As four o’clock rolled around, it began to get dark out, and Sakuta rose to his feet.
“Time we got going,” he said.
Mai stood up as well, reaching for her coat and purse.
“You could stay for dinner.”
“I’ve got work. We’ll come over next time we’re free.”
“Geez, didn’t you just have a shift yesterday? Take a holiday!”
“I’ve got shifts tomorrow and the day after, too.”
With that, he stepped out the door. Glancing up, Sakuta noticed that half the sky was dark. Orange to the west, shifting to a pale blue, then navy, then a night sky.
“Later!”
“Thanks for having us.”
His parents walked them down to ground level. Mai and Sakuta waved to Kaede, then headed to the lot where Mai’s car was parked.
She paid the three-hour lot fee and drove them away.
The navigator screen showed the roads back to Fujisawa.
“Mai, can I borrow your phone?” he asked when they stopped at a red light.
“Go ahead.”
Since she had her hands on the wheel, he grabbed her purse from the back seat and pulled out her phone. The phone case had bunny ears on it.
“It’s locked.”
“Point the screen at me.”
It registered her face and unlocked itself. A very diligent phone.
The light turned green, and as the car pulled out, Sakuta dialed a number.
It rang once and the call was answered.
“What’s up, Sis? What’s the news?” Nodoka seemed to be in very high spirits.
“It’s me,” Sakuta said.
“Oh. Why?”
His voice was enough to send her spirits plummeting. Possibly into the abyss below.
“You got a minute?”
“I’m at a dance lesson, but we’re on break. That’s why I picked up.”
She sounded disgruntled, obviously urging him to get to the point.
“It’s only the third, and you’re already back at work?”
“We’ve got a gig coming. So? What’s this about?”
“Did you have a dream on Christmas Eve?”
With her hands on the wheel, Mai glanced his way. Her focus was soon back on the road, but she was clearly listening.
“Huh? Where’s that coming from?”
“Just answer the question.”
“I did. We were doing a show at a hall in Yokohama. Uzuki…all of us had the same dream, same venue, same show.”
“That’s nuts.”
“We already have a gig booked there for April first, so none of us were all that surprised.”
“I feel like you should be.”
He figured Uzuki had just gone, “Like, wow! Destiny is on our side!” and ended the discussion.
“So, Sakuta? Why are you asking?”
“Just curious if you’d had one.”
So he was done here. It was a yes-or-no question. Nodoka, Uzuki, and the rest of Sweet Bullet had all had dreams. That was everything he needed to know.
“Sorry to interrupt your break. Bye.”
“Hey, don’t—”
Since he’d got what he wanted, he went ahead and hung up. Nodoka was still talking, so he thought maybe she’d call back. He waited a few seconds, but the phone didn’t ring. Maybe her break was wrapping up. Maybe she’d decided it wasn’t important. Sakuta was fine with it either way.
“Thanks for the phone, Mai.”
He put it back in her purse.
She’d definitely been waiting for that.
“Sakuta, is my lack of a dream bothering you?”
“You’re the only person I know who didn’t have one.”
“I’m more concerned about the weird one you did.”
“Can’t argue there.”
Mai’s point was valid. The people who’d had weird dreams should be the source of concern. Kaede, Ikumi, Nodoka, Uzuki, Kento, and Juri.
“And your parents didn’t dream, either.”
They’d said as much earlier. Neither had ever had a dream that felt especially real.
“But they’re grown-ups. Not exactly in the throes of adolescence.”
If these dreams were Adolescence Syndrome, then they were only affecting people in that age bracket. Where the upper limit on that lay was a mystery, though.
“Then I guess I’m no longer an adolescent,” Mai murmured, like it was simply a fact.
That carried more weight than her words alone.
“You’re very mature,” he said.
“High time you grew up, Sakuta.”
She smirked, teasing him.
“That sure would spare me all this worrying about Adolescence Syndrome.”
