Volume 1 - CH 11

“Yamamoto, I want to know a friend’s contact information, how do you get it?”

Even though I had given her my old tablet, Hayashi had been glued to her new smartphone ever since she bought it. Well, I guess there are various settings and stuff, but what’s this feeling of alienation?

As I was battling with such an indescribable and unnecessary feeling, Hayashi called out to me without realizing my state of mind.

“That’s a silly question, Hayashi.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

I smiled.

“I don’t have any friends!”

“You’re getting proud at the wrong thing.”

Hayashi lightly tapped my head. It didn’t hurt. On the contrary, I was grateful for her retort.

“…Anyway, here’s my smartphone. Take a look.”

“You can hand it over so casually, huh? It’s full of personal information.”

“I have nothing to hide.”

“You deleted it, right?”

“Ah!”

“That’s why I said you’re getting proud at the wrong thing.”

Again, Hayashi lightly tapped my head.

“…Well, I’ll borrow it for a moment.”

Hayashi asked for permission with a single word and began operating my smartphone.

I didn’t pay attention to Hayashi and yawned while watching TV.

“Wait a minute.”

After a while, Hayashi made a strange noise. She seemed to have found something very surprising on my smartphone.

“What?”

“Why do you have Akari’s contact information?”

That was it. The one thing I didn’t want Hayashi to know about on that smartphone.

Hayashi looked shocked. What on earth could be the reason for her making that face right now?

Akari… Kasahara Akari. She was Hayashi’s best friend during high school. They met during their second year of high school and studied together in the same class during their second and third years.

Why do I know that? Creepy. I’m innocent. …Well, maybe not to that extent, but Kasahara and I also studied together in the same class during our second and third years.

“Were you surprised?”

“Yeah, surprised.”

Hayashi didn’t tell me whether it was intentional or why she was surprised.

Well, I can understand her feelings. Kasahara, who hung out with Hayashi, was as beautiful as Hayashi and popular among the students. Her personality was more approachable than Hayashi’s, and she seemed to be more popular with the boys than Hayashi.

Hayashi probably wondered why I, who was a loner at the time, knew the contact information of the popular Kasahara.

Of course, I wouldn’t give Hayashi that reason.

“…Anyway, can I get her contact information?”

“Yeah.”

“Right. I’ll put my contact information in your phone too.”

“Ah, okay…”

I stammered. I never thought I’d know Hayashi’s contact information during high school. Life is unpredictable.

After entering Hayashi’s contact information in my phone and entering Kasahara’s contact information she learned from my phone into her own phone, Hayashi handed my phone back to me.

“Thank you.”

“Did you find anyone else interesting?”

“No, but I think I can manage with Akari’s contact information.”

“…Yeah. It’s definitely more reliable than getting it from me. …First, why don’t you apologize to her?”

“Apologize first?”

“Knowing her, she’s probably worried about you since she hasn’t heard from you in a while.”

“Oh, I see. That’s quite considerate of you.”

“You’re too much”

I made a difficult face and looked away.

Although she seemed to be a sensitive person, Hayashi didn’t give me a suspicious look, perhaps because she was preoccupied with herself. I thought she would pursue the matter more about the relationship between me and Kasahara. …Of course, it’s better not to be asked if I don’t have to be.

“Yeah, I’ll do that.”

“Alright.”

Without waiting for my reply, Hayashi turned to her phone and began sending a message to Kasahara. Just a few minutes later, Hayashi’s phone started to buzz.

“It’s a call from Akari.”

Hayashi answered the call, and I turned down the volume of the TV.

“Yeah, it’s been a while. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, I’m sorry. I really am sorry…”

Then, Hayashi enjoyed her conversation with Kasahara for a while. At first, I felt a bit tense, but as the tension faded during their typical long girl talk, I found myself dozing off.

“Wake up, Yamamoto.”

“Huh?”

It seemed that Hayashi woke me up after her call with Kasahara had ended.

“Jeez, sleeping without laying out the futon. What if you catch a cold?”

“Mom.”

“Don’t call me ‘mom.’ Sorry for the long phone call.”

“It’s fine. How was your conversation with your old friend?”

“Yeah, she was really worried.”

Hayashi replied with a bitter smile.

“Make sure not to worry her too much from now on.”

“Right. I will.”

“…By the way, how much did you tell her?”

“Pretty much everything, I guess. About being domestically abused by my boyfriend and being sheltered by you.”

“…Did she say anything about me?”

“Hmm? …Well, she was surprised, at least.”

“…I see.”

“Yup.”

For a while, silence filled the room. As my drowsiness had mostly faded, I stood up to brush my teeth before going back to sleep.

“Going to bed?”

“Yeah. By the way, I have a night shift tomorrow.”

“Then you should get a proper sleep today.”

“Stop saying it like I never sleep properly.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

As Hayashi laughed in disbelief, I smiled back and walked to the sink.