“I forgot to lock it.”
“You didn’t need to leave in such a rush…”
“It’s fine, no problem. I love rushing.”
With that silly excuse, Edamoto-san beckoned me into the room. Being so overly welcoming is actually going to put me even more on my guard, I thought, half-joking. She was just having a friend over—a friend, nothing more.
“Pardon the intrusion.”
“Come on in. This is my first time inviting a friend over from college.”
This was my first time going over to a college friend’s house, too.
The moment I came in, the presence of Edamoto-san grew stronger. Most likely, it was due to the smell of her clothes and makeup, which I normally sensed only faintly. Obvious though this might be, the room was thick with Edamoto-san’s scent. It seemed to stand out against the scents of summer and was a bit refreshing as it slipped by my nose.
When I went through the entryway, I saw a toilet and a modular bathtub beyond the door to the right. In that dim interior, I saw my shadowy reflection in the bathroom mirror. Suddenly, I felt self-conscious about my overgrown hair that I had left uncut.
We passed by the bathroom and into a south-facing room with a bay window and good sun exposure. In other words, it was terribly hot.
“Your room is pretty warm.”
“I have the air conditioner on full blast, so if you’ll just wait a few more moments…”
Edamoto-san bowed jokingly and chuckled a little. Just as she said, the air conditioner set up next to her wall was running loudly, not unlike Edamoto-san herself when she rushed over to meet me.
Her room was tidy. To be more accurate, she didn’t have much to keep clean: just a small white table, a bed by the wall, and a lamp directly on the floor. Her clothes were folded up and set in a corner—she didn’t have a single shelf of any sort. Her college textbooks and bag were stuffed into what seemed to be a laundry basket.
“I don’t have any floor cushions, so you can sit on the bed. You can even lie down if you want.”
“I’m all right, thank you.”
I chose the carpet and sat down. After I set my bag down next to me, I breathed out slowly.
It was a curious feeling to leave the college and look up at the ceiling of another person’s apartment, even if it was lunch break. Normally, I just went to the cafeteria instead of going off campus to eat.
It felt almost as though I’d skipped out on school partway through the day… Maybe I hadn’t completely left behind the feeling of being a high school student. As I glanced around, feeling a bit anxious, I heard Edamoto-san laugh.
“There isn’t much to see here, is there?”
“I suppose. I can’t compare it to other apartments, but it does seem very neat and minimalistic.”
“Well, I figure there’s no point buying more things if I’m just gonna lose interest in them and leave them lying around.”
“Hmm…”
I thought of the novels I never reread on the bookshelf in my own room.
Edamoto-san took a green towel from the folded laundry pile at the far end of the room and wiped her forehead. As I gazed at her profile and mannerisms, I felt vaguely aware that we were alone together in her room. Since it wasn’t a house, there were no family members around, which was an unusual situation to me.
I wondered if the light blue wallpaper was an attempt at a consolatory reprieve from the inevitable heat. There was a thin curtain, but since it was mercilessly showered in the sunlight, it likely lost effectiveness quickly.
“The supermarket is close by, and there’s a home improvement store, too, so I think it’s a pretty good location. The modular bathtub is a little small, though.”
After wiping her face and neck with the towel, Edamoto-san turned toward me.
“So, Sayaka-senpai, what would you like to eat?”
“Right…”
I went into thought for a bit. My body wanted something cold, but I’d just had a variety of somen noodles at home yesterday. In that case… I tried to line up the prospective choices in my thoughts, but I couldn’t picture anything good.
“Nothing really comes to mind. I don’t have any particularly strong preferences.”
“That’s the most difficult answer you could give…”
Edamoto-san smiled awkwardly as she bent down, presumably to open the refrigerator door. Because there was a wall between us, I couldn’t see everything she was doing. But since her face was being showered with light, I thought that must be the case.
“Hm. Do you have any allergies or foods you can’t stand?”
“Neither, really.”
“Wow, you really don’t have any preferences, then. Oh dear…”
Edamoto-san’s ponytail wiggled fretfully. I didn’t know what ingredients she had in the first place, so it was difficult to request something. When I shifted to take a look, I saw that the refrigerator next to her sink was very compact.
Edamoto-san pulled out a bottle of tea and poured it in glasses she’d put out in advance.
“Well, how about some tea for now?”
“Thank you.”
“There’s no ice since I don’t have an ice maker, though.”
“This is plenty. You don’t have to fuss over me.”
The glass I accepted was so cold that it felt like I was touching the liquid inside it directly. With delicate ridges, the glass encapsulated many colors at its bottom, drawing in the light and glittering. It was a rainbow glass.
It was so pretty that instead of drinking out of it, I ended up examining it from other angles.
“Well, I’m going to fuss anyway. Lots and lots.”
Edamoto-san rejected my politesse, wagging her finger and shaking her head from side to side.
“I mean, if you don’t like my place, Sayaka-senpai, then you won’t come again.”
“Hm.”
It wasn’t as though I was guaranteed to come back even if I did like it, but her earnestness did make a good impression on me.
It also felt nice to be clearly aware that she was being kind specifically for my sake.
“So anyway, that’s pretty, right?”
She pointed at the glass. When I replied, “Very,” Edamoto-san smiled as though she were relieved.
“I won’t give it to you, but make sure you take a good look at it.”
“Don’t mind if I do.”
“And drink what’s inside it, too.”
“All right, all right.”
Edamoto-san returned to the front of the refrigerator. She pulled things out one at a time, scrutinizing each one and putting them back over and over.
“Then can I just make whatever?”
“I’ll leave it up to you.”
After putting the ball fully in her court, I finally drank some tea. I quenched my thirst and then closed my eyes. It became difficult to tell apart what was left and right. What a quiet room, I thought.
Unlike the college, there weren’t an abundance of trees close by, such that the cries of the cicadas might never reach here. The air conditioner had also calmed down from its blustery start-up. I peered into the corners of the room.