Chapter 5: Holiday Planning with Shimamura

Chapter 5:
Holiday Planning with Shimamura

 

AS SOON AS THE lunch bell rang, Adachi got up from her desk and staggered out of the classroom, leaving her textbooks and everything behind. I watched her go, wondering idly if she was feeling okay. Judging from her meandering gait, it didn’t seem like she had a particular destination in mind. Did it have something to do with our Christmas plans? Probably. Hence, I decided not to go after her.

Adachi had been acting this way ever since she showed up at my house to ask me to hang out on Christmas. It seemed like her mind was busy elsewhere, and her gross motor skills suffered as a result.

Sometimes, in the middle of class, I’d catch her grinning to herself…and from an outsider’s perspective, it was really, really weird. What happened to the icy, aloof Adachi I once knew? Did she migrate south for the winter? Then again, I guess “icy and aloof” was just my mental image of her, not the real her. Considering everyone liked to joke that I got all my clothes from Shimamura Co., I knew what it felt like to have other people jump to conclusions about who you were.

When Adachi didn’t return to the classroom right away, I figured she must’ve gone to the school store or the cafeteria or something. As I pondered my own lunch plans, I suddenly noticed Nagafuji standing all by herself—a rare sight. Normally Hino was always right there with her…or was she with Hino? Whatever.

Nagafuji slid her glasses back on and started walking my way. Man, she’s tall. I’m kinda jealous.

“Have you seen Hino?”

“If you don’t know where she is, then no one does.”

“Good point,” Nagafuji nodded solemnly.

I was mostly joking, but yeah. Compared to Nagafuji, the amount of time I’d spent getting to know Hino was fairly minimal.

“One minute I was cleaning my glasses, and the next minute Hino was just gone,” Nagafuji explained.

She always spoke so vaguely, it was hard to know if she was ever actually telling the truth, and you’d lose brain cells trying to figure it out. Honestly, I was impressed Hino could tolerate her as much as she did. I guess friendship’s more important than minor annoyances.

“Did you guys bring your lunch from home today?” I asked.

“Nope. We’re gonna eat in the cafeteria.”

“Well then, that’s probably where she is.”

“Oh!” Nagafuji clapped like I’d done a magic trick.

Frankly, there were only so many places Hino could have gone during lunch, and if she’d stopped to think about it for two seconds, surely she could have figured this out on her own. Was her brain really that empty? If so, then why even bother wearing glasses in the first place?

In actuality, however, Nagafuji always aced all her tests. Not sure how, but yeah.

“Are you coming, too?”

“Nah, I think I’ll grab lunch from the school store this time. But I’ll walk with you partway, at least.”

I dug my wallet out of my bookbag and followed Nagafuji out of the classroom. It felt weird with just the two of us walking around.

With her considerable height, my eyes were naturally drawn to her. But while I inevitably had to tilt my head up to look at her, she hardly ever moved her head at all. Her gaze didn’t shift much, either—she just stared straight ahead. With tunnel vision like that, I was starting to think she might get hit by a car one of these days. Then again, she was probably safe with Hino around to look out for her.

Come to think of it, what club is she in again? Somehow I couldn’t really picture her having a functional conversation with anyone who wasn’t Hino. Even I couldn’t understand her half the time.

Oh, I know. I should ask Nagafuji about it. Unlike Hino, she might actually give me a direct answer.

“Do you do anything for Christmas?” I didn’t want to dump all the planning in Adachi’s lap, so I figured I should give it some thought myself, and I was hoping Nagafuji could offer me a useful suggestion.

She looked at me. “We usually have chicken curry.”

That was not the sort of answer I was hoping for.

“Curry, huh? Interesting.” Maybe Adachi and I could go to a curry restaurant…or make our own homemade curry together… No, that doesn’t seem quite right. “Is that it? You don’t go anywhere with Hino, or…? Actually, you know what, never mind. Don’t worry about it,” I said, backtracking quickly.

Part of me just wanted someone to tell me that hanging out with a girl on Christmas was a normal, common thing.

Nagafuji blinked. “Hino? What about her?”

“It’s nothing.”

