Not so much as it has been a long time.
Still, because the uniform has been replaced by a uniform, Sendai-san looks different from usual. Maybe thatâs why I feel a little uncomfortable in my own room.
ãMiyagi, is something wrong?ã
Sendai-san says as she unbuttons her blouse.
ãWhy?ã
ãNhnâ I didnât get called very often.ã
ãI was just busy, thatâs all.ã
ãHee?ã
Sendai-san did not ask why I was busy.
Of course, I wasnât going to tell her either when she asked. I was never really busy, so there was no way I could give specifics when asked.
I brought barley tea and cider, and then handed Sendai-san 5,000 yen.
ãThanks.ã
With that said, she took the money and sat on the bed.
I am relieved when she accepts the 5,000 yen as usual.
Sendai-san remains the same, except that the uniform has changed from a blazer to a knit vest. As usual, two buttons of her blouse are open and her tie is loose.
ãYouâre not going to take that off?ã
Sitting across the table from Sendai-san, I pointed to the vest and asked. Then I heard a teasing voice.
ãMiyagi is quick to try to get people off the hook.ã
ãThatâs not what I meant. Sendai-san, you often take off your blazer.ã
ãI know that. So, what are we doing today?ã
ãSendai-san, you are quick-witted.ã
I called Sendai-san today for no reason.
So I canât immediately think of anything I want to order her to do.
ãAnyway, youâll do my homework.ã
I donât want to study, but there is no other way to shut Sendai-san up. I could let her do my homework, but that would leave me with nothing to do.
I am afraid that if I donât do something today, I will do something I donât want.
ãOkay, give it to me.ã
Sendai-san comes down from the bed and sits next to me.
ãIâll do it myself. Sendai-san can do whatever she wants.ã
I sit back down across from Sendai-san and put out my math textbook and notebook on the table.
ãDoes Miyagi want to do it by herself?ã
Sendai-san is exaggeratedly surprised.
ãThatâs right.ã
ãYouâre not ordering me to do your homework today?ã
ãI wonât.ã
ãMiyagi suddenly got serious.ã
ãIâve been serious for a while now.ã
ãWell, I guess Iâll do my homework too.ã
Sendai-san says in an unmotivated voice and pulls out an English textbook and notebook from her bag. She then put some prints on the table.
Soon I hear the sound of a pen running over the paper.
I cast my gaze down to my math textbook.
I get dizzy looking at textbooks with numbers and alphabets and, in addition, symbols. Some people seem to find beauty in the formulas, but to me they seem to be written in an unsolvable cipher.
Still, I have to solve the problems to finish my homework, so I search for the formulas in my head. But the formulas I thought I had learned are hard to find.
I glance at Sendai-san.
She was writing a series of letters of the alphabet in beautiful handwriting.
The sound of the pen running over the paper was not stagnant, and I envied Sendai-san as if there was no problem she couldnât solve.
I resume my interrupted struggle with the formulas.
I solve the problems sluggishly, holding my hands still.
Homework is not going as well as expected.
In the quiet room, time just flies by.
My eyes flicker as I follow the numbers, and as I let out a small exhale, a pen rolls in from across the room. I looked up and saw Sendai-san looking at me.
ãYouâre finished?ã
ãIâm not.ã
I answered curtly and handed back the pen. When I looked down at my textbook, I was pecked on the whip of my head.
ãOuch. Sendai-san, get out of my way.ã
ãShall I teach you?ã
Itâs good because I think for myself.
Before I can refuse to do so, Sendai-san comes up next to me.
ãYou donât have to tell me.ã
ãIâve got some free time.ã
She peeks at my notebook as she says this, so I push her away from me by pushing her shoulder.
ãWhy donât you just read a manga like you always do?ã
ãIâve read most of them.ã
ãI bought a new one, so read that one instead.ã
I bought two manga during this week.
I think those two books are enough to pass the time for her.
But instead of a manga, Sendai-san took my notebook and pointed to the middle of the page.
ãHere, youâre wrong.ã
ãEh?ã
ãThis is a miscalculation. Also, here.ã
Sendai-san takes her own pen. She then begins her explanation, correcting some parts that seem to be wrong, even though I did not ask her to do so.
Her explanation is easy to understand.
She teaches it well so that I can understand it.
However, the distance is not right.
ãWait, Sendai-san, youâre too close.ã
Although I should have kept a little distance, Sendai-san is so close to me that our uniforms are touching each other.
ãOkay?ã
ãLately, youâre getting chummy with me. Itâs getting a little depressing, so back off a bit.ã
I push Sendai-sanâs arm to push her to the edge of the table.
ãIsnât it depressing or awful?ã
ãItâs not terrible. And itâs hot when youâre attached to me.ã
It is only past the middle of May, but the days are as hot as summer. Itâs not the kind of temperature that makes you want to stick with someone, even if the person Iâm dealing with isnât Sendai-san.
ãIs that the only reason you donât want to be approached?ã
ãThatâs all. Iâll do the rest myself. Sendai-san, go over there.ã
I point to the bookshelf.
I also tell her the title of the manga I bought and retrieve my textbooks and notebooks, which had somehow made their way over to Sendai-san. But she didnât go for her books. For some reason, she closed the distance that separated them and pulled the textbook and notebook toward her.
ãI told you itâs hot.ã
ãItâs not that hot for me, though.ã
ãAll you do is lie. Sendai-san, you must be hot.ã
Perhaps it was because the fan heater was set to a higher temperature during the winter, but Sendai-san always took off her blazer.
My just right and her just right are different.
There is no way that Sendai-san is not hot in a room that I, a cold person, feel hot.
ãItâs cooler this way, you know?ã
Sendai-san takes the remote control for the air conditioner from the end of the table and turns it on.
ãDonât put that on your own.ã
I take the remote and turn it off.
What the hell is this?
Sendai-san is even more involved than before.
ãHey, Miyagi.ã
I canât deal with her.
I ignore her and look at my textbook.
I take a pen and solves the problem I was about to do.
However, Sendai-san ignored my desire to continue doing my homework.
ãHere.ã
Her fingertips caress my neck.
I looked up and her hand stuck to my neck.
ãYou know why Iâm touching it, right?ã
Sendai-san says quietly and continues her words.
ãWhy did you kiss me here when I was sleeping?ã
Her hand strokes my neck once more.
ãIf you were aware of it, why didnât you ask me right back and there? Why ask now?ã
ãAnswer the question first, then ask me afterwards.ã
She is not angry.
But it wasnât a kind tone either.