4.3
I didn’t want to run into any other girls, so I waited until no one else was using the elevator. Sneaking around like that was pathetic, but hey. That was me. I managed to reach the thirteenth floor undetected. When I got to Horikita’s room, I rang the doorbell. After waiting a while, I tried to slowly open the door myself. It wasn’t locked.
“Horikita?”
Horikita’s place was a one-bedroom and kitchen model, but I couldn’t see into the bedroom area. It was hidden behind a closed door. There was no sign of Horikita in the kitchen or hallway. Like me, she’d barely decorated since moving in.
“You’re alone, right?” I heard her voice from behind the bedroom door.
“You’re being way too loud,” I told her.
“It’s okay. Even if someone came in right now, I’d conk them with my right hand,” she replied.
What in the world was that supposed to mean? Cautiously, I entered Horikita’s bedroom. She had her back to me, so I couldn’t see her expression. The room was decorated simply. Nothing seemed particularly strange.
“Okay, I’m here. What’s the problem?” I asked.
“Once you see, you’ll understand.”
Horikita slowly stood and turned to face me. Two radically different emotions coursed through me at the exact same time.
“I see. So. That’s it, huh?”
“That’s it, yes.”
I felt some secondhand embarrassment as I looked at her right hand, which was completely stuck inside a small water bottle.
“How do I say this? This is completely unlike you. Don’t tell me you were just playing around.”
“Don’t be dumb.”
“This is like when you challenge yourself to use your fingers to pick up a single piece of corn, right?”
That must’ve irritated her, because she swung her right arm at me.
“I-It’s just a joke.”
“There’s no point telling an unfunny joke. You failed.”
“It wasn’t funny because I was teasing you, right?”
“This water bottle got stuck because I tried to wash my hand. Can you help me get it off?”
So, that was what happened. I grabbed the water bottle and pulled, but only ended up pulling Horikita toward me.
“Come on. If you don’t pull back yourself, you’re gonna stay stuck. At least give it a little elbow grease,” I said. If she didn't offer a resisting force, I'd get nowhere.
“I already know that. It’s just that I’m tired. Let’s get this over with quickly,” she replied.
After trying to free herself on her own for more than two hours, Horikita was exhausted. I grabbed the water bottle again, put a little more strength into it, and pulled. Horikita pulled back as I did so, enduring the pain. However, her arm remained stuck.
“It’s no use. At this rate, the bottle will never come off,” I told her.
“I see. I suppose I expected as much.” Horikita appeared to have resigned herself to being trapped.
“Guess we have to rub your arm down with soap and slowly pull the bottle off. Let’s head to the kitchen,” I said.
“Did you forget that there’s a water outage right now?”
That was right. We wouldn’t have water until twelve. The only usable water was in the toilet, but Horikita probably wouldn’t like that.
“I’ll go to the cafeteria.”
We were low on options, but as long as I could get some water, we could remove the bottle. I left Horikita’s room and headed straight for the cafeteria. However, an unfortunate surprise awaited me there.
“I’m very sorry. So many students came that we’re all out,” said the cafeteria lady.
Apparently, those who’d needed water for dinner had taken all of it. Well then, I’d just go buy some at the vending machine. I didn’t need a lot of water to free someone’s arm from a bottle. About two drinking glasses’ worth would be enough.
I walked toward the vending machines, and discovered that our misfortune was just beginning. All the water, tea, and juice were sold out.
“I’ve never seen a completely sold-out vending machine before,” I muttered.
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