that happens.”
Hey, I didn’t disagree, but after what I did at Momozono, I really had no moral high ground.
“Have you already touched base with the others?” I asked.
“You’re the last one. Caught Yakishio-chan not too long ago.” She finished wiping her glasses, reapplied them, and then smirked at me. “Interested?”
“Insofar as we’re racing soon, I guess.” Two days from now, to be precise. Saturday. According to Yanami, Yakishio was in the zone. “I’m supposed to be staying at the president’s place for a training camp the day before. I dunno, I just do what I’m told.”
“Houkobaru’s place? She’s all the way in Ikobe. What the heck for?”
“She wants to fine-tune things before the day of, I guess. Sakurai-kun’s supposed to be there with us.”
“You’re racing Saturday, yeah? Shintarou and I’ll be leaving town the day after.”
We paused as the waitress came with Tsukinoki-senpai’s coffee and cake. She thanked the lady before she left.
I lowered my head. “I’m really sorry all this is getting in the way of giving you guys a proper sendoff.”
“Nah. It’s a relief, really, seeing you guys doing all this.” She splashed some milk in her coffee, then stirred, the spoon soundlessly skirting the edges of the cup. “Working things out on your own. Nice to know you can handle things when I’m gone.” A subtle sadness came over her. “Crazy to think you were a ghost for so long. A member only in name. Now here you are, club president. Looking out for Komari-chan. Well, and Yakishio-chan. She’s putting a lot of stock in you too, these days.”
“Don’t know if I’d go that far. I think she probably just clung to me because I happened to be the only one she could get a hold of who had nothing to do with the track team.”
Tsukinoki-senpai made a snide face while I did battle with the quickly melting ice cream in my soda. “You sure about that? You ask me, I say anything’s possible.”
“You realize it’s Yakishio we’re talking about, right?”
“So what? They say opposites attract for a reason. Plus, I mean, hell, she wouldn’t have literally asked you out on a date if she wasn’t at least a little interested. Sometimes it just takes a while for it to click.”
I sucked on my straw. Tsukinoki-senpai could say some funny words sometimes. Yakishio? One of the most popular girls in school? Queen of the social hierarchy? Into me? It was so ridiculous I almost laughed. Screw whatever Tamaki-senpai said about peaks and missed opportunities. This wasn’t an opportunity. It was a pipe dream.
Unless…
Tsukinoki-senpai was a girl. Albeit a very brain-poisoned girl, but a girl nonetheless. She offered a unique perspective that, perhaps, Tamaki-senpai and I lacked.
“You’re serious?” I dared to ask. “You really think I might have a chance?”
“Uh.” Tsukinoki-senpai agonized for some time before putting her hands together and hanging her head. “I’m sorry, dude, I was just saying crap. I can’t read that girl.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Yep. Back to my cream soda.
Come this weekend, our senpai would be gone. Away from Toyohashi, living new lives. Nagoya might’ve still been in Aichi Prefecture, but it was by no means within casual visit range. And that made me a little sad. It did. But that was a testament to how much thought I’d been putting into the future without even realizing it. Yakishio’s decision. The future of the literature club. The ways I, myself, might change in the coming year. Why was I so invested in this race? Why had I ordered a cream soda of all things? I never ordered cream soda.
Little bubbles fizzed to life, zipped, and then popped in the foam of that neon green liquid. In much the same way as the uncertainties dancing around inside my skull.