My friend Kanon has been acting totally weird lately. She’s been talking to that boy who sits in the back by the window a lot. His name is... Wait, what was it again? Eh, I’ve never talked to him before so I forget. Maybe I’ll remember it if I look in the attendance book on the podium. There should be a seating chart right when you open it up. Let’s see here... Ah, here it is! Yashiro. Shigeaki Yashiro.
Anyway, I feel like Kanon’s changed ever since she started talking to that Yashiro guy. And I don’t mean she’s changed in a bad way. I’ve always felt like her smile was a bit tense, but lately it’s been a lot more natural.
But I just happened to overhear a snippet of their conversation. And I heard her say something about taking a bath together and sleeping with each other. I wondered if maybe they had started dating, so I asked her about it. But she said, “Huh? Is that what it looks like? No, it’s not like that at all,” and she laughed it off. So I guess they’re not actually dating. But if that’s the case, what the heck did she mean when she said they’d bathed and slept together?
I was starting to get worried she’d gotten caught up in something weird. I silently glared at Yashiro. He was always by himself—a total loner. I really hated the trend in recent years that glorified loners. Everyone thought people who always spent their time alone like that guy were strong, and that people like us, who enjoyed being in groups, were weak people who couldn’t survive by themselves. That we were powerless against the hell that is peer pressure.
Honestly, sometimes it was tough to always go along with the crowd. But loners had actual communication problems, so why were we the ones who were getting attacked? I was beside myself thinking that a guy like that could’ve done something to Kanon.
◊◊◊
It was a clear, autumn Sunday. I headed towards Shinjuku Station, then hopped on the Toei-Shinjuku line, and got off at the Jimbocho Station. I left through exit A-6 next to the Iwanami Jimbocho Building and stood next to the information directory. I checked the time; it was 10:45 a.m. and Jimbocho was already bustling with activity.
Streams of people were coming and going in front of me. I glanced up and saw a huge, eye-catching sign that said “Kanda Used Book Festival” in bold print. The event was going on today in Jimbocho. Although the sign said “used book,” they were mainly selling antique books that you wouldn’t see in your average used bookstore chain or secondhand store. Carts were lined up along the side of Yasukuni-dori, Sakura-dori, and Suzuran-dori, all filled with old books. It was the perfect event for a book lover, because it was fun to just walk around and look at all the books.
I heard footsteps in the crowd. I felt my face soften into a grin. “All right, let’s get started,” I said, taking a step forward. But then I paused. Yeah, I made the right decision in getting here early.
Seeing all those carts lined up as far as the eye could see was like finding a mountain of hidden treasure. I’d never have enough time to go through all of them, but I did bring a tote bag so I could buy a bunch.
“All right, where to start?” I looked at the map of the event in a pamphlet, marked with a route. Let’s see here... First off were the carts in front of the used bookstores on Yasukuni-dori, then the carts next to Jimbocho Book Center on the way to Sakura-dori. Finally, crossing Hakusan-dori to check out the special sales on Suzuran-dori. It was like trying to find the most efficient route to see everything at a comic convention.
“Suzuran-dori’s the last stop? It might be the most crowded there...” I’d started speaking my thoughts out loud. Oh, well. “All right. Let’s get started for real this time,” I said, and took a step towards the book festival.
◊◊◊
The following day, during break after first period homeroom.
I was reading a book I’d bought on impulse the day before in Jimbocho about the Hotsuma Tsutae, when I heard a haughty voice say, “Hey, you. You’re Yashiro, right?”
I glanced up and saw a girl glaring down at me. She had a short, boyish haircut and had her hands shoved into the pockets of her sweatshirt. I’d seen her talking to Hanamizawa-san at the front of the classroom a lot. What was her name...
“Who are you, again?” I asked.
“Chikaze Ido. Kanon’s friend.”
Yeah, I knew that. “And what do you want from me, Ido-san?”
“You’ve been talking to Kanon a lot lately.”
“She’s the one who keeps talking to me.”
She slammed her hand down on my desk. Hanamizawa-san did that a lot too. At this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if it got dented. “I heard, you know. That you’ve been doing some pretty sketchy things to Kanon,” she said in a harsh voice.
“Huh? What do you mean, ‘sketchy things’?”
“L-Like you took a bath together and slept together!”
“Ah...!” I knew exactly what was going on here. She’d jumped to conclusions after just hearing part of what actually happened. But what was with the way she phrased it? I was doing sketchy things to Hanamizawa-san?! “No, you’ve got it wrong. Ask Hanamizawa-san about it and she’ll clear it up.”
“I did ask her, and she won’t tell me! She said, ‘Whaaat? That’s a secret between me and Yashiro-kun!’”
“That little...” Not only had Hanamizawa-san run off at her, but she was also teasing Ido-san, who seemed to have her mind made up about it. And now she had dragged me into it, which was a total pain.
All of a sudden, Ido-san hopped up on my desk. Under normal circumstances, I might be distracted by the fact that her small ass was resting on top of my desk (through her skirt, but still), but I didn’t have time for that. She grabbed me by the collar and yanked me towards her. She brought her face right up to mine and started glaring at me. Too close for comfort... Hanamizawa-san also did that. Apparently popular kids have absolutely no sense of personal space.
“Um... Ido-san?”
“What?” She looked down at me coldly. She’d already decided I was an enemy.