Chapter 123: July 20th (Tuesday) — Ayase Saki
Just like that, summer was upon us.
They say there's a turning of the seasons, but it's not always easy to actually feel the change.
Lately, I've noticed that I don't need to take an umbrella when I leave the house, I can hang laundry outside, and I can't hear the squeaking of indoor shoes in damp hallways anymore.
Some might notice stuff like that, but more often than not, it goes over people's heads unless it's pointed out to them.
Change sneaks up slowly, and by the time everyone notices, summer has completely transformed the world around them. Though, there's still no official announcement marking the end of the rainy season.
The blazing sun bathed the classroom in light.
It's been a month since the sports festival. Between studying for entrance exams, taking regular tests, and working part-time—even with me cutting back on that—the season has completely changed while I've been run off my feet.
And it's not just the season.
My relationship with Asamura-kun has also changed a bit too. I've completely gotten used to calling him "Yuuta-niisan" at home, and we've been walking side by side outside more often.
Along with all of that, I've started feeling more at peace, and slowly but surely, my grades have started picking up again. I was especially happy with being able to make up for my poor performance during the mock exams at the end of June. It's reassuring to see changes reflected in numbers precisely because they are hard to see with the naked eye. Seems to me that reevaluating the distance between Asamura-kun and I and changing how I address him are showing some results. That said, everyone else was working hard for the exams, and improving too, so my rank only went up a little bit. Given Suisei High is known for its academic advancement, there are many students who take exams seriously.
Today is different though.
I looked around the classroom. My classmates were all chatting away, the noisy atmosphere reminding me of the buzzing of cicadas. Everyone was upbeat. Starting tomorrow, it's summer vacation. Even if we entrance exam takers knew that we wouldn't really get a break with cram school and mock exams and all that, everyone was all smiles. Well, not everyone. There were still some students with gloomy faces. Take, for instance, the Class Rep that I was looking at. As soon as she arrived at the classroom, she sat at her desk next to mine and flopped down, pressing her face against it.
"I-I'm melting."
"Aren't you already melted?"
"Ugh... It's so hot..."
Satou Ryouko-san, aka Ryo-chin, was using a piece of paper to fan Class Rep, who looked kind of like ice cream melting on asphalt. Satou-san recently moved to the seat in front of me after a seating change. I should add, Class Rep's still sitting next to me after the change.
"They said the high today is gonna be like thirty-four degrees," Satou-san said.
"Ugh, that's almost the same as human body temperature... It feels like being hugged by a crowd of people, constantly... Get away... It's so hot..."
"Is it really that bad?"
I was wearing a cardigan as I didn't like the chilly feeling from the air-con. The classroom's air-con was of course running at full blast. But Class Rep, who'd just walked in from outside, kept rattling on about feeling like she was melting.
"I endured a packed train and then trudged under the scorching sun to get to school..."
"I hate going outside during summer too," Satou-san said, and Class Rep lifted her head off the desk a little.
"You're an indoor person, Ryo-chin?"
"I don't like sweating, so I prefer being at home. It's easier to choose what to wear too."
"I totally get it. When I'm home, I'm fine just wearing a bralette. I don't even need a T-shirt. It's more than enough for summer and comfortable too."
"Wh-what!?" Sato-san quickly jumped in to drown out Class Rep.
I was embarrassed too. What the heck is she thinking, saying stuff like that right here in the classroom?
"Hm? What? What's the matter?"
"C-Class Rep! You shouldn't say stuff like that with people around!"
"Huh? Isn't it normal to wear light clothes at home? Does anyone actually wear a lot of clothes at home?"
Satou-san and I sighed in unison.
Seriously, this girl. True or not, girls our age shouldn't go around talking so openly about underwear and lingerie in front of others. I think freshly washed underwear is the same as a towel, and I think it's normal to talk about it with family, but still.
"Ahaha, no one's listening anyway. Everyone's thinking about summer vacation."
"I do think it's gonna be a summer completely filled with studying, though..." Satou-san muttered the harsh truth, and Class Rep went right back to melting.
"I'll go to a summer festival every day!" She grumbled, burying her face in her desk. She was totally deflated. Satou-san looked flustered seeing this.
"A-a summer festival sounds nice! But do they really happen every day?"
Class Rep shot upright. She pulled out her smartphone and showed it to us.
"Tehehe, I've done my research, Ma'am."
Who's she calling Ma'am?
"Check this out. There's a site that lists all the national festivals in a calendar! I've already got it bookmarked!"
