Sakuta stayed for a single cup of tea, then took his leave and headed back the way he’d come to Fujisawa.
He made it to the restaurant he worked at five minutes before his shift started, did a quick change, and punched his card with only a minute to spare.
Without batting an eye, he sailed out onto the floor, greeting a customer as they stepped in the door. He seated them, took their order, brought their food, cleared their dishes, rang them up, and bused the table. And did the same for each new arrival.
Rinse and repeat until the lunch rush died down, and the vibe shifted to a relaxed teatime.
With fewer orders coming in, he decided to resupply the drink bar.
“Azusagawa, take your break,” his manager said as he grabbed the emptied boxes.
“Will do.”
Sakuta piled those up out back, then headed for the staff break room.
No one else was there, so he flopped himself down on a folding chair. Someone had left a box of candy on the table—a souvenir—so he reached for that, and someone came in the door.
“Ugh, Senpai.”
Tomoe Koga flinched at the sight of him.
She had a big parcel with her and tried to hide it, but she was petite and couldn’t hide much. It was a flat bag, like a manta ray, the ends jutting out on either side of her. It looked like the kind of bag you’d carry a suit around in.
She’d graduated from Minegahara in March and was starting college later in April—only one reason she’d have a suit with her.
“Here to show off your outfit for orientation?”
“I had to pick it up now!” Tomoe fumed, hell-bent on denying that she had brought it on purpose. “The shop’ll be closed by the time my shift ends!”
“Sure, sure. Might as well put it on, then.”
“You’re gonna smirk and say I look like a kid playing dress-up.”
“Guess I’ll see you on the big day. When’s the entrance ceremony?”
“Huh? How do you not know that?”
His off-the-cuff question had provoked a weirdly high level of surprise.
What about that was so shocking?
“Why are we assuming I’d know the date of your entrance ceremony?”
He had no memory of discussing it before.
“’Cause we’re in the same college?”
“Huh?”
That caught him off guard, and he let out a squeak.
“How is that a huh?” she said, scowling back at him.
“Koga, you’re going to some all-girls college in the city, right? You landed a referral and got in without a hitch, and then I bought you wireless earphones to celebrate. I remember that much!”
“You did buy me that present, but we talked about the referral, and I ended up not taking it. I sat exams for your university instead……”
The more she talked, the more worried Tomoe got.
Sakuta was pretty sure he looked every bit as frazzled.
“You really don’t remember, Senpai?” Tomoe asked.
It was less doubt and more disbelief.
Sakuta felt exactly the same way. He couldn’t bring himself to accept what she was saying. It was too different from what he knew.
“The Koga I knew settled on that girls’ college.”
“……”
Tomoe was no longer arguing. She just looked lost. And behind that, he caught a clear sign of concern. She clearly thought he’d lost it.
“……”
“……”
Neither knew what else to say.
An uncomfortable silence settled over the cluttered break room.
The awkward tension was broken by someone else entirely.
“Good morning!” said a bright and cheery voice.
Sara Himeji came dancing in. She’d paired a springtime pastel blouse with a rather short skirt.
She found Sakuta and Tomoe in the break room and smiled, saying, “Oh! Sensei! Tomoe-senpai! Good morning to you both!”
“Morning.”
“Morning, Himeji.”
They both returned the greeting, but their voices betrayed them. Both were acting stiff after that strange conversation.
Sara picked up on that awkwardness and looked at each in turn.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Right, Senpai?”
Tomoe immediately replied to cover for Sakuta.
She seemed to understand he wasn’t quite himself and wanted to be considerate.
But Sara was not so easily dismissed.
“Oh yeah? You could cut the air in here with a knife.”
Sara shot Tomoe a dubious look.
“Seriously, it’s nothing.”
“Huh. Fine, be that way.”
She must have decided there was nothing to be gained here, and she backed off. Her next words made the reason clear.
“Right, Sakuta-sensei, listen!”
