ãItâs weird to be on summer break in September.ã
Maika, whom I havenât seen in a long time, says sincerely.
After spending about a month at her parentsâ house, she looks just a little tanned and healthy.
ãCollege students have long summer vacations, donât they?ã
ãI was at home for a long time, but I couldnât do anything college-like because I was mostly at home. I couldnât use this room at all even though I was living alone.ã
Maika falls exaggeratedly to the floor, but itâs not tragic because sheâs lying down like a seal basking on the beach. If anything, she look like she was having fun.
I shift my gaze from Maika to the table.
There are two glasses of barley tea and a bag of potato chips.
I take a glass with a drop of water and moisten my throat.
Her room, where she came to visit me because she had a souvenir for me, is neither hot nor cold. It is kept at the right temperature for me.
ãItâs still summer vacation, so why donât you start acting like a college student now?ã
ãWhatâs college-ish about it?ã
Maika asks without a momentâs pause.
ãWell, I wonder.ã
It has been almost half a year since I became a university student, but I donât want to be asked about myself, who isnât so different from when I was a high school student. I want her to ask Sendai-san about this kind of thing, not me. But I know that if Maika starts to say that she will contact Sendai-san, I wonât feel very good, so I wonât tell her that.
We repeatedly list what we both think are âcollege student-like thingsâ and then deny them, which is unproductive.
ãShiori, howâs the trip?ã
After several voices answered,ãItâs too much hassle,ãMaika got up from the seal back to a human being.
ãOh yeah, Ami told us to come home for winter break.ã
ãLast time I told Ami I wouldnât be back for winter break.ã
At the end of August, Ami asked me about my winter vacation plans and I told her I would not be returning. It was still a long way off, but my plans wouldnât change.
ãShe told me to persuade you. Are you not coming home for New Yearâs Eve and New Yearâs?ã
ãIâm not.ã
ãAre your parents, annoying?ã
ãWeâre a laissez-faire family.ã
My fatherâs first priority is his work and he doesnât care about me enough to interfere.
He never came home enough to interfere with me in the first place, so I didnât come home for summer vacation.
ãIâm jealous. I wish I could stay here for the whole winter break, but I guess Iâll have to go home. I have New Yearâs money, too.ã
ãHow nice to have New Yearâs money.ã
ãWhy donât you go home, too? Ami will be happy.ã
ãIâd like to see Ami, butâ¦ã
The words I uttered contained no lie, but I donât think I want to go home to an empty house.
ãEveryone will be going home for the New Yearâs holidays, and wouldnât it be boring to be alone?ã
âLetâs return there together,â Maika says in a voice that doesnât say, but I know she wants to.
ãI donât think Sendai-san will be leaving, and I donât think Iâll be alone.ã
I havenât heard about Sendai-sanâs plans, but Iâm sure she wonât go home just because itâs the New Yearâs holiday. So I would rather stay here than go all the way back to my parentsâ house where no one is coming home.
ãSendai-san isnât returning home either. Come to think of it, Sendai-san didnât go home for summer vacation either, did she?ã
ãShe was at home, butâ¦ã
ãDid you two go out and have fun together?ã
ãWe went out for what we went out for.ã
I know sheâs going to want to hear it.
If I were in Maikaâs shoes, I would ask the same thing.
But itâs hard to answer.
I feel guilty even though I have nothing to be guilty about.
ãWhere did you two go?ã
Maika asks in a light tone.
I know she doesnât mean anything deep, and there is nothing unnatural about the fact that if I say weâve gone out, she will say where.
ãAquarium.ã
I answer shortly and drink barley tea.
ãSurprising. Sendai-san seems to go to different places. I mean, an aquarium is like a place for dates!ã
ãItâs not a date.ã
Nothing crazy about going out with roommates.
It doesnât matter if the place is an aquarium.
Itâs a good place to go with friends or with roommates.
Itâs just strange that Maika says itâs like a date.
Itâs strange that Iâm too conscious when I talk to people about what happened with Sendai-san, but I think Iâm just overly concerned about it because I do things with her that I wouldnât call roommates.
ãWell, I was joking about calling it a date. How nice. I wish I could have been there to play.ã
ãSo, do you two want to go hang out?ã
ãThatâs nice. Where would we go? ââwait, Shiori, your birthday is this month, right? Why donât I go out with you on your birthday?ã
ãAhh, my birthdayâ¦ã
Suddenly the word birthday comes up and I am at a loss for words.
Until last year, it was Maika and Ami who celebrated my birthday.
But that wonât be the case this year.
ãNhn? Do you have any plans by any chance?ã
Maika makes a curious face.
Itâs hard to say, but I have to.
ãâ¦I had a promise.ã
ãAhh, thereâs a promise.ã
ãYeah. With Sendai-san.ã
ãThe two of you?ã
ãâ¦Sort of like that.ã
ãEhh, I was planning to go out with Shiori this year.ã
Maika exaggerates.
Then she smirked and continued her words.
ãâ¦Is what I would say, but we didnât do much last year either. I guess Iâll give your birthday to Sendai-san.ã
ãSorry.ã
I feel bad because I can tell that Maika is concerned about me.