"Wow, Neputa Festival, Nebuta Festival, lantern floating, Awa Odori, Yosakoi[1]… amazing. There are so many."
[Neputa Festival: A summer festival in Aomori, Japan, featuring large, illuminated floats with intricate paper lanterns. Nebuta Festival: A summer festival in Aomori, similar to Neputa, with enormous paper lantern floats depicting historical and mythological figures.]
The smartphone's screen showed every festival from Hokkaido to Okinawa. On a side note, the festival in Hirosaki is called "Neputa" and the one in Aomori is called "Nebuta."
But still—
"Going to one every day is impossible, isn't it?"
She's a student studying for entrance exams, after all. Even if she wasn't, it'd still be a tall order.
Class Rep shrugged, as if to say, "Ayase-san, you don't get it, do you?"
"This kinda thing is all about mood. Even if we say we're exam students, if all we have planned is studying, there's no way we can stay focused! Being tense all the time isn't good for anything, is it?"
I thought about what she said. Yeah, she might have a point. Even when I'm sitting at my desk at home, I do lose focus at some point. If it's just for one day, maybe I can manage. But if it goes on for a whole month…
"Well, that being said, I kinda hesitate to invite anyone else, you know, because I end up wondering whether I'd be interrupting their studying."
That's thoughtful of you, but aren't you also a student preparing for exams?
Well yeah, when you invite someone to hang out, you do have to consider the person's schedule, don't you? But wait, now that I think about it... have I ever actually asked a friend to hang out first?
Huh? Wait, have I ever actually been considerate like that before? Did I ever invite Maaya?
As I sat there frozen, Satou-san nervously opened her mouth.
"I-I'm free anytime! Hmm well, going to a festival every day might be tricky… but if I can't, I'll say!"
She seemed totally ready to tag along with Class Rep.
"Oh my, oh my, oh my. Do you really wanna hang out with me that much, Ryo-chin?"
"Y-yes. 'Cause I… I've finally gotten to be friends with you… but once summer vacation is over, we might not be able to hang out much."
"S-so cute…"
"C-c-cute?"
"What a sweetie. There, there, Onee-san[2] will have fun with you. Hmm, which festival should we go to? I'll pick one out, just wait a sec, okay? Look, look, how about this one?"
[She's calling herself Onee-san (older sister) playfully here.]
Class Rep gleefully scrolled on her phone. Satou-san was also peeking in, and they ended up wrapped up in their chat, leaving me twiddling my thumbs. Well, it's questionable whether I was really part of the conversation from the get-go.
Just then, my smartphone beeped.
Maaya:[Do you have time after the closing ceremony? There's something I reaaally wanna talk to you about!]
I wonder what it is. It doesn't seem like serious news though. I messaged back saying I didn't have anything urgent to do, and a reply came straight away.
Maaya:[Thanks~ Wait in your classroom with Asamura-kun, okay?]
Oh, Asamura-kun too? Why? What's this about?
I typed "tell me first," but...
Maaya:[This passion! You gotta feel it in person! It's hotter than the sun!]
….The heck is that?
Right. Looks like it's not something she's willing to tell me beforehand.
Can't be helped, I guess. I'll just have to wait patiently until after school. It's impossible to get anything out of Maaya at times like these. Just as I put away my smartphone, the pre-bell rang. Class Rep and Satou-san also looked up from the phone's screen.
Satou-san looked at me.
"Um, Ayase-san, let's go somewhere during summer vacation too."
Satou-san was clenching her small fists. Apparently, she was completely in the outing mood.
"Ah, sure."
Class Rep smiled contentedly and clapped her hands toward our classmates.
"Alright, everyone! The closing ceremony is about to begin, so let's head to the gym!"
The deflated figure from earlier was nowhere to be seen, and Class Rep was back to owning her role.
While wondering what Maaya wanted with me, I headed to the gym with everyone.
***
It was after school, with the closing ceremony done and dusted.
Maaya appeared in our classroom just as I told Asamura-kun that she had something to talk to us about. Correction, she jumped into the classroom. And what she wanted to talk about turned out to be:
"You wanna come cheer for Maru-kun and the rest of the baseball club?"
So that's what it was.
"Anyways, it's not just the two of you, I've invited other peeps too. Y'know, nearly everyone who went to the pool last summer said they can come!"
Pool?
Digging through my memory, I recalled going to the pool last summer after being invited by Maaya. It was that summer day when I'd been reluctant to go, and Asamura-kun persuaded me.
