Chapter 7

“Oh yeah! I like doing photography; would you let me take some pictures of you sometime? I bet I could get some interesting shots with twin sisters as models.” “Er, um… Well…” I finally managed to speak up. “I’m not a twin…” “Hey, aren’t you in Class One? You had a pink hair clip, right?” A tall girl interrupted our conversation. “Huh? You were in the bathroom before, right? The girl with glasses?” “You braided your hair. It looks super cute!” Some flashy girls with their skirts rolled up short joined in. “Wait, what? What’s going on here?” Minato blinked rapidly. Before long, the rest of our classmates began to crowd around, wondering what the commotion was. “What’s the deal?!” the class clown shouted. “I think she’s a twin,” an athletic-looking boy replied. “Something seems off, though,” one of the flashy girls called out. “Oh, I totally saw her twin. She had a ponytail!” “I saw her, too! In Class Two. She had pigtails.” “She was in Class Four, too. The mature girl with glasses.” The whole room was buzzing with chatter in no time. “Hey, hey.” “What’s going on?” “She’s a twin?” “How many are there?” I was getting backed into a corner of the room bit by bit. Explaining it to them one at a time would take forever. Ah, geez…! Whatever happens, happens! I shut my eyes and raised my voice as loud as it would go. “I-I’m a quadruplet!” “Whaaat?!” A wave of excitement rippled through the whole class. Eek… My heart felt like it was gonna do a flip! I cracked my eyes open timidly and saw everyone in the class frozen in shock. The sight… Hee-hee. It was suddenly funny. Hee-hee-hee! Being a quadruplet rocks after all! The entrance ceremony had started in the gym. Students in their uniforms filed in one by one, and as always, I didn’t have anyone in the parents’ seating section. But in the new students’ section, I had two big sisters and one little sister. A family! My elementary-school entrance ceremony…had been lonely, and I’d cried. Whenever people around me talked about their moms, dads, siblings—their family—I’d thought how nice it must be and been overcome with envy. I’d wanted a family all this time…! I felt tears come to my eyes as I reflected on those painful memories. It was one thing to cry at graduation, but crying at an entrance ceremony felt a little weird. To calm myself down, I gripped the heart pendant that my mom had left me. I’m a junior high student now. And…I’m not alone anymore, Mom. The entrance ceremony was over in a flash. Then after homeroom, it was time to go home. I ran out into the schoolyard the moment the farewell greetings ended. My school-uniform skirt was flapping, but I paid it no mind because I had three people waiting for me up ahead. We’d planned to meet under the cherry tree by the school gate to go home together. I ran so fast, I was nearly skipping. As I waved my hand and called out, “Everyone!” I noticed a tall figure near my sisters and stopped dead in my tracks. It was… “Mr. Fujiyama…?!” It was the massive, bearlike man we’d met when we first came to the house. He turned around slowly, beaming as if he had just embraced his own grandchild. “Heya, Mifu! Congratulations on starting school! I’m super happy for you guys!” Whoa, keep your voice down! I can hear you! His booming voice startled the people around us, and they kept glancing back at us. “Are those kids the twins?” “They’re triplets?” “I heard there’s four of them.” “Wow, so they’re quadruplets.” “Whaaat?” “Wow!” “Yeah, definitely quadruplets.” “Is that big guy their dad?” Oh, this was bad! We were drawing too much attention! I felt eyes all over me and sneaked over next to my sisters. “Oh, geez, why’re you here, mister?” Nitori said. “Yeah, you said you weren’t going to come anymore,” added Ichika. “But it’s your entrance ceremony!” Ichika didn’t seem convinced. “That’s not an answer.” My two big sisters looked angry. They didn’t seem to like Mr. Fujiyama very much. I remember Ichika saying something like “Anyone who calls themselves a government big shot is so sketchy.” And Nitori agreed, saying, “I can’t keep up with that vibe.” I didn’t dislike Mr. Fujiyama…but I didn’t really know him well enough to say I liked him either. “Now, now, where’s the harm? It’s a happy occasion. Make the most of your upcoming junior high school years—make the most of your youth!” “Yeah, yeah. If you’re done, then go home.” “Ha-ha-ha, come on, don’t be like that, Nitori. I came to give you these. Gifts for the beginning of the school year!” He held out a paper bag with four brand-new smartphones in it. The attached covers were pink, red, light blue, and purple. Our colors! “Phones?” “The newest ones, too!” “W…wow!” We took the phones out of the bag, our eyes glistening with excitement. Even Shizuki, who was keeping her distance, was intrigued. “Thanks, mister!” Nitori said excitedly. “Don’t mention it.” “But…don’t you have to pay for the service plan…?” Ichika’s words brought me back to reality. Right…smartphones cost money every month. That was Ichika for you—always dependable. But Mr. Fujiyama smiled. “Don’t worry, the Independent Living Practice Plan Executive Committee is footing the bill. Well, there is a catch, though…” “What is it?” “Once a week, the Independent Living Practice Plan Executive Committee will send you tasks through those phones. Stuff like ‘work together to clean your rooms,’ or ‘do the laundry together as a group!’ Basically, they’re like missions to further your independence. When you complete them, reply via the designated form. Don’t forget to attach a picture!” “What the…?” “You’re giving us homework, too…?” My big sisters didn’t seem super thrilled. “This is a duty for everyone participating in the Junior High Independence Plan.” He raised a finger, and they responded in unison with a reluctant “Fine.” I didn’t share their reluctance one bit. If anything, I was over the moon! It was my very first phone—and it matched my sisters’. I could get in touch with them or my friends from school whenever I wanted. Plus, saying that it was our “duty” as participants in the Junior High Independence Plan made it sound super grown-up. I thought it was cool! I was happy to be treated like an adult. It meant someone was recognizing my growth. “Also, could I take a commemorative photo of you girls?” Before we knew it, Mr. Fujiyama had readied his camera. “Okay, line up! Everyone, gather around the entrance ceremony sign!” His booming voice echoed. If we dawdled too long, we’d keep drawing attention. Flustered, we did as we were told. “Okay, say cheese! One more! And another! Hmm…” I wondered what was wrong. Mr. Fujiyama tilted his head like there was a problem. “It’s just coming out dark. I can’t get a good shot.” Mr. Fujiyama fiddled with the camera. “Um, that’s a DSLR, right?” A cheerful voice rang out. “Oh, Minato!” “Mifu!” Minato approached with a kind smile. “You seemed like you were having some trouble, so I thought I’d offer some help. Umm, so for this kind of picture, you need to press this button to set the white balance to ‘cloudy’…” He examined Mr. Fujiyama’s camera and started teaching him the ropes. “Like this?” “Yes. Next, try increasing the exposure. It’ll brighten things up!” Minato’s smile looked livelier than ever. You could tell how excited he was. Come to think of it, he’d said his hobby was photography; it made sense he’d be good with cameras. On top of that, he’d approached and helped a stranger. He seemed pretty outgoing… He was cheerful and kind to everyone he met. I couldn’t help but stare, dazzled, as he effortlessly did things that were way too hard for me. “Got it! Okay, I’ll just do this… Oh, it worked!” Mr. Fujiyama readied his camera again. “Sounds like we’re in business. Let’s take this thing!” Without warning, Nitori pulled all of us close together. “Eek!” “Whoa!” “…” I’d nearly bumped right into Ichika, who managed to support Shizuki as she teetered close to the ground. “That was dangerous.” “My bad, my bad!” Ichika’s disapproving face. Nitori’s mischievous smile. Shizuki’s obvious surprise. My sisters, who looked just like me! Being close to them made me self-conscious and shy all over again, but I was still so happy, I thought I’d explode. “Hee-hee-hee.” I grinned and squeezed everyone tightly. “Okay, say cheese!” Click! “Great, I got a good one! The Ministry of Welfare and the CEO of Quattro Folia will be thrilled! Thank you, girls! You were a big help. Well then, see you!” Mr. Fujiyama trotted off, waving his arms around vigorously, a satisfied pep in his step. The four of us were left dumbfounded. “You’re welcome!” Even Minato got carried away and shouted as he saw Mr. Fujiyama off. “Mifu, do you know that boy?” “Y-yeah, he’s in my class…” Minato turned around and smiled before I could explain things to Ichika. “Nice to meet you. I’m Minato Nomachi. You must be Mifu’s sisters.” “Pleasure. I’m the eldest, Ichika.” “I’m Nitori. Nice to meet’cha.” “…” Shizuki was frozen with embarrassment. “U-um… This is Shizuki. She’s the youngest.” Shizuki awkwardly bowed her head as I introduced her. “Thank you for your help earlier.” Ichika thanked him on our behalf, and Minato scratched his head shyly. “No worries. Just doing a good deed. Was that big guy your dad?” “No, he’s a relative. Our uncle.” Ichika’s lie was so natural, it took the other three of us by surprise. “Wow.” “Huh?” “…” But…maybe it was a good idea for us to call him our uncle for now. We’d only just met Minato, and if we told him the truth, he might be weirded out. Besides, I’d been waiting for today for a long time; I wasn’t in the mood to explain the whole story from the top. Nitori and Shizuki must’ve felt the same, because they both played along and said nothing. I decided to follow their lead. “Oh wow, your uncle, huh? He must be a big deal. He was talking about ministers and CEOs earlier.” “Oh, that? Hee-hee. That’s one of his usual jokes. He’s a normal office worker. Our mom and dad had to leave early, so he took our picture for us,” Ichika explained, giggling. Her acting was so good, it very well could have been the truth. “Ha-ha, oh, I get it. Still…” Minato took another good look at the four of us. What was he staring at? “You guys really are perfectly identical! That’s amazing!” He gave me the same sunny smile he had when we first met. Hee-hee, we did. It was amazing, wasn’t it? His smile was contagious. “Yep! This is my super-awesome family!” Just as the words left my mouth, a spring breeze passed through, and the cherry blossom petals danced on the wind.