The sound of pages flipping felt oddly nostalgic. Though I couldn’t hear any of the sports clubs, I could hear loud voices and other noises echoing through the school. The festival was over, yet everyone was still in high spirits.
I was pretty happy too as I listened to the sounds of the school and read my book. I was mainly just following the words on the page, though. The meaning wasn’t sinking in as much as usual. But reading like this still helped calm me down.
The past two months had been a whirlwind.
Summer break had come, and we’d all gone to the beach. Then, we’d started practicing our instruments. I’d had so many new experiences, and every day had felt fulfilling. But it had all gone by in the blink of an eye.
Today, the air was cool enough that we didn’t need to turn on the air conditioning. The scorching heat of summer had quickly faded, and it was already autumn. Before I knew it, it would be winter.
Suddenly, I heard light footsteps echoing through the hallway, and I closed my paperback.
“I’m heeeeere!” The door to the club room burst open and Ai stood there, slightly out of breath. “Sorry to keep you waiting!”
“No problem. Let’s head home.”
I put my book in my school bag and headed for the door. Then, I locked up and went to the staff room to return the key.
Even this routine felt nostalgic, and it put a smile on my lips.
After I was done, Ai and I walked toward the entrance together. She slipped on her loafers and then tapped the toes lightly against the ground.
“It feels like it’s been ages!” she said.
“Yeah, it does.”
We walked side by side toward the school gate. It felt weird to be doing this so early in the day. Usually, the sun was setting by the time we left.
The image of Ai lying on the ground in the schoolyard flashed through my mind, and I turned to look toward the field where I’d found her.
“It’s been four months since we reunited, Ai.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah! Time really flew by.”
“I know.”
“We’ve done so many things together.”
“We’ve had a lot of fun.”
“Yeah!” She smiled warmly, then she sighed. “I hope we can keep sharing and doing things together…” She paused, gazing into the distance. “And I hope we can graduate high school together, too…”
I nodded quietly. “Yeah, that would be nice.” I felt the same way.
After that, we talked about what had happened in each of our classes during the school festival as we boarded the train.
Even riding the train was fun when I was with Ai. She made mundane moments like this into treasures. I could feel myself smiling.
When we finally reached our stop and got off the train, Ai sighed.
“Ugh, we’re already at the station. The trip home always feels so short,” she pouted. “I wish our houses were closer together.”
“Actually… I think that would cause a whole other set of problems,” I said.
“Like what?”
“All kinds.” I dodged her innocent question and walked through the ticket gate, stuffing my train pass into my bag.
I wasn’t watching where I was going, and when I looked up, I had to stop to avoid running right into someone.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” I apologized and then gasped.
The person I’d nearly bumped into was an incredibly beautiful woman. Her features were so gorgeous I was sent reeling. I’d never had anything like this happen to me before.
She smiled kindly and said, “It’s all right.”
I thought she’d keep walking, but she stayed right where she was.
I wondered what she was doing. Then, I noticed she was staring at someone behind me—at Ai.
I slowly turned to look at her and, to my surprise, she wore a completely unfamiliar expression. She almost looked…scared.
“Long time no see, Ai,” the woman said.
Do they know each other?
I looked back at Ai again, but she simply stared at the woman, speechless.
“Looks like you’re having fun at your new school,” the woman said with a gentle smile. “Is this your boyfriend?”
Ai wore a grim expression as she finally spoke. “…This is Kozue, my older sister.”
I looked at the woman again, even more shocked than before.
Kozue waved her hand with a playful expression. “That’s right. I’m her big sister.”
Now that she mentioned it, Kozue did resemble Ai. But Ai had never mentioned having a sister, so I never would’ve guessed.
Kozue’s heels clicked against the ground as she approached Ai. “So, Ai. Have you had enough fun on Dad’s little escapade, yet?”
“…!” Ai’s expression faltered.
“It’s about time you came back,” Kozue said with a confident smile. “Mom seems pretty serious about taking you away from him this time.” She gave a throaty chuckle.