“You sure? Hmmm… Hino… Christmas… Hino… Christmas…” She ignored me and started to ponder something, tilting her head from side to side. “I feel like Hino’s just…always at my house.”

“Oh…uh…interesting.”

Then she straightened up suddenly. “We used to give each other Christmas presents when we were little, now that you mention it.”

“Presents? That’s cool.”

In fact, it sounded like a pretty good idea…but I didn’t feel like having a whole conversation with Adachi to plan out our gifts. Instead, I’d just give her a gift without expecting anything in return. My hope was that it would give us something to talk about.

But what would she want for Christmas? What sort of things did she like? The obvious option would be to ask her outright, but…that would be kind of lame. Besides, what if she asked for some expensive name-brand shoes or something? I knew she wasn’t really the type, but still.

We walked down the stairs, and at the end of the hall, we arrived at the school store—a little shop on the corner of the building run by a single middle-aged lady. Inside, the dim lighting made the white walls glow faintly yellow, neatly matching the baskets of sandwiches and buns for sale.

Compared to the cafeteria, the line here was pretty short. Once the people ahead of us had paid for their items, we were free to take our time browsing the selection.

“Whoa…I didn’t know they sold this stuff here,” Nagafuji murmured, pushing her glasses up her nose and leaning in to read the price list.

“You’ve never bought anything from here?”

“No, I don’t think so. Normally I either bring my own lunch or eat in the cafeteria.”

“Gotcha.”

Personally, I was a regular here. Whenever I wanted to cut class in the gym loft, I’d always come here to grab lunch. As a result, the shop lady recognized me. She greeted me with a smile; I inclined my head politely. Now all I needed to do was pick a sweet roll at random and give her the money…

Wait…

“Nagafuji, I’m not trying to stop you or anything, but…”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you buying stuff?” I asked as the shop lady handed Nagafuji a plastic to-go bag containing a carton of milk, an egg sandwich, and a red bean bun.

At this, she seemed to remember her original plan to eat at the cafeteria. Her gaze lowered to the bag. “Oh. Right.” The bag swayed with her movements.

“And for that matter, why did you walk all this way with me?”

“Well, you should’ve said something sooner.”

No, you need to use your brain. Assuming you actually have one.

“I gotta go!” she shouted, and off she went in the direction of the cafeteria. I called after her.

“Hey! If you’re free after school, would you wanna come shopping with me?”

I figured I may as well invite her…uh…because she was already here, I guess. She nodded without a shred of hesitation.

“Sure. Whatcha buying? More food?”

Not everything is about food, you know. Not that I was against buying something edible for Adachi’s gift, but I didn’t really know what she liked to eat.

“I want to buy a Christmas present, but I don’t know what to get.”

Since Nagafuji had exchanged gifts at least once in her lifetime, she was already miles ahead of me. Maybe she would know where to look. Plus, she seemed like the type to wing it and pick something without overthinking it, and that was fine by me. Otherwise, if I had to choose it myself, I wasn’t confident I would make up my mind in time.

“A Christmas present? For who? Wait… For me?!” she asked gleefully.

“No. It’s for…my sister,” I lied reflexively. I didn’t want her getting any weird ideas about me and Adachi.

“Hmm?” Nagafuji tilted her head, puzzled. “You have a sister?”

“Yeah, a little sister.” Plus another one that’s taller than me. But I wasn’t going to say that out loud.

“Hino’s pretty small too,” Nagafuji nodded proudly.

“Uhhh…yeah… Yeah, she is.” What does that have to do with anything?

“Okay, well, see you after school!”

And with that, Nagafuji headed off to the cafeteria while I returned to the classroom, all the while thinking about how I’d inadvertently referred to Adachi as my sister. That’s…probably weird, isn’t it?

“Then again…”

She did call me “onee-chan” once in the past, so…maybe she’s just my bigger little sister.

Yeah…that’s all it is.

 

***

 

Looking back, this was quite possibly the first time I’d ever hung out with Nagafuji without Hino there. Occasionally I went fishing with Hino over the weekend, but Nagafuji was always busy with club activities or helping out at the butcher’s shop. Unlike us, she actually seemed to have a life.

