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Chapter 26: Because Miyagi touched me — 26

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

It is not unusual to find a Miyagi that doesn’t talk much. Originally, Miyagi did not talk that much with me. Thinking about it, Miyagi, who does not talk much, should be called Miyagi back to business as usual.

It’s not much fun, but it’s not an option.

Her mood is not something I can control.

I accepted Miyagi, who had become unfriendly again, with such thoughts, but soon it was Golden Week and that was the last time I saw her.

Two days after the holiday.

I have not seen Miyagi until today.

We never passed each other in the hallway.

This is what happens when you are in different classes.

I don’t really miss it.

I have no trouble finding people to talk to, and I have made new friends.

I have no major complaints about school life. I’m doing moderately well and enjoying it in its own way. Sometimes I hear people say that they are all sides in the new class, but that is inconsequential.

「I’m going next door for a moment.」

In a noisy classroom at recess, Umina, sitting diagonally in front of me, suddenly declares.

「What’s wrong?」

「I forgot a textbook.」

When Umina said,「I guess I should skip class,」Mariko quickly tried to stop her.

「You shouldn’t do that. You know, they said if you skipped class again, you’d get a letter of reflection or something.」

「Hmmm, I could at least write a reflection. Well, this time, I’ll borrow it next door.」

Leaving behind a voice that sounds unmotivated, Umina leaves the classroom.

She is hardly a serious person, and has continued her bad behavior of skipping classes since her sophomore year. She has been called out several times before, but even after three years, she has not learned her lesson.

Mariko, who was in the same class in the second year, also skipped classes last year to keep up with Umina, but changed her mind in the third year when the obstacle of a career path became more visible.

A close-knit group is troublesome at times like this.

If one person does something wrong, his or her friends do something wrong too.

That’s how they see it.

In fact, Mariko has a history of skipping classes. She seems to want a recommendation because of this, and she is on the side of stopping Umina because she is concerned about her internal score.

I’m not too worried about the internal score now.

I feel that it is already too late.

Well, it is better than doing nothing.

I pull out my textbooks and notebooks from my desk.

I don’t enjoy class, but I don’t intend to skip it. I also need to make an effort to maintain a good image of being different from my peers.

「Ah, a notebook. Lend it to me later. I need a copy.」

As I nod to Mariko’s words, I hear a light voice behind me.

「I’ve borrowed it.」

Umina shows a textbook in one hand and takes a seat.

「There.」

I can’t help but to speak up.

It was a modern literature textbook for the next class, and it wasn’t a funny one.

However, there is a fold mark on the cover.

「This is?」

Umina looked at the textbook with a curious look on her face.

I clenched my hand tightly.

I can’t believe “it” as if the thing in Umina hand is something special.

I shouldn’t have said it out loud. But it would be even weirder if I took back the words I had formed, and I’m sure Umina would be amused and bite me.

「It’s not Ruka’s, is it? Who did you borrow it from?」

Ruka is the friend with whom Umina would have intended to borrow textbooks. But the textbook she is holding does not belong to Ruka, nor to any of her other friends.

The textbook in Umina’s hand belongs to Miyagi.

The folds on the cover were made by me, so there was no way I could make a mistake.

「How did you know?」

「I don’t know.」

She’s not going to tell me why she found out.

Umina doesn’t know that Miyagi and I are close enough to know who the textbook belongs to at a glance, and there is no need to let her know.

「I was going to borrow it from Ruka, but she wasn’t there. I borrowed it from a girl I was in the same club with in second year. Let’s see, who was she again? The plain girl with long hair.」

Look at that, she’s probing her memory when I said that girl’s description.

But I’m sure Umina won’t remember.

So I will answer instead.

「…Miyagi?」

「Ahh— right, right. It’s Miyagi. Hazuki has too good a memory, doesn’t she? You don’t forget people’s names, do you?」

Umina said, as if impressed, and stared at the textbook. Then she immediately burst out laughing.

「I mean, Miyagi seems so humble, but she folds her textbooks with such gusto. That’s hilarious.」

The chime rings to drown out the cackling of Umina’s laughter. Mariko rushes back to her seat and the teacher enters the classroom.

「Quiet. Class, let’s get started.」

With a bang, the teacher says, tapping the teaching table.

And before the buzzing classroom could quiet down, class began.

Flattering handwriting is written on the blackboard. Letters that are not too well suited for the board are like worms that have crawled out of the ground and are difficult to decipher.

I look at the seat diagonally in front of me.

Most of what I see is Umina’s back, and I can’t see her textbook clearly.

She returned her gaze to the blackboard and copied the words into her notebook.

I don’t mean to say that the folded textbook is mine, but the thought of Umina using it makes my note-taking arm feel awfully heavy.

The gravelly teacher’s voice is unpleasant and irritating.

Snap!

With a small sound, the lead of a mechanical pencil breaks off.

Umina couldn’t even remember Miyagi’s name.

I close my eyes.

This feeling that textbooks bring with them is something I should not pursue.

These inexplicable feelings lead to troublesome things.

So, I close my eyes.

Textbooks are unimportant, not something to be concerned about.

I open my eyes and look at the blackboard.

I hear the teacher’s voice and take notes.

When I kept repeating such things with my head full of unnecessary things, the class was over.

Time is running out.

Before I knew it, the end of the afternoon class was near.

On days like this, Miyagi does not contact me.

What is this?

On a day like today, she should call me.

I complain in my mind.

I’ll be at her house today.

We have never made such contact, but there is no rule that says I can’t contact her.

It is just too much of a given that Miyagi will contact me, and it should be okay for me to contact her.

The chime that signals the end of class rings, and I pick up my phone.

I stare at the tiny screen.

「Waiting for a call? Was it a boyfriend or something?」

I hear Umina’s voice and look up.

「I don’t have time for a boyfriend.」

「Ehh— If you want, I can introduce you to some good people, okay?」

「I don’t think it’s a good time. After the exam.」

「I see. Today’s cram school, right?」

When asked by Umina, who refers to the prep school as a cram school no matter how many times I correct her, I tells her that there is none.

「Well, then…」

She wants to go there, I want to go that way.

Umina dwelled on her hopes, and Mariko, who arrived later, agreed.

I put my phone away in my bag.

I should go from Miyagi after all.

It’s not right for me to contact her.

By the end of homeroom, we had decided where we were going and we left the classroom.