That was definitely the ideal solution. The problem lay in the definition of grown-up. Since Adolescence Syndrome derived from the mental instability of youth, it was likely not solved purely by the accumulation of time. Maturing within was the true definition of growing up. And by that standard, Mai was certainly qualified.
“……Which means you’re right.”
“Hmm?”
“The people who did dream are the weird ones.”
“And you’re going around seeing this Santa Claus that I can’t.”
“That makes me sound pretty far gone.”
Objectively speaking, he truly was.
“Be grateful your wonderful girlfriend puts up with your mess.”
“My current goal is to hit up driving school after final exams so I can take a turn at the wheel.”
He hadn’t mentioned this before.
“So that’s why you’re taking all these holiday shifts!” Mai said, grinning.
✦ ✦ ✦
Two days later, January 5. Sakuta’s restaurant shift started at five. It was his fourth straight day working there; all his earnings were meant to pay for driving school.
Hunched over against the winter cold, he stepped through the front doors.
“Welcome!”
At the chime, a bright, cheery voice called out. A small-statured waitress came out to meet him. She was a high school girl he’d never seen here before, but one he knew only too well.
“I’m not a customer, so you’ll wanna go with ‘Good morning.’”
He was the veteran here, and Sara Himeji had an IN TRAINING badge on.
“You oughtta act surprised at least!” Sara protested, sulking. “‘Why are you here?!’ Or ‘When did this happen?!’ You know, like a normal person.”
“You took the job, right? It’s not a mystery.”
“You’re so boring!”
She seemed frustrated by his refusal to give her the reaction she’d wanted. Letting her vent in one ear, he headed to the back room. “Good morning,” he said, offering the standard start-of-shift greeting—one used despite the hour. He passed the kitchen entrance on his way to the break room.
He could hear Sara’s footsteps following him.
“Sensei, isn’t this uniform cute?”
“You make it look good,” he said, not even glancing back.
“Really? Great!”
She still clapped her hands with glee.
He stepped behind the lockers to change into his server uniform. First he took off both top and bottom, then he was down to his underwear.
“Oh yeah, Himeji…,” he called over the lockers. He’d gotten his shirt on and was doing up the buttons, but he could still hear her out there.
“What?”
“Did you dream on Christmas Eve?”
“I did!”
“What about?”
“Was with a friend on Enoshima.”
“Enoshima, huh?”
Same location as Kento’s dream, and presumably Juri’s.
“You didn’t happen to see Yamada there?” he asked, putting one leg in his slacks.
“I totally did. On a date with Yoshiwa. So much for being in love with me! What a bastard.”
“You drew a line in the sand, so he moved on.”
He tightened his belt and donned his apron, then emerged from the lockers.
“Yamada told you, huh? Same day you rejected me.”
This was a little dig at him; she pouted after she said it.
“Huh?”
A new voice, neither Sakuta’s nor Sara’s.
Tomoe was standing in the door, in uniform.
It was likely she’d entered just in time to hear Sara’s last line—hence her shocked gasp.
“What’s up, Koga?” he asked, as if nothing had happened.
“Er, um…I was gonna show Himeji how to work the register, but she wasn’t on the floor.”
She was looking for Sara.
“Then I’ll have Sakuta-sensei show me!” Sara said, pointedly moving over to him and clutching his elbow.
Tomoe’s eyes snapped to that hand. Reflexively.
“Senpai, what did you do?” she asked, glaring at him.
She was grumpy to the point of being sullen.
“Oh! Tomoe-senpai, are you jealous?” Sara asked, teasing her before Sakuta could answer.
“O-of course not!”
“But you’re flummoxed. Did something happen between you two?”
Sara clearly knew it had. Until a few days earlier, she’d been able to read minds. She’d probably learned enough to put the pieces together and know something had gone down, if not the specifics of it.
“Nope. C’mon, let’s hit the register.”
Ending that subject, Tomoe turned to go.
“Oh, gimme one minute,” Sara said. “Got something Sakuta-sensei needs to hear.”
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped the screen.
“This thing here…were you aware?”