A Friend's Time 2

I arrived at school a little too early. And by early, I mean 07:30. There were no signs of people when I first entered unlike the other times where swarms would come pushing me left and right. When I entered the classroom, I saw my classmate Morimoto-san at her seat, reading a book in this barren classroom as if she was the only person in the world.

"Morning, Morimoto-san," I said as soon as I took a seat.

"Good morning, Hisakawa-kun," she said back. "You seem a little down. It's still early in the morning, you know?"

"Just had a bad dream, that's all."

"Hm. Tell me about it."

I was surprised that she was willingly talking to me despite us just getting to know each other yesterday. She didn't say she wanted to be my friend, but she didn't say she didn't, either. I was unsure of how to answer her question because I was unsure of our relationship.

We sat next to each other, sure, but that didn't mean we both knew each other. It would've probably been a lot more easier to talk to her if not because of the solitude between us. This is why I don't talk to strangers that easily.

"I'd rather not, to be honest. And even if I did, I can't really remember much from it. It's now become all fuzzy."

"Your choice."

We stayed like this for a little while. She kept reading her book, and I started daydreaming about random stuff, which eventually made its way to the agreement I stubbornly pushed towards Mari.

To be completely honest, I was still unsure of how this'll all turn out. I was anxious about helping her because of our past, but at the same time, that past makes me want to help her more and more. It's not just about the choices, it's about the conflict both of these choices present. I've already made up my mind long ago, though.

The feelings inside me grew stronger and stronger. The one that overflowed was already released when I embraced Mari in front of the door leading through the faculty. It was another feeling altogether, and this time, I might not be able to hold it in for long.

"You got your lunch with you?" Morimoto-san suddenly said, making me break out of my daydreaming.

"…Yeah. My sister managed to make me one this time."

"Your sister makes you lunch?"

The cat's out of the bag. I wanted to lie about it, seeing that it was a little embarrassing, but now that I've accidentally revealed it, there was no point in keeping it a secret any longer. It's not like it's that embarrassing of a secret, though, but it was a little bit.

"Yeah. But when she entered college, she's only been able to make me breakfast."

"You don't know how to cook?"

"I would, but they prohibited me because I almost burned our house down twice when I was in junior high."

"…What?"

That reaction was natural. She was surprised about it, but thankfully wasn't weirded out. Which was strange. After all, it's already pretty weird that a single person wasn't keen on knowing how to cook something.

"…Guess we're the same," she said. "I also almost burned my house down once. The difference about ours is that you managed to do it twice."

"For real?"

"Yeah. Even just going near our stove was already prohibited. It was way back in grade school, though."

Now I understood why she wasn't weirded out. We both had the same story and even the same punishment. Only a few minor differences, but the one that stood out at all was the age gap. I almost burned my house in junior high, while her's was way back in her grade school days. My punishment was probably understandable, but hers just seemed way off.

"If you almost burned your house down in grade school, then is your punishment still on?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"That's strange. I'm not allowed to cook now because my incident was in junior high, basically my maturing days, but yours started in grade school. You've probably already learned from that."

"Huh. Well, I was traumatized."

"…No wonder why. Sorry about that."

"No, it's nothing to apologize for. I brought that to myself."

I started the conversation about the whole "burning the house down" thing, but now I felt bad. I didn't have any traumatic moments in my life, so I didn't understand how people that have one tend to feel.

The only thing I could do was apologize. I couldn't blame myself, though. She kept the conversation going, so I assume it's not that big of a deal for her. For now, I needed to calm myself down.

It didn't take long before the classroom was starting to get swarmed by students. Some were my classmates, some we're just hanging out with their friends, and some we're leaving for whatever things they wanted to do. The only thing I did was just sit in my chair as I wander around my mind aimlessly.

"By the way, do you know anyone in this class?" Morimoto-san asked.

"No. I was absent on the first day back in my first-year, and even now too. I didn't get the chance to know some people. I only know a few ones."

"Huh. Once again, we both had the same things to share," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that I was also absent in my first-year and my current year. These coincidences are getting a bit out of hand."

"Saying it like that kind of feels like you're exaggerating it a little bit, but that is true. What's the reason for you?"

"It's not that easy to talk about because it's a little embarrassing."

"Well, I guess I can understand that. I doubt it'll be that embarrassing, especially from how you act. But if you don't want to, I'm not going to force you."

"…You're a surprisingly good person, you know that?"

"I think saying 'surprisingly' was unnecessary…"

While I do my things the way I want them to and say things I want to say, I don't think anything I say turns out to be good. I'm downgrading myself a bit here, but seeing that I'm not much acquainted with people, I'm not sure if my opinion of myself is valid. Still, she didn't need to word it like that.

"I was absent on my first-year because of the weather."

"Weather? But it was a clear day back then."

