Chapter 128

The Fushimi on the screen wore a melancholy expression. I rewound the video ten seconds back to check the flow up to that point. It was the last day of summer vacation. I was planning to submit this film to a competition, and I only had a few hours before the deadline. “Maybe it was better the way it was before…,” I muttered to the screen, then rechecked the video prior to my last edit. …I’ve seen this so many times now, I have no idea what’s best. Fortunately, I could simply upload the video for submission—that gave me time to make these last-minute adjustments before the date changed. “No making your film before you finish your homework.” Under this brutal constraint from Fushimi, I’d finally wrapped up my assignments three days ago. When was the last time I’d finished my summer homework early? It couldn’t have been any later than fifth grade. That alone was quite an achievement. It was all thanks to Fushimi’s nagging…er, I mean, her constant support. Though she was also the reason I was having to work on my film up until the last second. “One more time, from the top.” The video itself was only eighteen minutes long, so it wasn’t a big deal to review the whole thing. Unfortunately, watching it so many times had made me completely unable to tell which version was superior. “Bubby? Bath’s ready.” With a thud, my sister Mana entered my room. She was using a towel to dry her hair. “How many times have I told you to knock first?” “Not like you’re ever doing anything.” I sighed. But what if I was? Her middle school was starting classes tomorrow, too, and she had redyed her blond hair. She was currently wearing a tank top and some embarrassingly short shorts. “Another movie for the school festival?” she asked. “No, this one I did for myself.” She widened her eyes. “A movie for yourself?” Right, I never told her. “There’s this film competition. The deadline is tonight at eleven fifty-nine PM, and I’m trying to get it ready for submission.” “Whoa!” She peered into the display. “Hey, that’s Hina.” “Yup. She’s the main character.” Since I’d had no time and no one else to ask, Torigoe and I appeared a few times as side characters. I hadn’t been planning on showing it to Mana right now, but it was already playing. “Thank goodness she’s not in her plain clothes,” my sister said. “Yeah, she’s in uniform the whole time.” “Very wise, young man.” “I know.” Mana giggled. My childhood friend was the most popular girl in school, yet for whatever reason, her fashion sense was nonexistent. When shooting films for myself, I had her wear her uniform as often as possible. “I wanna watch it from the beginning,” said my sister. I glanced at the clock in the bottom right corner of the screen; it was just past ten. I still had some time, and maybe taking a bath would serve as a good change of pace. “You may find it boring,” I warned. Nevertheless, I wanted someone else’s thoughts, so I decided to restart it and let her watch. “Oh, please. No need to go on the defensive.” Mana slapped my shoulder, and I let her take my seat. I was curious to see her reaction live, but I had to take that break. I grabbed a change of clothes and my phone. When I got downstairs, I saw I had a text from Torigoe. Will you make it? Probably, I quickly replied. Torigoe had written the screenplay for the school festival film, and partly for that reason, I’d spent a lot of time talking over the contents of my own film with her. She’d come with me to shoot despite the blazing heat and had even agreed to play background characters—she had been a lot of help. You made the right choice getting Hiina for the main role, she said. At first, I wanted Torigoe to be the star. In my opinion, the character’s vibes were closer to hers than to Fushimi’s. I ended up asking her a few times before she finally refused outright. But Fushimi’s acting turned out to have its own charm. She adjusted herself to fit my image. Looking at her through the lens, I realized once again how good an actress she was. I had given her the screenplay beforehand, so she had some time to prepare, but the final product left me and Torigoe speechless. Was acting talent something you could inherit? I’d only recently learned that her mother was also an actress. Maybe that was why it was her dream to become one, too. I couldn’t remember it, but my mom said she and Fushimi’s mother were mom friends, so I had definitely met her at some point when I was very young. I took only a quick shower and skipped soaking in the tub, then hurried back to my room. Mana was staring at the screen, her chin propped up on her hand. When the film ended, she turned to look at me. “What did you think?” I asked. “I dunno.” I dunno, huh. I hadn’t been aiming for a wide-ranging appeal like a Hollywood movie, so her reaction was probably to be expected. “But I get the vibes,” she said at last. “And?” I prompted her for more. Mana raised one eyebrow and pondered. “Erm, I’m not sure how to put it, but even though there were very few lines, I felt like I could tell what Hina was thinking, or something.” Honestly, that… “Thank you.” …was really nice to hear. I patted her head; her hair was still damp. “Eep?! What’re you doing, Bubby?!” Mana swung her feet and giggled. “Hina’s so different from how she looks in the school festival film. I was like, whuh?” Yeah, that one was more grounded and orthodox. “It’s like she pulls me into the movie,” she continued. “She’s amazing.” That was the best praise a creator could receive. I chose to submit what I’d shown Mana. I’d done everything I could do; I might as well try, even if I was sure I’d lose. I took my chair back from Mana, then I opened the film company’s website, filled out the form, and attached my video. When I hesitated for a moment on the submit screen, Mana roared out a battle cry and clicked it for me. “Ah!” “Hee-hee. No point in reconsidering now, right?” I guess she’s right about that. The screen refreshed, and a message displayed, reading, Submission complete. “You start classes tomorrow, too, don’t you?” Mana said. “Go to sleep already.” Right again. Like her, I also had to go back to school the next day. “Sure, sure.” I shooed Mana away. “If you don’t get up, I’ll wake you with a kiss!” “Why on earth…?” “I thought you’d love that, since I know you adore your cute little sister.” “No way. The only one obsessed with her sibling in this house is you, gyaru girl.” “I’m not obsessed!” She stuck her tongue out and said “G-N!” before leaving my room. I could only assume that was short for good night. Before turning off the lights, I lay down on my bed and messaged Torigoe that I’d submitted my entry. It was the morning of the first day of classes. “I’m pooped.” Himeji sighed from the next seat over. This was Ai Himejima—Fushimi’s and my childhood friend. She used to be an idol until a little while ago. Now she was working as a performer. I cast her a sidelong glance and muttered, “Uh-huh.” Just thinking about the tests that would start the following day had tired me out, too. “Excuse me.” Himeji looked at me and narrowed her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be asking why?” She sighed again. “Ai, don’t bother. He’s a lost cause,” Fushimi cut in from the seat on my opposite side. Am I getting dissed right now? At any rate, it seemed Himeji wanted me to ask why she was tired. Just go ahead and talk if you wanna talk. “So what happened?” I asked. Himeji cleared her throat dramatically. “My play will be opening in December.” I’d been hearing mention of this play for some time now. So they’d finally decided on a date. Himeji glanced at Fushimi, gauging her reaction. “Ggghhh…” Fushimi bared her fangs like an angry puppy. Fushimi had failed the auditions for the play at the last stage, so she didn’t like hearing about it. “Stop provoking her, Himeji,” I said. “I’m not provoking anybody. I’m only sharing some news.” So don’t give me the news in front of Fushimi, all right? Fushimi wasn’t much better—she had zero resistance to provocations; she’d lash out in envy at the tiniest thing. And then anytime Fushimi tried to assert dominance, Himeji had to slap her with a comeback. Summer break had done nothing to fix their habit of fighting over everything. “As I was saying,” Himeji began again, “I’m pooped because rehearsal has been so intense lately.”