"Tch. There it is, this format."
During a break from our part-time job, Asami was studying with her textbook at the office table with me.
When Asami suddenly clicked her tongue, my attention left the math equation written on my notebook for a moment.
"Huh?"
"Here, take a look at this."
Asami placed her reference book in front of me and then pointed at something on the page.
At a glance, it looked like a question about modern literature. I read the question out loud.
"Why did Toyotarou [1] say what he said as underlined (A)? Choose the correct answer from the following choices. …Well, isn't it just an average question?"
"Yeah, it is, but…" Asami pouted her lips.
She exhaled as she slid the reference book back towards her. "I don't think there's any reason given in the text."
"It's a question of reading between the lines, right?" "I know that. But something about it just annoys me." "Are you bad at these?"
Asami blinked several times at my question, then shook her head. "Not at all. In fact, I think I'm rather good at them."
"So, why are you complaining so much?"
Asami frowned for a moment and tapped her notebook with a pen.
"It's not that I'm complaining 'cause I can't figure it out. I'm just pissed off about it. Look, it says here, 'Choose the right one.'"
Asami hit the notebook particularly hard with the pen and then slowly, she continued.
"How am I supposed to know what's the 'correct' answer if it wasn't even
written? You can't possibly make the right answer out of non-existent words."
Asami's words suddenly seemed to come from another reason, turning it into a vague question. After putting on a surprised face when she realized it herself, she continued to talk as if to hide it.
"Well, I'd get it if the author of this work made the question, but…" "Ah… the author probably didn't. I don't think the author was even
interviewed."
Looking at the source of the quote written in small letters after the question, it said clearly that the author had already died. Asami seemed to resent the fact that the author of the question, who was neither the original author nor the protagonist himself, had used such a definitive word as "correct" to describe the character's feelings at that time.
"I bet the late author's like, 'Nah, that's not what I intended at all[2].'" "I'm pretty sure the tone wouldn't be like that, but you might be right." Asami giggled at my words and slammed her reference book shut. "I've had enough of this. I'm gonna take a break."
Asami said straightforwardly, grabbing the plastic bottle she kept beside her and gulped down the juice.
"The AC in this office is a piece of shit. It's so damn hot. I can't believe you're not sweatin' at all in this heat, Sayu-chaso."
When Asami told me that, I looked at her forehead and noticed that she was sweating a little. The air conditioning in the office definitely isn't as effective as the one installed in the store. On a day like this, when the
temperature outside is extremely high, the air conditioner is often lukewarm, though not as hot as outside.
Speaking of the heat, it certainly was hot. I wiped my forehead and although it was kind of sticky, I didn't find any trace of sweat on my hand.
As I was rubbing my forehead with my mouth half-open, Asami suddenly giggled and said:
"Why did Sayu Ogiwara rub her forehead just now? Choose the correct answer from the followin' choices."
"Hahaha, what was that?"
Asami giggled again after clearly teasing me, which made me giggle too.
I looked at the time and saw that it was almost half an hour since we had started our break. It's a short shift for me today, and I've only been given a half-hour break.
"I should probably get going."
I closed my notebook and went to punch my time card. "Hang in there."
As Asami opened her reference book and started studying again, I stole a glance at her. For some reason, I found the sight of her alluring.
I buttoned up my shirt and opened the office door. The cold air from the air conditioner in the store gave me goosebumps on my skin.
"That's a total of 648 yen. …Oh, a credit card. One moment, please. … Yes, please swipe it here. Thank you very much. Do you need a receipt?
Thank you very much."
As I walked out of the office and into the store, I heard Yaguchi-san's polite voice. His voice was a little higher than usual, and it sounded like it was coming through his nose. With a sideways glance, I confirmed that the customer was a woman, and I sighed. He only raises the tone of his voice like that when the female customer is his type.
The cooler interior of the store, in contrast to the office, was chilly enough for the employees wearing short-sleeved convenience store uniforms. Feeling a little cold, I quietly went about my work.
It was already summer.
I didn't have summer vacation. Well, I guess for someone like me who doesn't go to school anymore, I'm always on vacation.
As Asami took lots of morning and afternoon shifts, I realized that it was already summer vacation for students like her.
I see… Summer vacation, huh?
The summer vacation that I had looked forward to so much when I still attending school now seemed so far away from me.
Since it's summer vacation, Asami came to visit me almost every day, and she would open her textbooks and study diligently. It's not that surprising since she's in her third year of high school and the college entrance exams were scheduled for winter. The exam for the literature department of the university Asami was aiming for is a difficult one, to say the least. As she studied earnestly, I spent my time going over the reference book that
Yoshida-san had bought for me.
