Video Call?
Lunch is over, and the drowsy afternoon sunlight taps against my phone screen. Just as I was wondering where to take Suo-sunbae tomorrow, someone with zero social awareness grabbed my shoulder with a firm grip.
"Jun! Look, a rainbow! A rainbow!"
Ishikawa, what’s with the sudden rainbow? I tried to push away his ugly mug as it leaned in closer, but the atmosphere in the room was different from usual.
"Whoa, seriously—!! That rainbow is insanely close!"
'A rainbow, all of a sudden?'
I guess high schoolers have a bit more humanity left in them than I thought. As soon as one guy, who had been nodding off by the window, broke the news, everyone flocked over. Swarming... It was nice to see everyone’s eyes sparkling.
"Why are you watching from here?"
"Well... I can't see it very well, but this is the only window left."
Even the teacher walked over to the window instead of teaching, gazing at the rainbow that had sprouted nearby. But since my seat was in the very back, it seemed the rainbow was only visible from the windows at the very front.
"It's too crowded over there."
Ishikawa pointed to the front seats packed with students and gave an awkward laugh. Hmm, looking at the state of the classroom, I’ve seen this scenario before. I checked that today was Friday afternoon and counted the dates. Was today April... 21st? No wonder a rainbow appeared out of nowhere, even though it hadn't really rained properly.
An event popped into my head. Specifically, the foundational event where Ishikawa starts a proper ssum. But you shouldn't be coming to me, you idiot.
"Hey, you know that thing?"
"What...? Ah, that anime you recommended? I watched it, but the animation was a bit weird."
"...No, not the anime."
Do you really think I’d bring up anime at a time like this? Sure, talking about anime with this guy is fun, but this isn't the time.
"You know that unused stairwell? The one you pass after Class E?"
"Yeah, I know it. Isn't that the creepy place nobody goes to?"
"There was a big window there. Don't you think you'd get a great view of the rainbow from there?"
First-years use the highest floor in the building. Unlike the other first-year classes, C, D, and E are on the fourth floor. The fourth floor had the home economics room, the storage for festival props, and the science lab with the human anatomy models. And because it wasn't used unless there was a moving class, it also had a creepy stairwell. Its only notable feature was the large window. For the record, we were in Class C.
"If it's there... Ah, Jun, you... really."
"...??"
Ishikawa laughed with a shy expression, so I wondered what was up again. I started to worry if he’d taken the wrong medicine today.
"Did you want to see the rainbow with me that badly...?"
Ah, so he’s acting like this because he didn't take his medicine? You've caught a disease where you make strange, delusional assumptions behind my back, haven't you, Ishikawa?
"Geez. Ishikawa, look closely at where my finger is pointing."
For the sake of the guy who had jumped to such an absurd conclusion, I raised my finger. I wiggled it around and then pointed at a female student sitting by the teacher's desk.
Mitsune Ruri, Ishikawa’s unrequited crush who sat by the front window. She had been forced out of her seat by the sudden rush of students and was looking around, not knowing what to do.
'Expectation and disappointment.'
The emotions visible to my eyes told me that she wanted to see the rainbow, but was troubled because the students wouldn't move out of the way. Could there be a better situation to strike up a conversation?
"Ah, if you suddenly watch the rainbow alone together, a 'double the affection' event will trigger."
If you don't pick up on this, I'm seriously going to steal her away.
"Is that so!!! Ju, Jun!! Thanks! I, I'll try talking to her!"
"Go quickly. The Korean teacher broke up with her boyfriend last week, so she's feeling sentimental. She won't even notice if you leave now."
Ishikawa rushed over to Ruri, who was standing alone. Hmm, it was heartening to see him manage to say what he needed to say despite being flustered. I wondered why he came to my seat when he should have just kept his eyes fixed on Ruri and taken her out immediately.
'Whoa, the classic scene has arrived.'
Ruri, having heard his words, approached him and hid her smile. She took his sleeve, and the two of them ran out of the classroom together.
The rainbow isn't properly visible from here. Instead, I decided to take a picture of something else with my phone. *Click.* The students huddled by the window laughing and chatting, and the 30-year-old spinster Korean teacher, who was staring blankly out the window with the lingering sorrow of a breakup, not even noticing that two students had vanished.
"..."
Light seeped over the pencils and erasers dropped on the floor as everyone rushed out. The erasers rolling on the wooden floor, where warm air and soft dust floated, looked unusually black and stubby. Sunlight was seeping into a corner of the classroom where most of the students had flocked to the window. It was a scene that only a high school could hold, one that almost made me feel sentimental.
