Chapter 115 – Prank of Fate

 

The more I looked at you, the more I noticed that you got skinnier by the day. And the more I grew afraid of you leaving me.

 

Your skin turned pale, closely resembling the white snow that covered the schoolyard.

 

*   *   *

 

Time passed by, the winter break and the new year’s day had already passed.

 

It felt like it passed in a blink of an eye. Probably because I was too focused on studying that I didn’t notice the passage of time. The time for the center exam was today. (T/N: Idk how to explain what the hell is center exam supposed to mean, so https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Center_Test_for_University_Admissions)

 

“Arina, the center exam is just an entrance ticket for you! Of course, it’s still important, but you should try to focus on the secondary exam, since your admission to the university that you picked depends on that exam!” 

“I know, I know.”

“I said that, but don’t let your guard down, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I know.” 

 

Tsuru, who had passed into the university she wanted to go to through admission, came to visit me before the exam began to give me a pep talk.

 

“I should go now, it’s cold here. I swear, this cold will make me forget everything I studied…”

“Kya! …Okay, then, good luck!”

“Thank you, Tsuru.”

“Sui is also cheering for you in his dreams!”

“I wish that he’d cheer on me directly instead. Thank you again, Tsuru.”

 

She didn’t stop waving at me until I was out of her sight.

 

*   *   *

 

His shadow followed me everywhere.

 

Whenever I saw any tall men, their backs would overlap with his. Whenever I was in the middle of the crowds, stretching my back inside a cafe, sitting while listening to the professor’s lecture, his shadow followed me. I knew that it was a mere hallucination. I knew that, but still… 

 

“Arina, have you joined a club yet?”

 

A familiar question. Since high school, people around me kept asking me the exact same question and it seemed to be the same in university.

 

“I don’t want to join one, I have no time for it.”
“Huh, do you have a part-time job or something?”

“Not yet. I’m planning to look for one next month, though.”

“I see~  Our club isn’t that active though, you’ll probably like it if you join.”

“I’ll think about it.”

 

And like usual, I refused their offers whenever they asked me.

 

I wasn’t lying, I had no time for club activities. Between studying, doing the things I liked and visiting him in his sickbed, I simply had no more time to spare.

 

I managed to graduate from high school and entered the university that I listed as my first choice. A year has already passed since then. Currently, I was living by myself. At first, I had a hard time getting used to living on my own, but now, every day that passed felt so fun.

 

It was all thanks to him. Thanks to him, I could make friends easily. My circle of friends was bigger than back in high school. This was only possible because he changed me in every way possible.

 

If I didn’t meet him, I wouldn’t meet Tsuru, Shirona, Yuri or Rion. The precious memory we had back in the sports festival wouldn’t exist either.

 

During the graduation, I cried a lot because I knew that I wouldn’t see my friends as often ever again. If I was my former self, I doubt that I would even have batted an eye to this.

 

*   *   *

 

The intercom to my house rang.

 

On the monitor, I could see Chiho waving at me.

 

“Welcome, come in.”

“Excuse me! Mh~ I knew it, your place smells so good!”

 

This girl was Sakuraba Chiho, the first friend I met at my university. During a lecture, she approached me and asked me if I was a model or not. I told her that I wasn’t, then she said that she wanted to befriend me and that became the start of our friendship.

 

Her appearance looked cool. The boys called her ‘cold-eyed girl’. Though, unlike her appearance, her personality was the total opposite as she was extremely outgoing. In the eyes of other people, though we had similar styles, our personalities were like fire and water, total opposites.

 

“I always wondered if you’ve actually read all these books.”

“Why else would I put them there? Books aren’t decoration.”

“Well, unlike you, I don’t read that much. If you say so, then, sure.”

 

She took a look at my bookshelf.

 

Then, she picked up the graduation album on the bottom of the bookshelf.

 

“Woah, it’s your graduation album! Can I see it?”

“Don’t. It’s embarrassing…”

“What are you so embarrassed about when you’re this gorgeous? Girls all over the country will boil you if you were to say that in public.”
“Fine, fine, do whatever you want.”

 

She then sat down in a chair and started opening through the album.

 

Of course, I still felt embarrassed about showing it to her, but as we looked through the pictures, I started to remember the three years worth of my high school memories. When I saw my grumpy look back in the first year, I let out a giggle. Back then, I was a huge problem child. It was a miracle that I actually joined in group pictures like this. I’ve never looked at the camera once, only showing a disgruntled look to the side.

 

In the second year, there was a huge change within me. In the group pictures, I started smiling and looking at the camera properly. The change should happen after I met Sui. I didn’t remember some of the things that happened in the pictures, but I seemed to have a lot of fun back then. How envious.

 

“What the hell?! You look the same as you were back in high school!”

“I told you, I’m forever seventeen.”

“You even have the same hairstyle as back then. Don’t you care about your university debut at all?”

“I do, but I think this style fits me the most.”
“Really?~ Is that what your boyfriend told you?”

“I thought I told you that I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“There’s no way that you don’t have one~ Don’t lie to me~”
“I’m not lying. People confessed to me, but I rejected them all. Should I introduce some of them to you instead?”

“Now you’re just flexing, how dare you!”
“I’m kidding. Well, I don’t really want to date someone right now…”

 

The love life of university students was completely different from that of high school students. It was normal for them to have a partner. Some of them even dated someone much older than them, to my surprise.

 

Sometimes, I wondered if I finally managed to enter the realm of adulthood or not.

 

“Did you ever date someone in high school, Arina?”

 

Her casual question made my heart shake.

 

“No.”

“Then, who is this guy? He’s in a lot of pictures with you.”

 

She pointed to Sui.

 

“He was my classmate.”

“His name?”

“Do you really need to know that?”

“Based on your sussy reaction. Yes.”

 

I didn’t want to talk too much about him, but I guess it would be strange if I didn’t answer her here.

 

“It’s Sakaki Sui.”

“Sakaki Sui, got it~ Let’s see… Huh?”

 

She tried to look for his name on the page with the portraits of the graduates.

 

“Huh? He was your classmate, right? Why can’t I find him?”

“You won’t find him anywhere.”

“Did he transfer school or something?”

“No…”

“Huh? Then…”

 

Her face turned pale. She probably thought that she asked me something that she shouldn’t have. To ease her mind, I decided to tell her.

 

“He… He was sent to the hospital because he was sick, well he’s still there… In any case, that’s the reason why he couldn’t graduate.”

“Is that so… Poor guy…”

“I know right?”

“Will he get better?”

“Who knows? Even the doctor doesn’t know. Nobody knows except for him. What is he thinking currently, what kind of words will he tell me when he’ll awake? Nobody knows…”

 

It had been a year since he went into a coma and I was still waiting for him to wake up.

 

After all, he still hasn’t given me his answer yet.