The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
Kanade and I walked to school together and arrived at the school.
โGood morning, Ichinose-san.โ
โGood morning.โ
As soon as we got to the classroom, Kanade headed over to her friends.
Feeling a little left out, I sat down at my desk.
โโฆGood morning, Hagiwara-kun.โ
โOh, Takagaki-san. Good morning.โ
Just as I sat down, Takagaki-san, who was sitting next to me, greeted me.
I nodded back in return, butโฆ for some reason, she was looking around nervously, as if on the lookout for something.
โWhatโs wrong? You look like a thief about to commit a crime, keeping such a watchful eye on your surroundings.โ
โYouโre silly. Real thieves donโt just look around aimlessly.โ
โWhy not?โ
โPeople who are on high alert just look suspicious, donโt they? Thatโs exactly why the more someone is involved in criminal acts like theft, the more they try to blend in with ordinary people.โ
โHaha. I see.โ
I was genuinely impressed.
โฆI wanted to say, โYou really know your thieves, donโt you?โ but I thought that would be a bit harsh, so I kept my mouth shut.
โSo, why are you being so vigilant?โ
โSo I donโt get glared at by your childhood friend.โ
โKanade?โ
I glanced over at Kanade, and she was chatting happily with Kadokura-san and the others.
โฆLooking at that smile, she seemed to be in a good mood, and I couldnโt imagine her glaring at Takagaki-san.
โIโm not talking about her facial expression when I say โglaring.โโ
โโฆHuh?โ
โAnyway, Iโll get straight to the point.โ
โOkay.โ
โStarting tomorrow, itโs the summer vacation everyoneโs been waiting for, right?โ
With final exams over, our school was scheduled to begin its long summer break starting tomorrow.
So today, after the closing ceremony, we were dismissed earlyโฆ and after that, just as Takagaki-san said, school would be out for a while.
Well, even though itโs a break, the teachers are still coming in, and students involved in club activities come to school, so it doesnโt really feel like we have that much free time compared to elementary schoolโฆ
โSo?โ
Why on earth did Takagaki-san bring up the topic of summer vacation with me?
โDo you have any plans?โ
โฆPlans?
My summer vacation plansโฆ
โNope.โ
โHahโฆโ
I answered honestly, and she laughed.
Did she ask about my summer vacation plans just to tease me?
Come on, if thatโs the case, even I would beโฆ
Well, Iโm not really mad or anything. Itโs not like this is the first year Iโve had no plans during summer breakโI donโt have any friends, after all.
โSorry, sorry. โฆI asked because I figured you probably didnโt have any, but when you actually said you didnโt, it just seemed a little funny.โ
โWhatโs so funny?โ
Iโm not mad, but when she says something like that, clearly waiting for me to call her out on it, I canโt help but respond.
โโฆPhew. Sorry. Iโve calmed down.โ
โReally?โ
โYeah. Well then, make sure to enjoy your plans-free summer vacation to the fullest, okay?โ
โYeah. Got it.โ
โโฆYouโre not just going to nod obediently there.โ
Takagaki glared at me.
โฆLooking back at the conversation so far, I feel like Iโm the one with the bigger grievance against the other person, if anything.
โโฆSo, Hagiwara. Can you spare me a little time the day after tomorrow?โ
โHuh?โ
โTimeโฆ How about it?โ
โฆI racked my brain.
What on earth does Takagaki-san plan to make me do the day after tomorrow?
โฆThe specific things that come to mind are:
Religion.
Multi-level marketing.
Illegal part-time work.
โSorry. Actually, I have a plan I absolutely canโt cancel the day after tomorrow.โ
โDonโt lie. Thereโs no way someone with thirty days of free time during summer break would have plans for just one specific day out of those thirty.โ
โNo, no, thatโs just showing you have way too little experience with people.โ
โWeโre both the same, arenโt we?โ
โI mean, even Iโve only ever had the experience of contacting a middle school friend to ask if we could hang out tomorrow, only to find out three days later that their phone had died. Thatโs justโฆโ
โDonโt go pulling out some sad story here.โ
Takagaki gave me a look of exasperation, then shook her head.
โDonโt change the subject, for crying out loud.โ
Takagaki was a little angry.
โThe longer this drags on, the more it feels like my life is being cut short, you know?โ
For someone saying that, werenโt you the one who started with small talk that dragged things out in the first place?
You said youโd get straight to the point a moment ago, but the conversation has gone way off track, and Iโm a little confused too.
โโฆUgh. I really donโt want that girl to take a shine to me.โ
โWhoโs that girl?โ
โof course! โฆKyaa!โ
Noticing Kanade standing next to her without realizing it, Takagaki-san looked startled and then jumped up.
โโฆHey, hey. Ayaka-chan. Ayaka-chan.โ
The light had gone out of Kanadeโs eyes.
โWh-whatโฆ?โ
Stillโฆ
โโฆI thought I considered you a friend, Takagaki-san.โ
Kanadeโs eyes seem to flicker on and off all the time, donโt theyโฆ
โDo you consider me a friend, Takagaki-san?โ
โฆIf the lights in a room were flickering like that, Iโd replace the bulbs.ใ
Maiasa