<h4>Chapter 26: Because Miyagi touched me — 26</h4>


    <i>Tranted by KaiesV </i>


    <i> Edited by KaiesV</i>


    It is not unusual to find a Miyagi that doesn’t talk much. Originally, Miyagi did not talk that much with me. Thinking about it, Miyagi, who does not talk much, should be called Miyagi back to business as usual.


    It’s not much fun, but it’s not an option.


    Her mood is not something I can control.


    I epted Miyagi, who had be unfriendly again, with such thoughts, but soon it was Golden Week and that was thest time I saw her.


    Two days after the holiday.


    I have not seen Miyagi until today.


    We never passed each other in the hallway.


    This is what happens when you are in different sses.


    I don’t really miss it.


    I have no trouble finding people to talk to, and I have made new friends.


    I have no majorints about school life. I’m doing moderately well and enjoying it in its own way. Sometimes I hear people say that they are all sides in the new ss, but that is inconsequential.


    「I’m going next door for a moment.」


    In a noisy ssroom at recess, Umina, sitting diagonally in front of me, suddenly deres.


    「What’s wrong?」


    「I forgot a textbook.」


    When Umina said,「I guess I should skip ss,」Mariko quickly tried to stop her.


    「You shouldn’t do that. You know, they said if you skipped ss again, you’d get a letter of reflection or something.」


    「Hmmm, I could at least write a reflection. Well, this time, I’ll borrow it next door.」


    Leaving behind a voice that sounds unmotivated, Umina leaves the ssroom.


    She is hardly a serious person, and has continued her bad behavior of skipping sses since her sophomore year. She has been called out several times before, but even after three years, she has not learned her lesson.


    Mariko, who was in the same ss in the second year, also skipped ssesst year to keep up with Umina, but changed her mind in the third year when the obstacle of a career path became more visible.


    A close-knit group is troublesome at times like this.


    If one person does something wrong, his or her friends do something wrong too.


    That’s how they see it.


    In fact, Mariko has a history of skipping sses. She seems to want a rmendation because of this, and she is on the side of stopping Umina because she is concerned about her internal score.


    I’m not too worried about the internal score now.


    I feel that it is already toote.


    Well, it is better than doing nothing.


    I pull out my textbooks and notebooks from my desk.


    I don’t enjoy ss, but I don’t intend to skip it. I also need to make an effort to maintain a good image of being different from my peers.


    「Ah, a notebook. Lend it to meter. I need a copy.」


    As I nod to Mariko’s words, I hear a light voice behind me.


    「I’ve borrowed it.」


    Umina shows a textbook in one hand and takes a seat.


    「There.」


    I can’t help but to speak up.


    It was a modern literature textbook for the next ss, and it wasn’t a funny one.


    However, there is a fold mark on the cover.


    「This is?」


    Umina looked at the textbook with a curious look on her face.


    I clenched my hand tightly.


    I can’t believe “it” as if the thing in Umina hand is something special.


    I shouldn’t have said it out loud. But it would be even weirder if I took back the words I had formed, and I’m sure Umina would be amused and bite me.


    「It’s not Ruka’s, is it? Who did you borrow it from?」


    Ruka is the friend with whom Umina would have intended to borrow textbooks. But the textbook she is holding does not belong to Ruka, nor to any of her other friends.


    The textbook in Umina’s hand belongs to Miyagi.


    The folds on the cover were made by me, so there was no way I could make a mistake.


    「How did you know?」


    「I don’t know.」


    She’s not going to tell me why she found out.


    Umina doesn’t know that Miyagi and I are close enough to know who the textbook belongs to at a nce, and there is no need to let her know.


    「I was going to borrow it from Ruka, but she wasn’t there. I borrowed it from a girl I was in the same club with in second year. Let’s see, who was she again? The in girl with long hair.」


    Look at that, she’s probing her memory when I said that girl’s description.


    But I’m sure Umina won’t remember.


    So I will answer instead.


    「…Miyagi?」


    「Ahh— right, right. It’s Miyagi. Hazuki has too good a memory, doesn’t she? You don’t forget people’s names, do you?」


    Umina said, as if impressed, and stared at the textbook. Then she immediately burst outughing.


    「I mean, Miyagi seems so humble, but she folds her textbooks with such gusto. That’s hrious.」


    The chime rings to drown out the cackling of Umina’sughter. Mariko rushes back to her seat and the teacher enters the ssroom.


    「Quiet. ss, let’s get started.」


    With a bang, the teacher says, tapping the teaching table.


    And before the buzzing ssroom could quiet down, ss began.


    ttering handwriting is written on the ckboard. Letters that are not too well suited for the board are like worms that have crawled out of the ground and are difficult to decipher.


    I look at the seat diagonally in front of me.


    Most of what I see is Umina’s back, and I can’t see her textbook clearly.


    She returned her gaze to the ckboard and copied the words into her notebook.


    I don’t mean to say that the folded textbook is mine, but the thought of Umina using it makes my note-taking arm feel awfully heavy.


    The gravelly teacher’s voice is unpleasant and irritating.


    Snap!


    With a small sound, the lead of a mechanical pencil breaks off.


    Umina couldn’t even remember Miyagi’s name.


    I close my eyes.


    This feeling that textbooks bring with them is something I should not pursue.


    These inexplicable feelings lead to troublesome things.


    So, I close my eyes.


    Textbooks are unimportant, not something to be concerned about.


    I open my eyes and look at the ckboard.


    I hear the teacher’s voice and take notes.


    When I kept repeating such things with my head full of unnecessary things, the ss was over.


    Time is running out.


    Before I knew it, the end of the afternoon ss was near.


    On days like this, Miyagi does not contact me.


    What is this?


    On a day like today, she should call me.


    Iin in my mind.


    I’ll be at her house today.


    We have never made such contact, but there is no rule that says I can’t contact her.


    It is just too much of a given that Miyagi will contact me, and it should be okay for me to contact her.


    The chime that signals the end of ss rings, and I pick up my phone.


    I stare at the tiny screen.


    「Waiting for a call? Was it a boyfriend or something?」


    I hear Umina’s voice and look up.


    「I don’t have time for a boyfriend.」


    「Ehh— If you want, I can introduce you to some good people, okay?」


    「I don’t think it’s a good time. After the exam.」


    「I see. Today’s cram school, right?」


    When asked by Umina, who refers to the prep school as a cram school no matter how many times I correct her, I tells her that there is none.


    「Well, then…」


    She wants to go there, I want to go that way.


    Umina dwelled on her hopes, and Mariko, who arrivedter, agreed.


    I put my phone away in my bag.


    I should go from Miyagi after all.


    It’s not right for me to contact her.


    By the end of homeroom, we had decided where we were going and we left the ssroom.