Volume 4 - CH 10

After eating breakfast, I immediately left my home and pedaled my bike down Omotesando street. Even though it was not even 9 am, a lot of people were out and about, and enough people were walking down the street for their shoulders to touch. Yeah, walking down Omotesando street on a weekend like this is just torture. I know that this thought in itself makes me sound like a typical loner, but I couldn’t help feeling that way as I pedaled my way down the street.

I felt no presence of summer within the wind blowing against me. The scent of the scorching asphalt didn’t even reach my nose, and the sizzling sensation on my skin was weak and barely existent. Sure enough, fall was coming soon. I parked my bike at the bike rack in the parking lot and looked up at the building that contained my preparatory school. It’s been roughly a month since I started going only on Saturdays. My grades had clearly improved after the extra summer classes, as demonstrated on my tests and exams, so I told my parents I wanted to officially attend the prep school and convinced them to let me do so.

Of course, I wasn’t lying. However, the biggest reason was just that I wanted to be anywhere but home, all so that I could get over these feelings I have for Ayase-san. The student fees consumed a decent amount of my part-time job money, but that was a necessary evil. I wasn’t just trying to escape reality. Another result of my decision was that my grades had gone up even further, and my options in terms of possible universities grew wider in range. I had even been told that directly during the parent-teacher meeting the other day.

Immediately after entering the building, I stopped for a moment. Usually I would head over to classes right about now, but I had a change of heart. I looked at the map that displayed the preparatory school layout and made my way to a different location than my usual classroom.

‘Self-study Room.’

I read the plate hanging above the door. I never even realized that they had a room like this here. I opened the door quietly. I saw several desks lined up in a row with a bit of space between them, allowing for unobstructed focus. Well, it’s not like this place was filled with people either. As you could probably expect. A preparatory school is a place you generally visit to attend classes and listen to teachers, and if you want to study on your own you can always do it at the library, or even a cafe. Though I bet there are a lot of students who simply don’t know that this room is even here.

Looking down the row of students, I spotted a familiar face at the very end. It’s Fujunami Summer Sail-san, also known as Kaho-san. Luckily, there was some space open next to her. Since she’s sitting in the row the farthest in the back, there’s nobody else behind her, so I guess that allows for even better focus, huh? In what I assume was a coincidence, Fujinami-san raised her head and spotted me. She then gently nodded and put one finger to her lips, signaling me to be quiet, like she meant to emphasize that no private conversations were allowed in the self-study room. Well, I never had any intention of calling out to her in the first place.

I sat down in the final row and took out my studying tools. Since I (obviously) didn’t have anything to talk to Fujinami-san about, I simply focused on my studies. After a bit of time passed and I made good progress with my studies, I understood how pleasant the atmosphere inside this room was. The A/C was regularly giving us cool air, and thanks to the walls on each side of my table, all I could see was what was on my own desk, allowing me to focus even more.

Similarly, since only other students with the intention of studying were around me, I could feel myself feeling a lot more motivated than usual. This is much better than a library room or cafe with people constantly moving in and out. Thanks to my increased focus, the next time I spaced out, it was already lunchtime. My stomach quietly grumbled. The number of people in the room had decreased as well. They probably went to eat lunch. I cleaned up my desk and stood up, thinking that I might as well buy something to eat from the convenience store myself.

Fujinami-san did the same, walking towards me. I was confused for a moment, but since I couldn’t bother the people around us, I just silently walked with her to the door. Once we stepped out onto the hallway, I spoke up.

“Are you going out to eat lunch as well, Fujinami-san?”

“Yes. Also…”

“Hm?”

“Since you came all the way to the seat close to mine, I was wondering if you needed something from me.”

“Ah, well…”

It’s not that I had no feelings like that. Ever since I met her at the golf simulation place, I felt like talking with her a bit more, but—

“I didn’t really have any urgent business or anything like that…”

“Ah, is that so?”

“…Well, if you’re going to eat lunch, maybe it’d be best to hurry?”

“I was planning on eating something from the convenience store.”

“Same here.”

“Then let’s buy something first. We can always eat in the lounge.”