“You almost forgot about our plans, didn’t you?” I asked.

“That’s what happens when I forget to write it down on my palm,” shrugged the girl who nearly walked out of the classroom without me.

After a long walk, we had arrived at the mall parking lot. At times like these, I was really starting to miss Adachi’s bike. Maybe I should save up my allowance and get a cheap one.

“How come you haven’t learned how to ride a bike, Nagafuji?”

“Why bother when I’ve got Hino?”

“Good point.” I guess that makes sense.

We passed by the smoking area and entered the building. The plan was to walk around and brainstorm some ideas, but as I looked up at my friend’s pretty face, I couldn’t help but worry she’d already forgotten what we came here to look for.

“I realize it’s a little late to ask, but where’s Hino? I kinda figured she’d tag along.”

“She said she was busy…or did she?” Nagafuji cocked her head, puzzled. Getting a straight answer out of her was like pulling teeth. But at the very least, this confirmed that she’d remembered our plans long enough to ask Hino about her availability. Interesting. So what was it that made her forget?

Ignoring the wine kiosk near the entrance, we headed to the left. There, Nagafuji caught sight of the bakery and stared at it rapturously. Her entire head pivoted in its direction while the rest of her walked briskly forward. Creepy.

“Couldn’t you just get her a pastry?”

“I could, but I’m not going to.”

I put a hand on her shoulder and hurried her along. I needed to get her far, far away from the purple sweet potato buns.

As we passed by the tea shop, I thought back to the last time I came here. I was with Hino, and Nagafuji was there, too. Then Hino dropped more than 10,000 yen on a whole bunch of tea “for the family,” and I was like damn, girl.

Leaving this fond memory behind at the tea shop, we continued on to the walkway with a big, festive Christmas tree. Looking at them always filled me with nostalgia for happier times.

When I was little, I’d always find myself tempted to climb to the very top of any Christmas tree I saw. Being up high offered an entirely new perspective on the world around me, and I enjoyed that contrast, so I sought it out wherever I could. Maybe part of me yearned to travel the world to distant lands. This made some amount of sense—after all, I was so adventurous by nature that I probably seemed like a total fish out of water here in Japan. Yeah…surely I must have sensed it back then.

What was it that made me give up on those dreams of a different world? I couldn’t remember, but I could tell it must have hurt. Especially considering the end result was…well, me. This current version of me.

Not that I could do anything about it now.

“So, now that we’re wandering around the mall, what’s our first stop?” I asked Nagafuji, since it didn’t seem like she had a destination in mind.

“Let’s see…” Whipping her head around dramatically, Nagafuji took stock of all the nearby display windows. “Maybe she wants a boomerang.”

“…What?” What are you, Australian?

…Wait, they sell boomerangs here? Where? With the summer appliances, or at the cell phone kiosk?

“Kids love ’em, y’know. They’re a lot of fun. But they break easily in the wintertime.”

“Oh…right.”

I’d forgotten I was using my little sister as a pretext. In her case, maybe she would actually want a boomerang. But what was the point of giving one to Adachi? What if she started throwing it at birds for fun?

“I think she’d like something a bit more practical. She, uh…she’s very mature for her age.”

“Something more practical?” Nagafuji repeated to herself.

On second thought, this was the same person whose first gift suggestion was a freaking boomerang, so maybe the word “practical” just wasn’t in her vocabulary.

“What if you bought her a ten-pack of croquettes from our store?”

“Gee, why didn’t I think of that? You’re such a good saleswoman.”

It was undeniably a practical gift, but they’d just be cold by the time I got home…uh…among other problems.

“Hmmm…”

Scratching her head, Nagafuji set off walking once again. Likewise, I followed along right beside her. Boy, did I ever pick the wrong person to ask.

Then she spotted a store selling kitchen equipment, and her eyes settled on a single fish-shaped cutting board. “What about a fishing pole?” she suggested, almost certainly inspired by the fish imagery.

“This is for my sister, not Hino.”

Next, her gaze wandered to the left, toward the display case at a popular confectionery kiosk. “What about some okiagari wafers?”

