“It should be just about the end of the first period.”
As the school’s main gate came into view, Soejima-kun checked the time on his smartphone. Perhaps because it was past the school commute time, we were the only ones on the school path lined with trees that had already lost their leaves.
“I think you know this, but…” Soejima-kun said, looking at me.
I replied, “I won’t talk when there are people around.”
We reaffirmed our “promise” and passed through the school’s main gate.
After crossing the schoolyard and changing shoes at the shoe racks, the bell rang to signal the end of class. The school building we stepped into was modern in design, with stark white floors and walls.
As we walked down that white corridor, I noticed a female student who had come out into the hall for a break glancing at Soejima-kun. Even here, he was the center of attention among the girls. As I walked alongside him, I was impressed.
“It’s Soejima-kun. Cutie!”
The flamboyantly dressed female students talking in the corridor exclaimed in delight, making sure Soejima-kun could hear them as he was about to pass by. Soejima-kun shot a displeased glare at the girl who had spoken… but she was delighted by it, exclaiming, “He glared at me~!”
Despite passing by many students in the corridor, no one noticed me. Even though I knew I was invisible to everyone, my body tensed with each person I passed, and I felt nervous.
Upon entering the classroom of second-year class one, a few students turned their gaze toward Soejima-kun.
Completely unfazed by the attention, he put his bag on the window-side seat in the front row.
“Hajime!”
The sound of bustling footsteps echoed from behind. Before we could turn around, a small male student suddenly pounced on Soejima-kun.
I turned pale. The sight of Soejima-kun shaking off Kusunoki-san’s hand on the station platform flashed through my mind.
“You’re heavy, Yousuke.”
While giving a cool smile, Soejima-kun firmly pushed the head of the small boy he called “Yousuke” away. Pushed by Soejima-kun, Yousuke’s head tilted at a forty-five-degree angle as he chuckled. “Ouch, ouch, ouch.”
“That’s so mean, Hajime.”
Feigning tears, Yousuke pulled his hand away from Soejima-kun’s shoulder and asked, “Why are you talking like a girl?”
Soejima-kun, retorting while scrunching up his handsome face, laughed without malice. I was surprised by the playful and enjoyable interaction between the two.
Soejima-kun is touching someone normally…
After promising not to touch and witnessing his behavior of swiftly shaking off Kusunoki-san’s hand, I had assumed Soejima-kun disliked being touched by others, but it seemed not to be the case.
Also, this was the first time I’d seen Soejima-kun laugh so innocently. He always seemed somewhat aloof and mature, but like this, he felt more his age.
This is how Soejima-kun behaves at school…
While fooling around with Yousuke, he seemed to notice my gaze as if I were seeing something unusual. Perhaps he remembered that I was there and quickly returned to his serious expression.
Yousuke, who had been messing around, knelt down with both hands on Soejima-kun’s desk and opened his mouth hesitantly.
“…not dead, right?”
At Yousuke’s words, Soejima-kun and I were taken aback.
“Grandpa…”
After hearing Yousuke’s words that followed, I was relieved for a moment, thinking it was about me. I felt embarrassed, thinking I was being too self-conscious…
“Don’t go around killing off my own grandpa, all right?”
Soejima-kun’s voice was tinged with a sense of relief.
At Soejima-kun’s joking response, Yousuke’s expression softened.
“Then I’ll go visit him.”
“No, don’t.”
“Eh, why’s that?”
“Because you’re noisy.”
At Soejima-kun’s words, Yousuke asked with a serious face, “Who, me?”
“My grandpa isn’t good at being fussed over,” Soejima-kun explained with a small smile to the serious-faced Yousuke. Then, the boy made a face as if he’d remembered something.
“Now that you mention it, he did say something like that.”
Yousuke’s muttering voice reached my ears, but it didn’t seem to reach Soejima-kun. When the older boy responded with a “Hmm?” the classroom bell rang. Yousuke dodged the question, saying, “Nah, I’m just worried…”
Before the bell even finished ringing, a male teacher walked into the classroom, and Yousuke and the other noisy students hurriedly returned to their seats. Amid the leftover noise of break time, the male teacher stood at the podium and called for order.
“Stand up. Bow!” the class leader called out, and the sounds of chairs being pulled out overlapped sporadically throughout the classroom. The students bowed their heads lethargically, and everyone sat down at the call of “sit down.” Everyone except for me.
The male teacher started the lesson by flipping the textbook and saying, “Let’s continue from yesterday…” From Soejima-kun’s seat by the window, I looked over the classroom.
Was I also attending classes like this?
I tried to imagine it by closing my eyes. A memory so hazy it resembled a sandstorm appeared on the back of my eyelids.
A classroom filled with frolicking children and me sitting alone in the corner by the window, watching outside. By my side, a boy was talking.
“I’m on class duty with her today. My luck is the worst…”
No.
I opened my eyes forcefully. My heartbeat increased, and a cold sweat beaded on my forehead.
Tap tap…
The sounds of my pounding heart and Soejima-kun tapping his desk with a mechanical pencil mixed together.
I looked over at Soejima-kun. He was leaning on his elbow, his gaze fixed on the blackboard.
Tap, tap… He tapped again on the notebook lying on his desk.
Then, he glanced at me as if he were in trouble and slid the notebook on his desk toward me to show me.
That was when I finally noticed. Scribbled at the edge of the notebook was a message for me. Why don’t you take a walk around the school? You might remember something.
“Yeah…”
My voice might have been drowned out by the noise in the classroom and not reached Soejima-kun. The faint memory that had surfaced earlier bred a kind of fear in me.
The thought of recovering my memory was somehow frightening.