>>And you.<<
>>I feel like there’s a lot of things<<
>>I want to talk to you about.<<
>I…<
>Yes, me too.<
>That might be nice.<
>>Someday then.<<
>Yes, someday.<
July twenty-ninth, on the morning of my birthday, the same muggy heat swept over us as the last few days.
It was a summer morning not much different from the one before, and likely the following morning as well.
I had turned twenty.
When I picked up the phone by my pillow, I’d already received celebratory messages. They were from Midori and Manaka. When I checked the timestamp, they had come with the sunrise—the pair must have gotten up pretty early. They had sent them together. Midori and Manaka were sharing a place, so one of them probably woke up the other. Since she had written “happy birthday” twice, Midori had probably still been half-asleep.
In any case, I was happy.
I hadn’t gotten a message from Edamoto-san. That was only natural—she didn’t know my birthday any more than I knew hers. Neither of us knew much about the other. I’d just learned one more fact about her recently.
Though that single fact seemed like quite a significant one.
I wondered if it was something she should have spoken about so readily.
She must have felt that it was safe to talk to me about it, but why?
“………”
Maybe Edamoto-san’s eyes were truly able to see me clearly.
Just as I’d been able to tell that Koito-san had stayed over at Touko’s house.
Did I have my own mannerisms that allowed people to notice a difference in my demeanor?
As I sat there, I thought about Edamoto-san.
I was very aware that I’d been doing this with growing frequency of late.
Maybe it was like a running start. Like something nostalgic was starting to come into view once again.
I turned to the ceiling, as if to look up at the unviewable stars. I hugged one of my knees and swayed on top of the chair. If I just stayed perfectly still here, I could make it through the day gently, normally, without anything happening at all.
As tempting as that sounded, I squinted as though I were looking at a distant wave.
I felt the slight compulsion to try telling her it was my birthday.
Maybe she wouldn’t like it because it was like I was demanding her to congratulate me. But for some reason, I felt that I needed to tell her now rather than after the fact. I had the faint understanding that Edamoto-san would be happy about that.
There was a part of me somewhere that sought that happiness.
I half-closed my eyes as I fidgeted with my phone, maybe a subconscious way of hiding my embarrassment.
“I’ve turned twenty.”
I sent it, waited a moment to see if it would be marked “read”, then put my phone down.
The reply came about thirty minutes later. She had probably just woken up.
>>Your birthday?<<
>>Today?<<
>Yes.<
>>Why would you do that to me…<<
>Do what?<
>>I can’t prep anything if you tell me the day of!<<
>>If you’d told me at least three days ago…<<
>>Even yesterday would have been great…<<
>Prep for what?<
>You don’t need to do anything.<
>>Sorry, I should have congratulated you first.<<
>>Happy birthday, Senpai.<<
>Thank you.<
>I know this is a cliché line, but…<
>Just wishing me a happy birthday is more than enough.<
>Although it sort of feels like I forced you.<
>>No, no.<<
>>I mean, a little, but…<<
>>I think gift-giving is as much for the giver as the receiver.<<
>>Like, you want to give a good impression.<<
>>And it feels nice to receive something too, right?<<
>Well, I suppose so.<
>>Exactly!<<
>>…So is there anything you want?<<
>Not in particular right now…<
>I just wanted to hear “happy birthday”.<
>Specifically, from you<
>…Edamoto-san?<
>You’re not answering.<
>Did you fall back asleep?<
>>No, no, no!<<
>>I’m awake!<<
>>Which means this isn’t a dream…<<
>What are you talking about?<
>>I guess I’m just happy.<<
>>More importantly…<<
>>So you’re twenty starting today, Sayaka-senpai.<<
>Right.<
>>You can drink now.<<
>Yes.<
>>You can also smoke.<<
>>You can gamble at pachinko parlors all you want.<<
>I wouldn’t do any of those things.<
>Your idea of adulthood<
>is kind of childish, Edamoto-san.<
>>You can call me Haru.<<
>>Have you drank before, Sayaka-senpai?<<
>Of course I haven’t.<
>>You’re so straightlaced.<<
>Have you, Edamoto-san?<
>>Edamoto-san has not.<<
>Aren’t you a model student.<
>>Yup.<<
>>Wanna try it, then?<<
>Hm?<
>>I thought maybe we could drink to celebrate your twentieth?<<
>>Oh, I’ll buy the booze. It’ll be a birthday celebration.<<
>Alcohol, huh…<
>But you can’t drink yet, can you?<
>Oh, unless you took a gap year or something.<
>>Nope.<<
>>Guess I’ll go for broke and drink some coke.<<
>Go for broke?<
>>I realized that I haven’t had one since I moved.<<
>>But I do like the bubbles.<<
>Um…I see.<
>Drinking, though…<
>I wasn’t expecting to do it, so I don’t know if I’m emotionally prepared.<
>>Want to drink in my room then?<<
>At your apartment, Edamoto-san?<
>>Just Haru’s fine.<<
>>But yeah, since I don’t know any places where you can drink during the day.<<
>I suppose I don’t, either.<
>Oh, maybe a family restaurant?<
>>In theory, maybe…<<
>>Is beer okay?<<
>I’m not sure what you mean by “in theory”.<
>But all right…<
>I’ll leave it up to you.<
>>Okey-dokey.<<
>See you later, then.<
Things had taken a strange turn. Strange…yes, let’s go with that.
Regardless, I got ready to head out. Even though I hadn’t particularly planned to go outside today, I ended up doing a complete circuit all around my room in a fluster. While I was moving, I looked out the window outside to confirm that the world was still radiant. The strong sunlight out there reminded me of Edamoto-san. Maybe it was because of her disposition.
Drinking, though… I thought as I picked up my commuter pass.
Would this really be all right? I wouldn’t drink too much and embarrass myself somehow, would I? Since I didn’t even know how much I could drink, there were too many unknown variables. As I clattered around the room, something like nervousness sprouted within me.
But at the same time, I felt a bit uplifted, too.
I was a little excited about celebrating my birthday with someone other than family.
I finished preparing and peeked into the living area to tell my family my plans before I left, where I found my grandmother. She and the cats had aged just like the worn-out chair, yet they were still a reliable part of the scenery. My grandmother noticed me.
“I’m going out for a bit.”
“Oh, but I thought you didn’t have school today?”
Her voice, her attitude, and her bearing hadn’t changed one bit. It felt the same as when she used to ask whether I had classes. To my grandmother, perhaps I wasn’t much different from when I had been in elementary school, either.
“I don’t, but…I’m going to see a friend.”
“How unusual.”
As though seeking agreement from the cat, she looked down at the drowsy feline.
“Unusual… Yes, I suppose.”
That was probably true. The student council hadn’t worked on the weekends, either.
“Oh, right.” Before I headed to the entryway, I asked my grandmother, “Does alcohol taste good?”
My grandmother narrowed her eyes. The cat on her knees also waved its tail as it looked at me.
“Have fun, dear.”