For two days, Arina was absent from school.
The day after we saw the group photo, Arina took a day off of school, a rare occurrence. It seemed like the reason for her absence was that she was sick. Arina certainly did leave with a sick complexion.
The day after that, she was absent again. The reason was the same. I thought about giving her a call, but I stopped just before committing. It felt like it would only make her grumpy.
Tsuru was worried as well. She asked me, "Do you know anything about Arina-san?", but I couldn't answer her.
However, I could guess. The timing was just right in accordance to the group photo. I wondered if there was something in the picture that made her sick. I could only look at them as glorious third-years in their youth.
It was the third day since Arina was absent. At last, she had come to school.
While I was having a conversation with Makoto, I caught a glimpse of Arina walking down the hallway.
Like I had been awakened, I stood up.
"Sorry, gotta head to the bathroom."
"You don't look like you need to use the toilet…"
"I'm going to South Sudan."
"Go on your own."
Makoto replied to me, looking dumbfounded. There were only about three minutes left of our break, but I felt the urge to talk to her. So, I left the classroom.
I walked out into the hallway and craned my neck like an elementary kid watching for cars. Arina was just about to enter her classroom.
"Arina! Hold up!"
As half of Arina's body disappeared into the classroom, she stopped and stepped back out.
"What?"
Arina's face was as expressionless as a random rock lying around. She didn't look fine, but this was the normal Arina with her venomous tongue.
"Are you feeling all right? You haven't been to school for two days. A cold?"
"Yes. There's no problem. I'm just sick of seeing you."
"Then that's good. Tsuru was also worried about you. ｢I wonder if something happened?｣[1] Are you sure you're okay?"
"With my health, yes."
"You make it sound like you've been having problems with something other than your health."
"Yeah."
"What happened?"
"I can't remember the last two days."
The bell rang.
The bell which signaled the end of the break cut off our conversation.
She didn't have any manner of the last two days? I tried to ask her about it. However, the bell signaled her to enter the classroom. It was as if a time freeze had been set back in motion by the bell.
I can't remember the last two days.
The reverberations of those words rippled through my brain. What did that mean? What was going on?
I stood there in the hallway until my teacher spoke to me.
It was lunch break.
I thought back to Arina's words as I stared blankly at the war-like state of the store.
Was it possible to have no memory? And for two days, at that. If I were to experience such a phenomenon, I'm sure I would be convinced I'd been through a time leap.
Such science fiction had not yet been established in the technology of this world, so it could still be a lie. However, she wasn't the type to lie. It really could have happened.
As I watched the students fight for bread, I was tapped on my shoulder.
Shirona stood beside me. My heart rate suddenly increased.
"W-what's up?"
"It's been a while since we've talked."
That's right. It's been a while.
I hadn't been able to look at her properly since Shirona said "I like you".
"It's about Arina-san. Sui, do you know anything?"
This was about Arina's two-day absence.
"All I heard was that she wasn't feeling well."
"I don't think so, though. Someone saw Arina-san after school the day before she was absent. She looked very anxious. She didn't look like Arina-san. Sui, what'd you do?"
"I didn't do anything! I'm the one being treated badly."
"Really? Are you sure? Maybe you got carried away and said something awful since you're both so close?"
"Are we supposed to get along… Anyway, I didn't do anything! She's the one always saying horrible things. Basically, she doesn't treat me like a human."
"Fine then, but you should look at Arina-san properly. She's surprisingly delicate."
"Is that so? Why do you think so?"
"Let's just say, a woman's intuition?"
"Stop sounding like Akakusa-sensei…"
I wasn't telling her about the amnesia, but I'm sure Shirona already had a hunch that she took some time off for something other than being sick. Although she wouldn't jump to amnesia.
"So, are you here to buy more bread?"
"Yes. But it's like this. I don't have a way to get close, so I'm just standing by and watching. It's scary, like a zombie mauling a carcass."
"Sui, you don't like conflicts, do you?"
"That's right. I hate fights. By the way, I admire Martin Luther King."
"Fu~n? That's just like Sui."
With that, Shirona left. With her skirt fluttering about, the Shirona I knew so well ran away.
I wondered who Namiki Shirona was to me.
The term 'female friend' was appropriate. Nothing more, nothing less.
And what am I to her?
I wondered if one day, I would know the answer.
Notes:
[1] Not really made clear, but Sui's kinda quoting Tsuru here.