376 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

Chapter 376 A radio tower that stretches towards the sky, a town famous for its delicious soup dumplings and pork buns. Hiking trails and amusement parks. Even though I rejected everything by morning, Sendai-san seems unwilling to give up. We had lunch, and even as evening approaches, she keeps slipping in plans for winter break amidst our idle chatter. "Miyagi, how about a botanical garden? I heard they have illuminations at night." Sendai-san peers at me while browsing places we could visit and return from without having to stay the night on her smartphone. "Staying out until night makes it tough to get back," I point out. "Well, maybe, but..." she says coyly and places her smartphone on my bed. "You're shooting down all my ideas, so we have nowhere to go," she adds with a touch of dissatisfaction. "It's because you haven't mentioned a place I'd actually want to say yes to," I retort. While I might seem uncooperative, deciding on plans for something as far into the future as winter break seems premature. Plans can change easily, so I hesitate to discuss something so far off. If it's just a simple outing, I wouldn’t mind going with Sendai-san. However, the further away the date is, the more feelings and anticipation build up for that day. Though I don't intend to eagerly await our plans, if those plans just remain plans and never come to fruition, I'd end up resenting Sendai-san and likely end up disappointed in myself. "Let's decide on winter break plans during winter break and watch a movie now." Watching Sendai-san browse potential winter break destinations isn’t all that bad, but it feels like making winter plans right now is beyond me. "I thought this was going to happen," Sendai-san responds quietly, her gaze shifting to the tablet on the table. "Talking about winter break feels a bit too soon, don’t you think?" "Yeah, I get that." After saying that in a deflated voice, she suggests, "Then, as Miyagi says, let's wrap up the winter break talk and pick a movie to watch," with even less energy. "Aren't you being a bit dismissive?" "Well, you won't share where you want to go." She hands me the tablet with a "Here," and I furrow my brow. "I don’t have anywhere I want to go." "…You will still go somewhere with me over winter break, right?" Her soft yet insistent voice leaves no room for evasiveness, prompting me to respond, "Depends on the destination." "But you said you have nowhere you want to go." "Well, it's up to you to find a place I might want to go, Sendai-san." "What kind of place would that be then?" "As I mentioned at lunch, somewhere that’s not cold, tiring, or boring." "Seems like only a movie theater would fit that criteria." "That’s just fine." Hearing how nonchalant my voice sounded, I glance at Sendai-san, whose exaggeratedly complex expression makes me chuckle slightly. "I'll think of some other places by winter break." "That’s fine too." In moments like these, I wish I could come up with something clever to say. But around Sendai-san, my words feel weighed down, and clever thoughts don’t come to me. I can’t even compromise enough to suggest something as simple as an amusement park. So I end up glaring down at the plush alligator staring blankly back at me. "Then, Miyagi, why don’t you pick the movie we'll watch?" "Don’t you have one you want to see, Sendai-san?" Gazing at the clueless alligator, I ask. I couldn’t compromise much about winter break plans, and I’m not too keen on doing so. However, I can concede on a movie. "I want to watch whatever Miyagi wants to watch." "You always say things like that." "But you'd get mad if I picked a horror movie." "…As long as it's not too scary, I can watch." I've never liked horror movies that feature the supernatural, messing with my head on nights alone, and I still don’t. The terror from films could make me see shapes in the dark and spark unfounded fears from mundane noises, a childish fear that I couldn’t quell alone, leaving me to coexist with it until morning. But tonight, Sendai-san is here until morning. "Choose something good," I say, handing the tablet over to Sendai-san. She scrutinizes my face before looking down at the tablet, murmuring, "Well, let's see." As I peer at the screen to see what kind of movie she’d pick, I'm unnerved by the titles she’s browsing, ones I’d never choose for myself, prompting me to re-focus on the oblivious alligator and push the haunting titles from my mind. After engaging in a staring contest with the alligator for a while, a cheerful voice cuts through. "It's based on a game. Something like this should be good, right?" Without looking at the tablet, I ask, "What kind of game?" and she responds, "A zombie game." "…That sounds scary. I've never tried it." "Really? So, should we choose something else?" "No, let’s watch it." I look up to see the tablet. No screen filled with zombies emerged, just the face of a woman, not frightening in the least. Sendai-san places the tablet on the table and presses play. The screen moves, and sound begins to fill the room. Evening approaches. Yet, daylight still lingers outside. Even so, I pull the alligator closer and edge nearer to Sendai-san. As ten minutes pass, then twenty. The film progresses, and scenes that make me want to cover my ears or close my eyes increase, leaving me tense. A glance at Sendai-san