Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051596567318343/episodes/2912051597053840119
A Ferris wheel at a shopping mall.
It’s crowded on a Sunday afternoon, and the line is long.
After waiting in line for several dozen minutes, the boarding area is finally coming into view.
“Wow. I’m so excited. I haven’t been on a Ferris wheel since elementary school!”
I smiled at Hanazawa, whose eyes were sparkling brightly.
“You really love this, don’t you? Is there a particular reason?”
“Not really, but ever since I was a kid, I’ve just loved the view from up high.”
“They say smoke rises high, after all.”
Asakura chimed in.
“That’s mean! But you two are really close, aren’t you?”
“‘It’s not like that at all!!’”
“I knew it~”
Seeing Hanazawa’s face break into a smug grin, I sighed inwardly, thinking, “It really isn’t like that.”
It’s actually the exact opposite. Even now, she’s shooting me hateful glances.
“Ah, but that’s great! I hope everything goes well today!”
“Yuna, aren’t you getting a little too excited?”
“Hehe. Am I? Well, maybe! I’m just so excited!”
Just as I tilted my head, puzzled by Hanazawa’s excitement, I heard the attendant’s voice.
“Alright then, four guests, please board~”
I looked over and saw the female attendant and the gondola boarding area.
The line was moving, and it would probably be another two or three minutes until it was our turn.
“Huh!?”
Just then, Hanazawa-san pulled out her smartphone and stared intently at the screen. Then, in a panic, she clapped her hands together in front of her face.
“Sorry! I’ve been neglecting some work messages, so you two go ahead and ride! Bye!”
“Huh!? Ah, wait a sec—”
I reached out to Hanazawa-san as she slipped out of the line. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the crowd… and the attendant’s voice called out.
“Two people, right? Let me show you to your gondola!”
Just me and Asakura. It’s way too awkward—I definitely don’t want to get on.
I thought about refusing, but with the attendant already holding the open door of the gondola, I couldn’t bring myself to say I wasn’t getting on at the last minute.
“Enjoy your ride~”
Asakura and I reluctantly climbed in.
As soon as we sat facing each other on the sofa inside the gondola, the door closed.
Trapped in a sealed space with no escape, I felt like I was already suffocating from the awkward atmosphere.
“…This is the worst.”
Asakura muttered that, and then silence fell.
We both avoided making eye contact, staring only at the scenery outside, which made my neck ache terribly.
The atmosphere is way too heavy. It’s such hell that it’s getting me down.
“Hey, Sawa… what’s your relationship with Yuna, Ibusuki-san?”
We’d reached the summit, and finally, a sound other than a sigh filled the gondola.
“Classmates. She caused me some trouble the other day, so I’m just here today to apologize. We’re not even close.”
“Huh. Yuna’s been a bit of a pain since we were in the same class, so that could be possible.”
Since Hanazawa went to a different middle school, she was in the same class as Asakura during their first year of high school.
Just as Asakura avoids me, I haven’t gone out of my way to find out anything about her either.
Ever since I found out in middle school that their relationship had improved, I’ve actually been hiding whenever I saw her so she wouldn’t catch my eye.
Because of that, I didn’t know anything about Asakura now other than that we went to the same school.
“But I don’t know.”
Seeing that Asakura looked somewhat unsettled, I asked her.
“Are you suspicious of something?”
“I’m not exactly suspicious, but you can’t expect me to just believe it, can you?”
“I guess that’s true.”
In her eyes, I’m the guy who broke his promise and the guy who sold her out to her mother.
Asking her to trust me was asking the impossible.
“Besides, Yuna was acting strange too. She said it was a work-related message, but the screen showed a MeTube page.”
“I wonder why that was?”
“I don’t know, but the ‘work-related message’ part seems like a lie. Do Ibusuki san asked her to set up some time alone with me?”
“Me? Why?”
“Didn’t you ask Yuna to help patch things up between us?”
For the first time, Asakura turned her face toward me.
In her eyes, there was not only suspicion but also a hint of expectation.
After treating her like that, I am trying to patch things up. Does she want to believe I’m not that kind of person?
Or perhaps she’s happy that I’m trying to mend our frozen relationship.
I don’t know what she’s expecting, but it doesn’t matter for my answer.
“It’s nothing like that at all. It’s exactly as I said.”
“……I see.”
As Asakura turned her gaze toward the scenery outside, I turned my face in a different direction as well.
The sky had a yellowish tint to it, giving off a sense of desolation.
“……”
Another awkward silence fell, and it seemed to go on forever.
It felt like the temperature had dropped a degree or two, and time seemed to crawl by, making the situation unbearable.
“Ibusuki san, just so you know, I haven’t forgiven you yet.”
As we approached the gondola station, Asakura muttered in a flat, cold tone.
“Of course. I don’t expect to be forgiven either.”
“That’s why today is the last time we’ll have anything to do with each other.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely stay away from you.”
“……Okay.”
Finally, the gondola doors opened, and we stepped off the Ferris wheel.
We met up with Hanazawa-san, who was waiting below, put on a brave face to hide our tension, and headed home.
“Bye~, see you tomorrow!!”
On the station platform, I waved goodbye to Hanazawa-san, who was waving her hands energetically, and when the train departed, I boarded a different car from Asakura.
Freed from the oppressive feeling that had hung over me all day, I let out a deep sigh.
I’m so exhausted…
But, I smiled.
I pulled out my smartphone and posted on social media.
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