His text said that Ido-san had gotten him roped into something after school, and he apologized for not being able to go shopping with me. I already knew all that, but I could tell he was really trying to be considerate of me by telling me so clearly. Relief washed over me as I sat there staring at the message.
Oh, whoops! I better respond. I didn’t want him to think that I was leaving him on read.
“Got it.” I texted him back, then left school to go shopping alone.
That night, I was working on my math homework when Hachijo-kun texted me. “Can you talk now?” it said. I said I could, and the phone rang right away.
“Hello, Nue?”
“Yes?” Just hearing his voice made me feel relaxed.
“I’m really sorry about today. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“It’s... It’s really...not a big deal...” I mumbled. I could tell he was smiling on the other end of the phone. That wry smile he always had.
“Well it’s a big deal to me. I’ll do whatever ya want to make up fer it!” he said in a weird voice.
“Why are you talking like that?”
“Seriously, can’t I do something for you?”
“Well...” I couldn’t really think of anything in particular, but... “I wanna go out together this Sunday.”
“Got it. Is there anywhere specific you want to go?”
“No.”
“Huh?”
“There’s not really anywhere I wanna go.”
“Uh...” I could tell how confused he was.
I giggled. “I just wanna be with you, Hachijo-kun. So it doesn’t matter where we go.”
“Ah!”
He didn’t need to do anything special. I was sure that I would enjoy myself no matter what, as long as we were together. That’s why I only asked for his time.
“Nnnnghhh!” He was making the strangest noise on the other end. “That’s not fair. That’s so not fair, Nue!”
“Huh?”
“I wish I could see you right now so I could hug you and snuggle you!”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” I said after a pause. I had a feeling my heart might explode if he did that. I mean, of course I would let him, but I just wasn’t emotionally ready yet.
“Ugh. All right, if you insist. I don’t want you to hate me, after all.”
I didn’t say anything. I could never hate him. That was impossible.
“Sunday, right? I can’t wait.”
“Yeah...” Neither could I.
◊◊◊
But of course life can never be that simple. I’m not sure what he and Ido-san talked about after that, but she began to be very interested in him. Every time there was a break in class, she’d go over to his desk and they’d play some weird game about whether something was more fun alone or in a group.
I slightly pulled my earphones out so I could listen.
Even though Ido-san tried to sound like she was too cool to care, it was clear she was enjoying this back-and-forth.
“I know! Why don’t I see if I can enjoy cycling by myself?” she said all of a sudden.
Hachijo-kun was singing the praises of his philosophy that just about any group activity could be enjoyed solo, so she wanted him to prove it with cycling. I had heard that cycling was much more fun with your friends than alone, so honestly it wasn’t a bad suggestion.
“Then prove it to me. Let’s do it this Sunday.”
Wait, Sunday? That’s when we were going out on a date.
“I’ve got plans on Sunday.” He seemed to be troubled by the invitation too. “But if you go by yourself, I can help you plan things out. I don’t mind doing that.”
Ah... I guess now that I thought about it, we hadn’t agreed to spend the entire day together. That should be fine, though...right? Ido-san ended up forcing the issue, so he agreed to meet up with her before he met me.
Finally, it was Sunday, right before 11 a.m. When I got to our meeting place in front of the JR Akabane station, Hachijo-kun was already there waiting for me.
“Hey, Nue.”
“Morning, Hachijo-kun. Did you get everything taken care of?” I quickly plodded over to him.
He nodded. “Ido-san just left. I think she’ll probably contact me later, but... Ha ha ha... I can’t wait to see how long it takes her to get through Inatsuki’s labyrinth.” He let out an evil laugh. Honestly...
“Let’s go.”
“Ah, okay.”
We headed towards a certain chain bakery that was near the station. I wanted to relax in the little café corner they had there. It was a bit early for lunch, but we bought some pastries and café au laits to snack on, then took a seat.
“It’s unusual for you to order a café au lait, Nue,” he remarked as we took our drinks. “I thought you always drank unsweetened black tea.”
“They didn’t have any unsweetened tea here, and I have to take my coffee sweet or else I can’t drink it at all.”
“I can’t take it black either. I need milk, at the very least.”
As we warmed up with our coffees, Hachijo-kun’s phone vibrated. Apparently it was Ido-san. He started giving her all kinds of instructions, like telling her to cross Ita Bridge and head to Nakajuku-dori.
I stared absently at him until he noticed my gaze. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine...” I was going to say it wasn’t a big deal, but I just couldn’t get the words out. My heart felt restless when I thought about how he could talk like this with Hanamizawa-san and Ido-san. I didn’t want him to think I was jealous, so I said, “They really count on you, huh?”
“Hm? Yeah, I guess popular kids have it rough too.”
That made sense to me. It seemed like nowadays the more friends you had, the harder it was. It was easier to be someone like me, who was satisfied with just one person’s occasional company. If I were someone who always needed to be around others or in a big group, then it’d be pretty hard to live in this world.
But lately Hachijo-kun was spending more time with people like that. “Are you sure you’re not overdoing it?” I asked.
“I’m fine. I never take on anything I can’t handle.”
“Oh...”
His phone vibrated again. I’m sure it was Ido-san.
“Can I listen too?”
“Yeah, of course.” He answered and put her on speakerphone.
“Yashiro?” I heard Ido-san’s voice.
“Oh, Ido-san. How was it?” he said towards his phone.
She seemed completely perplexed. “Totally mysterious. One of the songs you had me listen to was playing in my head. I don’t even know how to explain it...”
“A young girl pretended to be a shrine maiden. After night fell and the town grew quiet, she beat on a drum—ton, ton, ton—and said in a beautiful, clear voice, ‘This doesn’t matter. Nothing really matters...’”
“Oh, from the Ichigonhodan?” Hachijo-kun the book lover immediately got my reference. “But why... Oh, I get it.”
“Huh?” Ido-san apparently did not get it. I flipped over my hand, a gesture that said, Go ahead, tell her. Hachijo-kun gave a playful smirk.
“Okay, so there was this critic named Hideo Kobayashi who wrote an essay called ‘Mujo to iu koto’ or ‘Transience.’ He was walking around Mt. Hiei and staring at this stone wall, when all of a sudden those sentences mysteriously popped into his head.”
“Wh-Whoa.”
“That song popped into your head for the same kind of reason, I think. Not as fancy as that essay, but still.”
Correct. I mimicked applause and he let out a shy laugh. After that, he finished giving her directions and hung up. Now that he’d fulfilled his obligation to her, he said he doubted she would call again.
“Now I can just enjoy our time alone together.”
“Yeah,” I said after a pause. That was sweet of him, but I still couldn’t help but worry that he was pushing himself with all this.