Chapter 156

I woke up the next morning, ready to attend the second day of the school festival. Checking my chat with Ms. Ashihara had become part of my morning routine. No new messages. I sighed. If she’s filming in Hokkaido, maybe she really can’t make it. I’d hoped it was an excuse, but it seems she was telling the truth. I ate the breakfast Mana made while she did her makeup at the dining table. “Are you coming to the school festival today?” I asked. “Yeah, with friends.” She stopped curling her eyelashes for a moment to look at the clock. “Aren’t you running late?” “As a reminder, Fushimi’s play is at three PM.” “Yeah. And I’ve never seen a real play, so I’m super-duper hyped.” “I’ll make sure to tell her.” “Nice. But wait, won’t that put extra pressure on her?” “I don’t think your presence is that big of a deal.” Ms. Ashihara, on the other hand, was a different story. “I’m sure it’ll just make her happy.” At that point, someone rang the doorbell. I hurried to the entrance and opened the door to find Fushimi and Himeji waiting for me. Mr. Matsuda was standing behind them. “Morning, Ryou.” “Good morning.” “Morny-morn! ” I rubbed my eyes. Apparently, I hadn’t hallucinated Mr. Matsuda. “Umm, what’re you doing here?” I asked. “What? I’m going to the school festival, duh.” He pointed behind him at the luxury sedan parked outside. “You’re driving us to school?” “Yes, Ry. You have thirty seconds to get ready.” “Oh, I can leave right now.” I slipped on my shoes and tapped the toes against the concrete floor. “You just wanted to say that line, didn’t you?” “Yep!” “At least you’re honest…” Fushimi and Himeji chuckled at our exchange. “Is Ryou like this at work, too?” Fushimi asked. My childhood friends were sitting in the back of the sedan to either side of me. “He’s pushier.” “Pushy? Ryou?” Fushimi looked at me as though she’d just found out I was an alien. “Could you please not give her weird ideas?” I said. “It was just a joke, Hina. There is no way Ryou is pushy,” Himeji said. “Thank goodness. I was worried he was misbehaving at work.” “Do you have no faith in me?” I sighed. Mr. Matsuda cackled. “By the way, has Ms. Ashihara said anything?” I asked the back of his head. He shrugged. “Nope. She gets into method acting when she’s in the middle of a shoot. She rarely responds to this sort of thing when she’s like that.” I could sense Fushimi tense up at the mention of her mother’s name. Though she was uneasy, she probably still hoped Ms. Ashihara would come. We chatted about nothing in particular and soon we found ourselves in front of the school. Once we were out of the car, Mr. Matsuda said, “I’ll be back by noon.” Himeji cocked her head. “Will you be looking around by yourself?” “Of course not. You’ll be my guide, right, Ai?” “No. No way am I showing an old guy around my school.” “Oh, what’s the problem? You got to flirt with Ry yesterday, right?” “…?!” My hair stood on end while Himeji turned beet red. A memory of the two of us in that dark maze crossed my mind. “Flirt?” Fushimi blinked in astonishment. “Oh my. I was just trying to trick you, and you fell for it.” “Geez! Go to work now!” Himeji shouted. “See ya!” Mr. Matsuda waved before taking off. “Gosh. That guy…” Himeji sighed with a mix of frustration and anger. Mr. Matsuda had known her for a while, and he really knew how to push her buttons. “What were you two doing yesterday before we met up?” Fushimi asked. I assumed she was just curious. “Oh, nothing in particular,” I said. “Himeji wanted to flaunt her nurse costume and sat down in that same rest area where we ended up eating. A couple of guys who looked like college students almost blew her cover.” Fushimi had this of course look on her face. “…I asked him to come to the closing party with me,” Himeji said. “Huh?” Fushimi froze. “That’s all.” Himeji cooled her heated cheek with her hand. Then she turned around and walked off toward the entrance. “Right. I shouldn’t be surprised,” Fushimi said to herself. Smiling weakly, she started to walk off as well, though considerably more slowly. “I bet she’s actually pretty lonely. Ha-ha…” “I said no,” I called out after her. “You don’t have to force yourself to keep our promise, okay? I’m just glad you said yes back then…” Fushimi started speeding up, like she didn’t want to see my face. I caught up to her and grabbed her hand—but only in my imagination. In reality, my feet were glued to the ground. “Hina doesn’t really…” Someone’s voice echoed in the back of my head. I was pinned down by some unknown force and couldn’t take a single step. I felt betrayed. She always made it seem like she liked me. If all that was a lie, then I didn’t want to see her anymore. “Mornin’, Takayan!” Deguchi bumped into my shoulder. “What’re you doing just standing here?” “Uhh, I was just distracted.” “Still drowsy?” He laughed. “Let’s go. I read all the comments on our short, and man, no one gets it! Everyone’s focused on how cute Fushimi and Himejima are, and no one seems to understand your technical, directorial, and compositional genius.” “I didn’t realize I had a highbrow elitist so close by.” “Heh. Please, enough with the compliments.” That was a dig. “I’m telling you not to be such a snob. People can’t usually