Two stops beyond the station nearest our high school lies a fairly large department store, and four stops further on is a shopping mall.
Most students from our school enjoy shopping at the department store or use the surrounding area as their playground. Few venture to the shopping mall simply because it’s rather far and takes a bit longer to reach.
The stretch between the fifth and sixth stations is particularly long, taking a good fifteen minutes on its own.
Consequently, by now, the train we’re swaying along in is almost entirely devoid of people in the same uniform. At least, in this carriage, I can’t see any other students wearing it.
I was tracing each passing lamppost with my eyes when drowsiness began to overtake me, just as we reached our destination station.
I nearly ended up resting my head on the shoulder of Amamiya Tōru, sitting beside me, and drooling.
Amamiya Tōru nudged my side and said, “We’re here,” her eyes slightly narrowed. It felt like she was smiling at me, which was a bit embarrassing.
Just beyond the ticket gates was a bus stop.
If we waited there, a free shuttle bus would come to take us to the mall.
“Looks like we’re the only ones waiting for the bus, huh?”
“Yeah. Just a coincidence, I suppose?”
“I wonder.”
We exchanged trivial conversation, bit by bit.
Silences fell, but strangely, they weren’t uncomfortable.
When I’m with Amamiya Tōru, the kind of silence that should feel awkward doesn’t bother me. I think it’s because I understand her essence to some degree, and I don’t need to feel pressured to ‘try hard to keep the conversation going’.
Because we share similar parts, the time we spend overlapping isn’t unpleasant.
It’s actually rather pleasant.
“Ah, the bus’s here.”
“Yes, it is.”
We took the back seats on the completely empty bus, with no one else aboard.
“Haaaaaah…”
The evening sun streaming through the window combined with the perfect warmth inside the bus made me, quite honestly, incredibly sleepy.
A yawn slipped out involuntarily.
“Mashiro, you look sleepy?”
“Yes, I suppose so. To be honest, I might be quite sleepy.”
“Shall we sleep?”
“No, we’ll be at the mall soon, so I’ll stay awake.”
“But your eyes are closed?”
“It’s alright.”
My eyes feel gritty.
My body feels warm and cosy, and just like Amamiya Tōru said, I want to fall asleep.
But the shuttle bus would reach the mall in under ten minutes with us on board.
We’d be walking around once we got there anyway. Moving my body would force the sleepiness away somewhere. So for now, I decided to just endure it.
I absolutely didn’t want Amamiya Tōru to see me in a bad mood if I woke up groggy after dozing off halfway.
My head bobbed a few times, but somehow we managed to stay awake until we were dropped off at the mall.
My head still felt a bit fuzzy, but the outside breeze slightly lessened the drowsiness.
I took hold of Amamiya Tōru’s hand, just as I had been doing until now.
“Eh?”
“…? What is it?”
Her hand was warm.
It was my favourite kind of warmth, and I didn’t want to let go, so I gripped her hand more firmly.
Amamiya Tōru stared at me expressionlessly.
“Nothing, never mind.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“No, don’t worry about it.”
“Right then, let’s go.”
This time, I wasn’t walking diagonally ahead of her.
Nor was Amamiya Tōru walking diagonally ahead of me.
Neither of us was pulling the other’s hand to lead the way. Instead, two schoolgirls, hand in hand, walked side by side into the mall.
Sleepy.
Still feeling light-headed, I squeezed Amamiya Tōru’s hand, just as she had done to me. Each time I squeezed, ‘grip, grip’, she squeezed back in response, and my heart grew warmer and warmer, filling with warmth.
“Waaahhh…”
Another yawn escaped me.
I covered my mouth with my free hand.
My eyes stung.
Mumbling as I swallowed air, I murmured.
“Sleepy.”
My head felt foggy, my thinking dulled.
I missed the small, indistinct words Amamiya Tōru murmured.
“Even in a place with so many people, you still hold hands?”
Alongside Amamiya Tōru, who seemed somehow restless and unsettled, I searched for lingerie that suited her.