“Those are more of a New Year’s tradition, don’t you think?”

“Good point.” She promptly shrugged off her own suggestion and kept walking. Next up, we spotted a dry cleaner store and a foot spa with a cartoon bear mascot. “What about a washing machine?”

Wait a minute. “Are you just suggesting everything within sight?!”

“Yup,” Nagafuji nodded without hesitation. Then she adjusted her glasses as if to say nothing gets past these peepers. “You know what they say—throw enough mud at the wall, blah blah blah. If I say a bunch of stuff out loud, maybe you’ll have an epiphany, or we can build on our ideas until we come up with something viable. You know, like…what’s it called again? Breast-storming?”

You had me in the first half, not gonna lie.

I could tell that she was genuinely trying her best to help, but I sincerely couldn’t imagine her actually pausing to think critically about her own suggestions. Instead, I was 100 percent confident that she would ultimately forget what she suggested in the first place. Like a comedy bit, except in real life.

“What did you and Hino get each other that one time?”

Thinking about it, I probably should have led with this question.

“I gave her a business license.”

I paused. All at once, I had so many questions: For what? For where? Unfortunately, I knew if I tried to ask them all, I’d only wear myself out.

“…Okay, and what did she get you?”

“A Nobel peace prize.”

“…And you were how old at the time, exactly?”

“Like, five?”

I never should have asked. Clearly their friendship was beyond all human understanding.

We continued walking through the first floor of the mall, with Nagafuji calling out various gift ideas as they came into view, until she suddenly came to a stop outside one particular store: ZiZé, a boutique that sold clothes, shoes, and accessories. I eyeballed it briefly, debating its potential merits, but ultimately decided against going in—it was a little too much. Granted, yes, Christmas was a special occasion, but this was supposed to be a casual gift for a friend. I needed it to be something Adachi wouldn’t feel guilty about me buying.

As I explained my thought process to Nagafuji, she nodded along, though I got the sense she didn’t actually understand what I was getting at. Then she started to glance around. Here it comes… Any second now…

“Maybe you should go with the boomerang after all.”

Aaaand there it is.

“We’re looping back around to that, huh?”

Get it? Just like a…never mind.

“Boomerang, boomerang!” Nagafuji sang to herself, flicking her wrist in an imitation throw.

“I’m starting to think maybe you want a boomerang.”

“You’re not wrong.”

She patted her ample chest. Ugh, don’t rub it in my face.

“Don’t worry. I have a good understanding of how kids tick.”

“Alas, if only they could understand you, too.”

“Sure they can! I’m a total kid at heart—I order my curry mild and everything.”

“Only because you can’t handle anything hotter!”

“Boooo-merang!” she shot back nonsensically, swinging her arms and hips. Her expression was still as blank as ever, but at least she was having fun. “If you got her a boomerang, the two of you could play with it together, you know.”

“That’s true…I guess…”

I attempted to picture it: me and Adachi at the park, throwing a boomerang around in dead silence. Oddly enough, it did seem mildly fun.

“One person throws it, and then the other can go fetch it! You know?”

“I think you’re thinking of a Frisbee.”

“Let’s just try it out, all right? I’ll buy this one, and then I’ll show you how much fun it is to play with it.”

“Are you moonlighting as a boomerang salesperson or something…?”

Giddy, Nagafuji took me by the hand and headed for the escalators. Meanwhile, I was utterly at her mercy. Frankly, I wasn’t convinced this mall sold boomerangs at all, but then she led me to a sporting goods store on the third floor, and sure enough, there they were. She walked in, grabbed one off the shelf, then walked up to the register and bought it, all without the slightest hesitation.

How long has she had her eye on this thing?

The boomerang was V-shaped (unsurprisingly), greenish-yellow in color, and made of plastic. I could feel the male clerk staring at us. What, you’ve never seen two teenage girls come in to buy a boomerang and nothing else? Then again, I estimated about forty percent—no, sixty percent?—of that gaze was centered on Nagafuji’s chest.

