Emisión Girls Blue - Girls Blue - Capítulo 3 - Part 2

Surprisingly, I broke out in a fever. Not Misaki, but me. The day after I came back from the beach, I was attacked by a fever, and for three days, I lay in bed and moaned about. The evening of the fourth day, Misaki came to see how I was doing bringing grilled eel with sweet sauce with her.

“Haha. What a sorry sight.”

She came into my room, and after flicking her finger against the photograph on the wall, she sat on the bed as she let out a conceited laugh.

“Thank you for those kind words. It almost makes me want to shed a tear. Kind friends are people one should have in their lives, huh?”

“If you’re able to talk that much, it looks like you’re doing okay. It makes me regret worrying about you.”

“Who was worried?”

Misaki shrugged her shoulders, and she gobbled up the mandarins that my mother had bought for me.

“Hey, I heard that they caught the person who killed those cats.”

“Cats?”

“Riho, the connectors in your brain are just getting weaker and weaker, I see.”

In my head, which still had a dull ache, an image of the cats lying in the gra.s.s rose to surface.

“They caught them?”

“Just a rumour. There’re opposing rumours between a cram school student depressed over exams and a farmer who had his fields destroyed. I heard whoever did it spread around poisoned food without a care of what might eat it. Can you believe it?”

“No.”

“Right? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was either one.”

My cell phone rings. When I pressed the cell phone to my hear, I heard a low voice.

“h.e.l.lo, Rii?”

“Mutsuki.”

“Long time no talk.”

“Yeah.”

There’s a moment of silence. There were times we would fall into an unexpected moment of silence like this when neither of us had fully grasped the tempo of the conversation.

“Um, I’m coming back tomorrow.”

“Really? Then we’ll be able to see each other for the first time in a while, huh?”

The inside of my mouth goes dry. My lips are really chapped too.

“I want to see you if I can…when are you free?”

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

“You could look at it that way.”

“Sure. But I’m not feeling so hot. I feel really tired.”

“Yeah.”

“I can’t seem to get in the mood to put in the effort to dress up, you know?”

“Wow, that must be a serious illness.”

“Yeah. Pretty much. If you’re okay seeing me in my no make up glory, I’ll hang out with you.”

I can hear him chuckling on the other end. It’s his laugh as I remember it. Back when we were kids, Kisaragi would always snicker facing up at the sky, but as for Mutsuki, he always lowered his gaze to the ground, and laughed in a way as if to m.u.f.fle it.

“It’ll be the first time in a while seeing you without any makeup on too.”

“Do you want to see it though?”

“Yeah, I do—a lot. I’ll come over to your house tomorrow.”

“Okay. See ya.”

“Ah, yeah.”

He hesitated as if he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t end up saying anything more before he hung up.

“You have a date with Mutsuki?”

“He said he’s coming over to my place tomorrow. I don’t think you can really call it a ‘date’ per say though.”

“So you’re gonna comfort the youth who’s had his dreams of going to the Finals shot down?”

“I don’t have the kind of energy required to comfort anyone, thank you very much.”

Misaki glanced at me as she brought her eyebrows together.

“Riho.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not ready for s.e.x yet. Don’t even think about it until you’ve recovered your strength.”

“Misaki, up until yesterday, I had a fever that went up to 38 degrees. I don’t like it THAT much that I’d want to have s.e.x with him regardless.”

“But he might want to.”

“You’re saying he’d want to have s.e.x with me at my house when I have no make up on and my hair’s a mess, and I’d probably be wearing wrinkly pyjamas?”

“Well, he’s got it bad for you, so I wouldn’t be surprised if even that looks good to him.”

“Talk about guts.”

“Yep.”

Misaki rubs her hand on my forehead.

“You still have a slight fever.”

Her hand felt cold, and it felt nice.

“You should heal right up with a bit more rest. For tomorrow though, you should make sure to at least do something about that hair of yours.”

Misaki laughs. It’s a first-rate smile–the kind that has flowers opening up. How can she smile so beautifully?

“Good night. Sweet dreams.”

Misaki’s lips graze my forehead. Her lips were slightly cool too.

In the garden, I can hear the cries of the cicadas. They’re evening cicadas.

The high tone matches the sunset glow that’s reflected on the window, and it’s beautiful.

The cries must probably come from the j.a.panese chinquapin trees. Back when I was in grade one, the acorn that I buried turned into a tree. At the base of that tree, I can hear the cries of the cicadas. Under the shade of a tree, Someko must be curled up. The whole day after coming back from the sea, she was full of energy, but since about two days ago,she went back to lying curled up into a ball and refused to eat anything. I heard she even refused to drink milk. Mao told me. Someko’s body doesn’t give off the scent of the sea anymore.

Mao told me that too. I wonder if Someko plans to depart along with Summer?

I don’t know.

Misaki’s footsteps fade.

The cicadas cry.

I get the idea to peer into a hand mirror.

My eyes are watery from the fever. My cheeks are faintly tinged with red. It’s just the forehead that Misaki’s lips grazed that is white and smoothy.

Maybe my makeup-less self isn’t so bad.

I close my eyes.

This summer day of mine was getting ready to pass as it was seen off by the cries of the cicadas.