*Click, click.* I captured those things in the frame and sent them to someone.
For some unknown reason, Suo-sunbae still hadn't come to school.
"...What, she didn't see it right away."
She seemed busy. Well, nothing I can do about that. Unless I’d been suddenly blocked, she’d see it soon. Alright then. Should I put my earphones back in and watch some anime? Ah, right, I finished everything after lunch. I feel like I'm going to die of boredom. By now, Ishikawa is probably having the happiest day of his life.
"Sigh... today's class is a total bust."
I let out a deep sigh as I watched the Korean teacher in the front receiving 26 students' worth of comfort. Thinking this class was probably over, I turned on a game.
Clatter-
"?"
I turned my head at the sound from the side. Can you even feel someone's presence in this noisy place?
"..."
"...?"
In the place I turned to look, there was one female student sitting in her seat even though everyone else had run to the window. She had short-ish green hair and sleepy eyes. She was a girl whose head was so small that her shoulders looked broad. Her position was in the same back row as me, but she was sitting by the back door, far away from me by the window.
'What is this.'
When I turned to look, she whipped her head away and started focusing on her textbook as if nothing had happened. But she couldn't hide the faint light green aura flowing out from around her.
'...What is it.'
Who was she again? Why is she looking at me with interest?
* * *
Friday evening, I returned home and turned on my computer first. Phone in one hand, mouse in the other. I had a lot of important things to do, so it wouldn't be great for my concentration, but I was planning to pull off some multitasking. I’d never even done this for school assignments or group projects. There was only one reason I was doing this now. It was because of Mitsurugi Suo.
Why was I stupid enough to make plans for tomorrow right away?
"No, seriously, where should I go?"
On my phone, I searched for good restaurants or things to do in the area. And on my computer, I looked up what kind of things a person like Suo-sunbae likes.
'Where should I take someone who is active, has a great personality, and is pretty?'
And my algorithm, which had faithfully enjoyed subculture, had been invaded. Even if I tried searching on MewTube, only cosplay schedules or random hero MewTuber videos came up, so this was...
"GPT, I miss you so much."
I wish someone would hit the nail on the head. But this is a Rupko world that AI hasn't invaded. I was left in a situation where I had to find my own way without borrowing the power of cutting-edge technology.
"Maybe, I should just ask Suo-sunbae..."
I thought asking the sunbae herself was an option, so I opened my messages.
Ding- Ding-
Speak of the devil. Suo-sunbae contacted me first.
"Where on earth does she get these to use?"
I was interested in the emoticons that kept popping out whenever she spoke. She sent them as freely as if she were using expressions.
...How should I put this. That was neither funny nor moving.
I reached my hand toward the mouse. I was going to look for a collection of emoticons that actual high school girls use on the internet.
Ding- Ding-
However, I stopped because Suo-sunbae expressed that even that was good. It felt like there was no point in scraping things off the internet. If I found and sent those, she might not react like this. Instead of that, I brought up the main point right away.
She really is a person I can't predict.
"She's not serious, right?"
It would be troublesome if she were actually sulking and I just brushed it off playfully. Should I just drag this sunbae to a festival? Since she's a freelancer who doesn't go to school, if I just put her in a school uniform, wouldn't she be a real-life high school girl cosplayer? Just as my dilemma was deepening.
"Huh..."
Mitsurugi Suo has a talent for lifting people up and dropping them. A grin spread across my face. It was funny how I felt a little nervous and relieved at the same time over something like this. Suo-sunbae probably didn't think much of it. Man, puberty is strong. Strong.
What could she want to show me? I wish she’d just add a subject, but it seemed that would remain a secret. After finishing the final arrangements, I checked what I would wear the next day with my eyes and threw myself onto the bed. I felt like I should sleep a bit early for tomorrow. Because it was clearly going to be a fun day. I'm looking forward to it. It's just my own thought, but wouldn't something good happen tomorrow?
"...That was a time I also had."
Whoosh-!!
Saturday morning at 11 AM, with rain and wind raging. Rumble, crash-!! ...Looking at the extreme weather, I felt two things. That weather forecasts aren't to be trusted, and that life is always full of unexpected events. I sighed, thinking, 'Why today of all days?', when my pocket vibrated.
Vrrr-
"...?"
Vrrr, vrrr-
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, and I was a little surprised.
A video call? Ah, a call where you see their face. "..." Man, I'm actually getting a bit angry now.
"Seriously... I'm speechless."
Why does this make me look around my surroundings?