She was normally pretty oblivious to most things, but not this, apparently. I could tell because she was scowling slightly. Poor thing. More titty, more problems. Not that I could relate…not yet, anyway. I’m just a late bloomer, that’s all! As I coddled my own fragile ego, the transaction was completed, and Nagafuji took her receipt. At last, she had her precious boomerang.

The moment we stepped out of the store, she pulled her new toy out of the bag. You’re not going to walk around the mall holding that thing, are you? Ugh…

“Now let’s go test it out!”

“Look, uh, I think maybe you’re getting a little carried away with this idea…”

But Nagafuji ignored my reservations and dragged me along regardless. At first I tried to fight it, but then I saw how excited she was to play with this boomerang, and…well…I conceded defeat. In more ways than one. Sometimes you can fight the current, but other times you just have to go with the flow. Considering Nagafuji had managed to single-handedly sweep me out to sea, perhaps she was a force to be reckoned with.

We walked through the parking lot to a fountain plaza out behind the nearby beef bowl restaurant. There were no children in sight, possibly because the combination of winter plus water had kept them all at bay. There was, however, some sort of art installation(?) with three silver wires spiraling around each other.

Fortunately, the trees here were few and far between, which was perfect for our purposes. Otherwise I could already see the boomerang getting stuck or broken somehow.

Nagafuji handed me her bookbag, then got ready to make her throw—not horizontally, but vertically, with most of it pointed behind her, like she was trying to touch the other end to the back of her wrist. Then she took aim and flung it hard into the distance with a whoosh.

The boomerang glided smoothly to the other end of the plaza, almost like it was carried by the wind itself. By the time it had traveled as far as it could go, it had leveled itself out horizontally. Then it started its journey back home, and at that point, both my eyes and ears were completely transfixed.

When Nagafuji first threw it, there was hardly any sound at all…but as it approached, slowly but surely, I could start to make out a small, arrhythmic sound as it sliced through the air: whfff, whfff, whfff. It grew closer and closer, tracing a graceful arc as it flew.

In response, Nagafuji crouched down and extended both hands. As soon as it was within her range, she clapped her hands together to catch it, like a martial artist blocking a sword. Stroking the boomerang like a faithful dog, she straightened up and turned back to me casually.

“This one came back around. That means it’s a good one.”

“Don’t all boomerangs come back around? Isn’t that the whole point?”

“You’d be surprised. There are some real duds out there. Anyway, here you go.”

She traded me the boomerang in exchange for her bookbag. I looked down at the plastic green V in my hands. God, what am I doing? I should be Christmas shopping right now.

“For your first time, don’t throw it too super hard. Especially since you’re not wearing any protective goggles.”

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t planning to.”

I positioned myself the same way Nagafuji had, then flung it weakly, in accordance with her instructions. Nevertheless, it flew far into the distance, curved, and flew back in my direction. I hadn’t anticipated this, so when it started to approach, my fear of getting hit flared up.

“Eeek!”

Shielding my head with my arms, I crouched down low to the ground. The boomerang flew far behind me and crash-landed at the edge of the park. I jogged over to retrieve it, dusted the dirt off, and walked back. Now that I knew what to expect, I was ready to give it another try, so I flung it a second time.

Once again, in spite of my half-assed throw, it flew surprisingly far. Once it finished its brief excursion, it curved back rather suddenly, almost like it had changed tack on a whim. Whfff, whfff, whfff. My heart pounded in time with its soft whirring.

This time around I reached out to catch it, but it bounced off my hand and dropped to the ground. Apparently both throwing and catching took a lot of practice to master.

“This is…kind of fun…”

Surprisingly enough, I genuinely enjoyed watching it curve gracefully through the air. Still, I wanted to successfully catch it at least once, so I flung it a third time, much more softly than my previous attempts. But although I angled it more toward the sky, it refused to gain much height. And whereas the last few times it had whipped back fairly quickly, this time it lost its momentum and hit the ground. Evidently the angle of the throw was more important than I realized.

Just like that, I was hooked.

“So, what do you think?” Nagafuji asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I hadn’t noticed her standing there until just now.

“It’s actually not as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Yay,” she replied in a deadpan voice as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I put a hand to her chin and pushed her off.