In fact, it would be better if I could invite Maika and the three of us could spend the birthday together, but I canât say so.
ãYou said you didnât make any promises and thereâs nothing to apologize for. Oh yeah, when is Sendai-sanâs birthday?ã
ãIn August.ã
ãItâs over now. What did you two do?ã
ãJust in case.ã
Itâs not so much that I did something, but I think I did something birthday-like.
However, I donât know if the birthday present I gave her was the right one, as I wasnât sure whether I should give it to her or not. Sendai-san was pleased, but it remains a mystery whether she meant what she said when she said she was happy because sheâs not the kind of person who pushes back what she receives.
I tried to celebrate her birthday, hoping to reciprocate her kindness in some small way, but I donât think it went well.
ãShiori, itâs not fair that you seemed to be enjoying your summer vacation.ã
ãMaika has been playing with Ami, so why not?ã
ãYes, but you know what? I wanted to fully enjoy it here too.ã
Maika says in a rare spoiled child-like manner and falls to the floor again to become a seal on the beach.
I recall the difference between seals and sea lions that Sendai-san taught me, and Maika and I discuss the summer vacation that is still going on in September. Then we decide to meet again and go somewhere for fun before college starts, and after we both have dinner, we take the train home.
Up the stairs to the third floor, I open the front door to find Sendai-sanâs shoes, which she said she wouldnât go anywhere today. I donât know if she really didnât go out, but she seems to be home.
When I went to the common space, Sendai-san came out of her room and said,ãWelcome backãto which I replied,ãIâm home.ã
ãUtsunomiya, how have you been?ã
Sendai-san, who has often been in a good mood since the start of summer vacation, says with a downcast look on her face.
ãI was fine. I was tanned and healthy.ã
ãThen thatâs good.ã
ãHere, a souvenir. You two can eat it together.ã
When I give Sendai-san the souvenir Maika gave me, she asks,ãDo you want some now?ãHaving just eaten a meal, I was not hungry and replied,ãTomortoe is fine,ãSendai-san sat down in her chair, perhaps intending to talk slowly.
ãDid you have fun today?ã
ãWell, I havenât seen her in a while. I plan to visit again during the vacations.ã
ãAnd when is that?ã
ãI havenât decided yet.ã
ãI see.ã
Sendai-san blurted out and tried to get up from the chair she had just sat down in. I opened my mouth, not wanting her to go back to her room, although there was nothing I really wanted to talk about.
ãSendai-san, are you going home for winter vacation?ã
ãIâm not going home. Iâm thinking of doing a short term job that I can only do during winter break.ã
I squeezed my hand as I got the answer I expected and the one I didnât expect.
ãWhat about your tutor job?ã
ãApart from that.ã
ãâ¦More part-time work?ã
I see Sendai-san, who is working even more part-time in addition to her tutoring job, which is still unacceptable.
As a tutor, her student overlap too much with my past self.
Even though I know she would never do to her student what she did to me, I donât feel better when sheâs working part-time. It also takes up Sendai-sanâs time, and I still wish she would quit.
I once thought that I could forgive her if it were another part-time job, but I donât think I could accept not only Sendai-san who tutors, but also Sendai-san who does other part-time jobs.
ãI intend to. Is Miyagi going home?ã
Sendai-san looks at me.
ãI wonât go back.ã
ãThen, do you want to go somewhere together for winter break?ã
ãIf you want to add a part-time job, you donât have that kind of time.ã
ãI donât intend to add so much that I canât go anywhere.ã
Sendai-san smiles at me, and I feel like kissing her for no reason.
Why?
Why is Sendai-san different from everyone else?
I donât want her to be special, but no one else can take her place. Even though I donât want her presence to grow in my life, it definitely does, and being with her makes me want to do something I wouldnât do with anyone else for no reason.
I reach out and touch Sendai-sanâs lips.
I press my fingertips hard against them, and Sendai-san closes her eyes as if it were a matter of course.
When I bring my lips together, I can feel her heat even before I touch her.
I close my eyes and bite down on her lip, trying not to look at my feelings.
Sendai-san pulls herself up and grabs my arm.
The harder I set my teeth, the stronger her hand grabs my arm.
I donât mean to put a scar on her lips, but I will want to put a mark on it so that I can easily see where Sendai-san is and what she is doing. She is not mine, but I want to make a mark that anyone but me can see.
I bite her soft, soon-to-be-bloodied lips heavy, hard, and release her.
ãâ¦It hurt like crazy, you know.ã
Sendai-san complained and stroked her lips with her finger. Then, after checking that there was no blood on her fingertips, she let out a small breath.
ãIf you get angryâ¦ã
I am unfair.
I say this knowing that Sendai-san will not get really angry.
ãIâm used to Miyagi doing things that donât make sense.ã
She said dismissively, and Sendai-san stood up.
.
But she didnât return to her room.
ãAre you in bad mood?ã
Then she tugs lightly on my bangs.
ãIâm not.ã
There is no lie in the words I spoke.
So to prove it, I kissed her lips.