Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818622172789075625/episodes/16818622177100629500
The first day of the cultural festival ended smoothly, and we moved on to the second day.
Today, both Reisa and Nagisa were scheduled to work in the morning, so I had some time to myself.
As a behind-the-scenes staff member, I had enough help, so I had the whole day free.
I felt a little guilty towards the people who were working, but I decided to enjoy my free time.
By the way, the classes were really hyped up.
Since Reisa and Nagisa are both serving customers at the same time, it’s basically turned into a customer-attracting war.
Each class is eager to see which of their two beautiful representatives can attract more people.
Today is Saturday, so there are more students from other schools, and it’s expected to be an even more intense battle.
As their friend, I’m more worried than anything else, but I’ll just pray that they don’t get overwhelmed.
Well, that’s why I’m wandering around alone for the first time in a while.
I checked out the school building yesterday, so today I decided to check out the stalls and stage in the backyard that I didn’t go to yesterday.
Since it’s a holiday, it’s much more crowded than yesterday, and I feel a little overwhelmed.
I’m not really good with crowds, so I feel a little lonely being alone.
At times like this, Reisa is really reliable.
When I’m with her, who just charges ahead on her own path, I can walk around effortlessly, which is kind of surprising.
Maybe it’s also because of her beauty, and the other students are so mesmerized by her that they make way for her.
But still, the fact that I can enjoy the cultural festival even when I’m alone is definitely thanks to those two.
The atmosphere alone is fun, and walking around alone gives me a sense of adventure that’s different from when I’m with friends.
The backyard also had many food stalls, but unlike the main street, most of them were run by clubs rather than classes.
There was the baseball team’s okonomiyaki stall, the soccer team’s french fries stall, and the girls’ basketball team’s apple candy stall—all part of the festival lineup.
Among them, a large cotton candy stall caught my eye, reminding me of something from the past.
That was over five years ago, when I was still in elementary school.
Even in upper elementary school, I was already dedicated to my studies, but during summer vacation, I really threw myself into it.
I finished my school homework in the first week or so and spent the rest of the time poring over textbooks.
My parents had bought me reference books specially for summer vacation, so I was desperately trying to solve the problems in them.
And it was during this time that my childhood friend, Kako, would regularly come to visit me.
[Huh? Studying during summer vacation? Let’s play !]
[Look, look ! I bought a new dress. How do you like it? Kyahaha, it looks good on me, right?]
[Wow, you’ve already finished your homework? That’s so fast it’s creepy. Can you help me with mine too?]
She was always getting in the way back then.
She hasn’t changed much since then, but the fundamental difference was that she was still friendly toward me.
So, there was one time I couldn’t refuse her invitation.
It was an invitation to the summer festival.
On a scorching hot day, she showed up around noon, nervously fidgeting in her yukata, which she had apparently had someone help her put on.
[Ugh…please… Just this once, it’s okay, right…?]
[Alright, I get it. I’m sorry. Don’t cry.]
[Huh? I’m not crying. You’re annoying and creepy.]
[……]
With tears in her eyes, even I couldn’t refuse.
I was swept along by my moody childhood friend, and that day we spent the evening together at the festival.
It was the annual summer festival held in the local shopping district.
Amidst the fireworks, we ignored them completely and ran around freely, browsing the food stalls.
Despite everything, once we got out of the house, it was fun and served as a break from studying.
And especially, the cotton candy we bought together somehow stuck in my memory.
While rolling my eyes at Kako for running out of pocket money, I used my last few coins to buy one, and we shared it together.
I muttered the change calculation like a nagging parent, but now that I think about it, maybe it was just a way to hide my embarrassment at seeing my childhood friend so close to me, both of us eating cotton candy.
At the time, that moment felt incredibly precious, and I couldn’t forget it for a while.
Of course, for me now, it’s nothing but a dark chapter in my past.
All the memories of my childhood friend are gradually being rewritten as negative legacies.
She’s always been overly sarcastic toward me, but I wonder what happened to make her harbor such malice.
I’m sure I have my own issues, but honestly, it’s obvious that I’m focused on my studies, so I wish they would just ignore me.
I’ve told them before, but I’m not going to stop them from leaving.
My thoughts started drifting to unrelated things, so I shook my head.
I was just looking at the food stall in front of me and reminiscing a little.
I was a little hungry, and it felt nostalgic, so I found myself drawn to it.
“Welcome.”
“One cotton candy, please.”
As I placed my order in response to the clerk’s voice, another customer’s voice overlapped mine at the exact same moment.
Startled, I looked over at the other customer.
And there she was.
“T-Tsukushi?”
“Kako…”
The childhood friend I had just been thinking about was standing there.
I was handed the cotton candy and paid, but my mind was elsewhere.
The unexpected encounter gave me goosebumps.
My attention was divided between the cotton candy and Kako standing next to me, and I couldn’t concentrate on the cotton candy.
Oh, this is really bad luck.
Why did I have to run into someone I didn’t want to see on a day like this?
◇
I was eating cotton candy on a bench at the edge of the backyard.
Eating in the heat made my mouth feel sticky, my face felt greasy, and sweat was flowing, making me feel uncomfortable.
Perhaps it was because I had avoided the crowd and ended up sitting on a bench in direct sunlight with no shade.
However, the worst part wasn’t the weather or the location.
“Why are we eating together?”
“Huh? We bought the same thing from the same store, and this is the closest place we can eat it, so what can we do? …Why do you look so annoyed? You’re really annoying !”
One word leads to ten times as many malicious words in return.
It feels almost nostalgic.
It’s almost refreshing.
Still, I was a little surprised by how logical the words were coming from someone who’s been my childhood friend.
Maybe she’s been studying lately and her mindset has changed.
Well, whatever.
However, watching her profile as she eats cotton candy with her small mouth, I can’t help but remember the past.
Her personality is ten times worse than it was back then, but her face hasn’t changed.
Why did God give such a person a reasonably cute face?
Ever since I started thinking about her, I’ve been wondering about it.
“…This is the worst.”
I avert my gaze from Kako, who mutters unhappily.
Come to think of it, this is the first time we’ve exchanged words in several weeks since the mock exam.
I don’t have anything in particular to talk about, but even after such a long time, it’s still annoying to be subjected to constant insults.
I don’t want to be with her, and I haven’t finished my cotton candy, but I decided to move to another spot.
As I stand up from the bench, Kako grabs the hem of my pants.
“What?”
“Where are you going? I don’t think there’s any other place available.”
“……”
In fact, all the other benches in this area were already taken.
Otherwise, we wouldn’t be sitting side by side like this.
I sat back down next to Kako, who was looking away.
Hmm, something’s definitely off.
Today, I can’t read what she’s thinking at all.
After that, we didn’t talk much and just ate our cotton candy in silence.
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