After arranging everything in my room, March also ended.
On the morning of April the second.
“Yumizuki, Good Morning!” (In English)
Saeki’s enthusiastic voice woke me up. Ever since we started living together, Saeki woke me up every morning like this.
I slowly opened my eyes and saw her face right in front of me. She put her arms on my pillows and stared straight at me. This was also the usual position. Some days, she wore a smile, others, she had a serious face, each day a new expression.
And today, it seemed she was wearing a bright smile.
I questioned why she was smiling like that, but there was one more important thing.
“Saeki, what time is it?”
If my biological clock is correct, she woke me up much earlier than usual today.
“Around 8?”
Just like I’d thought.
“Why did you wake me up so early?”
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“Because today’s the opening ceremony.”
Ah, understood. Thinking back, today was 2/4, which is the day all schools in Academy City organized the opening ceremony.
However…
“Have a safe trip. I’ll sleep for a while longer.”
It had nothing to do with me. I turned around, showing an uncaring attitude.
“You don’t want to see me in a uniform?”
“I can see it whenever when we start going to school.”
I can only sleep like this on rest days.
“Hmm~~… then suit yourself. I’m planning to let Yumizuki be the first person to see it!”
Saeki stomped hard on the floor, then immediately left the room.
I opened my eyes again, lifted half my body up and looked at the door. The closed door also meant Saeki had left.
I should’ve looked at her a bit back then shouldn’t I…?
Usually you would show your family your new uniform, but Saeki couldn’t. So I should have looked at it a bit and praised her, but I didn’t…
After hearing the main door closing, I woke up a bit.
It may be that I was regretful of my decisions that I couldn’t go to sleep again, so I left the bed.
Saeki prepared breakfast for me. The only thing I needed to do was to make some toast and coffee. She was thoughtful as always.
In the beginning, Saeki said the living room and the kitchen were the common rooms. But we didn’t divide our jobs like normal room sharers. Saeki used Rocks paper scissors to decide, and since she kept winning, she took all the housework responsibility for herself.
My only job was to sweep my own room and buy food and appliances with her.
Cooking was also Saeki’s job.
But I would cook her lunch today while waiting for her to return.
Or so I thought while sipping on the hot coffee.
____________
Approaching noon, Saeki returned while I was busy re-organizing my first year’s textbooks.
“I’m back~~”
“Uhm, you’re already back?”
My voice came from my room.
After reorganizing my books, I walked into the living room, the same time the door to her room closed.
In the end, I couldn’t see her uniform.
I thought she wanted me to look? Or was she still mad about this morning?
A while later, she left her room.
“Aaahhh, so tired.”
At least, there weren’t traces of anger on her face when she said such.
I sat down on the chair and looked at her.
She changed into everyday wear, consisting of a hoodie and shorts. Looking carefully, she seemed pretty tall and slender.
“Tired? You only need to sit and listen to speeches at the opening ceremony?”
“Ah, that is true normally.”
Normally? Was she in a different school than I was? Since, at least at Mizunomori High, I only had to sit and listen in the opening ceremony, which was super boring.
I suddenly saw something white stuck on her head.
“Saeki, something is stuck on your head.”
“Hmm? Where, where?”
Saeki put her hand on her head.
“It’s on the left. Not that left, the opposite.”
I guided her hand, but after a while, the thing is still not off.
“You take it off for me, Yumizuki.”
Finally, Saeki sat on the floor and pointed her head at me. Her hair swayed back and forth, letting off a refreshing aroma.
I took the white “thing” off her head.
“It’s a cherry blossom petal.”
“Ah, it is. I changed my clothes, and it still didn’t fall off.”
“It must like you.”
The petal was light pink in colour.
There were a lot of cherry blossoms in Academy City. They always bloom at school openings, and the city would be dyed in their colours, as if a blessing for the new students. Last year, I also walked past this cherry blossom forest to attend my school ceremony.
I placed the petal into Saeki’s palm.
“Because Saeki’s hair looks great.”
“Uhm, everyone tells me like that.”
Not sure if it was her shampoo or it’s a dye, but Saeki’s hair was a very beautiful brown. Moreover, there was a shift in the shade of brown in her hair when it’s exposed to different kinds of lights, so I was never bored looking at her hair.
“Truthfully speaking, I was born with this brown hair.”
“Heh…”
Mysterious.
“Looks good?”
Asked Saeki.
“Great.”
“That so.”
She shyly giggled.
“Alright, I’ll keep this petal.”
She held the petal tight then stood up.
“What are you keeping it for?”
“I like it!”
“You must be those type of people that usually pick up acorns or chestnuts on the street back when you were young.”
“I, like, it”
However, she answered with an annoyed voice, and immediately returned to her room.
What did she want to keep that petal for…?
__________
After about a week, school starts.
I felt both excited to start the new school year, as well as laziness, just wanting to lie on the bed the whole day. Humans’ emotions were complex.
Either way, I’m officially a second year student this year.
Wearing the previously washed uniform, I stepped into the living room.
Saeki also stepped out of her room one beat later than me, and…
“Ah…”
We both said.
She wore a blazer with a red checkered skirt. Under her skirt were a pair of black tights.
I remember this uniform clearly.
Because I had been seeing this every day of my school life.
And I would keep seeing this for a while to come.
This was the women’s uniform for Mizunomori Private Highschool.
“Ah, so I and Yumizuki are in the same school.”
“It seems to be the case…”
I flashed a bitter smile.
My school life would be rocky from now on – I had such a feeling.