Hanaka’s going to get sick of me.
“I’m sorry if you felt that way, Hanaka,” Mio went on. “But I’m not officially going out with Senpai, and I really need your help. I’m not taking that for granted…”
Despite saying the words herself, Mio believed they sounded insincere, which heightened her panic. Hanaka was kind by nature, and she had a strong sense of right and wrong, but she was stubborn.
If I make her mad, I need to apologize. I need to apologize, Mio thought desperately.
Hanaka said nothing, and Saho was clearly uncomfortable being stuck in the middle.
While Mio searched for the right words to escape this situation, Hanaka’s eyes drifted off.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I’m taking out my frustration on you, I think. Sorry. Maybe I’m just feeling left out, since both of you have boyfriends now.”
It sounded as though she were talking to herself. Hanaka picked up her bag, and without looking either of her friends in the eye, she stated, “I’m just gonna go home. Sorry.” Then she made to leave the classroom.
“I’m sorry, too,” Mio echoed quietly, but Hanaka didn’t reply. She hoped it was because her voice was too low to hear. Pain needled at her heart.
Saho looked upset. Mio hoped that whatever she was going to say, it wouldn’t be an insult for their friend who had just left.
“She’s so cute; she’ll get a boyfriend in no time,” Saho said, despite the absent person in question.
“Yeah,” Mio agreed.
Kanbara was absent from the track team practice that day.
Mio was crestfallen, but couldn’t ask anyone why he wasn’t there, fearing what the other girls thought of her.
Everyone in the club, not just the long-jump group, seemed to be keeping her at a distance. Perhaps that was inevitable, considering Kanbara’s popularity. Mio felt like she was being forced to sit on a bed of needles.
Hanaka and Kanbara were gone.
Mio walked past the school gate, fearing that she’d have to leave alone, when she heard a voice say, “Yo.”
She looked up, and there was Kanbara. Realizing he’d waited for her again filled her with joy.
“But you weren’t at practice…”
“Yeah, I got called to the faculty room for guidance counseling. The other seniors didn’t tell you?”
I didn’t have a chance to ask, Mio thought.
“Anyway, Mio. While I waited for you, I saw that girl you’re friends with go by. The one with long hair.”
Her ears got hot when he said her first name. It was the first time he’d ever done that.
“We had a fight,” she admitted.
“What? No way!” Kanbara looked at her with concern. “Whose fault was it?”
“Mine, I think.”
“Mmm.” Kanbara exhaled, then said, “Oh, you’ll be fine,” in his casual way. “You’ll be on good terms again in no time. You and Hanaka always look like you’re having fun. All three of you. You’re like the Three Amigas.”
“I don’t know…”
Kanbara took Mio’s schoolbag from her hands and started walking. As she hurried after him, she felt heat in her cheeks.
He paid attention to me. He watched what I did and learned who I’m friends with.
Just as Kanbara had said, Hanaka’s mood was better the next morning.
“Sorry about yesterday. I was really acting weird,” she said in an especially bright and cheery voice. Mio sensed the other girl’s willingness to put yesterday behind and be friends again, so she replied, “I’m sorry, too.”
Saho was relieved.
“Nothing happened with Shiraishi later yesterday? All cool?”
“…Yeah.” Mio couldn’t mention that it was because her upperclassman had walked her home again.
“That’s good,” Hanaka said. “But you gotta speak up if something more happens.” Her long hair was tied in a ponytail, revealing the nape of her neck and making her appear older. Mio reflected on how reliable and mature Hanaka was despite being the same age as her and on how much she truly loved her friend.
“But if that new kid really thinks he can compete with Kanbara-senpai, he’s a total joke. They’re barely even the same species, at best.”
“Hanaka.”
“It’s true! Mio, it might be best not to show off how romantic you are with him. Kanbara-senpai’s super hot, and he seems really dedicated. I’m jealous.”
Hanaka’s thoughts on Shiraishi were certainly caustic, but Mio was relieved to hear her friend speak so cheerily.
What made having a shared enemy so reassuring? Hanaka and Saho were beaming. The smile was infectious, and Mio joined them. “You think so?” she asked.
Hanaka chuckled through her nose. It felt good to hear her laugh.
When something truly upsetting happened, this kind of pleasantness vanished instantly. Yet when they could laugh and chat, Mio forgot all about her problems.
Something unpleasant and loathsome, but not so serious that she couldn’t forget about it when it wasn’t happening. Mio later came to regret speaking about it with her friends like a juicy bit of gossip.
During break time, Hanaka and Saho went to the faculty room for their class committee duties. Mio should have spoken up and gone with them. Instead, she let her guard down and did something else, telling herself that it was only a ten-minute break.
She was on her way back from the restroom when he spoke.
“Harano.”
Mio’s legs faltered, and she found herself suddenly paralyzed.
Kaname Shiraishi stood on the stairs to the next floor. The ones that faced the bathrooms.
There were many other students around this time. That’s why she’d gotten careless and believed she was safe.
“This is your fainull worening.”
The words didn’t sink in at first. They were just sounds.
It took a while for Mio’s brain to convert the noises into the words final warning.
He spoke again, cutting through her panic. This time he didn’t wear that hideous smile. It was almost comical how straight faced he was now.
“Don’t be friends with Itta Kanbara.”