6.9
“Whew! What a long day. I’m beat. This was fun, huh?” asked Ichinose.
“Yeah. It was nice to talk to Horikita-san and Sakura-san. We should hang out again!”
The Class B girls seemed satisfied with how they’d spent their last day of vacation. Sakura, who looked a little more relaxed, even managed a small grin. On the other hand, Ike, Yamauchi, and even Sudou looked anxious. After quickly saying their farewells, they rushed into the elevator.
“We’ll come hang out in your room later, Ayanokouji.”
They left it at that.
“I wonder what’s up with them? I thought they were in high spirits today,” said Kushida.
“They seemed especially strange. Perhaps a certain someone knows what happened, though,” said Horikita.
They both glanced at me, but I refrained from commenting, for my own reasons.
“Okay, then. See you at school, Ayanokouji-kun.”
“See you tomorrow.”
After parting with Kushida and Sakura, only Horikita and I remained in the lobby. I thought she’d stayed behind to avoid Kushida, but even when another elevator arrived, Horikita didn’t get on.
“You’re not going up?” I asked.
“What about you? Would you like to take a little walk?” she asked.
“Sure.”
Horikita and I walked along the tree-lined path while looking at the sky, now dyed the color of sunset.
“Surprisingly, I had fun today. I suppose a day off every once in a while isn’t so bad.” That was an unexpected statement, coming from Horikita. She spoke slowly, her still-wet hair fluttering behind her. “We start the second semester tomorrow. I’m sure even bigger challenges await.”
“Yeah, probably.”
This wasn’t an ordinary school. Countless unknown hardships—like the survival test on the island, or the test of deception on the cruise ship—undoubtedly lay in wait for us.
“I’ve thought a lot during summer vacation. About the things I’ve done, and the things I was able to do,” Horikita continued.
“And what do you think now?” I asked.
“That’s a secret. If I told you, you’d laugh.”
She dodged the question, although I didn’t know why. Maybe she was embarrassed by what she’d been about to say.
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