“It’s so hot…”
Kaoru glared at the air conditioner as she plopped down on the sofa.
I looked up from my book and over at the AC.
“I feel like it’s really struggling this year. They should just get a new one,” I said, and Kaoru sniffed.
“This club only has one active member in it. They’re not gonna fix it.”
She took out a red, plastic pencil board from her bag and started fanning herself with it. She leaned forward a little as she did, and since she had her second button undone as usual, I could see her cleavage.
I quickly averted my eyes and looked back down at my book.
“Yuzu,” Kaoru called to me.
I glanced back up at her, and she smirked. “…You saw, didn’t you?”
I gazed around the room, and immediately I knew I’d messed up. But it was too late.
“You did see.”
“Well…”
“Pervert.”
“Button up your shirt, then!”
“No, it’s hot.”
“Everyone’s hot, but we still button up our shirts. Even Nagoshi does.”
“Ew, you’re checking out her boobs, too? Gross.”
“Am not!!!” I raised my voice, and she started cracking up.
She was teasing me.
I was exasperated and knew I’d only get burned if I joined in her banter.
She leaned back against the sofa and started fanning herself again. “Ah, now I’m even hotter because I was laughing. What are you gonna do to make it up to me?”
“That one’s definitely on you, Kaoru.”
“Hee-hee.” She laughed, trying to dodge responsibility.
It didn’t seem like she was going to apologize, and I didn’t have the energy to make her, so I just let it go. I could hear the characteristic sound of the plastic pencil board slicing through the air as she waved it.
“By the way…” I realized something. “You haven’t eaten any ramen in here lately,” I said, and she stared at me.
A week had passed since she’d started coming to the club again. But now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen her eating ramen once.
“Oh…” That was all she said before averting her eyes. Then she added shyly, “I…have dinner waiting for me when I get home now. So…I don’t need to eat it anymore.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest.
The corners of my lips gradually drew upward. “Ah, I see. Now I get it…” I nodded over and over, and she glared at me.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m just happy for you.”
She sniffed bashfully.
It seemed like things at home were changing little by little for Kaoru. There was nothing else for me to ask. If she wanted to talk about it, I knew she would.
“Hellooooooo!” The door burst open.
It was Ai, of course. She was the only one who would come into the room in such a dramatic fashion. She strode in and plopped right down next to Kaoru.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Oof, it’s so hot today!” She grinned, her bangs plastered to her forehead with sweat.
“Ew, you’re sweaty. Wipe it off,” Kaoru said, scooting away from her.
“I forgot my towel, today of all days.”
“But why are you sweating so much?”
“Oh, I was participating in the track team’s interval training.”
“Huh? But why?”
“Oh, because it’s fun to run on a hot day! I asked if I could join in, and they said sure!”
“You’re not a little kid playing in the park, you know…” Kaoru muttered, taking her own towel out of her bag and handing it to Ai.
“Wait, are you sure I can use this?”
“Yes. Wash it and give it back to me.”
“What?! Am I that stinky?”
“That’s not the point.” Kaoru scowled, but Ai smiled back with her usual enthusiasm.
Kaoru never said a word when Ai showed up unannounced to the club room. In fact, the two of them often had conversations together without me.
I had a feeling they had naturally become a part of each other’s lives. And that made me happy.
“Your shirt is literally sticking to you,” said Kaoru.
“I’m sweaty. I can’t help it.”
“There’s a limit to this stuff, you know. Your shirt’s gone completely transparent.”
“Yeah, but I have a bra on underneath, so it’s fine.”
“Guys are still going to ogle you!”
I felt like their conversation was drifting off into dangerous territory, so I casually repositioned myself so they weren’t in my line of sight.
“See, you’re making Yuzu uncomfortable.”
“I don’t care if Yuzuru sees.”
“That’s not the point!” Kaoru always sounded like a mom when Ai was around.
I felt a little uncomfortable listening to their conversation, so I did my best to focus on my book.
I could hear all sorts of things. The hustle and bustle of the school building after classes were over. The humid club room. The cicadas chirping outside. The sound of the air conditioner puttering as it spat out cold air. The rustling of pages as I read my book. And last but not least, the happy voices of my two precious friends chatting.
Each sound added another layer to the rhythm of my everyday life.
Before, I’d felt like my world was locked up inside books. But now, it was slowly opening up.
The words I’d been piling up in my heart were being shared with others and spreading out, little by little.
I was finding words of my own.
Would those words help me to speak without regrets one day? Would I be able to openly return the feelings I’d received?
Sitting in the club room—now hotter and noisier than it had ever been before—I thought about what was to come and felt a twinge of excitement.
The rainy season had passed, and summer was about to begin in earnest.