Chapter 28 - Marimo and a Sense of Discomfort
The long weekend was over, and today marked the start of the workweek.
With renewed spirits, I was ready to dive into school life.
The outing to the amusement park with Karin had apparently been a much-needed break for me, as my steps toward Marimo's house felt particularly light.
I was in such high spirits that I almost felt like skipping.
In fact, I might as well go ahead and skip.
"...Oh my, oh my."
It was at that exact moment, as I was executing a poorly executed skip, that Grandma Yoshida, who lived across from Marimo’s house, caught sight of me.
"Good morning,"
"Ah, to be young... how wonderful. Hehehe."
With a gentle gaze, Grandma Yoshida watched my youthful indiscretion with amusement.
And just like that, my high spirits cooled down immediately.
Indeed, what was I doing, getting carried away with holiday vibes?
I had to wake up Marimo and get her to school.
She's notoriously bad at waking up, and with such a carefree attitude, I was about to stumble on the first step of my renewed determination.
Thanks, Grandma Yoshida!
Then, I made my way to Marimo's house.
I rang the doorbell at the Kamino’s house.
As usual, her mother apologized, "Sorry, Kou-chan, she's still asleep," so I dashed up the stairs to Marimo’s room.
...At least, that was the plan.
"Good morning, Kou-chan!"
"G-Good morning."
Marimo... had woken up on her own?
Moreover, the Marimo who usually refuses to leave the house no matter if it’s raining, snowing, or even if the world is ending, until she's heard Ogura-san’s "Good morning everyone!" on TV!
And now she was up and about before the horoscope segment of the morning show even started?
This was a hard-to-believe phenomenon.
Could it be a sign of some impending disaster?
Now that I think about it, I could almost hear the sounds of small animals panicking from the mountains.
"What are you doing? Let’s go, Kou-chan!"
"O-Oh. Right. Well, I guess there are days like this."
"Hehe, Kou-chan, you’re acting weird."
Am I the one acting weird?
No, maybe I am overreacting.
Well, whatever.
Thanks to this, we now had some time to talk.
"About today's all-school assembly, I bet you haven't prepared your speech, have you? Well, like always, I'll support you, so at least get the flow of the event down."
Gathering the students for an assembly right after a long weekend was practically a school obligation.
No one really wants it, but since that’s how things work, students around the world just have to accept it.
Just focus on not fainting from anemia.
"Hehe, Kou-chan, Kou-chan! Actually, I’ve already prepared my speech for today!"
"...Huh? What did you say?"
Let me ask that again.
What did you say!?
"Hahaha, are you trying to pull one over on me? I’m not falling for that."
"Geez, I’m serious! Look, here!"
"...You’ve got to be kidding me."
The paper Marimo handed me started with a seasonal greeting, followed by a reminder to everyone after the break, then wrapped up with a light joke and ended with a brief closing remark.
It was a perfectly structured speech.
"So, Kou-chan, you don’t have to hide under the podium today."
"Uh, no, wait, what? What’s going on, Marimo!?"
Even today, I was fully prepared to hide under the podium.
I had my pain relief patches, sprays, and bandages all ready.
That was my role, my job.
And yet, how could this be?
Marimo had gone ahead and done the careful preparation herself to avoid making a fool of herself in front of everyone.
"No, no! What if you mess up? Today, we’re also presenting Sekkusu-kun’s experience in Japan! If you slip up, it’ll be a disaster!"
"It’ll be fine. Ko-chan, why don’t you trust me?"
"Of course, I trust you. I trust you based on your track record. That’s why I can’t back down here. For Sekkusu-kun’s sake, I won’t back down!!"
Yes, even a year ago, or two years ago, and even before that, she’s always been full of holes when she’s around me.
If I don’t help her, who will save Marimo?
"Fine, fine. But Kou-chan, you won’t have to step in today, okay? Hehe."
"Hmph. We’ll see."
I knew it would be my turn eventually anyway.
"Good morning, Maru-chan!"
"Good morning, Marimo! It’s been a while. Oh, did you change your hairstyle?"
"Huh? No, I didn’t?"
"Really? Then I must have noticed your hair grew a bit over the break! Well, I guess I’m just that good at catching these subtle changes! Only I could have noticed, yeah."
With Marimo now caught by Hino-san, I went to coordinate the assembly with the vice-principal.
The vice-principal was as plump as ever today, and as usual, his head gleamed from his forehead to his crown.
Yes, everything was as usual.
Was it just my nerves that were on edge?
Is the world turning normally?
Yeah, that must be it.
"Hey, Kirishima Kouhei."
"Yes?"
The truth I had just convinced myself of only seconds ago shattered instantly.
For Hino-san to speak to me first—this was a serious abnormality.
Maybe it was a sign that Hokkaido and Honshu were about to become connected by land.
Should I send an urgent messenger to the Prime Minister’s office?
"What are you daydreaming about, Kohei Kirishima? I’m talking to you!"
That’s why I’m daydreaming, Hino-san.
"What do you want?"
"...Sigh. You’re really hopeless."
Having someone sigh after asking what they want is not something you experience often, even if you try.
Then, after sighing once more, she continued.
"Don’t you think Marimo is acting strange? You’re always with her, right?"
"Exactly! That’s what’s weird, Hino-san! Something's up with her!"
"I know that already... so, any idea why?"
"Not a clue."
After seeing me throw up my hands in surrender, Hino-san nodded, "I see."
"By the way, what’s going on between you and Saeki Karin?"
"What!?"
My "What!?" at that moment expressed both "The conversation really did change topics abruptly," and "How do you know about that?"—a sophisticated double meaning.
"Just answer me. The assembly is about to start."
"Oh, right. Three days ago, we went out together."
"Hmm... I see. I get it now. You can go. You’re just going to crawl under the podium to ogle Marimo’s lovely legs, aren’t you? How disgusting."
Her words lacked both logic and consideration.
All that was left was her scorn.
She wore a face like Conan when he solves a mystery, while I probably looked like a botched paper-mâché project.
"And now, let’s move on. Sekkusu-kun, our exchange student, will talk about things that surprised him after coming to Japan! Please listen to his fluent Japanese! He might even be better than me, hehe."
Laughter filled the gymnasium.
I was hidden beneath the podium.
As usual.
And that day, Marimo didn’t let her guard down even once.
Not in front of anyone.
Not even in front of me.