My heart gave a big thump.
It's not that I had forgotten. I was just pretending to forget. On that summer day, I recognized my feelings and, to seal them away, called Asamura-kun, "Niisan" for the first time.
After that, for a while, I went through painful days that made my heart feel frozen.
I don't want to address Asamura-kun with those feelings ever again. Calling him "Yuuta-niisan" as I do now feels so much better. Actually, this way of addressing him was a good idea. To be honest, it was Mom who first suggested calling him that.
"Is it still embarrassing to use his name? Calling him 'Yuuta-niisan' is fine too, you know?" She'd said out of the blue.
At the time, I thought it was a really embarrassing way to address him.
Now, though, I'm completely used to it. And I mean, as long as I add "niisan," I can use his first name! What a great idea.
"Oiii, Saki-chi."
"Ah, yes."
"It's not a 'yes' answer."
Maaya was puffing out her cheeks.
Uhm, what were we talking about?
"How about you, Ayase-san?"
Oh, right. Cheering for the baseball team.
I've hardly ever cheered for anyone. I'm not that close to Maru-kun either. Still, Maaya invited me.
She said she wanted to have lots of people there supporting Maru-kun.
It was like she was inviting me in a joking way… but when I stole a glance at Maaya, our eyes met. There was more heat in them than usual.
"Well... if it's just for one day."
I found myself responding like that. I was curious about why she suddenly wanted me to cheer for him, but if it made Maaya happy, I figured it was fine. We somehow ended up high-fiving. Seriously, I can never guess what this girl's going to do next.
"If you guys wanna invite anyone else, feel free to do so! On the 22nd, we all GO to the stadium! I'll go invite some other peeps as well now. So, Adyu~!"
No sooner had she spoken than Maaya left.
...What was that weird goodbye? It sounded like a mix of Japanese and French...
Well, whatever. If I overthink what Maaya says and does, I'll just drive myself crazy.
Now I've got this awkward gap before my shift today. I shot Asamura-kun a "what now?" look. We were the only ones left in the classroom.
"It's not worth going to a cafe, so how about going to the library?"
"You don't mean to read books… right?"
"I was thinking it might be cooler there. The air-con in the classroom will shut off soon, but the library should be cool until it closes."
That was news to me.
Just as I was about to head there with Asamura-kun, my smartphone beeped. I stopped in my tracks when I saw the name on the notification.
"Sorry, go ahead without me."
Asamura-kun tilted his head in confusion but headed off to the library anyway.
After watching him leave, I looked down at the screen.
Maaya:[Can you talk now?]
Hmm. What's going on? She was all cheerful when she left earlier. When I messaged her back saying I was free now, she called me straight away. I asked her what was wrong.
『Umm, well, you know, you were unsure about going, weren't you Saki?』
Ah… so that's it.
"I was just wondering if it was okay for me to go. I understand asking Asamura-kun, but…"
『I told youuu. I wanna bring as many people as possible to cheer for him.』
"And that's exactly my point. If you're inviting other people besides me, isn't that enough? You have lots of friends and acquaintances, Maaya. If you want a big crowd cheering for him, wouldn't they be better? I feel like… I'd be more of an outsider."
Maaya went silent for a moment.
『You know… um… actually, I want you to watch more than anyone else, Saki.』
Her tone had changed. It was different from her usual cheerful voice, a bit lower, and a little hesitant.
"Me?"
『Uh-huh. You see, I've seen how hard Maru-kun has been working. I wanted you to see that too.』
"Me to see that?"
I ended up repeating it. I didn't get what Maaya was saying.
『That's right. I want you to see Maru-kun shine.』
I almost asked "Why?" but swallowed my tongue.
That was close. I need to be careful. Asking "Why?" like this can easily come off as, "Why do I have to watch Maru-kun's match when it has nothing to do with me?'"
And Maaya isn't the kind of person to just invite someone for no reason. It was the same for the pool last summer. It wasn't just Asamura-kun, but her too, that saw how overwhelmed I was back then and invited me to take a break. Maaya is a thoughtful person, even if it looks like she's joking around a lot of the time.
So I worded my question carefully.
"There's a reason it has to be me, isn't there?"
Another hesitant pause.
『Saki, how much do you know about Maru-kun?』
How much…? Probably just that he's Asamura-kun's friend.
『You probably just know he's Asamura-kun's friend, right?』
Humph. It's like she's reading my mind.