Taking an entrance exam.
These words, like "summer vacation," also started to feel far-off to me.
Although, I've been studying. Since I didn't have anything special to do outside of housework, I'm catching up with what's being taught in the third year of high school through some commercially available reference books. I'm doing it this way since official textbooks can only be purchased through the school in Hokkaido. So if someone were to ask me if I had the same level of knowledge as the kids who went to school, the answer would of course be no. But I still thought it was better than not doing anything at all.
That said.
Would I take an exam? Would I go to college? I couldn't say anything.
Besides, I don't even know the process for applying and taking the exam. Not only that but I also don't have the motivation to look it up.
Although I told Yoshida-san that I would "think about the future," I still need to be realistic.
I've thrown away my status as a high school student, so where do I go from here?
Going back home… to my parents' house. That's what I should be thinking about the most right now. But once I achieve it, what then? What should I do after that? My vision was shrouded with pure white.
"Ah."
By the time I realized it, all the snacks had been put out on the shelves. I looked at the time and saw that it's about 10 AM.
It would have been fine if I did the toy shelves next. But I'd like to finish stocking the shelves of products that sell a lot during lunch, such as rice balls and sandwiches, before lunchtime.
As I got used to my part-time job, I increasingly became more efficient in organizing stuff and prioritizing the things that should be done.
As I walked up to the sandwich containers piled up near the cash register, Yaguchi-san, who was at the register, whispered, "Come here," and beckoned to me. I walked up to him, wondering why he needed to keep his voice down when it's only the two of us inside the store.
"You see that black luxury car parked outside?"
Yaguchi-san said quietly while his gaze was fixed outside. I looked outside and saw a black luxury car parked in the driveway in front of the convenience store and not in the parking lot.
"Yeah, I see it."
"It's been there everyday recently but no one's coming over to buy anything. Sometimes when I take a look, I have the impression that the scary- looking driver with sunglasses is looking back at me."
After saying that, Yaguchi-san grabbed me by the shoulders and made a quivering gesture.
"But if he's wearing sunglasses, you can't really tell where he's looking at, right?"
"Well, yeah, but I really feel that he's looking at me."
When I looked at the car again, I noticed that the backseat windows were tinted, so I couldn't see who's in the passenger seat. Then, sitting in the driver's seat was a bald man with sunglasses. He certainly looked intimidating.
As I stared at the driver, his head moved slightly. I couldn't tell where he was looking exactly because of the sunglasses, but for some reason, I felt as if my eyes were meeting his, so I hurriedly looked away.
"Maybe they're undercover police?" "Police?"
"I mean, you've been picking up and throwing away girls left and right." "Huh? So they're after me?"
Yaguchi-san looked scared for a moment, then suddenly he shook his head.
"No, fornication isn't a crime." "Why do you sound so confident?"
"Besides, if it were an unmarked police car it would be a Toyota Crown or a Subaru Legacy or some other car that's more reasonable and maneuverable.
That car's a Mercedes Benz." [3]
Yaguchi-san said. I can't tell the model and brand of a car at a glance since I don't really know much about cars.
"Well, it's not like the way they're parked is a bother to other cars, so I guess we can leave it be."
Just as Yaguchi-san finished what he was saying, the timer of the fryer behind the cash register went off. As he lifted the metal basket containing the fried chicken from the fryer, he muttered something to me.
"It's distressing, isn't it?"
I nodded vaguely as I stepped away from the cash register and went back to stocking up the sandwich containers.
I loosely thought of a reason to park in the same place every day.
The most obvious case is when you need to go to this convenience store.
However, as far as Yaguchi-san knows, they never came over to buy anything.
There's also the possibility that they have business elsewhere, but have to park near here. This convenience store is a perfect place for those cases.
However, if that's the case, I find it strange that they weren't using the parking lot of this convenience store.
I thought I heard the sound of an engine, and when I turned around and looked outside, I saw the luxury car leaving.
"They left."
"Huh? Ah… yeah."
Although he had brought up the matter himself, the mysterious luxury car seemed to have slipped from Yaguchi-san's mind. He looked outside and then shrugged his shoulders as if nothing happened.
"I wonder if they'll be here again tomorrow."
"If they're not going to buy anything, then they shouldn't come, right?" "Ain't that the truth."
As soon as the conversation was over, my mind was completely focused on work. For some reason, time flies so fast when you're talking to someone. When I looked at the time, 15 minutes had already passed.
I still need to finish stocking the sandwiches, rice balls, and bread before lunch.