When fall break ended and second semester began, we’d reached the midpoint of our three years of high school. First semester had revolved around prepping for the school festival, but this semester would see us take our school trip—the pinnacle of our high school lives. Our class was almost buoyant at the prospect of traveling to Honshu, which we rarely had the chance to visit. As if to burst our collective bubble, though, we’d also received a form on which to write our post-graduation plans. The time to seriously consider what we’d like to do after high school was finally here.
As I gazed absently out the classroom window into the schoolyard, Sakura Chiaki tapped my shoulder. “Where’s your sweetheart, Riku? It’s weird seeing you here this late. Did you fight?”
I didn’t belong to any school clubs, so I usually went home right after class let out. I could probably count the times I’d been in a classroom after school on one hand. The sound of sports clubs practicing on the field was unfamiliar to me. I could hear the school orchestra playing a tune in the music room too. The school atmosphere underwent refreshing changes outside class time.
“No,” I replied. “She has her parent-teacher-student conference today. I’m waiting until she’s done.”
We were supposed to review that form with our post-graduation plans at the parent-teacher-student conference. There was only time to schedule a few each day, so it was taking a while to get through them all. Mine had been held relatively early, but Ichika’s ended up being toward the end, since her family had trouble finding a day when they could come in.
“Ah, right. Today was Hasumi-san’s turn, huh?” said Chiaki. “So, you’re waiting for her? You two are as lovey-dovey as always.”
I responded to his teasing with a generous smile. Ichika and I had only gotten together recently, but we were childhood friends who’d spent practically every moment with each other, so everyone believed we’d been a couple forever.
“I hope her conference goes well,” Chiaki added. “My parents and I ended up fighting in front of Rintaro. I still can’t forget how awkward he looked.”
Our homeroom teacher, Kakei Rintaro, had told us to discuss our plans with our families ahead of the conferences. It seemed that, every year, at least a few parents didn’t see eye to eye with their children and squabbled during their conference, leaving the homeroom teacher to do damage control. Fortunately, my conference came and went without a hint of trouble.
“I thought you were set on going to art school, Chiaki. Why would you fight with your parents?”
“I told them that, if I can’t get in right after high school, I want to spend the year working a job before reapplying,” Chiaki sat in the chair in front of me with an exasperated look that seemed to say “Duh.”
“I hear it’s tough getting into art school right after graduation.”
“Yeah. It’s basically a given that you need to prep an extra year or two before they’ll accept you. I tried to earn a recommendation by making the national competition, but I guess that was too much for someone as minor as me to ask.”
I hadn’t seen Chiaki’s submission to the Hokkaido Prefectural Competition, but I’d heard it was good enough to win gold, so I knew he was pretty talented artistically.
“I have a little sister, so I don’t want to burden my parents,” Chiaki continued. “Instead of going to some middle-of-the-road vocational school, I figured I’d hit the ground running by holding down a job while I try to get into a real art school.”
“I’m jealous. You know exactly what you want to do,” I muttered, not intended the words to slip out.
Chiaki’s big eyes grew even larger. “I thought you were going to college. Which school’s your first choice?”
On my form, I’d listed a few four-year colleges that were almost sure shots, given my grades. My top three included both public and private schools; Chiaki let out a low whistle when I listed them.
“You’ve always gotten good grades,” he pointed out. “You probably could’ve enrolled at an even better high school than this one. Why’d you apply here?”
“I thought the girl’s uniform was cute.”
“That’s a stupid reason.”
“Like you’re one to talk.” An arts-focused boarding high school had apparently scouted Chiaki during junior high. I’d been surprised to hear that he turned down their invitation because he wanted to attend school near his house.
“What’s Hasumi-san want to do?” Chiaki asked.
“All she’s said is that she doesn’t know yet. I’m sure she’ll end up going to college, though.”
“In that case, why don’t you both try to get into the same one?” he suggested casually.
“It’s not a high school application, you know. We shouldn’t base our futures off something like enrolling with a partner.” I glared at Chiaki.
He didn’t seem at all intimidated. Resting his cheek on his palm, he gazed into the schoolyard. “Really? Attending with the person I love would be a good enough reason for me to apply somewhere. Watching you and Hasumi-san, getting to be with that person almost looks like a miracle.”
I’d made friends with Chiaki soon after starting high school, but even as a second-year, he didn’t seem close to getting a girlfriend. I’d seen him hang out with Iguchi a few times, but he always insisted they were just friends.
“You and Hasumi-san are next-door neighbors in the same apartment complex, right? You went to the same preschool, elementary, junior high, and even high school—don’t you want to be with her in the future too?”
“Well, yeah.”
Having Ichika by my side felt like a given. I couldn’t imagine a day when she wouldn’t be there. If didn’t have her in my life, what would I be doing right now?