“I’ve never been there, now that you mention it. All right, sounds good.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

According to what Fujinami-san told me, the lounge is like a resting area that everybody can use at their leisure. You can even eat and drink there (although they prohibit ramen, udon, or any dishes with a strong odor). Well, it’s probably the same as the break room at my work.

We bought some lunch at the convenience store next to the preparatory school. I went with some stuffed bread and a bottle of tea, while Fujinami-san reached for the onigiri first, but then went for the fruit sandwich as well as some vegetable juice. We brought everything to the lounge, managed to find an open table, and ate our lunch while talking. Though it’s not like I had that many topics we could talk about at my disposal, so we ran out of things to discuss fairly quickly.

“You really didn’t have anything to talk about with me, I see.”

When Fujinami-san said that, I was honestly pretty depressed. Well, she’s right. I myself am wondering what exactly I’m even doing.

“Well, I guess.”

“I was thinking of turning you down, you see. Saying something like ‘I come here to study, so this is a bit much.’”

In other words, she thought I was approaching her because I wanted to hit on her.

“That wasn’t my intent. Though I was interested in talking with you, that’s it.”

“Isn’t that a cliche phrase you use when trying to hit on someone? Saying that you’re simply interested in them.”

“…Maybe?”

“Yes.”

“Right, sorry about that. I didn’t mean for it to look that way. My bad.” I lowered my head as I apologized.

“It’s fine. It didn’t seem that way to me either. Though I’m done looking like that type of woman.”

“That type of woman… Wait.”

“The type of girl who’s easy to pick up. Since I don’t go to school, I apparently look like the type of girl who only plays around. Well, the fact that it’s not entirely wrong makes me want to cry, but still.”

“You don’t go to school? Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to pry into your personal affairs.”

“It’s fine. More accurately speaking, I don’t attend school in the afternoon.”

“In the afternoon… Ahh, so you go to a part-time school sort of place?”

“Since it’s different from an average all-day school, many people think I don’t take school seriously. So, Asamura-san, if you heard the words ‘part-time school,’ ‘girl,’ and ‘goes to a game center late at night’ in the same sentence, what would you think?”

These words sounded oddly similar to me.

“I would think that a girl who attends a part-time school relaxes at a game center at night, but that’s about it.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Are you being serious? You wouldn’t see me as a girl that has a lot of problems? You wouldn’t see me as a girl who’s easy to hit on and pick up?”

I see. So that’s why she thought I was hitting on her.

“Sorry. I don’t know anybody close to me who attends a school with that kind of system, so it just seemed that way to me. I apologize if I offended you in any way, but I really wasn’t looking at you like that.”

“Hmmmm. Well… if that is true, then it would be a very appreciative way of understanding. And very pleasant.”

“I guess so. If there’s one thing I was curious about, then—”

And this is just my prejudice.

“I’m curious why you seem to really like golf, Fujinami-san.”

Her eyes opened wide.

“That?”

“I mean, it’s pretty unexpected to me, and I can’t help but be curious about it. It was unexpected to see a girl go to a golf simulation place so late at night.”

“It’s basically that I went at that specific time because I wanted to. It was between work and after school. That was the only time I actually had some freedom, so of course I would go then.”

“Yeah, when I heard that you were at a part-time school, I guessed as much.”

The part-time school system exists for people to get a chance of education alongside their actual job. So, after her job was over, she’d have school, which then would stretch late into the evening, only leaving her with a small time frame to go to that golf place. Though, I’m a bit unclear about her motives behind that.

“The thing is, my family actually enjoys golf a lot, so I figured they would be happy if I could play it with them.”

“Oh wow.”

“My family actually isn’t very wealthy. However, these people met at a golf circle at university, and they still enjoy playing together. If I get better at it, we might as well go to a golf course, they said.”

“I see. That sounds nice.” I commented, but felt a sense of discomfort when she called her family ‘these people’.

