Kamiyama is troubled by the rainy season.
Monday mornings are gloomy, and even more so when it’s raining. It was a mid-June Monday morning, and as I stepped off the crowded train filled with fellow students, I opened my vinyl umbrella and started walking towards school. Above my head was a gray sky.
The hydrangeas lining the streets, with their purple flowers in bloom, were bravely enduring the drizzling rain of the rainy season.
If only it could clear up and be sunny, Monday wouldn’t be so bad after all… Lost in such thoughts, I walked slowly along the way to school. Finally, after passing through the school gate and closing my umbrella at the entrance, as I took out my indoor shoes from my assigned locker, I heard a voice calling me from behind.
“Ko-ko-ko-ko Komino-kun…! Go-… go…! Good morn… good morning…”
That voice belongs to Kamiyama-san. As I put on my indoor shoes, I turned around. Standing there was Kamiyama-san, a high school girl who easily surpassed 180 centimeters in height. Today, she was drenched all over, most likely due to the rain. Let’s just assume that’s the reason.
“Ah, Kamiyama-san, go-…od morn…ing…”
As I tried to return her greeting and looked at her face, I noticed something different.
“Kamiyama-san… That… bag on your head…”
Kamiyama-san blushed and held onto the bag on her head. “T-th-this… It’s… It’s not what you think! It’s because it’s been raining a lot lately…”
Instead of her usual brown paper bag, Kamiyama-san was wearing a thin, white plastic bag like the ones you get from convenience stores. There were two torn holes in the eye area, just like always. What’s going on…? As I stood there, frozen while looking at Kamiyama-san’s head, she panicked and fluttered her hands while speaking.
“Um, um… Listen, it’s not what you think! I know it looks embarrassing to be dressed like this…! I just wanted to protect myself from getting wet… That’s all!”
Indeed, compared to the usual paper bag, it’s thin. The outline of Kamiyama-san’s face, which is usually hidden by the square-shaped paper bag, faintly emerges through the plastic bag.
She mentioned being dressed lightly, but does it give her a sense of wearing revealing clothes? Large droplets of water start dripping from the hem of Kamiyama-san’s blushing uniform. She looks completely drenched as if caught in a downpour. I can’t let Kamiyama-san get any wetter, so I carefully choose my words before speaking.
“Well… yeah… June tends to have a lot of rain.”
“Yeah, yeah… That’s right… When it rains a lot, the paper bag quickly dissolves… But… it’s embarrassing…”
Kamiyama-san, holding the thin white plastic bag with one hand, said shyly. Students passing by me brush off raindrops from their clothes.
As I hesitate about what to say to Kamiyama-san in this situation, a voice suddenly comes from beside me. “Good morning. Komina-kun, Kamiyama-san.” When I look to the side, Arai is smiling warmly at us.
“Hey, Kamiyama-san? What’s wrong with your face?”
Arai asked while looking at the plastic bag on Kamiyama-san’s head.
“Um, um… Because of the rain… the paper bag… won’t dissolve! And I’m dressed lightly!”
Well, that explanation doesn’t make much sense… Kamiyama-san stuttered while answering.
She was already sweating profusely, to the point that even if she said she had just wrestled with a kappa a moment ago, it would be somewhat believable.
Arai nodded along while desperately trying to understand Kamiyama-san’s explanation.
“I see, I see. So you wore a plastic bag to prevent the paper bag from dissolving in the rain, but you’re embarrassed because you’re dressed lightly.”
Kamiyama-san shook the plastic bag up and down. How did Arai understand that from the explanation just now? While I was impressed by Arai’s perceptive abilities, they maintained their smiling face, appeared to think for a moment, and then clapped their hands.
“That’s right! In that case, why not wear a bucket from tomorrow? Buckets are quite thick, you know?”
“Th-th-th-th-that might actually work!”
Lately, the students at this school have become somewhat accustomed to Kamiyama-san. Initially, the students would stir up a commotion just by her passing by, but as they continued attending the same school together, they started to develop a certain level of understanding, like, “Oh, that’s just the way she is.”
At least, there are fewer students who get flustered just by seeing Kamiyama-san with her usual brown paper bag on her head. However, if she were to follow Arai’s suggestion and actually wear a bucket, it might instill a new sense of fear in the students who have grown accustomed to her.
Despite my concerns, Kamiyama-san readily agrees with Arai’s suggestion, and Arai wears a smile. I try to imagine Kamiyama-san wearing a bucket on her head.
A tall girl, always drenched, wearing a bucket with holes for the eyes, appearing only during the rainy season. It wouldn’t be strange if she were included among the school’s seven wonders… I shudder and address the two of them.
“Let’s not go with the bucket… it’s scary… very scary.” Arai opens his mouth.
“Is that so… Oh, I’ve got it! How about completely covering yourself with a large plastic bucket like the ones found in the garbage area?” Arai, that would be a whole new kind of yokai.
“…Let’s dismiss that idea too…”
“Hmm… In that case, what kind of bucket should we go for?”
“First, let’s step away from the bucket.”
They seem too fixated on the idea of a bucket. Ignoring Arai’s disappointment, I made a suggestion.
“Well, then… What if you wear a plastic bag over the paper bag from tomorrow? It won’t get wet, and you won’t have to worry about being underdressed.”
Both of them looked surprised for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
“Hahaha… Yes…! From tomorrow, let’s do th-th-th-that! We’ll do it!”
“That’s a great idea! I’m glad, Kamiyama-san.”
“Yeah!” Suddenly, the morning chime rang. I realized that there was no one around. I addressed the two with a smile on my face.
“Well, we should start heading to class soon, or we’ll be late.” Everyone has their own worries during the rainy season… I pondered on that thought as I walked towards the classroom, and it took me a while to realize something. Maybe there’s no need to wear the bag itself. At this point, when such an idea comes to me late, I might be going a little crazy. I chuckled with a sigh and opened the door to the classroom.
