บท 74: Triangle

As soon as school was over, Natsumi had a couple of things to do in the Photography Club so she couldn't go home after an hour or so. As soon as she did so, she immediately said farewell to her other club members and rushed out of school. Ever since this morning, she had already decided that she'd visit Hajime and that thought didn't change. That's why she made her way to his house without thinking twice. Even though it would be weird if someone from the opposite sex visits him, Natsumi didn't care.

"I wonder if Hajime's doing all right." She asked herself, too excited to meet Hajime after his three days of absence. "Ah, right, I should probably bring something if he's sick, right? Right."

Natsumi wasn't sure what Hajime would like in particular so she went with the most cliche, most generic choice. Fortunately, she found a shop that sells just what she wanted... well, it wasn't actually a shop, just some random old lady by the side of the street selling fresh tangerines.

"Thank you," Natsumi bowed to the old lady as she paid for two bags of tangerines. "I bet Hajime would like these."

With a skip in her steps, she made her way to Hajime's place. The reason why she didn't have to ask Akamine-sensei regarding Hajime's address was that she already knew where he lives. That was the time when she accidentally stumbled upon Hajime in the park since she lived nearby.

The sun was already dipping down the horizon when Natsumi got to the nearby park where Hajime usually hangs out. It was the perfect color for the park which still had people taking a break from the suffocating urban life. Trees swayed in the breeze, reflecting a light orange hue that the sunset gave off. It was a nostalgic summer feeling and Natsumi couldn't help but feel relaxed just by seeing it.

It didn't take long before Natsumi reached Hajime's place. "Oh, isn't that— "

.....

"I guess it's time, huh,"

After much contemplation about what to wear, Fuuka finally settled on shorts and a casual t-shirt that doesn't scream flirtatious nor indifferent. She figured that it was unnecessary to dress up anyways since she's going to visit Hajime without prior notice. It would seem that she has ulterior motives if she does something like that. That's why she settled on casual clothes.

"That doesn't look that bad." Fuuka admired herself on the mirror, wearing an oversized t-shirt, grey shorts, and a black cap. She twirled around as if she was wearing a dress before she blushed, realizing that she did something embarrassing.

"Yosh! Let's go! Ay ay ou~!"

With the cheering over with, Fuuka exited her sister's apartment with a bag of tangerines on hand. She concluded that her sister would probably reprimand her if she didn't bring anything for Hajime. That's why she grabbed a couple of tangerines that her sister recently purchased and decided to give it to Hajime.

Walking down the street, she suddenly remembered the first time she met Hajime. A smile appeared on her face before she smacked both her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Mom, that girl is weird." A child commented after seeing her smile without a reason.

"Ora~ I told you, it's bad to point at other people." The mom said, bowing down towards Fuuka before dragging her child away.

Eh?

Me? Weird? Fuuka thought to herself, pulling the cap lower so it would cover half her face. "Uuu~ this is so embarrassing." She said to herself.

It didn't take long before she reached the corner of the street where Hajime's house is situated. Her eyes sparkled as she wore yet another smile. Who cares if she looked like a weird individual with her brimming excitement? She was about to meet Hajime again and that's the only thing in Fuuka's mind at the moment.

As soon as she turned the corner, however, she saw two figures in front of Hajime's house, facing each other with rising tension surrounding them.

'Eh? What's that... are they Hajime's classmates?' Fuuka asked.

However, she missed her chance to hide and before she could turn around, the two girls had already taken notice of her. She was a step too late, and she regretted it big time.

The first thing that the two girls noticed were the tangerines that Fuuka carried. Seeing that, they concluded that Fuuka must've been there to visit Hajime as well.

"Are you here to visit Hajime?" One of them asked.

Fuuka didn't dare look so she didn't know who addressed her.

.....

A couple of minutes ago.

Franz dropped Megumi in front of Hajime's house before he drove around to find an empty parking space. Standing by the door, Megumi placed her hand on it as she tried to muster her courage to knock. To her surprise, she couldn't do so. After what she did three days ago, screaming at Hajime and storming away from him, she felt a tad bit guilty. The creeping thought that Hajime might have hated her invaded her mind and because of that, she couldn't bring herself to knock on the door.

Dejected, she decided to just sit in front of the door while waiting for the time to pass. She hoped that Franz would come to her aid after he safely parked the limousine.

'Why did I have to do that? I mean, Hajime already knows me well enough so he knows why I did that but... did I really have to? He might think that I'm embarrassed he's my friend or something.. sigh~ I just didn't want any rumors circulating around the school just when Hajime's finally putting himself together. I should've been more careful.' Megumi sighed a couple of times while contemplating how she was supposed to face Hajime.

Step.

"Isn't that— "

Megumi heard a voice from afar, making her impulsively look in the direction. There, she saw Natsumi, holding a bag of tangerines just like her. Furthermore, their plastic bags were the same— a clear sign that they bought the tangerines from the same old lady.

"Ah, Natsumi, was it?" Megumi got up, dusting her skirt off before approaching Natsumi. "Are you here to visit Hajime?"

"Er- yes, how about you?" Natsumi asked back even though the answer was already laid out before her. "And I'm surprised you remember my name."

"How could I not after that incident." Megumi smiled.

"In any case, why haven't you knocked? Is Hajime putting on some clothes inside or something?"

Megumi shook her head. "No, I haven't knocked yet."

"Great! Then let's knock together. Honestly, I was a little nervous since this was my first time visiting Hajime. With you here, I guess things won't get as awkward."

"Ah, I thought you were just here for the printouts? You can hand it to me, I can give it to Hajime instead. Aren't you busy?" Megumi indirectly asked, trying to shoo Natsumi as respectfully as she could.

"No, I"m also here to deliver some tangerines. And also, Akamine-sensei was the one who assigned me to give the printouts to Hajime. I'll carry this task to the end." Natsumi explained, also indirectly responding to Megumi that she's not leaving.

Step.

"Eek~"

Fuuka turned around after noticing that there were two girls in front of Hajime's place. Megumi and Fuuka already noticed her though so there was no getting out of the situation anymore. Somehow, the first thing they noticed was the tangerines that Fuuka was holding. Piecing two by two together, the two of them assumed that Fuuka was also there to visit Hajime.

'Who's this girl?' Megumi and Natsumi asked themselves. They haven't met Fuuka before so they don't know that she was actually Akamine-sensei's younger sister.

"Are you here to visit Hajime?" Megumi blurted out even though there was a small chance that the girl was just passing by.

Fuuka flinched.

'I knew it.' Megumi and Natsumi said in their mind.

...

Swing.

Creak.

Meanwhile, Hajime was feeling a bit stuffy staying by himself in the house so he opted to go out and spend a portion of the night by his favorite trellis in the park. Yawning, he opened the door. Up until he was lying down in his room, unaware of the commotion that was happening by the doorstep.

Stare.

'WHAT?! MEGUMI? NATSUMI?!! AND FUUKA TOO?! What's going on?' Hajime's mind panicked as soon as he saw the three girls in front of him. Fortunately, he managed to maintain his composure and keep the poker face he was wearing all throughout.

'Well, I'll just pretend I didn't see that.' He said to himself, slowly closing the door in front of him.

'I'll just go back to sleep.'

Creak.

As the door slowly closed, the three of them stared at Hajime who had an indifferent expression on his face. For a few seconds, they paused, wondering why Hajime decided to ignore them.

"Don't just close the door in our faces like that!" Megumi broke the awkward silence, grabbing the edge of the door and pulling it open.