Meanwhile, I contemplated this potential Christmas present. Compared to a gift of food, which would only last until it was eaten, this sort of toy might actually have more practical value, since she could play with it whenever she felt like it. That said, it still didn’t strike me as entirely…ideal. It felt like I was on the wrong track—like Nagafuji had led me astray, almost.

On the horizon, the sun was setting, and the scarlet rays were slowly diffusing their color across the clear, cloudless sky. For the first time in a long time, it felt like I had reunited with my inner child. Each time the boomerang flew out, it arced back with another forgotten memory from all those years ago.

Spurred on by that nostalgia, I gripped the boomerang and let it fly…all the while hoping it would take me along for the journey.

 

***

 

When I got home, I opened the shopping bag and showed my little sister the brand new boomerang. “What do you think?”

She blinked at me with her big, round eyes. “What is that?”

No excitement. I was starting to think maybe this was a bad idea after all. “You tell me,” I replied. Then I started humming the main jingle from a popular quiz show, implying her response time was limited.

She put a hand to her chin in contemplation. Then, once she’d examined the mystery toy from every angle, she reached out and pretended to “buzz in.”

“Bing-bong! It’s…a clothes hanger without the hook part!”

Well…you’re not wrong.

Now I was really starting to think this was a bad idea.

 

***

 

Time flew by, and Christmas Day rolled around at last. That day found me staring up at the sky.

People loved to talk about a “white Christmas,” but in my experience, it never snowed on December 25th. What good were these man-made holidays if the weather wasn’t going to play along? Why bother?

But despite my skepticism, I knew full well I was in fact going to bother. In the morning I got dressed, fixed my bangs at least twice, and then around 11 AM I went to the kitchen and told my mom I was going out. There, I found my sister eating lunch.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

“All right, thanks for letting me know… Got a hot date or something?”

“For the last time, no.” How many times are you going to ask me this, Mother?

“Where are you going?” my sister asked, whipping her head from side to side as she looked from me to Mom and back, all the while chewing her food. Settle down, child.

“I’m gonna go hang out with a friend.”

“Noooo!” she whined. Then she got up from the table and walked right up to me.

“You’ll be eating dinner with us, though, right?” my mother asked.

“That’s the plan,” I nodded. “If I change my mind, I’ll be sure to let you know right away, but I don’t think that’ll happen.”

Meanwhile, my bratty sister started to kick my shin. “Where are you guys going? How come you have to leave?!”

Outside this house she was always a perfect little angel, but when it came to me, she showed no mercy. I smacked her on the forehead and glared down at her. She pouted up at me. Oho.

“What’s the matter? Do you want your nee-chan to stay home with you?” I teased with a smirk.

She flailed her arms in front of her like she was clearing the air. “Shut up!” she shouted angrily.

“You do, huh?” I replied, ignoring her.

Then I slid my hands under her armpits and lifted her into the air. Man, she’s gotten heavy. Or maybe it’s just the flailing.

“I didn’t realize you liked me so much. That’s cute,” I continued.

“Put me down!” she yelled, kicking her little bare feet out. I didn’t know how she could possibly survive in this house without socks, but more power to her.

Sorry, kid, but I’ve got my own life to live.

“I’ll be back before dinner, and then we’ll have cake for dessert, alright?”

As I set her down, she turned away sulkily. Maybe she was mad at me for treating her like a child, but considering she literally was a child, there wasn’t much I could do about that. I gave her a quick pat on the head, then headed for the door.

Given her usual bratty behavior, it was nice to be reminded that she still admired her big sister. Would it last, though? Probably not. I give it another three or four years.

Still, I appreciated this quick pick-me-up right before I stepped out. Like putting a hand warmer right on my heart to keep me going through the chilly winter. I slipped on my shoes and let out a sigh.

I still didn’t know what our plans were for today. What did Adachi have in store for me? She did come up with something, right? On second thought, she had the tendency to overthink things… She didn’t get any weird ideas, did she…?

Upon further reflection, the latter was looking increasingly more likely.

“I’ll just have to wing it.”

At the very least, I was planning to eat dinner at home, so I had an idea of what not to get for lunch. That was all the information I had to work with.

Christmas, here I come.