Episode 2: A Hectic Day

「Stand. Bow.」

I made it through another day…

It’s been about two months since I started at this school. Every day feels like a repetitive chore.

I don’t have friends… well, I do… I have them, but I don’t.

They’re back home. We still keep in touch.

So, where exactly am I…?

I left home to live on my own.

Technically, it’s the town where my aunt lives, my mom’s older sister, but I don’t call her unless I have a specific reason.

I got into a fight back at the middle school I went to.

Not that I think I did anything wrong. Not for a second.

It was payback for someone who made my childhood friend miserable.

But after that, I was the one who ended up isolated in class.

It wasn’t even bullying; everyone just avoided me… my friends, my childhood friend, everyone.

I decided to get out and picked a high school out of the prefecture.

The condition was that I had to live in the town where my aunt was.

I managed to pass the exams and enrolled.

And that brings me here…

I planned on doing things right this time.

Nobody here knows what I was like in middle school. I thought I could just have a normal high school life.

But my luck is trash…

My class is full of idiots whose brains haven’t matured past middle school.

It’s like the same assholes from back home just followed me here.

Honestly, it’s depressing.

Just as those guys and their constant noise were starting to drive me crazy, the rest of the class started falling in line one after another, sucking up to the loudest voices.

I’m not interested in dealing with losers like them, and looking at them just brings back bad memories from middle school. In the end, I just stopped talking to anyone.

So, before I knew it, I was isolated all over again.

Then one day, there was a letter in my shoe locker.

It was so cliché that I assumed it was a prank, but I went to the rooftop anyway, just in case.

The result… well, you know.

Since then, they haven’t really done anything to me. I’m not being bullied.

…Though if I decide they are bullying me, I don’t plan on taking it lying down.

I’m just being totally ignored and left alone.

I moved all this way just to forget everything… but I ended up right back where I started.

Is being alone just my fate?

If that’s how it is, fine. I’ll be a loner.

I decided right then that I wouldn’t bother with anyone at school.

I say “I wouldn’t bother,” but I’m still halfway hoping…

Hoping that someday, someone will understand me, someone will accept me. That’s the one thing I can’t let go of.

After school, I was watering the flower beds.

It started when I first saw them looking all withered and couldn’t just leave them like that.

I pull the weeds sometimes, too… I’ve got nothing but time, after all.

I don’t come every day, maybe once every two or three days.

Someone else must be looking after them, too. The weeds were already pulled and neatly piled up.

I used the hose with the spray nozzle to give them a soak and called it a day.

Today didn’t end with just that rooftop mess at school.

On my way home, I actually found a wallet.

I took it straight to the police box, obviously.

I’ve lost my wallet before and it sucked, so I know how much it means to get it back.

You probably can’t understand that unless it’s happened to you.

What is it with today…?

An old woman was sitting on the steps in front of the shrine I sometimes visit.

She was right there in front of me. I’d feel like a jerk if I just walked past.

Maybe I’m being paranoid, but now that I’ve stopped and noticed her, I feel like everyone around me is judging me, like「Aren’t you going to help her?」

In the end, I couldn’t ignore her. I had to say something.

「Obaa-san, are you okay?」

「Yes, I’m just resting. These bags are a bit much for me.」

I looked at the bags next to her. Grocery bags.

They looked heavy, and there were a lot of them.

「Where’s your place?」

「The shrine at the top of these stairs.」

She lived at the shrine?

Well, if that was the case, just carrying them up shouldn’t be a big deal.

「I’ll take those. Can you walk?」

「Oh no, I’ll be fine once I’ve had a rest.」

Of course she’d say that.

「I was heading up to the shrine anyway, so it’s on my way. Don’t worry about it.」

I hadn’t planned on going today, but I do visit sometimes. I might as well.

The old woman looked like she was debating it.

「I’m sorry to trouble you. If you’re sure?」

「Yeah. I’ve got them. Just take your time coming up.」

In these situations, it’s faster to just grab the bags and go before they can argue.

I grabbed all the bags at once and headed up the stairs.

I got to the top first, waited to make sure she was okay, and then headed toward the main house.

I waited by the door for a minute until she caught up.

「I’m so sorry for making you carry everything…」

「It’s fine. I’ll leave them here. See ya.」

「Ah…」

I could tell she wanted to say something else, but I wasn’t looking for a「thank you.」

I wouldn’t say I was forced into it, but it felt like I was helping out of some weird sense of obligation.

It wasn’t out of the goodness of my heart or anything.

I headed straight back down the stairs.

Wait… I forgot to pray. Oh well.