tell what’s good or bad about a production beyond the actors. That doesn’t bother me at all.” “That’s too bad.” Deguchi snorted. When did you become such a hipster? We changed into our indoor shoes as Deguchi told me about our classmates’ reactions. “Everyone’s happy that so many people are watching it, and they’re loving the rave reviews.” “Oh? I think that’s a good thing.” “They’re all grateful to Fushimi for the suggestion and to you for working so hard on it.” He rubbed the base of his nose. “Who rubs their nose in embarrassment these days? Are you my grandpa?” Deguchi laughed out loud and slapped my back. Once we all gathered for homeroom, the teacher shared news and a few warnings with us as usual. “I heard over two hundred people came to watch the short yesterday,” Waka said. “That’s amazing. Applause.” Everyone clapped. “It seems it’s quite popular. I’m proud of you all. But don’t get too crazy just because it’s the last day.” Once she was finished, it was time for the festival to begin again. I had no plans for the day, so I turned to ask everyone else if they had any ideas. It was then that I noticed a tense look on Fushimi’s face. “The rehearsal went perfect,” she mumbled. “Perfect. No issues. No issues…” Frowning, she headed out of the classroom. “Fushimi,” I called out after her. “Sorry. Please leave me alone for today.” I was hoping to distract her, but it seemed I’d gotten in the way instead. Himeji shrugged and sighed. “It’s always the hard workers that flub their lines during the show.” “Don’t say that.” What a Himeji-like line of thought. “I’m kidding. And I’m looking forward to the play, just so you know.” Oh right. I forgot to tell Fushimi how excited Mana was. I considered sending her a text, but I was sure Mana had already done so by now. “Ugh.” Himeji frowned as she looked at her phone. “Mr. Matsuda’s coming back in thirty minutes.” “That was quick.” “Doesn’t he have work to do?” “I’m sure he’ll say he’s always wanted to see li’l Aika’s school or something.” “Actually…that’s exactly what he said…” Himeji dropped her shoulders. “Too bad, Ryou. It looks like I must babysit your boss.” What does she mean, “too bad”? “I am sure you will die of boredom without the lovely Ai keeping you company at the school festival, but there’s nothing I can do.” I wasn’t sure whether she was joking or for real. And as for Torigoe, she had said Shinohara would be coming today, so I figured she’d be keeping her company the whole time. “Would you like to go around with Mii, too, Takamori?” Torigoe asked. I still wasn’t used to people calling Shinohara “Mii.” It didn’t suit her. “No, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your fun.” “I see.” “What, so you’re free, then, Takayan?” Deguchi had just arrived and caught sight of me. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll stay to watch the audience’s reactions.” “Let’s go pick up some girls,” he said. I remembered another classmate saying the same thing the previous year. “You don’t have anything else to do, right? Let’s go!” Deguchi grabbed my shoulder, and I froze, unsure what to say. “Deguchi’s such a sleazebag, it’s almost charming, huh?” said Torigoe. I know how you feel. He’s so sincere and predictable, it’s reassuring. “Huh? Torigoe, are you saying you like—?” “No.” “Let me finish!” “I doubt you’d even have the courage to talk to any girls.” I felt the same, and I had no intention of joining him. “You’ll eat your words when I come back with a thousand girlfriends! Right, Takayan?!” “Don’t drag me into your harem fantasy.” Torigoe looked like she wanted to say something as Deguchi dragged me out toward the school gates. “Here I come, ladies…!” He sure was fired up. You only encouraged him, Torigoe. Deguchi spotted a girl from another school and approached her with a “Hey!” “Oh boy… I just hope no one calls the police on him.” “Hey, Takaryou.” Shinohara approached me. She was wearing street clothes and had a puzzled look on her face. “What are you doing?” “Watching over this guy as he tries to pick up girls.” “Gosh… What a waste of time.” “I agree.” “No, I mean… Where’s Shii?” “Waiting for you, I think.” “All right. You stay here.” Me? Shinohara quickly disappeared into the school building. “Yeah, so I’m in second year. The name’s Deguchi…” He was talking to a pair of gyaru girls. He really was going for quantity over quality. “Whoa! So you’re gonna treat us?” “Huh? No, I…” “What’s the point of going with someone older if they’re not gonna treat us?” “Right? LMAO.” The girls laughed and clapped. I could see Deguchi’s morale gauge dropping in real time. “Hey, it’s Mana!” one of the girls called out. “You’re late!” “Sorry! I missed the train—!” As it turned out, the gyaru girls were my sister’s friends. “Hey, Bubby!” She waved at me, and the girls who’d been talking to Deguchi followed her gaze. “Whoa, that’s your bubby? The film guy?” “Oh wow. He’s, like, super good at editing and stuff, right?” They looked me up and down with great interest. “Yup. This is my bubby.” Mana awkwardly introduced me, then asked, “Why’re you here at the gates?” “Mana, you are not gonna believe this,” Deguchi said, “Your brother was trying to get a date with your friends without realizing who