"While that is the case in Mitorishi and Taka, the same can't be said for others. I was out of town for a while on my relative's place, and just when I was about to go back, a strong storm suddenly appeared. Even though we were traveling by car, it was still pretty dangerous. It lasted for just about a day though, so I went back to school on the second day. I still didn't make any friends, though."

"That's a surprisingly normal reason, not gonna lie. I'm not sure what you're supposed to be embarrassed by."

"Well, that's just the first-year. There wasn't much to be talked about back then. How about you? What's your story of being absent on the first day of your previous year?"

"Mine's not that complicated like yours, and is pretty much a normal one as well."

In my first-year, I had a fever that lasted for about a week or so. I couldn't move at all back then, so I had to stay in bed. That time was the worse for me because it felt as if I was slowly detaching myself from reality from all the dizziness I had.

Thankfully, both Yumi and Mari were there to nurse me back to full health. It was unusual though, because that was the first time I had to take that long of a break from school. I had to catch up with my studies, and I didn't even get the chance to make any friends. I omitted saying who took care of me back then.

"…Hisakawa-kun, are you doing okay?" Morimoto-san asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, having a fever that lasted for about a week is pretty abnormal to me. I mean, it's probably normal for some people, but you're still in your school days. Is your immune system that bad or are you just making this up?"

"That's some pretty wild assumptions, but everything I said is true."

"Huh. I guess I'll take your word for it."

"How about this year? What's your reason?"

"…Oh, that."

When I mentioned that, she suddenly turned silent. She closed her book and placed it gently on her desk, as if preparing for something.

"…Actually, why don't you go first? I'm still a little over the place so I need to get my mind in check. Maybe hearing your part of the story might help me organize my thoughts."

"…Well, I was actually hoping that you'd tell yours first because mine's a little complicated unlike the first one."

"Huh. Guess we're stuck in a rut."

The second one wasn't exactly that hard to explain, either. I was just having trouble saying anything about it because that was the time I broke up with Mari. She wasn't related in my absence back then, but it was the still the time we both broke up. I was still trying to move on back then.

We stayed silent for a while. Morimoto-san didn't move an inch, not even opening the book she was reading, and I just made my mind wander absentmindedly. We could both just wait for the bell to ring and have homeroom started, but I wanted to hear her part of the story, and I doubt she doesn't want to hear mine too. One of us needs to eventually speak. After a few moments, I made up my mind.

"I was in a car accident," I said.

"Car accident?"

"Yeah."

I was actually heading to school on my first day back then. I was riding on my bike as usual, just cruising around town in the fine morning. Then a careless driver suddenly drove past me, startling the heck out of me. This caused me to ride at the road. Another car rode by and then crashed into me. I didn't remember much about it, but the only thing I felt back then was pain.

When I regained my consciousness, I was in a hospital bed with wires stuck in my body and arms, all of them except my right arm casted. When the doctor saw me, they asked how I was feeling. The pain was lessened, but I still felt it. My left arm was dislocated, along with both of my legs and feet. It wasn't that horrible, but it was something I didn't want to experience ever again.

It didn't take long before the news was delivered to my family, and they came rushing. I was hurt at the time, but when they got to my bed and saw my state, it just felt sad that the pain didn't matter anymore. Mom and Dad just comforted me, but Tomo-nee was crying so loudly it could be heard in the hallway even with the doors closed. The same could be said for Yumi, as well. After that, I was bedridden for at least a month or so. By the time I got out, everyone already made friends. Not only that, I needed to catch up with my studies way more than I did in my first-year.

Once I was finished with my story, Morimoto-san just stared at me.

"U-Uh, Morimoto-san?"

"…Oh, sorry. I'm just surprised, is all. I didn't imagine that you were the type of person that was the unlucky type."

"I wouldn't say I was unlucky… but that accident is pretty much unlucky, I guess. If there was something good that I could say about it, it's probably that I had some time for myself. I slept in all day, barely doing anything."

"I mean, if you're in that state, what else are you supposed to do?"

The students that were hanging out in this classroom started to dispatch. It wasn't long before homeroom was about to start. While some did go out, some stayed just talking to whoever they were talking to. It wasn't surprising since some people held some friends with their classmates.

"…I suppose that's that, then," Morimoto-san said. "I'm still not sure how I'm supposed to tell you mine, but since you already told me yours, I feel like it'll be much easier."

"Like I said, you don't need to force yourself. If it's not something you're comfortable talking about, then it's fine. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you in any way, especially since we still both practically strangers."

"You really are surprisingly kind, aren't you? Don't worry, I'm not going to force myself. Just think of this as returning a favor for a friend."

"A friend…?" I muttered.

I probably shouldn't be expecting things especially since we both just met, but if she said that, wouldn't that mean that she's accepting my request from yesterday? And if so, does that mean she wants us to be friends?

I think I'm getting ahead of myself here. I needed to calm down.

"…It started back when I was graduating in my first-year ," she started what felt like a story of her life.