CH 73

I'll be fine even if I don't see Sendai-san — 73

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

Take the book off the shelf and put it back.

Sendai-san has been doing such a simple task for a long time under my order. Sometimes I hear her complain about the heat, but I don’t answer her. It is true that the days are still hot even though it is the middle of September, but if I lower the temperature of the air conditioner any further, I will get cold.

Organizing the bookshelves.

That was something anyone could do, and it wasn’t something I wanted Sendai-san to do. But if I give an ill-advised order, she goes too far, so I have to give an order without worrying about going too far. These days, orders are becoming a formality.

「Miyagi, this book?」

Sendai-san turns around and shows me a manga.

「It’s appropriate.」

I answer while sitting on the floor, in front of the table.

I have my own ideas about the arrangement of books, such as arranging them according to genre or placing my favorite books in places that are easy to reach. But there is no need to tell Sendai-san now. I’ve asked her to organize my bookshelves several times in the past, and after she did, I didn’t bother to tell her because the bookshelves are arranged in an easy-to-use order.

「That’s the kind of thing that bothers me the most.」

Sendai-san complains and puts away the book that she has in her hand on the bookshelf.

She seems to be the type of person who is good at this kind of thing and is very deft. It’s like playing a puzzle game, the books change position and the gaps are filled in.

She looked like she was good at that game, but she weren’t.

As I look at Sendai-san, remembering the one time we played a game together, my eyes fall on her ears.

In the end, Sendai-san would not let me open the piercing.

Ibaraki-san has piercings, and there are other girls who have piercings. It’s against school rules, but it’s about as common as it gets. I am sure Sendai-san will open it someday. Then, I think it’s okay if I open it.

But I knew that Sendai-san would not follow that order.

Five thousand yen is not a panacea.

There are things it cannot do.

I knew that, but I still wish I had pierced that scarless ear more than a week after that.

「Oh, right. College, what are you going to do about that?」

Without turning around, Sendai-san says.

「What am I going to do?」

「If we were going to the same college, I’d teach you how to study.」

「I’m not going.」

Even if we went to the same university and could spend time together with Sendai-san as we do now, it would surely only be until the end of the university. Perhaps Sendai-san will try to end this before the university is finished.

If that is the case, the sooner it ends, the better. It’s less hurtful to end it yourself before you are told it’s over.

「I see.」

Sendai-san said in a voice that was neither dark nor bright, filling the gap between the bookshelves.

「But I will study. I’m a student taking exams, for one.」

There is no lie in the words she spoke.

The homework that Sendai-san used to make me do is now something I do myself, and I’ve already finished it today. I don’t want to do it, but there are even problem books on the table.

「Even if you apply to a different university, I’ll at least teach you what you don’t know.」

「Don’t worry about me, Sendai-san, you should study on your own.」

「I will do that even if you didn’t say so.」

Without turning around, Sendai-san answers.

Her arms, visible through her short-sleeved blouse, are the same as they were during the summer vacation. I couldn’t believe she had walked all the way to my house, not a tan, not a scratch on her.

I had a mark on that arm when her blouse was long sleeved.

That one disappeared after a few days, but the piercing would stay longer. I feel that if I continue to leave a mark that can be seen by anyone, I will feel safer no matter who is next to me.

Although I don’t talk to Sendai-san at school, I think it would be nice to have something that shows that part of her time is mine.

——It was unsolicited.

I know that Sendai-san will never obey my order to have her piercing opened, but I am too stubborn to give up. It’s no different than a child who is getting in a knot in the ground because it can’t get what it wants.

「Sendai-san, it’s over.」

With a voice, Sendai-san turns around.

The arm extending from her blouse is still white, and her ears are unscathed. The bookshelves behind her are arranged a little differently than usual, but the manga and novels are nicely lined up.

「What happened to Miyagi’s class at the cultural festival?」

Sendai-san, sitting next to me, asks me a question.

「We’ll do a cafe.」

The third years are moderate.

The teacher did not say so, but it is implicit in the festival’s presentation. I guess they want us to concentrate on our exams, but every year there are some classes that are not “moderate” enough, and this year our class is one of them.

