I wonât go into what happened on Sunday.
We didnât make such an agreement, but neither Miyagi nor I have mentioned it once since we came home. We spent Friday and Saturday not talking about it, knowing that if we were going to continue living as before, it would be better not to mention it in an odd way.
But today I canât help but be aware of it.
It has been exactly one week since that Sunday.
We are spending a new Sunday together.
ãIâll have a cup of tea, you want some?ã
On the other side of the table, I call out to Miyagi, who is sitting quietly.
ãIs it warm? Or cold?ã
ãWhich one do you want to drink?ã
ãThe cold one.ã
ãThen, Iâll serve you barley tea.ã
I get up and prepare two glasses and put three ice cubes in each. A cool sound is heard as I take barley tea out of the refrigerator and pour it in.
ãHere you go.ã
I place one of the two glasses in front of Miyagi and sit down in my chair.
ãThanks.ã
Miyagi says quietly and takes a sip of barley tea.
ãYouâre not going anywhere today?ã
ãLike I said yesterday, Iâm not going out.ã
Miyagi sounds unhappy.
I feel bad for asking her again and again, but itâs not what I had in mind for Miyagiâs behavior, which makes me want to check her again and again.
She even ran away from me and avoided me when I returned home
Thatâs what I thought, so I figured she would make up some appropriate reason, like going out with Utsunomiya on Sunday, and not be home in the morning. She sat in front of me without complaint.
Not that it isnât awkward.
Sometimes, more than ever, I donât know what to say. Surely, it was the same with Miyagi, where conversations are sometimes unnaturally interrupted.
Still, Miyagi didnât run away and we spent Friday and Saturday as usual. Even today, we had breakfast together and just finished lunch.
ãSpeaking of which, what happened with Utsunomiya?ã
Neither on Friday nor Saturday was there any mention of Utsunomiya from Miyagiâs mouth.
It is not likely that she will not see Utsunomiya at the university, and if she does, she will talk about us. If she did, she would have complained to me and said,ãSendai-san has done me a terrible disservice,ãbut she didnât.
I didnât ask her if there was something she didnât want to tell me, but I was curious about the outcome of what I had been involved in.
ãThereâs nothing special happening.ã
Miyagi says in a tone that makes me think something is wrong.
ãIf nothing has happened, thatâs fine, but how did you explain us to Utsunomiya?ã
ãI lent you money, which led to Sendai-san teaching me how to study, but I was too embarrassed to tell her that you were teaching me, so I told her that I had kept quiet. I didnât tell her we lived together because I told her I didnât want to have to tell her about high school if I told her.ã
Despite the footnotes, it is true that I taught Miyagi how to study. It would explain what she was doing after school, and as if to prove it, her grades at Miyagi went up.
But I think it is a little weak as a reason for keeping quiet.
ãUtsunomiya, did that convinced her?ã
ãSubtle. I think we need to talk about this a little more properly sometime⦠Iâm not sure where to begin.ã
I know it would be harder to talk to people about Miyagi, who was ordering me around with money, than I was ordering her around with money.
ãWell, Iâm glad youâve convinced her anyway.ã
Itâs only a postponement of the problem, but now we have no choice but to take advantage of Utsunomiyaâs kindness.
ãItâs not fine.ã
ãWhy?ã
ãâ¦Maika said she wanted to come visit me here.ã
Judging by the weight of her mouth and the content, I believe this is the reason why Miyagi did not talk to me about Utsunomiya. And that must be why Utsunomiya chose to be convinced, even if the story is subtle.
ãWhy donât you ask her to come?ã
Itâs like a condition that she gave instead of pursuing it in depth.
If that is to come here to play, then let her come.
ãImpossible. She also said she wanted to talk to Sendai-san.ã
ãThatâs good. I want to talk to her too.ã
ãâ¦Sendai-san, do you want to talk to Maika?ã
ãShe seems interesting and we might get along.ã
I didnât realize it in high school, but I think Utsunomiya is the type of person you can talk to and get along with. Even if she was not the type of people I get along with, I would like to thank her more firmly for her help with Miyagi.
ãAre you going to be her friend?ã
Miyagi said in a slightly low voice and stared at me.
Her brow was not wrinkled, but her gaze hurt.
ãWe could be.ã
We even went to the same high school and were in the same class. And given that she was friends with Miyagi, who is my roommate, there is no reason why we should not be friends. The question is whether Utsunomiya wants to be friends with me, but since she wanted to come visit me at this house, she must be willing to be at least a little friendly with me.
ãSendai-sanâ¦ã
Miyagi makes a hard voice.
Not a very good voice.
Thinking I was about to say a word I didnât want to hear, I asked,ãWhat is it?ã Miyagi spoke clearly.
ãMaika is my friend.ã
I donât bother to be told, I know.
For Miyagi, Utsunomiya is a close friend.
Itâs not fun because it seems to take that friend.
These feelings are understandable.
Understandable, but whether I can digest it in her own mind is another matter.
I am frustrated that Miyagi thinks I was so important to her that she doesnât want to allow Utsunomiya and I to have any contact.
ãShe said she wouldnât take it.ã
I try to sound as cheerful as possible so that Miyagi does not feel the feelings I have inside of me right now.
I pick up my glass, wet with water droplets, and drink half a cup of barley tea.
The cold liquid goes down the throat and lowers the temperature of the body.
My damp hands are also cold.
But my head is not cold.
The inexplicable feelings I had felt for Utsunomiya until now.
I knew the name of this feeling, but I have always pretended not to know it.
I am jealous of Utsunomiya Maika.