And so, parting ways with Zuka and his perpetual smile, I headed to the library, same as yesterday. Once I was alone, however, the condensed shame overwhelmed me all at once…and in the end, instead of studying, I spent the whole time screaming internally. But the tingly sensation I felt was not altogether unpleasant, and so my sleep-deprived brain finally drifted off into the darkness…
Once again, I awoke right before the library closed. And while I had unmistakably wasted my time, I still somehow felt accomplished. But it wasn’t until I was already on my way home that I realized: none of the mysteries had been solved at all. Why was Miki-san switching her shampoo? And why was she hassling Zuka about it?
Apparently, Miyazato-san came to school yesterday. Everyone in class was talking about it. Personally, I was relieved to hear that she showed up for midterms, even if she had to take them in a separate room. As for Zuka, he was still in a good mood from yesterday. By contrast, Miki-san didn’t seem too happy—was she having a bad day? The other girls invited her to go get ice cream after school, but she didn’t even respond. An ellipsis flashed ceaselessly over her head.
I wasn’t stupid enough to approach a girl while she was in a bad mood. Instead, I was planning to spend the day hiding behind Zuka’s considerable height. But once again, she came over to ask her question.
“Zuka, haven’t you been wondering about me lately?”
“No, I haven’t!” he shot back emphatically. Maybe yesterday’s events had gotten him worked up. In response, she glared at him—and then she glared at me, too. I hastily averted my eyes, but Zuka just laughed.
Why did she keep asking us about it? Neither of us had a clue, so her hints were falling on deaf ears. Was it safe to ask her about the shampoo, even just once?
No, no, no. Trust me, it’s only going to make her think I’m a creep. Remember what happened last time?
Her bad mood lingered all day long, right to the very end of the final test. I had watched a handful of classmates tentatively approach her one after another, only to get shot down, and for the first time in who knows how long, I was grateful for my punctuation powers.
After we had finished our four tests of the day, we were officially done with midterms week. The instant the bell rang, I could practically feel the claustrophobic air rush out of the room. Exclamation points and ellipses popped up over everyone’s heads, and I was relieved, too. Granted, I still had makeup classes to attend next week, so it wasn’t like summer break started today or anything. But makeup classes were like the bonus tracks on a CD—you weren’t expected to go out of your way to listen to them. They were so low-pressure, even Miyazato-san would probably feel comfortable attending.
As I contemplated this, cleaning time flew by in a blink, followed by homeroom. And factoring in the time our teachers needed to grade all the tests, plus the weekend, we had earned ourselves a four-day mini-vacation.
“I’m gonna be doing nothing but club practice the whole weekend… You going straight home?”
“Oh, gotcha. Yeah, I’m thinking I might go to the music store and see if they’re selling the new mini-album ahead of its release date.”
“Lucky! If you buy it, you gotta let me borrow it.”
After our ordinary teenage conversation, I parted ways with Zuka and left campus without speaking to grumpy Miki-san. Or Miyazato-san, if she was here somewhere.
When I got home, I changed into a T-shirt and jeans, then walked for approximately twenty minutes to the combination book and music store. Inside, the air conditioning was cranked up to full blast, to the point that it was actually a little too cold. Even the sales clerk had to wear a hoodie, and judging from the ellipsis flashing over his head, he wasn’t happy about it. Maybe a customer had filed a complaint about the store being too hot.
I glanced at the bookshelves out of the corner of my eye and then made my way to the second floor where they stocked the CDs. Sure enough, with a little searching, I soon found what I was looking for. I was already planning to buy it, but I couldn’t wait that long—I put on the listening kiosk headphones and started the sample preview right away. This music was the one thing Zuka and I had in common.
We’d become friends at the start of our first year, when the seating arrangement had randomly put us next to each other. One day, he noticed my earbuds dangling out of my pocket, and with his signature Zuka smile, asked me what I liked to listen to. Tall and tanned, he was clearly nothing like me…but thanks to that smile, I found I wasn’t intimidated by him.
In a way, it was strange to think that my favorite band was the catalyst for our entire friendship. But when I thought about the way he seemed to revel in our boyish, uncomplicated rapport, I couldn’t help but smile… Then I noticed a woman in a business suit looking at me with a question mark over her head. When our eyes met, it transformed into an exclamation point, and she hastily averted her gaze.
Ugh, kill me.
I made it through the first three songs, then put the headphones back in the display case and picked up the CD. But right as I was planning to head for the register, I came to a stop. I could hear familiar voices coming from the other side of the shelf.
The shelf was taller than me, so I couldn’t see their faces, but I could hear their conversation loud and clear…and I could see a question mark floating in mid-air.
As I listened, I realized: it was two girls from our class. One of them was Kuroda-san, or “Looney,” as everyone else called her, but I chose to address her by her actual name. I didn’t have any particular reason for this; it was how I referred to just about everyone, save for Zuka. Now that I thought about it, Looney generally referred to everyone by their actual names, too. Even the people she was close to, like Zuka and Miki-san.
Truth be told, I didn’t really need to hide. I wasn’t that socially awkward; I could have walked right out and said hi to them, especially since Looney was the outgoing type who was nice to everyone. The reason I was rooted to the spot was their topic of conversation.
“What’s going on with Mickey lately?” the other girl asked.
An exclamation point popped over Looney’s head, and she chuckled. “I bet you think Miki-chan’s got a boyfriend, don’t you? Well, apparently not.”
“Then what’s the story?”
A cluster of exclamation points sprouted over Looney’s head to join the first. “Heh heh! This is top secret info. Can you keep a secret?”
“Hmmm… I might be willing to spill the beans if somebody bribed me with like, three pints of Häagen-Dazs.”
“Sounds like I can trust you, then!”
Are all of Miki-san’s friends total weirdos? I wondered idly as I listened for this top-secret info. I knew it wasn’t cool to eavesdrop, but my body refused to budge. So in the end, I guess you could say I had no one to blame but myself.
“So here’s the thing,” Looney continued without bothering to lower her voice.
“Yeah?”
“Apparently Miki-chan’s interested in Oozuka-kun.”
Oh.
That was the last name I expected to hear. I struggled to keep my knees from giving out. Meanwhile, a big exclamation point popped up over the other girl’s head.
“Wow, really? That’s awesome! They’d be so cute together! Wait a minute… Is that why she keeps going over to talk to him constantly?”
“Yep! Not sure what exactly they talk about, though.”
Now I get it.
With this added context, Miki-san’s recent behavior now made total sense. That was why she kept striking up conversations with us—she was intentionally trying to waft that Bilien smell around, since she knew her crush liked the scent. That would explain why she got so frustrated every time it didn’t work.
Now I could see the meaning behind that comment she made at the library, too. And it explained why she got new shoes after Zuka commented on the old ones.