There was a huge restaurant on the first floor of the hotel we were staying at. It had space for more than a hundred guests. Large companies used it to train their new employees, but it was also used for prestigious ceremonies, cabaret by famous singers, and even formal marriage parties. The menu and interior design were swapped out between morning and evening; in the mornings, they served a buffet-style breakfast. The center of the room was filled with buffet stations offering dishes and fruit in every color of the rainbow.
It was eight in the morning. The classes were staggered by an hour each for breakfast: seven, eight, or nine. Our class’s breakfast was at eight. It was normal for students to be up at this time under normal circumstances, but a lot of them looked like they hadn’t slept much the night before; they were yawning and swaying as they filled their plates.
I could understand that this was a special occasion, but that didn’t make sleep any less important. Teenagers these days were so irresponsible. Sure, I hadn’t had enough sleep either, but that was fine, as long as I didn’t think too hard about it. It was my philosophy that you couldn’t die from a hemorrhage if you didn’t know about it.
Now you might think that doesn’t make any sense, and actually, I think so too. My brain wasn’t working right this morning—partly because I hadn’t slept properly, and partly from the shock of Mashiro breaking up with me.
“Something happen, Aki?” Ozu asked as we headed back to our table to join our group.
“Wh-What makes you say that?”
“The food on your plate.” He pointed at my tray of fried chicken, fish and chips, fried mackerel, french fries, fried shrimp, and tempura. Every single item was wrapped in a crispy brown coat, each with its own texture. “You’re always going on about being healthy, and now you’re having fried everything for breakfast. ’Course I’m gonna think your brain’s glitched or something.”
“Hey, you’re right. I didn’t even notice...”
“You’re kidding?”
“Maybe my body just wants to wither away.”
“Sounds dangerous.” Ozu smiled. Clearly my genuine troubles were nothing more than entertainment to him. “So, what happened?”
“Mashiro and I...broke up.”
“What?” Ozu’s eyes flew open. “Your relationship wasn’t even real, though. It was part of your contract to get a job for the Alliance.”
“Yeah. And Mashiro wanted out.”
“Huh. Isn’t that kinda sudden?”
“I’ll say. I still have no idea what’s going on.”
I thought back to my conversation with Mashiro that morning. Her request came right out of the blue, and even more confusing was the fact that I knew she liked me. Why would she want our relationship to end? Was it that she didn’t like me anymore, or was there something else to it? My head had been spinning with countless questions ever since it happened.
After Midori’s confession last night, I’d figured out who the girl was that I (supposedly) liked. I now knew that it was finally time to face my feelings and come to terms with what they meant. That was confusing enough as it was. And then on top of that, Mashiro suddenly decided to break up with me for some unknown reason? It was a miracle my brain was still in one piece.
“I thought you couldn’t break up, though.”
“I dunno why,” I said, “but Mashiro said Tsukinomori-san was okay with it. He said we could break up, and he’d still give us all a gig at Honeyplace Works.”
“Right... Makes you wonder. It all seems a little too convenient.”
“Took the words right outta my mouth.”
When I had tried to ask Mashiro what the deal was, she just smiled at me serenely and promised that I would “know soon enough,” before going back inside.
There was definitely some sort of hidden meaning to her words, and I’d been ruminating on it this whole time. I was even still anxious about it now, at breakfast.
“Did you ask Tsukinomori-san?”
“Yeah, I messaged him on LIME. He didn’t tell me much, but Mashiro wasn’t lying. Said something about how it was probably ’cause Mashiro was all mature and independent now, and didn’t need me looking after her anymore—like he’s not her dad. I’m sure he’s hiding something from me too.”
“He didn’t make it to CEO for nothing. Keeping secrets and pulling invisible strings is a part of his job. An annoying part.”
“Yep. And what’s even more annoying is—”
“Come on, Ooboshi! You’re taking forever! Your lovely girlfriend’s gonna be in a retirement home by the time you’re done!”
“—now I’m gonna have to figure out how to explain everything to these guys.”
Our group was impatiently waiting for us; they were already sitting down with their food. Actually, it wasn’t so much our group as the one girl who lived according to her wild, animalistic instincts: Takamiya Asuka.
“What’re you mutterin’ about, Ooboshi? Got a problem?”
“No. Stop yelling.”
“Oh, okay! Let’s hurry up and get eatin’ then! You guys ready?” Takamiya turned to the other girls at the table.
“Yes.” Mashiro put her hands together politely and turned to face her plate. “Let’s eat.”
Next to her was the scholarly Maihama Kyouko, who promptly started to splutter around the spoon in her mouth. “Aff! I-I-I’m swowwy! I aweady swarted eatimgh!”
“Damn, Kyouko-chin,” Takamiya said. “You put on an innocent face, but really you’re a hungry bottomless pit, huh?”
“Oh no, how embarrassing... Please drop it!”
“So what if she’s got a healthy appetite?” Suzuki said. “Nothin’ wrong with that, right, Maihama?”
“Hey! You’re only saying that ’cause you started eating early too! Are Mashiro-chin and I the only ones with any manners left in the world? Kids these days, I swear!”
I’d overheard from the girls during the trip that Takamiya was a member of the school’s track and field club. That would explain why she cared so much when it came to manners, despite her wild personality in everything else. Sports clubs tended to cultivate those sorts of attitudes.
Spending time on the class trip with my group had helped me get to know them quite a bit. A person’s personality comes out more clearly in the smaller details, such as what they choose to put on their plates from the buffet. Takamiya’s plate was centered on red meat and protein. Maihama had made the very feminine choice of scrambled eggs and bread, and Suzuki was obviously thinking with his muscles, having picked yogurt, a banana, and a protein drink. I knew Mashiro well enough to guess that she’d picked the grilled fish—and I was right. As for Ozu, he’d stepped away from his usual choices and gone for a mix of ordinary things with a good nutritional balance.
There was actually a little bit of deviance behind Ozu’s selection. My friend’s breakfast philosophy was that he didn’t care what he ate, as long as it benefited his health in some way. More often than not, he’d just take dietary supplements. I’d warned him beforehand that having those for breakfast would make him look like a weirdo on the class trip and that he shouldn’t do it, so he’d switched to a proper meal today.
I didn’t especially like making comments on Ozu’s eating habits, but I felt it was necessary to help him fit in with the other students. He could have all the diet supplements he wanted when they weren’t around.
Speaking of commenting on eating habits, my own plate was loaded with fried food. And I worried about Ozu being the weirdo. Racked with guilt, I shot a glance at Mashiro. “I’m gonna sit across from you.”
“You don’t have to ask permission for that. Just sit down.”
“Okay...” I followed her instruction tentatively. I was used to Mashiro being curt; it just felt extra awkward today. Probably because of what happened between us that morning. Or maybe it was because of the feelings I’d discovered inside me after talking with Midori last night. In which case, it was probably best I try to act nonchalant about the whole thing. These feelings had to stay with me—no one else could be allowed to pick up on them.