316 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

Chapter 316 "I'm heading out first." Sendai-san, who says suggestive things but doesn't do things like that anymore, said that and went to university before me. So I made sure to lock the door before leaving the house. I walk the familiar path to the station as always. Sendai-san’s favorite calico cat isn't here. It’s not that it never shows up in the morning, but it never seems to appear when I’m around. Sendai-san, however, sees the cat often enough to talk about it, so it must be doing well, watching her walk this route to school instead of me. It irritates me—a lot. The fact that the calico cat knows more about the path Sendai-san takes than I do feels immensely unfair. As I walk down the sidewalk, I look left and right. Sure enough, no calico cat. I let out a heavy sigh, hurry to the station, catch the train, and head to university. The moment I step into the lecture room, I spot Maika. I greet her with a "Good morning" before taking the seat next to her. "Morning, Shiori. How was yesterday?” “Yesterday?” “Yeah, yesterday. You went to the aquarium with Sendai-san, right?” Hearing Maika mention something only Sendai-san and I should know, I reflexively ask, "Huh?" "I heard from Sendai-san. She said you both went together." Whether it was through a phone call or a message, her source is limited to those options. Regardless, both possibilities unsettle me. "Yeah, we went." I respond with forced cheerfulness. Even though I keep secrets from her, Maika is a dear friend, and I shouldn’t let these feelings spill onto her. My discontent should remain confined within me. Still, I can’t help feeling annoyed that Maika knows about the aquarium outing. I despise this side of me. To add to it, I hate myself for being displeased with Sendai-san and Maika communicating behind my back. At this point, I'm hate myself more than broccoli, spring greens, or bell peppers. "You both love aquariums, don't you? You went during summer break too." Maika's cheerful voice reaches me, and I rearrange my expression to mask the swirl of discontent inside. "It’s perfect for killing time." "Going to an aquarium to kill time? Sounds like a date." The word “date” feels out of place between me and Sendai-san, but right now, I’m more concerned that yesterday's memories are spilling out. "I heard something like that from you last year too." Last summer, I had mentioned going to the aquarium with Sendai-san to Maika. Back then, I was the one who brought it up. This time, it’s Sendai-san who did, and that shouldn’t bother me. People often end up mentioning who they went out with, whether they mean to or not. Deciding to quell my restless feelings, I resolve to seal away my displeasure. "True, but aquariums are a classic date spot." "Maika, you know that’s not the case." "Maybe, but it's unusual to just hang out at an aquarium with a friend, isn’t it?" “Some people who love aquariums might do exactly that.” "You said you went to kill time, didn’t you?" Maika's tone seems amused, which isn't funny to me, leaving me at a loss for words. She's always enjoyed teasing me since we were young. "…Seals and sea lions are cute, and I wanted to see them." When I manage to voice a halfway decent reason, Maika laughs playfully, “You two must really get along.” "I think it’s normal." "You do get along well." Maika’s voice gets buried in the chatter of the lecture room. Getting along. Measuring the relationship between Sendai-san and me with those words is misleading. That’s a term for friends, and it’s inappropriate to use it to describe me and Sendai-san. Besides, I don’t want to be friends with Sendai-san. She maintains a distant, superficial connection with her friends. The friends I’ve seen her with are more like “pretend friends,” and I don’t want to be put in the same category. But I still can’t stand that she has such people around her. I’m also terrified of the thought of her making a "real friend" someday. "I want to go home." I whisper and slump over the desk. Nothing seems to go right today. I want to go home quickly, to verify that Sendai-san is mine and mine alone. “There it is, Negative Shiori.” “Nothing's gone right since morning.” “Why not cheer yourself up with the cute seal and sea lion photos? You took some yesterday, right?” Maika pokes me in the side, prompting me to lift my head. “I did.” “Then let’s cheer up by looking at those cute pictures together!” That’s a problem. I can't show them. The aquarium photos are still unsorted. My phone's gallery contains pictures of Sendai-san at the aquarium, and I can't let Maika see them. Having photos of friends on your phone isn’t odd, so logically, there’s nothing to hide. But Sendai-san isn’t my friend. To have her photos seen as “friend photos” is something I refuse to allow. "They're not sorted yet. I'll show you after I organize them." "Sorted, huh… Shiori, did you take pictures you need to sort through before showing?" "I just didn’t get any good ones. I'll send over the ones that turn out nice later. How’s that?" "Fine. But if they’re not cute, you owe me!" "I'm not confident." Maika replies with, “I only accept masterpieces,” continuing to laugh. We indulge in idle chatter until the lecturer enters the room, and our conversation dies down, though the room doesn't fall into complete silence as the lecture begins. Listening to the droning voice of the lecturer, I glance at Maika. I can’t give Sendai-san to Maika. Nor can I hand over Maika to Sendai-san. Sendai-san is meant to be mine alone; thus, Maika shouldn't get too close. And Maika, being my friend, means Sendai-san shouldn't get too close, either. Not even forming something that resembles friendship. If they did, Maika might become Sendai-san’s real friend. For now, the person closest to being a real friend to Sendai-san is probably Mio-san. Trying to prevent Sendai-san from forming such connections is wrong. Everyone needs those kinds of friends and should have them. But part of me wishes Sendai-san wouldn't make any. There’s a constant conflict inside of me. These feelings I harbor are wrong, not something that should be fulfilled. Even knowing that, I can’t erase them. At the root of these feelings lies jealousy, and I’ve been consumed by this trivial envy. I can’t bring myself to like this version of me. Taking in another mental sigh, I look ahead. My past with Sendai-san. My future with Sendai-san— If only I could confide everything to someone— I start to consider, but then promptly reject the idea before it fully forms. The answer is already decided—talking about it isn’t an option. What happened between us belongs solely to us. I do want others to know that Sendai-san is mine alone, yet discussing what has occurred or what might happen between us is not something I can easily do. This isn't going smoothly at all. This time a sigh escapes my lips, and I exhale quietly once more.