「Preparation and the day of the event will be a hassle.」

I answered without pause to the sympathetic voice.

「It’s a hassle. There’s a lot of preparation to do, and I’m depressed now.」

「Did you made maid outfits?」

「It’s not a maid cafe, and it’s not that big of a deal.」

「Why—? I was going to go see Miyagi if she was going to wear a maid’s outfit.」

Sendai-san chuckles as she says this in a tone that suggests she is not interested.

「If it’s a maid café, I don’t do anything but work behind the scenes.」

I didn’t oppose the project because it was decided by the core members of the class, but even a mere café is a hassle. There is no way I would wear a maid’s outfit and entertain Sendai-san like that. I don’t think I would ever want to do it.

「In case you’re waitressing?」

「It’s a shift system.」

「Then I guess I’ll go see Miyagi after all.」

「You definitely don’t have to come.」

「You really want me to come.」

「No, don’t come.」

Sendai-san seems to be enjoying herself and seems to be amused. I think she is just speaking what’s in her mouth.

A café would be another grade or class, and there is no reason for her to come see me, as I have promised not to talk to her at school. It’s easy to see that she’s just trying to tease.

This is the kind of thing about her that irritates me.

「That’s not the point, it looks like we’re going to start getting ready next week, and I’m going to be late some days.」

I can’t stay with Sendai-san’s nonsense, so I’ll tell her what I have to tell her.

「Does that mean no calls until the festival?」

「Sendai-san has a prep school, and if our schedules don’t match, I think it will happen.」

After the festival, there will be a midterm exam, so the preparation will be simple and will not be done every day. Even so, it will be harder to keep up with the schedule compared to the past.

「I understand.」

I hear the same voice as usual, and I feel pain as if my heart has been grabbed.

Sendai-san’s class said they would just use the exhibition, but it’s not like they won’t be doing any preparation at all, so they should be able to kill a little time after school, and she has a prep school as well.

That is a schedule that cannot be moved, and Sendai-san will not move it. So the reply that she understand is as I might imagine.

But I didn’t consider her reply that I understood to be a good reply.

The preparation for the festival and prep school.

Two schedules just don’t mesh for us.

Sendai-san might not come to this room.

Only two weeks until the festival.

To put a finer point on it, there are less than two weeks.

Even if we don’t see each other, that’s about as long as it takes, about winter or spring break. We have not met this much in the past, and it should be normal for Sendai-san to be the same as usual.

So it’s funny that I thought that was unfortunate, even for a moment.

I think these feelings are in my mind.

There is no way I would feel lonely, and there is no way Sendai-san would either.

「I don’t want to study. I wish exams would end sooner.」

I flip through Sendai-san’s textbook, which is left on the table. Touching a familiar textbook as if it were my own seems to calm my surging emotions.

Everything is a hassle, and the feeling that the cultural festival and tests should disappear fades away.

「Hey, don’t turn it around without permission.」

Sendai-san complains and pokes me with the tip of her pen. Still flipping through the textbook, she stung me hard with a plop and I pulled my hand back.

Once I replaced the textbook.

On days when I have classes, I can use Sendai-san’s textbooks. But her textbooks are clearly different from mine. There are a lot of posts on it, and because of the different characters in the writing, it is immediately obvious that it belongs to someone else.

That’s not it, why?

Why do I think that if we exchange?

Maybe it’s because we’ve been seeing each other for the summer, unlike before. I take Sendai-san’s presence too much for granted and feel sentimental about the possibility of not seeing her for a while. That must be how it is.

I looked at Sendai, who was going over her textbooks and problem books without saying a word.

Two unbuttoned blouses and ties.

Her hair is neatly braided as usual.

I tug at her tie, which is slightly loosened.

「One more order. Take this off.」

「…Why? Are you going to tie me up again?」

Learn more

Pause

Unmute

Sendai-san makes a voice that is recognizably alarmed.

「Because it’s not.」

Unlike a piercing, a necktie won’t damage her body, and it won’t be left behind when she returns

I still think it is strange to want to exchange something.

Still, until the cultural festival.

I wanted to exchange for a moment.