Of course, I didn’t want to invade her privacy by asking her about that. Though I have to say, when she’s sitting right in front of me like this, her height sure sticks out. She’s probably 180cm tall at least. Because she was wearing simple clothes even on a weekend day, she gave off a plain feeling. She’s very careful with her choice of words, and she said that a lot of people would see her as an easy target to get hit on, but if you asked me, she looked like an honor student at Suisei. I can tell how clever she is simply by talking with her. But I also saw two holes in her ears, probably for earrings.

“Well, the fact that it’s not entirely wrong makes me want to cry, but still.”

Since there was nothing inside those holes, I felt another pang of discomfort. Maybe she has some special circumstances.

“Asamura-kun, you keep a fair view about everything, huh?”

“I wonder. I’d like to think that that’s how I handle things, but…”

The reason I don’t have such a contrived worldview, and the reason I don’t come across overly arrogant or narcissistic, is probably all thanks to me reading a lot of books.

“Is that so? Personally, it looks to me that you are very fair in your exchanges with others.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you feel that way,” I responded, and Fujinami-san showed a faint smile.

“I always thought that there was no value in talking to other students at the preparatory school, but conversing with you like this is fun, Asamura-kun.”

“Maybe.”

“Will you come to the self-study room tomorrow as well?”

“I have afternoon classes Saturday and Sunday, but I should be able to make it in the morning… I think.”

“Then let’s eat lunch together again.” Her tone of voice and choice of expressions sounded a bit more open and friendly than before.

“Got it.”

She gathered all her trash and stood up. I followed suit, and then I spoke up.

“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Eh… what is it?”

“At the convenience store, you reached for the onigiri but decided against it. Did you not like the stuffing by any chance?” When I asked her this casual question, she showed a surprised reaction, oddly enough.

“You saw that?”

“Well, I just happened to notice.”

“I see. I mean, I considered buying onigiri, but decided against it in the end. It’s onigiri after all.”

What does she mean by that?

“The seaweed might end up sticking to my teeth. That’s why I didn’t.”

“Ohhh.”

“Anyway, see you tomorrow!”

Almost like she was trying to run away, she quickly made her way back towards the self-study room. While watching her leave, I pondered something. Doing self-study in the morning and taking classes in the afternoon is pretty efficient, isn’t it?

Evening arrived, and the world lost a lot of its heat. I once again rode my bike from the preparatory school to the bookstore, since I had a shift that day. I changed into my uniform and entered the main store and immediately received orders from the store manager. He told me to hit the register with him. What a rare occurrence.

“Neither Yomiuri-kun nor Ayase-kun have a shift here today, so it seems like you’re stuck with this old man. Sorry about that.”

“No no, please don’t say that. So neither of them have a shift today, huh?”

I knew that Ayase-san would be off work today, but I didn’t know that Yomiuri-senpai was off work as well.

“Yeah, Yomiuri-kun had to help at her university.”

“Do you happen to know why?”

“She said that today was an open campus day.”

“Oh, I see.”

“At first, she had planned on coming over after she was done. I didn’t hear it directly from her, but she said something like ‘There’s a professor that really wears me out~ I can’t muster up the strength to even work after that!’ if I remember correctly.”

Manager, you didn’t have to imitate her voice… A professor that tires out Yomiuri-senpai, though, huh? It must be that person I saw with her last month at that pancake shop. That reminds me, Ayase-san said she was heading to an open campus event as well, but I didn’t know it was on the same day. Coincidences like these really happen, huh? Then again, if you want to avoid doing it during longer breaks, the best days are Saturdays, Sundays, and other holidays, so I imagine most universities hold it around the same timeframe.

According to the manager, having two talented workers missing will lower overall efficiency. When the register is crowded, there’s no time to think about anything else. Thus, I was forced to live through hell with him at my side. After returning home, I entered the living room, and I noticed that somebody had gotten there before me. However, I had thought it was my old man, and not—

“Welcome home, Nii-san.”

“…I’m back. Huh? What about dinner?”

“I didn’t have any yet. Neither did you, right?” She asked as she poured some miso soup into a small bowl.

I opened the fridge, took out some salad, and put it down on the table along with some dressing. From the instructions Ayase-san would provide on a small note, my body already had started remembering every small detail. Natto, and then—

“I finished grilling the mackerel.”

