Chapter Two: Downpour

Chapter Two: Downpour

I like you.

The words rotate in my head, but analyzing each word one by one, putting it all in capitals, I still can't understand what it means. As I sit there, shocked, Miyano is groaning in frustration with his hands messing up his hair.

What the heck?

A short silence is broken by the sound of the door opening, and Ms. Nakahara coming in. She's a big lady, and her strides are long as she walks past, ponytail swinging behind her.

"You woke up?" she asks in a friendly tone.

I nod slightly and pull the covers closer to me. After giving us a once over, she whacks Miyano on the shoulder jokingly.

"You'd better not be up to any funny business, young man."

His mouth twists into a crooked line.

"As if!"

She shoos him away to the other side of the curtain and rests her hand lightly on my forehead.

"You still might be in shock, but I think it's mostly slight anemia."

My forehead is still stinging, but her cool hand feels good on it. She tells me to rest until I calm down a little more, and I nod.

"Ms. Nakahara!" A hand is waving through the curtain. He's still here? I mutter a curse under my breath.

"I'll walk her home after practice!"

"Wha-!" bursts from my mouth.

"That's okay, I don't need him to!"

"Why don't you take him up on his offer? It'll be difficult for your parents to pick you up, right?"

I hold my head from the headache. I can't argue with that.

If that's the case, I'll just have to get better before practice is over and walk home myself.

But full recovery takes longer than I thought. By the time I get up, the sky outside is dyed sunset orange, and I feel defeated and drained from working too hard. All this even after the burning sun has sucked out all of my energy. The announcement for all students to leave campus plays from the speakers. Time to go home, with the crows.

Getting up from the bed, I stick my head through the curtains. Just as I do, the door opens and Miyano, with a huge smile on his face, peers into the room.

"Nice timing!"

What is? I would say, but I don't have the energy for that, so I let out a big sigh. In the end, I am forced to follow him out of the health room.

The school exit after the last bell is crowded with people from different clubs, students rushing back to classrooms to change clothes, rustling to change their shoes by the exit. We join that flow of students to the exit, when someone calls out to me from behind.

"Natsuko--!" It's my friend from elementary school, holding a trumpet case.

"Leaving now?" she asks.

I nod. "I was in the health room."

"Again? Are you okay?"

Absolutely not. But I answer with a "Yeah," ignoring my fatigue and smiling. I wonder if I'm smiling properly.

"Did you just finish practice?"

"Yep. It's so hot, practicing outdoors is such a drag. Our competition is coming up soon, so it can't be helped, I guess."

"See you later!" I wave my hand at my friend, who leaves for the music room. I watch her leave, changing my sneakers. Miyano is waiting for me by the glass door exit with both hands in his pockets. I make eye contact with him.

It looks like he wants to say something, but I avert my eyes. I close my mouth tightly, and walk past him, opening up my black parasol.

Outside is humid, and the air is hot and sticky.

Tomorrow's the last day of school before summer vacation starts. I remember that and some of the heavy feelings I'm feeling get lighter, before coming back. Summer will probably end with me not doing much of anything, anyway. I don't hate summer vacation, but I think it'd be nice if we had this long break sometime else. Like in autumn.

I leave from the back gate, walking down a hilly residential street. The sky looked great in the sunset when I left, but now there are thick clouds coming in from the east, and the town is getting dark. The streetlights start to flicker on. Miyano's shadow is stretching onto the street's asphalt. He's been quietly following me.

Miyano is at least four inches taller than me, so of course his legs are long, too. If we walked normally, he would be way ahead of me, but he's walking so slowly, it's unnatural. I can't do anything about that, so I move my legs even slower, but he matches that too.

"You don't have to go out of your way to walk with me," I say.

"Taking it easy is my life motto," he replies.

No matter how much I try to push him away, he responds with his usual happy demeanor. Should I just give up because he's always like this anyway, or should I get angry and yell at him? I don't know him well enough to decide.

He suddenly asks, "Hey, that girl just now…she's Hanamura from the class next to us, right? You've never been in the same class, how do you know her?"

"How do you know that?" I ask, but instead of answering, Miyano grins knowingly. I shouldn't have asked. I guess I'll just have to answer his question.

