Late Winter's Summer Rain
It was a Sunday lunchtime under a summer-like downpour in late winter. The academy's grand cafeteria was nearly empty. Belica, slumped face-down across the table from me, lazily poked her fork into a broccoli floret and shoved it into her mouth. Watching her chew so sluggishly made me feel drowsy too.
"Get up properly and eat. If Ruda sees you, she'll have something to say."
"Ruda…!!"
At that, Belica hurriedly scanned the room. Confirming Ruda wasn't there, she slowly slumped back onto the table.
"Phew… she's gone. That crazy Ruda… holding someone from Saturday morning straight through to Sunday morning? This is abuse… seriously crazy Ruda…"
"If she hears you saying that, she'll come running over to kill you."
"Heh heh… but Ruda's gone now, right? Supplemental classes are all done, yeah?"
"If your written exam scores keep sucking like that, you won't be done with makeup classes next weekend or the one after."
-Ughhh, Belica wailed like she was crying.
"Don't say such terrifying things… Weekends spent studying aren't worth calling a life…"
"You don't study on weekdays, so you end up with a life that's not even worth calling one."
"Hmph… Must be nice living a real life thanks to rooming with the academy's pretty idol, Mr. Whoever."
"Why bring that up out of nowhere? And what's this 'real life' crap? Just yesterday alone…"
I started to speak but stopped myself. Something told me Belica finding out would be trouble.
But she latched onto it like a ghost.
"Yesterday? What happened yesterday?"
"Nothing."
"Huh? Hmm? Really? Feels like something happened though?"
Damn. She's an idiot, but sharp as hell when it counts.
"While I was suffering under Ruda, what fun did you have chatting up missy? I'm dying to know!"
"Under Ruda?"
"Yeah! That crazy Ruda… Huh?"
Belica seemed to belatedly realize she wasn't talking to me. Her head slowly turned toward the source of that third voice.
And there, predictably, stood Professor Ruda Riplir.
Facing her and sensing her doom, Belica let out a pathetic death rattle.
"Ugh…"
"Crazy Ruda? You talking about me?"
Ruda's hand shot out like lightning, yanking mercilessly on Belica's ear.
"Ow! It's ripping off! For real this time! For real!"
"Not content with badmouthing behind my back—you're using casual speech too?!"
"Save me! Ilsea!"
What the hell am I supposed to do? It's all your karma.
Belica's screams swept through the cafeteria like a storm. Once she'd met her end at Ruda's hand, she collapsed onto the table, clutching her right ear.
Thud.
I bowed politely to Ruda.
"Enjoy your meal?"
"No. Thanks to you punks."
What the hell kind of jab was that? I braced to apologize.
But Ruda said, "The principal's calling for you. Go see her after lunch."
"Ah."
I nodded deeply. "Thanks for letting me know."
"Hm."
With that, Ruda headed to the faculty table. I was almost done eating anyway—might as well head over. No clue why Teresa wanted me, though.
As I started to stand, Belica's hand grabbed me. Still face-down, she whined, "Euuugh… where you going? Leaving me like this… I’m hurting, might actually die this time."
"You heard. Teresa's calling. And I know your cockroach vitality—you always bounce back from Ruda's beatings."
"Cockroach… that's mean… to your cute childhood friend…"
"You calling yourself cute?"
"But what can I do…? It's true…"
Sometimes her shameless, childish nerve made me jealous.
"Anyway, what about this afternoon? Sparring?"
"We'll see. Teresa might give me work."
"Eeeeng."
"If it's nothing, I'll let you know. Go play alone."
Even as I said that, Belica pouted up at me as I stood.
"Hurry back. I'll wait in the practice room."
No choice. I nodded. "Got it."
Heading to the principal's office, Teresa's errand turned out to be nothing big.
-Eli sent me a gift too. See? You only got tea leaves, right?
Proudly showing off the pile of presents from my cousin—er, my little sister—back home, Teresa finished her bragging and shooed me out.
"Must be real bored… calling someone over for this crap?"
Should've bragged about the teacup from Ronari. …Nah, that'd just make me a target. She'd tease me about getting all cozy already after one night.
Imagining that gave me chills all over.
Stepping out of the office, a downpour greeted me. The sky had just looked overcast leaving the cafeteria; now mist shrouded everything, visibility near zero.
No umbrella—gonna get soaked. Heading down to the first floor with that thought, I spotted someone at the entrance holding one.