they—” “Um, what?” I shivered at the look on her face. “Then they said there was no point in dating someone as old as Takayan if he wasn’t going to treat them, and he got totally bummed out.” “That was you, prick.” I punched Deguchi’s shoulder. “Whoa, hold on. I’m totes okay if it’s Mana’s bubby! Wanna walk around together? I’m down.” “Yup, that sounds rad. I wanna hear about the movie!” The middle school girls seemed raring to go, but Mana jumped in between us. “No! No way, no way! Bubby’s no good! You don’t wanna date a guy who can’t even go to the bathroom by himself!” “Hey, don’t make stuff up!” I cried. That’s slander. “So they were your sister’s friends…?” said Deguchi. “That’s pretty hot.” “Get your head out of the gutter.” I sighed. At the risk of starting some weird rumors, I would have to say Mana was far cuter than her two friends. “Bubby’s off-limits, but you can go for Deguu. He’s got deep, generous pockets.” Mana pointed at Deguchi, fully ready to throw him to the wolves. “Are you for real?” “No cap?” The girls’ eyes lit up, and Deguchi, ever hopeful, pointed at himself with a smirk. “It’s true,” he said, then added in a whisper, “………I can afford some juice, at least.” It seemed the two girls hadn’t heard that last bit. “Let’s go, then!” “What about you, Mana?” “I—I’m going with Bubby!” “Me?” ““Incest,”” her two friends called out in unison. Mana stuck out her tongue playfully. “I bet they kiss at home.” “Yeah. It’s so obvious.” We do not! Isn’t she gonna say anything? “I’m gonna go for it, Takayan,” said Deguchi. He left with Mana’s friends, a determined look on his face. You realize they only see you as an ATM, right? “This is on another level compared to middle school, huh?” Mana said. “Yeah. There’s no shops in middle school, and all the class presentations are serious, so they’re not very fun.” As Mana looked around, she suddenly realized something. “Is the Boss here?” “Yeah, she just arrived.” “I’m gonna go with her, then.” “Oh, okay.” I was a little taken aback as she took off without me. In the end, I’d wound up all alone. As I was heading back to the classroom, I came across Torigoe. She didn’t say anything about Shinohara, so I figured they’d split up. Since I’d just been ditched by Mana, the timing was perfect, and we decided to walk around the school together. Torigoe said she didn’t have anywhere she wanted to go, so we wandered around aimlessly for a while, passing by all the classrooms without even looking inside. “Did you read my novel?” she asked. “Yeah, though I’m only about halfway through. Everyone’s so fast, and I’m so slow. Sorry.” “No, it’s fine. Tell me what you think once you’re done.” “Of course.” I already knew what most classes were doing by now, so there wasn’t as much to explore. Not to mention Torigoe had no interest in any of the presentations. “I’m just so worried people will think I’m ripping off this or that story, or that I’m basing my characters off this or that person.” Torigoe seemed chattier than usual. Maybe the festival mood was having an effect on her. I listened to her talk about her writing and nodded occasionally. Eventually, she said she wanted to try the curry she’d missed out on the day before, and I followed her. There were a lot more people sitting in the rest area today. We looked for a place to sit down and eventually found our way to the stairs of the empty special classrooms building. I loaded up a cheap plastic spoon with the brass band club’s curry. “Is Hiina okay?” asked Torigoe. “She looked so nervous.” “Himeji said it’s always people like her who flub their lines.” Himeji had a lot of experience performing live, and she probably knew all about such things. In fact, it sounded so convincing, I was starting to really worry. “Why’s she always saying stuff like that?” Torigoe sighed. “I guess it’s just her personality. And she really wants to set herself up as Fushimi’s senior, so she tends to come off as haughty and harsh.” As childhood friends, Fushimi and Himeji had always had a special relationship. And now Himeji was an entertainer, and Fushimi was striving to become one. It must be hard not to bring that into every conversation. “The drama club’s plays are really popular,” Torigoe said. “I heard they filled the gym last year.” That would mean they’d had an audience of over five hundred. “You heard?” “Yeah, I didn’t go myself.” “Same.” Our eyes met, and we laughed. Out the window, I could see people carrying folding chairs into the gym. Our empty curry plates were already stacked on top of each other at our feet as we talked about the school festival, our short film’s reception, and Torigoe’s writing again. The time flew by. “One hour left, huh?” Even I was getting nervous. “Hey, about the closing party…” I opened my mouth, but she interrupted me. “Wait. Don’t say anything. If……” She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. She repeated this a few times and played with her hair before she finally looked back up at me. “If you…if you were to think…you could g-go with m-me…I’ll be waiting…in the physics room. That’s all.” Torigoe looked away. Her hair hid her face from the side. Her breathing was heavy, as though she had used up all her mental energy. “All right.”