Shidoni and I were eating ramen in a ramen shop.
It was Wednesday.
"That was stupid, wasn't it?" I said as I looked at my empty bowl of ramen that had just finished.
"Oh," Shidoni said as she slowly ate her bowl that was only halfway through. "That. It ended very abruptly huh…"
"After the Sports' Day. They became a couple and they became the hottest topic of the school. And then on Valentines Day they once again made a name for themselves. And then there was the student council trip that I heard was even more thrilling as they had a whole date going on in the mountains. And as time pass and we became third-year students…"
I said as I clenched the chopsticks in my hand with my fist and slammed the other hand on the table. Shidoni ignored the rocking and continue slurping a single strand of ramen noodle.
"Hiroyuki's family had a financial incident and he had to move back to his hometown because they can't keep up with his education fees. Hiroyuki still kept in contact with us and was still willing to date Yuuna despite the distance."
"Slurp."
"However, it was too much for them and eventually their relationship gradually worsen. They couldn't even meet much because of how far these two live despite both still residing in Japan. And due to the long-distance relationship and how busy they were, the most they could do was chat on the phone and meet up once a month. Then there was a huge argument between them something about distance and time."
"Slurp."
"In the end, Yuuna had to call it off."
"I was hoping it could last a lot longer though."
"How can you be so calm?! They were such a great couple and reality had to hit them like a freaking truck. I want them to last for an eternity! Dammit, I'm so pissed."
"Let it go, they both found another significant other and from what I heard, they are doing fine, right? Just let them be~"
Shidoni said as she ate finish the single strand of noodle and began picking up another strand. As for me, I just sit and waited for her to finish up.
"Hey, Shidoni," I said while looking at the buildings from afar.
"Yes, Nobuo?"
"I have no regrets."
"Me too."
"I was able to live an eventful life while being Hiroyuki's best friend. I was able to look back at those days where we were young and dumb and think back about the fun times we had. Sure not all of them were great memories but there were good ones among them."
Shidoni then stopped eating and listen to my speech.
"Right now, those events might not even be as accurate as we remembered. We may have exaggerated them to fill up the fantasies our younger selves always wanted. We were able to remember those days as eventful and colourful even though they were twisted by false information as we reach adulthood."
I then turned to face Shidoni and continued on.
"Our school may not be as crazy as it seemed, our friends may not be as lively as we remembered and our memories may not be as fruitful as we recalled, but damn it was something I can think back and say..."
As I spin my chopsticks around and pointed them towards Shidoni, I ended my speech with something I could wholeheartedly say without regret.
"Hey. I guess that happened. It was fun."
Shidoni then grabbed my arm that was pointing at her and gently pushed it down. Realizing that I may have spilt some broth on her jacket, she took it off and placed it over the counter.
"You grew up a lot, didn't you?"
"Honestly, I wish I had remained as a child. It wasn't great but I was making more memories than I am right now."
"Now, that sounded pretty dumb."
"Well, let's forget about it for now. Let's talk about you! How are things with your boyfriend?"
Shidoni thought for a while as she placed her hand on her lips, thinking of the best answer she could give. As I glanced over to her arms that were usually covered by her jacket was now in plain sight. Her left arm that she was trying so hard to conceal was now in full display as they were filled with indications of self-harm from her dark past.
Of course, I was aware of that past.
She then raised her right arm with the chopsticks in her hand and pointed at me with them, splashing some broth on my shirt.
With a smile as fake as the memories of our past and as real as the suffering of our past, she said with what I would like to believe to be the absolute truth.
"We are doing great!"