“Then I’ll grate the radish.”

As doing it by hand would take some time, I decided to use the radish grater with a tube opening to grate the radish today.

“How much rice do you want?”

“A small bowl, please.”

“What about drinks?” I asked Ayase-san while taking out plates and preparing two pairs of chopsticks.

“I’ll take some warm tea. It’s gotten a lot cooler recently.”

“Gotcha.”

I put some tea leaves into the small teapot, pouring hot water into it from the insulated pot. While that was steeping, I prepared two teacups.

“Thanks.”

“You took care of the food, and even attended that open campus even today, so I can take care of the rest. You must be tired, no?”

“Not as much as you after a shift at work.”

After we finished all the preparations, we sat down together, enjoying our late dinner. Once a brief moment of silence passed, we both started telling each other about our day. I began telling her about the preparatory school, about the self-study room I hadn’t known about, and about how it helped improve my studying a lot.

“Huh, so that preparatory school has a place like that?”

“Have you ever visited that school before?”

“Never. It’s a bit too expensive.”

Ayase-san then described her experiences during the open campus.

“Wait, you actually ran into Yomiuri-senpai after all?!”

Ayase-san nodded.

“But why do you sound so surprised?”

“I heard from the manager that Yomiuri-senpai also was busy because of an open campus, which is why she had to take the day off. That’s when I found out that you both were off for the same reason.”

“Ahhh, so that’s why…”

“So, what was it like at that university?”

“I’m exhausted.”

“What?”

“Ah, wait, no. The open campus in itself was really interesting. It made me realize that you can study all sorts of things at a university… though calling it ‘studying’ might not be totally accurate.”

“I thought a school or university was a place to study?”

“Yeah, about that… How do I put this? I realized that it’s more like a place to think. And not in the sense that somebody tells you to think about it, but rather to find your own thought process, and put it into your own words.”

I couldn’t confidently state that I immediately understood what she was talking about. The place I knew as a school and the place called a university that Ayase-san was describing seemed to be a bit different.

“And there was a really weird professor.”

“Weird in what way?”

“That’s all I can say… but I ended up in a bit of a discussion with her.”

Wait… she had a discussion with a person during their first encounter? I was genuinely surprised. Ayase-san might be someone who perpetually revolts against the unfairness of the world and its inhabitants, but I didn’t think she was the type of person to actually stand face to face with someone and have a verbal discussion.

“The discussion got heated, and I was practically exhausted when it was over.”

“…But, it was fun, no?” I asked, and Ayase-san’s eyes widened in response.

“Huh? Ah, yeah… I… think so. You could tell?”

“You had a pretty joyful expression when you said how exhausted you were, so I guessed it was fun for you.”

“…I see, so you saw right through me.” Ayase-san averted her gaze, muttering to herself.

“Are you interested in Tsukinomiya now?”

“I don’t know if I can make it there, but… I think I’ll at least try my best for it.”

I see. I’m glad to hear that. Ayase-san tried something new and encountered someone who piqued her interest. She managed to have a new encounter. Well, I can’t say I wasn’t bothered by the fact that this happened without me around, and with someone I didn’t know.

“So, A—Nii-san, are you going to visit that self-study room regularly?”

“Well… I guess I will. I made a promise to head over there tomorrow as well.”

“Promise?”

“Hm? Yeah, with the person who told me about it. They’re gonna be there tomorrow as well, so we promised to eat lunch together again.”

“Oh, I see. Good for you, Nii-san.”

That’s right, this is something good—for both of us. Just as Ayase-san has had an encounter that increased her motivation to head to university, I’ve had a new encounter at my prep school, so we’ve both made new acquaintances. This is how things are supposed to be—how they should be.

“I can’t make dinner tomorrow,” Ayase-san said. She told me about a study session she was planning on having with some of her classmates.

“Got it. I’ll be busy tomorrow as well, so… I guess we can just buy some ready-made food.”

I have prep school tomorrow, as well as a shift at work later. We both have our own share of appointments tomorrow, and our schedules aren’t going to overlap one bit. I feel like we’re slowly becoming typical 17-year old siblings.