shows she’s enjoying the movie. If I had to say, it is certainly scary. However, it’s not unbearably terrifying. The storyline keeps me intrigued, it’s what they call a "well-done horror." Still, I've never been fond of frightening things. A sudden loud noise from behind startles me with a shiver down my shoulders. Turning impulsively away from the tablet's sounds, I hear a voice say, "Sorry. It's my phone." The next thing I see is Sendai-san reaching for her phone resting on the bed. Yet, the phone's ringtone doesn't stop. She sits back down next to me. Frozen, her eyes remain fixed on the phone. "Sendai-san, it’s ringing." My words go unanswered. The tense score from the tablet stops—likely paused by Sendai-san—leaving the ringtone echoing through the room. "Aren’t you going to answer?" I ask softly, but she takes a while before barely uttering, "It stopped," in a monotone voice. There's no mistaking those words, and indeed, the ringtone disappears from my ears. But almost immediately, another incoming alert makes the phone equally adamant about making its presence known. Yet, Sendai-san merely stares at her phone, which continues to make a racket, without moving. "...Who's it from?" Though I feel I shouldn't pry, the question slips out, and Sendai-san mumbles the answer. "My parents." The words escape her lips and sink into me. Despite barely being audible, they carry a weight that halts my actions. The ringtone fills the room, the only sound left as we both continue to gaze at the phone. Whether it was a minute or ten, I couldn't tell. The phone eventually falls silent, only to make a short alert sound. "Seems like a message just came through." Sendai-san quietly announces and begins reading the text. Her expression doesn’t change. Her eyes flicker over the message, and then she sets her phone down on the bed without a word. The ideal ambiance and our perfect distance. Our previously pleasant Saturday was being colored in shades of gray. "Are you okay?" I ask with a casual tone, to which Sendai-san responds with an equally casual facade. "I'm fine, but things aren't okay." "...What do you mean?" "It's my sister who's not okay. She's got a cold," she explains. Her voice is flat, devoid of readable emotion. I can't fathom what she’s thinking right now. "Does she have a fever?" "Yeah. In simple terms, my parents messaged me to check on her because she's down with a cold and can’t move. They're pretty overprotective of my sister." I almost ask if she's going, but change the question. "Do you keep in touch with your sister?" "Not really, but I've received a message from her since coming here." "Is that so?" Going to see her sister isn't necessary. Sendai-san has the right to make that choice. Considering she has never gone back to the house where her parents live even once, there seems to be no need for her to visit her sister either. Surely, Sendai-san’s sister has friends and others to lean on when unwell, and it's possible her parents are just worrying excessively, even as those friends are already helping her. So, Sendai-san can just ignore matters concerning her sister. A common cold is hardly a cause for alarm. She can simply disregard the message instructing her to check up on her. I ought to gently encourage her by saying, "You don't need to go." "...Sendai-san." "Do you want to watch the rest of the movie?" Her gentle voice tickles my ear, prompting me to grab onto her clothing. "I'm not interested. I think you should go check on your sister." I personally believe there's no need for her to go. But perhaps Sendai-san’s sister, who I’ve never met, is just as prone to catching colds, and like the times I've seen Sendai-san suffer, she might be struggling. "Is your sister's place far?" "It's not nearby." Sendai-san answers without meeting my gaze. "Even if it's not close, you should go. Being sick and alone is never fun." An empty house. Plans made, only to be broken. Even becoming accustomed to such solitude and expecting such pain, I’ve thought about how having someone around during times of fever and headache would have been a comfort. Even understanding that measuring body temperature can be avoided to ignore a fever and knowing pain can be masked with medicine, there were still days when those small comforts were out of reach. I get up and retrieve a key case from my bag. "Sendai-san, this is meant to protect important keys, right?" Showing her the key case, Sendai-san nods. "I'll lend you my key with the case. Since the dog seems stronger, we’ll swap just for today. So, you head back to your place and get your keys." Sendai-san's key case is adorned with a cat, but my key is guarded by a dog. Though either case could protect a key, Sendai-san had said that the dog would always safeguard my key. Thus, the dog key case must inevitably return to me. While it may not be as significant as swearing on the earrings, I don't want to release Sendai-san, who is in the middle of fulfilling her promise to me, without any kind of promise. "Hazuki, promise me you’ll return my key and the case." I place the key case in her hand and touch the necklace around her neck. "Got it. I’ll be back soon to return the key and the case. Sorry for cutting the movie short." "We can watch movies anytime." "You're right. That's true." Sendai-san says in a small voice, before gently grasping both my hand and the necklace.