Chapter 59: Volume 2 - CH 3.3

Since Stella was with us, we decided to walk slowly to our neighborhood instead of taking the bus on the way back. It was almost noon, the temperature was gradually rising, and I was sweating a little. Stella was also walking with his tongue hanging out.

"What were you two doing?......I mean, we're walking together, is that okay?"

Hoshino-san asked Izumi as soon as we started walking. Izumi tilted her head curiously and asked, "Why?".

"I was thinking of choosing that present. I thought it would be better to get a man's opinion, so I asked Kenichi-kun to help me. He has similar height and hairstyle," she replied.

"Oh, so that's what happened," Hoshino-san said.

"I thought you were in the middle of an event that forced me to wish for a romantic comedy manga-like explosion of a date between relatives who live together......."

Hoshino-san finished such a long line in one breath. Izumi just smiled wryly, whether she understood what it meant or not.

On the way home, Izumi and Hoshino-san said they were going to buy lunch and went into a bakery. It was a personal store that also had a small café, and although I had never been inside, it seemed to be one of Izumi's favorite places in the city. The lodge-like building with its green roof and red arcade had a stylish atmosphere that Izumi seemed to like.

I gave Izumi some coins for my part, and waited outside the store with Stella in the meantime. We went into the shadows under the arcade and I stood with the leash, while he sat quietly at my feet.

After a while, they came back with a paper bag of bread. Then Izumi said, "It's a nice day, so let's go to the park," and we headed for a grassy park at the end of the residential area where we lived.

On the way, Ms. Hoshino said, "I'm going to get my stuff to play in the park since my house is close by," and we decided to stop by her house as well. Hoshino-san's house was a house similar to ours, the same size and design as the houses that line this residential area. She handed Izumi Stella's leash and strode into the house, quickly coming out with a small sports bag.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Hoshino-san said. The bag apparently contained a plastic sheet and an extendable leash.

Then, when we entered our destination park, we each bought a drink from a vending machine, spread out a plastic sheet in the shade of a tree, and sat down. Stella's leash was tied to a nearby tree, and he lay down on the grass.

Hoshino-san and Izumi were sitting across from each other, talking about school. I was sitting near Stella, drinking mineral water from a plastic bottle I had bought from a vending machine and stroking his head. He didn't look particularly happy, just expressionless.

"What kind of present did you buy?"

"Well, this. This one."

Izumi took her phone out of her pocket and showed Hoshino-san a picture of the tie she had just bought. Hoshino-san and Izumi are looking at the screen with their heads almost touching each other. 

"Speaking of which, why was Izumi put in charge of picking out a gift for the teacher?"

When I asked somewhat curious, Hoshino-san turned to me and replied with a smile.

"Rina-chan is in charge of fashion in our class."

......What's that?"

Not understanding what she meant, I asked back, and then Izumi,

"By the way, Aiko-chan is in charge of the manga."

She said that happily. Hoshino-san looked down and whispered, "I'm an Otaku anyway......". Izumi, who apparently did not quite catch it, tilted her head and said, "Otaku?", Hoshino-san shook her head hurriedly and said, "It's nothing."

"What kind of charge is that......"

That was my only reaction. If this is the way of the girls' school they attend, it seems too strange for me to understand. 

I took a bite of the sandwich Izumi had bought me earlier and drank some water from a plastic bottle. I had somehow followed Izumi here, but I felt out of place.

The sun was hot, but it was cool and comfortable in the shade. Entering the middle of September, the number of cicadas had decreased considerably. Every once in a while, as if reminded of them, their cries would echo out from somewhere, but they would soon and abruptly cease. Touching the grass in the shaded area by the plastic sheet, I found it surprisingly cool. 

"How did you do on the practice test the other day?" Hoshino-san asked Izumi. The two were talking while eating sandwiches they had bought earlier. 

"Same as ever. I hope my science subjects will improve a little more."

"Have you thought about which college you want to go to yet?"

