Episode 76: Sports Day (3)

Everyone’s always so quick to chat up Endo-san with a smile — and yet when it counts, they go quiet.

It doesn’t make sense to me. They’re eager to act when it suits them, and look the other way when it doesn’t.

I’m sure I’m probably the same, without even realising it.

Still, looking at Endo-san standing right in front of me, I simply couldn’t help but move.

　I’d agreed to do the three-legged race with Endo-san, but with no time to practise, I began to regret my decision.

Yet, looking at Endo-san beside me, I simply couldn’t bring myself to back out. The fact that she looked so anxious and distressed was something only I needed to know.

There was no need for the rest of the class to find out.

We did the best we could in the short time we had.

　We synchronised our breathing with the sound of gunfire.

Who could have imagined it?

That I, living in such a dark world, would be doing a three-legged race with Endo-san, the most beautiful and popular girl in our year.

The absurdity of it all made me laugh, and I began to find the situation amusing. However, physical stamina isn’t something that increases by some miracle in a single day.

A mere fifty metres felt like an eternity.

　I was out of breath, and it felt as though weights were being added to my legs one after another.

Perhaps Endo-san noticed something was wrong with me, as she tried to slow down. But I could keep up with her even without her doing that…

I admire Endo-san for carrying so many burdens in her life, yet living as if she were fine, without letting anyone see them.

I couldn’t do that.

I wanted to get even a little closer to her.

　I put all my strength into my legs, which felt as though they might give way, and kept pushing off the ground. When I reached the finish line, I collapsed, and there was Endo-san right in front of me.

The Endo-san right before me had the happiest smile I’d seen on her in quite some time.

She’d looked anxious right up until the sports day.
She’d looked anxious all day today, too.

I don’t think there’s any need to live with such anxiety for the sake of just one day in a long life.

Especially when it’s just a school event.

　It’s typical of silly Endo-san to worry about things like living up to her classmates’ expectations.

If I’d managed to ease her anxiety even a little, I felt a slight sense of relief, thinking perhaps what I’d done wasn’t a mistake after all.

‘Endo Hina’

On my way home, I clutched the headband bearing that name in one hand.

Why on earth did Endo-san want to swap headbands so badly?

　Still, seeing her become so cheerful just from being handed a headband, she really is a bit silly, isn’t she?

‘You daft Endo-san’

On the deserted street, muttering that to no one in particular, a smile slipped across my face.

Running across the ground with more freedom than a bird in flight, Endo-san crossed the finish line in first place, looking happier than anyone else.