We’d been so wrapped up in the game, we hardly noticed as the cries of the morning cicadas faded into those of the dusk cicadas.
“Hey, it’s almost five.”
“No big deal if we’re not exactly on time,” Yusuke responded as his Bowser drifted around a corner.
“Really? Weren’t you the one going on about how we shouldn’t be late?”
“Seriously, though. Of course fireworks are round,” Yusuke half laughed as he downed the last of his drink.
“Huh? Really?”
“Yeah! Wait a second, you don’t really think…?”
“No! I mean, I guess so…,” I faltered.
“Are you stupid? In what kind of world do they have flat fireworks? Think about it. There’s a bunch of powder inside, and it explodes outward. Of course they’re gonna look round, no matter what direction you see them from!”
Yusuke picked up a soccer ball that had been lying in my room and handed it to me. I turned it over in my hands. His explanation definitely seemed logical, but part of me was still unconvinced.
“Yeah, but…what about in comic books? If there’s a drawing of a soccer ball in a comic book, it’s flat, right…?”
“Well, duh! That’s because it’s in a comic! You know, it’s two-dimensional or whatever.”
“What’re you gonna do if we find out they’re flat, though?”
Yusuke met my persistence with an air of exhaustion. “Impossible. There isn’t a world where that can happen.”
“Then why didn’t you say so when they were talking about it at school?”
“Huh? I was just going along with whatever they wanted.”
“Really…?”
“Anyway, I guess we should get going. Ugh, what a pain,” he said as he stood and hit the power on the console.
Yusuke’s mood seemed to be all over the place that day. I was having trouble following the constant ups and downs. At any rate, we both headed to the back door.
“Ouch…”
When I tried to put on my sneakers, my right foot wouldn’t fit in its shoe. I looked at my ankle more closely. The blood had stopped, but the area around the wound was now swollen. The most disconcerting thing was the appearance of the wound itself. It was so weird and squishy I could hardly bear to keep my eyes on it.
When Yusuke looked over, he let out a big yelp.
“Ew! What happened?! Gross!”
“It’s from when I smashed it at the pool, remember?”
“At the pool? You hit your ankle?”
“You were there! When we were racing!”
“Huh? Racing? What are you talking about?”
“Come on. You, me, and Oikawa. We had a fifty-meter race.”
“Where are you getting this from?”
I couldn’t tell if he was playing dumb or if he’d actually forgotten. He looked completely serious, and it left me feeling unsure of myself. I didn’t press the issue any further.
“Anyway, you should see a doctor about that.”
“It’s no big deal.”
“You don’t know that. If you contract tetanus, you could die.”
“…Really?”
I didn’t necessarily believe Yusuke just because his dad was a doctor… More that something in his voice seemed really convincing. It was making me nervous.
“Go to my place and ask my dad to take a look. I’ll let Junichi and the others know.”
“Huh? No way. Come with me. And…I don’t have any money anyway.”
“If I go with you, we’ll both be late, and they’ll wonder where we are. Just go. You can pay for it later.”
It occurred to me that he’d changed his position again about whether it was okay to be late. However, I didn’t want to risk a serious disease. I was starting to think that I ought to go and have my ankle checked out, after all.
As if he’d sensed my feelings, Yusuke put an arm around my shoulder. His voice softened.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“If Nazuna’s at my house, tell her that I won’t be able to go, after all.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
I was confused by how casually he’d dropped the information. Why would Nazuna be at his house? And what did he mean “he wouldn’t be able to go, after all”? My mind was spinning with questions.
Yusuke leaned over, right in my face, and inexplicably began to whisper. “…She invited me to go to the fireworks display with her—or something like that.”
“When?”
“Back there.”
“Back where?”
“…At the pool.”
I finally made the connection between the moment they’d been talking at the pool and Yusuke’s constantly fluctuating mood throughout the rest of the day. Something had happened between them, it seemed.
“…So you do remember! But…why don’t you just go with her? You like her, right?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? There’s no way I’d like her. When did I ever say anything like that?”
“You’ve been saying it as long as I can remember!”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Stuff like ‘I like her’ and ‘I wanna ask her out.’ Over and over again!”
I felt myself heating up as I confronted Yusuke’s feigned ignorance. My words were growing harsher and harsher.
Yusuke suddenly began pacing around in circles and shouted, “Jokes! They were all jokes! Who would ever like someone as ugly as her?! Are you stupid?! I can’t believe you thought I was serious!!”
“Huh…?”
Yusuke ran off, leaving me and my frustration behind.
“I’ll go ahead and tell the others!” he called back at me. “If you see Nazuna, let her know what I said, okay?!”
What was with him today…? Nothing he said or did made any sense! More than that, my mind was reeling with the knowledge that Nazuna had asked Yusuke out to the fireworks display. Did she like him? More than me? Even after our eyes had met three times in one day?
“…Grab it.”
Her voice flashed through my mind—the words she’d said as she lay with her eyes closed at the side of the pool.
“Catch it.”