Belica. She was twirling it playfully under the eaves.
Watching rain bounce off her umbrella, it almost felt like summer, not winter.
Spotting me, she scowled. "…Dummy. Why so late?"
"What? You said you'd wait in the practice room."
"You weren't coming no matter how long I waited!"
Teresa had held me up a bit. I stepped beside Belica and reached out past the eaves. Cold winter rain shattered on my palm.
She offered me the umbrella. Taking it, I asked, "What about yours?"
"That's mine?"
I stared at her matter-of-fact response. Suddenly, her hand shot out and grabbed my cheek.
"What're you staring at? Fell for my beauty all of a sudden?"
"Fell for you nineteen years ago."
"Heh heh. Well, I've been pretty since birth. Let's go already!"
She hummed happily at my empty words. I opened the umbrella, tilting it her way. She pressed right up, looping her arm in mine, then tilted it back toward me.
Walking through the rain, I said, "Back off a bit."
"I'll get wet. No way. Learn this: girls can't stand being damp."
"You used to run around without one whenever it rained as a kid."
Belica marveled. "Whoa, when was that? You remember that?"
"Of course. Pretty sure you were playing in mud puddles with me till you were nine."
"Was I?"
She muttered to herself, then kicked at the air mid-step. "Guess I wasn't a girl back then."
"Far as I know, you were born one."
"Hee hee, innocent you would think that. But wearing a skirt doesn't make you a girl~ Being a girl is a matter of the heart. The heart."
She thumped her chest. Some profound metaphor, huh? A crude joke we had no business with flickered briefly and vanished.
I chuckled. "So when did you become one?"
"Hmm… dunno exactly…"
Belica paused oddly, then leaned her head on my shoulder. "But I'm definitely one now."
"Even a blind man could tell."
She shook her head. "No, you wouldn't know~"
Her voice had that husky whine like someone half-asleep from a dream. With my free hand, I pushed her nuzzling head off my shoulder.
"Fine, I don't know. So back off. What if someone sees?"
"Let 'em see~"
She said it like a joke, but this could ruin all my efforts to avoid bad rumors. I shoved the umbrella at her and started walking in the rain.
She caught up, holding it over me. "What're you doing! You'll catch a cold!"
"Reminds me of when we were kids—why fight it?"
"That was summer! It's winter now!"
"Oh, so you remember. Back then."
"Who cares about that!? Dummy! You're already soaked!"
Belica brushed my wet bangs. I pushed her hand away and called softly, "Belica."
"What, dummy?"
"You should hang with other kids, not a guy like me. With your personality…"
But the words wouldn't finish. Her hand gripped my wrist. Stopping, she yelled right in my face.
"No way!"
She stomped in the muddy puddle. "No! No! No!"
"Hey…"
"Who are you to tell me what to do! Dummy! Dummy!"
She kicked my legs. "Ow."
"It's supposed to hurt! Ugh!"
Steaming mad, she tossed the umbrella and glared up at me. I picked it up and held it over her.
"…You're soaked because of you! What now!?"
"You dropped it…"
"Ugh! Ugh!"
Dodging her renewed kicks, I said, "Okay, sorry. My bad. Shouldn't have said it."
She whipped her head away. "Hmph!"
Advertising her sulk. No different from when she was nine. Talking it out would just get me hit again.
"There, happy? Let's go."
"Promise first."
Still turned away. "Never say that again."
I sighed deeply. White breath mingled with the mist.
"…Fine, promise. Better?"
"…"
"Cut me some slack too. I said it thinking of you. Honestly, what good comes from you hanging with a guy like me?"
I brushed mud off her clothes. How'd we get so filthy?
Belica, still facing away, reached back and tugged my sleeve. Then snatched the umbrella from my hand.
"What good? Plenty."
"?"
She grinned at me and chucked the umbrella into the rain. "Like this!"
Arms wide, she laughed and dashed into the downpour. Stopping ten steps away, she shouted, "See? Perfect!"
I yelled back. "Perfect my ass!"
"Now we can hang out no problem!"
Her words echoed even through the rain.
"We're the type who play like this even grown up! That's how it looks, right?"
"…"
I chuckled at her. "You were just going on about being a girl who hates dampness! Still a kid!"
"Yeah! Lady Belica's a girl forever!"
She ran off again into the rain. I grabbed the umbrella and chased after.
No need to open it. We already looked like drowned rats.
Just like that summer ten years ago.