Normally, when an upperclassman mingled with underclassmen, the underclassmen ended up feeling self-conscious. But there was something carefree about Yuzuki-senpai, so perhaps it wouldn’t be an issue. If it had been the president or someone authoritative, my classmates would probably have been miserable.
So, in a rare turn of events, we ended up hanging out after school with an upperclassman among us.
Because I always walked from the school gate straight to the station, going in a different direction almost gave me the illusion that my vision was expanding—the town in the daylight, the people coming and going endlessly, the unfamiliar scenery. More likely than not, I would end up going through junior high and high school without knowing much about anything outside of the school.
My stomping grounds were more limited than when I had been in tons of lessons as an elementary school student. Thinking of it that way, I couldn’t help feeling that the thirty-minute train ride to school really was too long. But it seemed as though most adults were always traveling between work and home, so maybe that was just how life went.
Senpai was walking beside me. I looked at her from the corner of my eye and realized that our eyes were more or less at the same level. The great difference between our heights had shrunk quite a bit since I first joined the club.
As usual, hot steam was rising from the front of the manju seller’s store on the corner. Along with my classmates, we turned that corner, crossed the street, and headed to a fast food place on the right side of the road. It was the same place we had gone to last time.
The place used to be small, but they’d remodeled and expanded the seating to the second floor at some point, or so a classmate who lived nearby had told me. As we approached, I looked casually at Senpai. She had a timid look on her face, and her eyes were shifting around, as if distracted by some anxiety.
“Is something the matter?” I asked, thinking that she might have forgotten something at the school.
“Oh, no. It’s nothing…nothing at all.”
She shook her head, evading my question. It didn’t seem like it was actually nothing, but I walked into the fast food place for the time being. If she was worried about something, I could ask her about it once we sat down. It really didn’t feel like how you were supposed to treat an upperclassman at all, which I admit amused me a little.
It wasn’t even July yet, but the air conditioning inside the restaurant was already on. At least half of the seats on either wall, leading up to the counter in the back, were taken. A group of students in a different uniform were going up the stairs to the second floor.
I had come here countless times, but my ears could never get used to how lively it sounded. Wondering how Senpai was doing, I looked to the side.
“Senpai?”
For some reason, she had shrunk, ducking her head down low. She glanced around as though she was frightened.
“So, um, Sayaka-chan…” She beckoned me closer, even though she was right next to me. How much closer was she expecting me to get to her?
“Could you lend me an ear?” she requested in a tiny voice.
“Huh?” Obediently, I brought my ear closer to her. Her voice shook anxiously as she leaned in to whisper to me.
“It’s my first time coming to a place like this.”
“I see…”
My strange impression of her might have actually been right, I thought. So that was why she looked so anxious.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“What are you supposed to… Well, you order like normal…”
“What’s normal?”
“You order over there, pay for it, and pick it up.”
I stealthily pointed at the counter. My classmates had stopped in a random spot in the middle, waiting for us.
“It’s the same as a bookstore or a convenience store…have you been to any of those before?”
“Obviously I’ve been to places like that.” Her voice sounded a little sulky now. She stuck out her bottom lip, which I thought was kind of cute.
At the same time, I hadn’t started coming to places like these until I started junior high, either. I was probably just as nervous then.
My classmates were backtracking to us now, having evidently gotten tired of waiting.
“We’re just going to order all together. Are you okay with fries and a drink?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Yuzuki-senpai, how about you?”
“Y-yes, please.” She nodded sheepishly.
As I watched her overflowing with uncertainty, I ended up feeling a little embarrassed. I must have come off this way during my first time at the manju place, too.
Senpai checked in with me again in a hushed voice. “French fries are just fried potatoes, right?”
“Yes, that they are.” It was difficult to hold back my laughter.
Before long, she received her tray and stared at the counter as she muttered, “So you pay first…”
“Huh?”
“Uh, nothing.”
Pretending like nothing had happened, she took a seat. The two seats across from her were filled by my two classmates, so I ended up sitting next to her. I was the one who knew her best out of our group, though, so I guess that was how things would have turned out anyway.
We had our school bags between us as we sat side by side. After staring intently for a while at the fries that peeked out of her paper bag, she somewhat cautiously brought one to her lips. She nodded thoughtfully as she chewed, and after swallowing, murmured, “Well, the taste is quite normal.” Which part isn’t normal, then? I wondered.
Despite that, we started some friendly conversation—or not. There wasn’t much in common to talk about between me, my classmates, and our senpai. We couldn’t even talk about homework with her around, since she was in a different grade. The only common topic that was left was the choir club. But most of us weren’t even all that passionate about the club, so there wasn’t much to talk about there, either.