"Yes. I'm thinking about applying to a few places."

"I see. Guess I should start thinking about it too."

They were talking about things related to entrance examinations, such as mock exams and open campuses. While I was impressed that two students from a preparatory school were already in such an atmosphere, I thought with a little impatience, as I had not made any preparations that seemed like preparations.

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Nearby, a tennis ball that Mr. Hoshino had brought rolled out of the bag. I picked it up and rolled it to Stella. He got up, walked a little, picked it up with his mouth, and dropped it in my hand with a plop. I rolled it again to his feet. He dropped it to me again with a plop.

While Izumi and Hoshino-san were talking, I continued to play an unmotivated game with the dog, and then Izumi asked me, "Kenichi-kun, are you thinking about your career path or something?"

"Ah, yeah. I'm planning to go on to higher education for now. I'm probably going to apply to a liberal arts school, but I haven't decided on the details yet."

"Do you have any plans for what you want to do?"

"I haven't made it clear, but there are a couple of things I'd like to study. What do you have in mind, Izumi?"

"I'm embarrassed to say this, but.......I've been doing some research lately on what kind of studies will help me get the job most easily."

Saying that, she moved her legs, which were bent at an angle.

"Aiko-chan, is there anything you want to do?"

Then Hoshino-san replied, fidgeting a bit.

"Yeah. I'm going to think realistically about my career path so that I can get a proper job.......However, I draw illustrations as a hobby, so I would like to keep doing that. I'm not that good at it, but it's fun to draw and I make a lot of friends at events......"

"That's kind of nice," Izumi said. Then,

"I wonder why Ryuuichi-san decided on a career path like the one he is on now," she said, as if asking me.

"You're right."

I tilted my head, too. Even though our parents were against him, he had attended a famous university and had good communication skills, he would have had no trouble finding a job.

"I wondered if it was better to live by what you want to do, or to think carefully about what you can do."

When I muttered, "It's an eternal problem," Izumi said, and bit into her sandwich.

A breeze was blowing from somewhere. It was a chilly autumn breeze. The leaves on the trees were shaking, and green leaves were falling in flakes. But the outlines of the green leaves were beginning to turn slightly red and yellow.

The sky was not the heavy, dark blue of summer, but a light blue that seemed to go on forever.

Suddenly my eyes met Izumi's. Izumi sometimes gets lost in her thoughts, and she seemed to be absent-minded at the moment.

"What's wrong?"

When I asked, Izumi seemed to come to her senses, then smiled bitterly and said, "Speaking of which,"

"I was thinking about the next year, and I realized that I would no longer be in this town. When I was thinking about the future, I just remembered."

Then Hoshino-san, who had been fiddling with her phone, looked up.

"I wish you could always stay here. If Rina-chan leaves, I'll be alone to go to school again."

"Ahaha......But it's Kenichi-kun's house, so I can't do anything about it on my own."

Izumi said with a small, troubled smile, "Oh, I see. I'm sorry," Hoshino-san said that, looking at me and then turning her gaze downwards a little apologetically.

"---I don't mind if you stay."

I thought the words would fall within the realm of social pleasantries, but my voice almost shook with embarrassment. Besides, after I said it, I began to feel that it was a slightly creepy remark. Izumi was also a little puzzled.

"Oh, thank you.......I'm glad to hear you say that. I've been forgetting lately that I'm going back home someday. I guess I'm getting used to life here."

After saying that, she seemed to regain her composure and said cheerfully, "Anyway, let's do our best so that the three of us can pass the exam together."

Hoshino-san chimed in on the tension with an "oooh!". At the same time, Stella, who had been sleeping beside her, let out a loud yawn.

The air, which had been getting a little heavy, changed, and Izumi took out another croissant from the paper bag and began to eat it, and Mr. Hoshino, perhaps making some progress in the game she was playing, " This!" She turned her eyes back to the game with a happy look on her face.

......I felt like I was going out of tune in a space with two girls who were going at their own pace.

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