Touko looked me over and then turned to the front, averting her eyes from me.
“So, I’ve been wanting to ask you this for a while. Sayaka…have you ever eaten fast food?”
“………”
The past I had put behind me replayed in my mind.
Before I could get angry, I burst out laughing instead. “You’re not the first person to ask me that.”
“Oh.”
“Do I look like that much of a rich girl?”
“More or less.”
What about you , Touko? I almost said, but when I looked at her, I felt that couldn’t be the case. Touko looked incredibly elegant, but it didn’t feel like she came from high status. She had an easygoing friendliness about her and an undeniably good attitude towards people… I wondered if that was something I was missing.
“I see… It must be the way my family brought me up and all the lessons I took.” This wasn’t an answer to Touko’s question, but that was the environment I had been raised in. It was the cradle that I’d been given to guide me from childhood to adulthood. I couldn’t deny the fact that it made me into the person I am now.
“Lessons… So that’s how you did the thing for the student council election?”
“Yes.” Using the results of my calligraphy practice, I had written president Kuze’s full name out in large script. “If you want to run for the elections next year, I’ll be happy to do it again.”
Nanami Touko. I was sure that I would practice her name countless times at home before writing the final version.
“You’re so dependable.”
When Touko complimented me, I felt there had been a point to learning calligraphy after all. I was sure that my other lessons would also gain meaning in the same way, sooner or later. I was looking forward to that very much.
Touko, who had been closing her eyes, opened them and shaped rock, then paper, then scissors, one at a time with her hands.
“When you play rock-paper-scissors, people tend to use the same move most of the time, right?”
“Right…” I reflected back on our game as I agreed. I hadn’t thought very hard before I put out paper, almost as though I was simply reaching for Touko.
“I think there probably aren’t many people who change what they put out for rock-paper-scissors based on the other person. You just start with the move you like most. For me, that’s scissors. I put out scissors right away. I wonder why?” Touko raised her index finger and middle finger in the shape of scissors, gazing through the gap between them as if she was looking for something.
I didn’t really have an answer for her question. An expert of some kind might have been able to explain it, but it was likely that Touko wasn’t seeking a scientific explanation. She unfurled the rest of her fingers.
“I guess I should have put out paper instead,” she murmured to herself. There was a hint of self-deprecation hidden in her smile.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Touko withdrew her hand.
“That’s easier said than done…”
If she was going to keep hinting at things while refusing to actually tell me, I would have preferred she bury it deeper, in a place where no one would ever see it. My grades would be at risk again if Touko took up any more of my thoughts. Still, I didn’t want to distance myself from her.
“Sorry,” Touko apologized to me. I couldn’t bring myself to give an understanding response like it’s fine , so I just gave a vague “Hmm.” The silence that followed reminded me of the buzz of an approaching insect’s wings.
“Does the garden at your house look like this, Sayaka?” Touko asked at last, looking at the scene in front of us.
“No, it’s not nearly this disorderly.”
“Disorderly, you say…”
“And sometimes the cats come out.”
“Cats are great.” Touko took the bait. So she liked cats, too. I felt relieved that we had that in common.
“I’d like to go over to your house to pet your cats sometime, Sayaka.”
“You’re welcome to anytime.” It seemed like I would have to be the one to bring it up. “…So, what did you really want to discuss? Is it a difficult topic?”
We weren’t really getting to the point, so I tried to infer based on the mood. Nanami Touko was always confident in her actions, never timid. Her friendly nature gave me that impression, at least, but maybe she could be confused or hesitant at times just like any normal person. …What did I mean by normal person , anyway? Did I think Touko was so special that she was beyond human?
Ah, but I suppose I really did feel that way about her, ever since she stole my heart at first sight at the entrance ceremony. I thought of her as someone who was always walking ahead of me.
“Hm… Not necessarily, but you might think it’s a little weird.”
“A little weird…?”
I wondered what exactly Touko considered weird. Perhaps this was a good opportunity to find out. And if she was going to be weird, then I needed to balance it out by being straightforward.
“In that case, I’ll listen to you seriously. Being serious is my specialty, after all.” I was confident in my ability to keep a consistent stance once I’d made up my mind.
Touko accepted my attitude and broke into a smile. “I like how straightforward you are, Sayaka.”
“Thanks.” Even this casual statement that she liked something about me made my heart flutter like paper blown in the wind.
“I don’t think this topic is that intense, though.” Touko gave me a wry smile—one that reminded me of trees resisting a gale. She put her fists on top of her knees and looked at me. “You asked me before whether there was something I wanted to do by joining the student council, right?”