『That's exactly why I want you to know about it. About his last summer.』
His last? Oh, right. If she hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have even thought about it. Since I'm not really the type of student to be into club stuff…
Life marches on, but you only get three summers in high school. This is their last shot for the third years to challenge themselves at Koshien.
『This next game is crucial, deciding the best sixteen! And the opponent is a powerful contender for the championship! They narrowly lost by one point in a spring practice match, creating a rivalry!』
"They only lost by one point against a powerful team? That's impressive."
『Yep! It is. And after losing, he pushed himself even harder. As the team captain, he came up with strategies and training routines and stuff. Despite having entrance exams to study for, he's been swinging that bat every day...』
Maaya's voice was becoming more and more passionate.
Honestly, I can't even begin to imagine the effort Maru-kun puts in. Heck, I probably shouldn't say I understand at all since I didn't continue with club activities. But the passion Maaya had for cheering him on was coming through loud and clear.
『I want you to see him giving it his all, too. Because, y'know—』Maaya took a breath.『—After all, Saki, you're my precious friend.』
***
The old building at the end of the corridor, commonly known as the "Library Wing", has a music room on the first floor and a library on the second.
I climbed the stairs and opened the hefty door.
I stepped into the library, a realm governed by silence. The only sounds were the soft hum of the air-con and voices lowered to the faintest of whispers. The windows were shut tight, with thin curtains hung to block out UV rays. However, even with soundproofing, the sound of the wind instruments from the music room below floated up.
I wandered through the forest of bookshelves until I found Asamura-kun and sat down next to him. This corner was secluded, with no one else around. A spot where we could have a whispered conservation without bothering anyone.
"Who are you inviting, Asamura-kun?" I asked in a low voice as soon as I sat down. It was about what Maaya had said, that we could invite our friends too.
He lightly tapped his breast pocket.
"I LINE'd Yoshida just now. I feel like he'd say it'd be awkward if I don't invite him."
Asamura-kun, Maru-kun, and Yoshida-kun were in the same group on last year's school trip. He'd been chatting with Yoshida-kun a lot since they're in the same class this year, and they did well together at the sports festival.
"He replied right away that he'll come. Said he'll try inviting Makihara-san too."
"Makihara-san?"
I've heard that name somewhere before. After talking to Asamura-kun for a while, I realized we were in the same class in our second year. They've apparently been pretty close since Yoshida-kun helped her during the school trip.
"Oh, I see."
"Are you going to invite someone too, Ayase-san?"
"Well…"
It's not like I don't have anyone in mind. Just like Asamura-kun had made more close friends besides Maru-Kun, I had too.
"Class Rep and Satou-san, I s'pose."
"Ah, you've been talking to them a lot lately, haven't you?"
I have, yeah. But…
"Both of them might not know Maru-kun, so I wonder if it's okay to invite them."
Both of them apparently didn't like the heat either, so I wondered if it was wrong to invite them to watch baseball under the scorching sun.
Then there was what Class Rep had said: "I kinda hesitate to invite anyone else, you know, because I end up wondering whether I'd be interrupting their studying."
In hindsight, it was always Maaya who invited me places. I don't remember ever inviting a friend myself. So, why did I have the audacity to put on a grumpy face and say "I don't wanna," about the pool, even though I actually wanted to go?
What a pain of a human I am.
So, anyway... I figured I'd try inviting someone myself for a change. But then, like Class Rep said, I find myself worrying about stuff.
"Gotcha. But they're your friends, right Ayase-san? If they are, then I think it should be fine."
"Huh? I'm not that well-liked or popular."
"Sorry, I might've phrased that badly. I didn't mean they'd for sure come, I just thought they'd be the kind to give you a heads up if they aren't interested or had other plans."
I was completely blindsided.
"It was the same with you, Ayase-san."
Hmph. Is he talking about the pool incident last year? Maybe.
When I asked as much, he replied with a wry smile, "I'm not talking about a specific time." Well, that's fine then… Sorry.
"But yeah. Satou-san did say she would tell me if she couldn't come."
"See?"
Seeing his warm smile, I felt encouraged.
Before losing my nerve, I pulled out my smartphone and fired off a message. My heart raced as I tightly gripped my phone—and a reply came back.
I checked the notification.
"How'd it go?"
"T-they said they'll come."
"Oh, that's great!"
Asamura-kun said it so nonchalantly! Meanwhile, I felt like if there was a bed nearby, I'd be collapsing onto it right now.
I never knew inviting someone could be this nerve-wracking… Props to everyone who does it.
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