"In elementary school, we took band together."

I try to make it sound final, but he asks again.

"Why didn't you join the middle school band?"

See, he asks why.

"It doesn't even matter," I mutter. He latches on to that.

"Why don't you just say it, if it doesn't matter?"

I'm so tired I don't even have the energy for a counterargument. This is why I hate people who can't take a hint.

"Because our school's band does marching."

Marching means you do parades and field shows outside under the blazing sun. You'd even get to do cool performances at amusement parks, with uniforms that look sharp like an army, with synchronized movements and dancing. There's no way I could do that. If I could, I'd love to, but I'll never say that out loud.

Miyano suddenly stops, staring at a large poster on the town bulletin board. It's a poster for the Inahama Shrine summer festival.

"You still haven't answered my question."

First, you make me answer your questions that I really didn't want to talk about, then you just ignore mine?

Then, I really snap at him.

"What's your problem?"

"I asked you to go to this with me, you know."

I really shouldn't have asked what his problem was.

"We could check out all the booths, I really want to do that. I think it'd be super fun," he continues, eyes sparkling. I can't believe his nerve, ignoring all of my feelings, and promising it'll be "super fun." I am beyond irritated and feel disgusted with him.

"Would you stop messing around? We've never even spoken to each other!"

Miyano grabs his hair, looking at me indirectly from the side and muttering awkwardly,

"Well, I know, but… am I not allowed to ask you to a festival just because we've never spoken before?"

I almost began rebutting him, but close my mouth instead. It should be obvious.

As if he could read my mind, he continues speaking.

"I keep telling you, I'm not joking, Itsuko. I've been watching you, and I thought we had a lot in common."

My eyes narrow at his casual use of my name.

Then, I feel something lukewarm hit my cheek.

"It's raining," Miyano mutters, looking up at the sky unhappily. I follow his gaze.

Gray clouds spread over the sky.

As I look up at the raindrops falling from those clouds, something dark blocks my view. Miyano is holding up a dark navy umbrella over me.

"I'll let you borrow this"

When I don't grab it, he puts it in my hands and says, "Just take it."

His hand is surprisingly big, and when I try to pull mine back in shock, he catches it.

I'm about to tell him that my house is close, and I already have a parasol, but he says, "Worry not" like some kind of samurai, and forces me to take the umbrella with both of his hands. The raindrops get bigger and bigger and Miyano's shirt starts to change color.

"My house isn't even five minutes away if I run. See that tall apartment building over there? That old house across from it is mine," he explains.

"Right, it's raining, so I'm making a run for it. Let me know about your answer for the festival tomorrow! Get some rest!" Those are his last words to me as he dashes into the rain. I am left all alone, and I watch him leave.

Suddenly, I feel as if the rain has gotten louder. My first thought is that it only sounds louder because that noisy Miyano left, but the rain is picking up and keeps getting stronger. Then I hear thunder rumbling like an empty stomach.

Looks like a storm is coming.

I lower Miyano's umbrella down to my feet and close it. I don't really want to use an umbrella that someone forced onto me. Plus, I don't mind the rain. It blocks the sun. It's not like I have a long walk in front of me, either. I run through a curtain of rain with the folded umbrella in my hand. The warm rain beating down on my overheated arms and legs feels pretty good.

My house is on an easy slope, and I reach the entrance quickly, breathing heavily. I put down Miyano's umbrella near my feet and open the door.

Nobody's home, and it's dark, but I take in that home sweet home smell that I'm used to and relax a bit, as my body suddenly feels very heavy, and a little sore. It wasn't such a great idea to run just after fainting. It's too much of a hassle to turn on the lights, so I walk down the dark hallway with wet feet. My soaked socks leave footprints behind me.

I wipe my hair down with a towel from the bathroom and wipe my face, too. The dry towel smells like the sun, and I remember what Miyano said.

I can't believe he called me "Natsuko."

With the towel wrapped around my head, I go to my room. I guess it's okay. I take off my school uniform and say it out loud to no one in particular. Whatever. I don't care.

I'd be lying if I say I'm not even 1% happy that someone confessed his feelings for me, but the other 99% is irritation.

Don't even try to say we're anything alike.