Face brightening, she changed the subject. Clearly eager to spill the beans.
“I saw the best thing at Enoshima yesterday!”
“What?”
“Yamada and Yoshiwa on a date!”
“……”
Sara was almost boasting, and Sakuta failed to react at all. More accurately, it wasn’t a surprise for him. He’d heard that story before.
Not in reality.
The source was a dream.
Kento Yamada was a student of his at the cram school, and he’d shared that news at the start of the year. How he’d dreamed of taking another student, Juri Yoshiwa, on a date to Enoshima. A whole puppy-love story. And Sara had dreamed about spotting them on said date.
“So both your dream and Yamada’s came true…,” he muttered.
“Dream? What dream?” Sara asked, crooking her head.
“You told me about it, right? You dreamed about going to Enoshima with friends and spotting Yamada and Yoshiwa together.”
“……”
The whole time he spoke, Sara just looked puzzled. When he was done, she upgraded that to baffled.
Next to her, Tomoe was looking even more concerned.
He was starting to feel cornered.
It was as if some unseen force was tightening around him.
Each breath came less easy than the previous one.
Sakuta felt awful.
Trying to free himself, he sought any glimmer of comprehension.
“Don’t act like you don’t know. Everyone’s taking about dreams coming true.”
The more he tried to remain calm, the more panicked he sounded.
“You hear anything like that, Tomoe-senpai?”
“Nope.”
Tomoe just shook her head.
“The dreaming hashtag, all over social media!”
His tone was getting stronger. And that made them both tense up.
“Tomoe-senpai, any clues?”
“Sorry, I’ve got nothing.”
She shook her head, clueless.
“……”
Their reaction left Sakuta speechless. It was like his insides had frozen over and the last support holding him up had cracked. He was about to crumble away.
“Hang on, you’ve never even heard of #dreaming?”
Unable to contain himself, he was leaning forward. His voice was getting louder.
Tomoe and Sara looked at each other. They seemed to be wondering how to handle this.
“Sorry, Senpai,” Tomoe said, speaking for them both. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Check your phones. It should be all over all the internet.”
They shared another glance, then dutifully pulled out their phones. Clearly used to making these searches. It didn’t take long.
“Yep, no such hashtag, Senpai.”
“Not on this app, either.”
They each showed him their screen, like this proved it.
“That doesn’t even…”
Both search results defied his expectations. Not one hit for #dreaming, just fuzzy results.
“Can I borrow that?” Sakuta asked, and he took Tomoe’s phone from her to search for the hashtag himself.
He did not get the results he wanted. Just the same outcome she’d shown him.
“……Where’d they all go?”
He tried again.
Naturally, nothing changed.
“Seriously, are you okay?”
He glanced up from the borrowed phone and found Tomoe looking downright scared. Sara was not much better.
Their voices seemed very far away.
They were right here, but it felt like they were a hundred yards away.
His head spun.
“Senpai?”
He was dizzy.
“Sensei?”
He couldn’t feel the floor beneath his feet.
“Hey, Senpai…?”
Tomoe and Sara both leaned over.
“Sensei?!”
So did the table and walls. He felt the ceiling falling—then he and his chair toppled over.
There was a loud crash as he hit the floor.
“Eep!” Sara squeaked.
“Senpai!” Tomoe yelped. “Hang in there!”
Ass on the floor, he stared up at the ceiling.
Tomoe was kneeling over him, looking terrified.
Only then did he realize he’d fallen.
“I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong.”
He raised a hand, trying to prove that.
“You don’t fall over if nothing’s wrong. If you’re sick, you’d better go home.”
“I’ll call the boss!” Sara said, ducking out through the door.
“I mean that, Senpai. You need to go home right now,” Tomoe insisted.
He was starting to think she had a point.
“Thanks, Koga. Maybe I’d better.”
Staying here any longer would likely drive him around the bend.