At twelve oâclock.
Thatâs what I had thought, but although the twelfth hour passed quickly and two oâclock in the afternoon was approaching, there was no reply from Miyagi.
On the bed where I lay, glaring at my phone.
I decide that I have to wait until noon to hear back from Miyagi, so I think I must leave the house soon.
I have my part-time job today.
I may skip college, but I canât skip my part-time job where thereâs a student. If I continue to slack off and wait for a response, itâll be time for my part-time job, so I should leave home early. I know, but I canât leave the house because of the awkwardness of seeing her.
I donât have the confidence to speak as usual.
I donât have the confidence to see Miyagiâs face as usual.
And I cannot bear it if Miyagi sees me differently than usual and misunderstands that I regret what I did on Sunday. If I told her I liked her to clear up the misunderstanding, he would think I was using the word âlikeâ to justify what happened on Sunday, and my true feelings would not be conveyed. Besides, if I told her I liked her, Miyagi would surely disappear from me again.
ãThis isnât good.ã
I mumble nothing to anyone and get up.
Looking at my phone, which is not responding, I am pulled by negative feelings more than the desire to see Miyagi.
ãMiyagi, reply to me!ã
I message Miyagi with frustration and anticipation.
But the phone still wonât budge a bit.
Time is wasting away, and I leave the house, ready to go.
The clouds are low and the sun is shining, but it is not too hot.
I walk quickly to the station and get on the train.
In my bag, my phone is sleeping like dead.
It doesnât respond when the train shakes.
I took out my phone and look at the screen, but still no reply. Itâs not a difficult question to ask when she will be back, so she should send a reply right away.
Look out the window and watch the scenery flow by.
Thinking about what I have to do now makes me restless. I want to get off at the next stop and go home. I get off at the station where I should get off, almost sucked in by the opening door, and proceed with my heavy feet as if I were wearing iron shoes. Step by step, I headed toward the university. I donât know how long I walked, but I stopped when I saw my destination.
ãâ¦Come to think of it, I didnât look it up.ã
I looked up the location of the university when I was deciding on my current house, but I didnât look up the inside, so I have no idea whatâs inside the university. Because I was thinking only about Miyagi, I hadnât done my homework. I took out my phone and searched where the university was located and what it had to offer.
ãMiyagi, I hope I find you.ã
.
As I knew before I came here, a large and crowded university is not a good place to look for people. Even if it was my college, it is difficult to catch someone you donât know where they are and canât contact them.
I should have listened to the college a little more.
Itâs not that we didnât talk about college at all, but I didnât even keep track of her schedule, so I couldnât even predict where Miyagi would be today, at this time.
I walk into the university with my phone in hand. Even though students from other universities are allowed in, I am just a little nervous.
I look around to see where students might go, but no matter where I go or how many people I pass, Miyagi wasnât there. Since itâs not even certain whether Miyagi is at the university in the first place, it may be futile to look for her.
After walking around for nearly an hour, I sit down on a bench.
I felt as if I was doing something meaningless, and I was awfully tired even though I was just walking. I check my phone, but there is no reply from Miyagi. I would like to ask her where she is, but if she knew I was at the university, she would run away to avoid being found. That said, I donât think I will find Miyagi if I keep walking around.
ãMaybe Iâll just stay at the gate.ã
Searching for people at a university is akin to the task of finding a grain of salt in a grain of sugar. Itâs not easy to find Miyagi anywhere. Still, a place where a lot of people pass by should increase the chances of finding Miyagi.
I get up and head for the main gate.
Perhaps because of all the walking around, it was a little hot despite the breeze.
The sky looks annoyingly blue.
Normally I would consider it a nice day, but right now the bluer the sky is, the angrier I am at its blue.
I let out a small breath.
I turn to look around to see if I can find her a bit more on inside. As I walked around, looking around to see if Miyagi was anywhere, I saw a familiar face.
ãAhh!ã
I was unintentionally loud.
The atmosphere has changed, but there is no doubt.
ãUtsonomiya!ã
ãâ¦Eh, Ehh!? Sendai-san!?ã
I run up to Utsunomiya, who is walking alone toward me, and grab her arm.
ãWhat is it? Why are you here, Sendai-san?ã
Utsunomiya looked at me in surprise.
I knew it, I think.
Miyagi said she told Utsunomiya she was living with me, but if she knew I was Miyagiâs roommate, she wouldnât be so surprised to see me. I knew there was no way she was telling the truth to Utsunomiya, but it was to be expected.
ãI was looking for, Miyagi.ã
I feel bad for Miyagi, but I mention her name.
ãMiyagi, by that, do you mean, Shiori?ã
ãYes, that Miyagi. Was she by any chance staying at Utsunomiyaâs house?ã
ãâ¦Why is Sendai-san looking for Shiori?ã
ãYou havenât heard?ã
ãWhat do you mean I havenât heard?ã
Utsunomiya, not quite grasping the situation, makes a perplexed face.
Miyagi, she would be absolutely furious.
But we graduated from high school, and we no longer have to hide from Utsunomiya that I have a connection with Miyagi. Miyagi wanted to keep it a secret, but if she didnât told her, the story would not go forward. If Miyagi gets in trouble for getting into trouble, she deserves it. It was Miyagiâs fault for lying to Utsunomiya, and it is Miyagiâs fault for not sending a reply.