After a long while staring at the ocean, we headed to a convenience store for lunch. Then we wandered about aimlessly. There were no fast-food restaurants of any kind—only homes and small shops lined the streets.

Void of cars or even people, the quiet atmosphere was perfect for conversation.

“So I don’t remember most of our promises, but there is one I found.”

“Really? What is it?” Fushimi’s eyes shone with joy.

“That we’d have our first kiss when we entered high school.”

“Auh!” She froze in place. “Y-you sure remembered a big one…”

“I didn’t remember it; I found my notepad. After I read that, everything you did in my room made way more sense.”

“That’s…embarrassing…”

I smiled awkwardly.

Restless, she asked quietly, “B-by the way, y-y-you wouldn’t h-happen to have had your f-first kiss already, w-would you?”

She babbled and stammered her way through.

Why’s she beating around the bush? Oh, actually, she starts talking like that when she has a hard time saying or asking something.

“Not yet.” The reply was uncomfortable for me, too. “O-of course not. You should be able to tell just by watching me at school.”

“No, I can’t. I have to make sure. I-i-if I don’t, then you could’ve broken our promise! I had to! You can never be sure!” Fushimi was flailing her hands around.

Oh right, she’s never said yes to anyone asking her out. Or maybe…that’s because she already has a boyfriend…? Everything would make sense in that case.

Maybe she was in a secret relationship, like a celebrity escaping the eyes of the press.

“Anyway, I’m glad…because…I haven’t…either…”

I had to do a double take when I heard that. “No way.”

“Yes way! Why would I lie about it?”

My gaze instinctively went to her lips—thin and soft, slightly damp.

“Is that so surprising?”

“…”

Her lips have never…

“…Hey?”

If she’s intending to keep her promise…I’ll be…the first?

“Are you listening?”

“Uhhh?! Huh? What was it?”

Crap, I stared at her lips for too long.

I shook my head to get rid of my earthly desires.

“It’s just…there’s a lot of rumors going around about me, and I wondered if you believed them, too.”

“Ah, that’s what you’re worried about?”

I guess even popular people have their own problems. Wish I could have that problem for once.

“I don’t believe them, but you are, like, perfect at school. On the surface, I mean. You’re good at both academics and sports, and you always get along with everyone. But that’s also why I can’t see who you really are beneath that layer. It’s hard to know what you’re thinking. It feels like you’re hiding something, so I do get where they’re coming from.”

“I am aware of my reputation as the beautiful, perfect girl.”

“I bet you’d have an easier time of it if you acted this way around other people, too, instead of just me.”

Although a lecture from a guy with no friends probably isn’t that convincing.

Fushimi kept her gaze down and quietly said, “But that’s…because you’re special…”

God, now that’s a killer line.

“What’s the matter?”

And she doesn’t even realize.

I had to change the subject.

“You started getting more attention with the way you dressed after summer break in our first year of middle school, remember? You also started putting on makeup and all that.”

Her skirt also got dangerously short.

“Ahhh, that takes me back. So you do remember, huh?”

All it took to make my friend happy was remembering something about her.

“I can’t forget how bizarre it was to me. You did look great, but it felt like you were forcing yourself. I couldn’t believe how much you’d changed after one summer break.”

“I didn’t undergo a complete transformation or anything. I realized it didn’t fit me and stopped right away.”

It probably felt even stranger to me because I didn’t actually like gyarus.

“My mom was worried about you back then. She thought you’d made some bad friends.”

“I—I know… The entire neighborhood was talking about it…”

Just so you know, though, everyone in our neighborhood had great respect for my sister.

She greeted them every day even as a gyaru.

She properly parked her bike even as a gyaru.

She was charming and friendly even as a gyaru.

Does she get a free pass because she’s pretty or what?!

I did the exact same things, and I’d never been complimented on it.

“I think Mana’s following in your footsteps, though.”

“What…?”

She knew about the free-pass system?!

Fushimi tilted her head to the side. “Is it me, or did you take that the wrong way?”

As our conversation continued, we found ourselves all the way back at the station, which I recognized from our trip here.

“It’s still barely past noon?”

“Yeah…,” Fushimi replied.

We started talking about what to do next, when I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. It was a text from my mom.

You skipped school, didn’t you?

How do you know? You’re not even at home.

I had a missed call from school. They say no one called in about your absence.

Crap… Right… I forgot to call the school myself.

So? What’s going on?

She usually filled her texts to the brim with emoji—the complete lack of them told me she was 100 percent serious.

Fushimi wondered about my sudden sweating outburst and took a peek at my phone.

“Oh man, you’re gonna get it when you go home.”

“The worst part is that Mom will tell the gyaru with a heart of gold not to make me any food.”

“Rest in peace.”

Hey, don’t kill me just yet.

“Should we go to school?”

“Y-yeah. As long as we get there, it’ll just be a tardy.”

Although we still skipped classes.

“Sorry. It’s my fault for forgetting to call in.”

“It’s fine. I just realized we’d still be together anyway since we sit next to each other.” She giggled bashfully. “Hee-hee.”