The following Tuesday, Azusa saw Nayuta at Tenderness again. This time, Nayuta was there first, and she was drinking unsweetened sparkling water. She said hello before Azusa could speak.
“Oh, um, hi,” Azusa responded.
Nayuta hadn’t come to school since the previous Friday. The teacher had said it was due to a cold, but Nayuta didn’t look the slightest bit unwell, sitting there sipping her soda water. She was dressed lightly, in a T-shirt and knee-length shorts.
The dine-in space was empty aside from the two of them. Nayuta was in a seat at one end of the counter by the window. Azusa sat at the opposite end. While she was taking the treats from her bag, she thought for a moment, then said, “You haven’t been in school.”
“I’ve been busy,” Nayuta replied, and shrugged. “I don’t have time for school.” She hiccuped a little from the soda water and Azusa gave her a sidelong glance. She looked a little bit tired. Azusa wanted to ask why, but thought better of it. Instead, she asked, “Do you want some of my strawberry éclairs?”
“Huh?” Nayuta responded dully.
“I got the Tenderness petit éclairs,” Azusa continued. “There are four. We could split them, if you want. See?” Azusa showed her the éclairs, covered with pink chocolate and neatly arranged in a spacious box. She laughed. Nayuta was silent for a moment, then mumbled, “One is plenty. Sweets aren’t really my thing.”
“Oh, I wondered about that. Because you’re always sugar-free. But these éclairs aren’t all that sweet, so try one.” She opened the box and beckoned Nayuta over to the adjacent seat. Suddenly happy without knowing why, Azusa held out the box of éclairs with a smile.
“Thank you,” said Nayuta softly, taking one. She took a bite and said, “It’s really sweet…but it’s good.” She gave Azusa a kind look.
“I heard it’s good to eat sweet things when you’re tired. Nayuta, you seem a little tired.”
Nayuta’s eyes opened just a little wider. “You think so?” she asked.
Azusa bit into her own éclair. “Your eyes are bleary,” she replied. “My mum gets like that around the eyes when she’s tired.”
“Hmm. I hadn’t noticed,” Nayuta said quietly. There was something soft and tired in her voice and face. In school lately, she had always had a severe look about her. This was probably because there had been such a tense, unsociable atmosphere in class, Azusa had thought, but she wondered now if there wasn’t some bigger reason. Still, Nayuta probably wouldn’t tell her about it even if she asked. So Azusa offered her another éclair instead.
“They’re delicious, aren’t they? Have one more.”
“Another? One was enough for me. There won’t be enough for you, Higaki.”
“That’s okay. I also got a milk pudding.”
“You really do like sweets, don’t you? Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind…” Nayuta reached for a second éclair. “I never thought they’d taste this good,” she said with a hint of shyness. Azusa laughed.
After eating the second éclair and finishing her sparkling water, Nayuta said, “Well, break time is over,” and stood up. “It’s nice to do this sort of thing sometimes, isn’t it? Thanks for sharing with me, Higaki.”
“Please, don’t worry about it.”
Nayuta tossed the soda bottle into the rubbish bin. Watching her from behind, Azusa hesitated briefly, then asked, “Is coming here a break for you?” Nayuta turned to face her, and Azusa quickly added, “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay, too.” Nayuta looked at her for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes, a break. My mum says that if I don’t take a break and get some fresh air, I’m going to come undone.”
“Um…you really have to work that hard?”
Nayuta’s face hardened. But then after a bit, she nodded. “But it’s something I want to do, so it’s good.”
Nayuta spoke so fervently that it was almost as if she was taking an oath. Azusa couldn’t ask anything else after that. She felt like it would be too rude to pry.
“Then I hope you do your best. If you need to take breaks like this, it must be a tough job. Just don’t push yourself too hard, okay? Well, anyway, I’ll be here at the same time next Tuesday. Come have another cake with me.”
Azusa didn’t think she could do much to help, but she made the offer anyway. Nayuta stared at Azusa as if she had just seen something unbelievable, then a shy smile escaped her. Azusa was stunned.
“Thank you. Well, see you Tuesday, I guess.”
With a slight wave of her hand, Nayuta left. Thinking of that smile, Azusa broke into a little smile of her own.