Izumi brings me nothing but happiness. When she’s with me, she always smiles like she’s having fun, and she never reveals her worries or problems. But just because she doesn’t show them to me doesn’t mean they don’t exist. There are as many stories as there are people in this world, each one with its own joys and conflicts. Everyone has things they keep to themselves.
I was made newly aware of that fact several days later, on the last day of my summer break when I met a freshman from Izumi’s school.
Last night, I’d been talking to her on the phone, and we were having such a good time, we decided to hang out the next day in person. But then she remembered something. When I asked her about it, she said, “Sorry, I know it’s summer break, but I have to go to campus tomorrow.”
I’d always been curious about her university, and this seemed like a good opportunity to see it as long as I didn’t get in her way. We agreed that I’d accompany her.
I took the subway from my house and walked to her campus.
“Sorry to make you come all the way here,” she apologized.
“Not at all! I’ve been wanting to know more about your school, so this is perfect.”
We met at the front gate, signed in with the guard, and went in. The campus was way bigger than our high school grounds, with fancy glass towers. I’d expected it to be empty since it was summer break, but there were a few people here and there.
Since it was lunchtime, Izumi invited me to eat with her at the “nice” dining hall. I couldn’t believe how spacious it was, a far cry from the no-frills kind of place I’d imagined.
“This campus is much bigger than I thought it would be. It’s interesting. I feel like I could live here.”
“Please don’t. I don’t want you to turn into the seventh wonder of the university.”
“Along with the female ghosts who wander the campus every night?”
“Yeah, the ones who float around saying ‘Give me a shower! Give me shampoo!’”
Izumi said she had to turn something in to her adviser, so we agreed to meet up at the library later. After lunch, I wandered on my own, intent on walking around campus until she was done. But then I decided to head to the library before we were to meet, as the large structure had caught my eye earlier in the day, and it was open to the public.
It had been rebuilt a few years before, and the inside was quite modern. It had a good selection of magazines, and even some international fashion magazines.
As I was about to leave that section, someone came up behind me and said, “Um, excuse me.” I turned around to see a guy standing there. He was fairly tall, and slender, and looked to be a kind person. I guessed he was younger than me. What could he want? I’d checked in at the front desk, but did the staff think I was suspicious? I stared at him questioningly.
“Are you a friend of Wataya’s?”
“Wataya? …Oh, yes. Why?”
“Nothing. I’m a freshman here, and I saw you earlier at the dining hall. I live near campus, so I go there every day, even during summer break. And…”
He must have been nervous, because he was giving me all kinds of unnecessary information. So he was a classmate of Izumi’s and a year below her. I’d never heard Izumi mention him. But I guess that was to be expected, as she hardly ever talks about herself.
“Are you a classmate of Izumi’s?” I asked. He suddenly perked up.
“I am! Did she tell you about me?”
“…I’m sorry. I don’t think she has.”
“Oh.”
His happy expression quickly turned glum. Maybe it was rude to say this, but the way his emotions played out on his face was very entertaining. We couldn’t keep chatting where we were, so we decided to go somewhere else. He said there were several break rooms in the building. We went up to one on the third floor that he said wasn’t used very often.
“Um…actually, Wataya and I were dating before summer vacation started,” he said incredibly. Izumi had claimed she wasn’t interested in having a relationship, but she’d been seeing this very person! I was left momentarily speechless.
“You…and Izumi?”
“Yes. Although it wasn’t very serious.”
For a moment, I thought he was joking, but why would he have gone out of his way to find me and then tell me a lie, or possibly a joke? More importantly, he didn’t seem like the type to do that. Which meant the two of them really must have been seeing each other.
“I had no idea,” I revealed.
“From her perspective, it might not have reached the level of dating. That’s probably why she didn’t mention it.”
“…Maybe. She’s never been one to talk much about herself.”
At that point, I realized we hadn’t introduced ourselves. He said his name was Naruse, that he and Izume were in the same department, and they’d first talked at a party. I told him I was a friend of hers from high school. Like I did at test prep school, I left out the part about my amnesia.
“High school friends?” he echoed pensively. “Then you must know who she dated in high school. It seems like she still can’t forget about them.”
I was so shocked, I was positive my eyeballs would pop out of my head.
Izumi had dated someone in high school?
This was bewildering. Was it true? At least up till Golden Week of our second year, I didn’t think she’d dated anyone. She had always turned down everyone who asked her out. Then, after I developed amnesia, she spent every day with me. How could she have had time for a relationship? There wasn’t any mention of it in my diary, either.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about that,” I said.
“You don’t?”
“Is it really true? I mean…I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
Now it was his turn to look surprised. As we were staring at each other in confusion, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Izumi.
Sorry I took so long. I’m about done, so I’ll head to the library soon. Where are you?
I stared at Naruse.
Izumi had her own life, and she must have secrets and things she didn’t want me to pry into. Maybe he was one of those things. Maybe what had happened in high school was, too…
I wanted to leave it alone, but it could be related to my past. I’d thought everything that happened when I had amnesia was written down in my computer, but perhaps there were things I hadn’t included for various reasons.
“I’m sorry, Izumi’s going to be here in a minute. You probably don’t want her seeing us together, do you?”
I figured that was the case since he hadn’t approached me when I was with her. He panicked slightly when he heard she was on her way.
“Uh, yes… I’m sorry, but I’d rather she didn’t.”
“Do you think we could meet some other time? I’d like to hear more about this possible relationship she had during high school.”
He seemed surprised by my suggestion but said, “Of course,” and nodded.
We exchanged messaging IDs. Since Izumi could show up any minute, I quickly said goodbye and left the break room.
Sorry I didn’t answer sooner, I wasn’t sure if it was okay to use my phone in the library, I texted.
No worries. It’s always hard to figure out stuff like that in a new place.
I’m in the bathroom on the third floor. Should I go outside?
It’s hot out, so why don’t you wait by the magazines on the first floor? I’ll be right there. And don’t worry, you can use your phone as long as you don’t take pictures.
I went back to the magazine area. A few minutes later, Izumi arrived.
“Sorry you had to wait,” she said.
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t waiting. I barely had time to walk around campus!”
“Oh, good. Did you have a decent time?”
“…Yeah. Everything here is so surprising.”
“Is it?” she said, and smiled. We decided to go to a café nearby. Like that morning, people turned to watch Izumi as she walked through campus.
“I think you’ll like this place. The atmosphere is nice, and they have good cake.”
Izumi had become even prettier than she was in high school, and more mature-looking. Perhaps because her mom was a designer, she had an eye for beauty and a good fashion sense.
I thought back to spring of this year, about six months ago. When she came to see me right after I’d recovered from my amnesia, her makeup was the same as in high school, and she was wearing familiar clothes. In hindsight, she must have done that so as not to surprise me, since things were still frozen in our second year of high school for me. She was trying to shield me from the drastic shift in time that had occurred.
As my own sense of time advanced, so did her appearance. She started wearing the kind of clothes and makeup she had on today. That’s the sort of sweet person she is. She has always supported me and considered my feelings. But…there were things about her I didn’t know.
You must know who she dated in high school. It seems like she still can’t forget about them.
What was he talking about? Had he misinterpreted something she said, or was it true?
Izumi noticed that I was staring at her.
“What’s wrong, Maori? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking how cool you are.”
“Where did that come from? Are you by chance…after my cake again?”
“Darn, you caught me,” I joked.
“You’re easy to catch.” She grinned.
It was the same smile as always: free of worry, free of even the slightest hint of sadness.