Glenn was not yet allowed to go to school, so he sat at home, pondering endlessly the abyss of apathy he had fallen into since his discharge from the hospital. Lying on his bed, he thought back to the words his mother had said about Lilia, who was going to fly back to Tokyo.
'After the end of the first half of the year... As I understand it, her vacation has already begun, because in all schools classes end before the new year begins. If she decides to come here...what am I supposed to do?'
He didn't care at all about how she might get from Germany to Japan-all his excitement was that she would come. Lilia, who had had little contact with her brother since childhood, out of the blue decided to do things he didn't understand.
His musings are interrupted by Mari, who approached: "Down with loneliness! What are you thinking about?"
She was wearing decent clothes for visiting and the daily makeup Akiko had taught her.
"Ah... I almost took a nap."
Akiko walked into the living room where they were and caught his surprised gaze. She was dressed in a shirt with a red skirt and dark tights.
"I can't wait to find out," she said, "when you, Glenn-kun, get a chance to keep going to school."
Earlier, at Mari's request, they had ventured out to visit Glenn. The girls were soon to go out to the store to set up Glenn's house for tomorrow.
"Yeah... It's not long before last exams are coming up," she said.
"And then the university entrance exams! By the way, where do you want to go?"
"Joy! Glenn-sama... oh, my bro's teenage years are coming to an end!"
"To tell you the truth, I'm almost convinced I'm going to be a doctor, and I'm going to choose biology as my major, but about choosing a school... I don't know where I'm going to go."
Akiko, hearing his gradually lowering tone of voice, comforted him, "You'll do fine! Cheer up, Glenn-kun, and everything will work out."
"Ah... thank you. I was wondering: what major did you choose?"
Akiko hesitated searching for an appropriate answer and looked less confident, which Glenn noticed and looked at her slightly trembling hands.
"To tell you the truth...I don't even know who I want to go to or where I should go. My parents are asking me to consider physics and math, because those are in-demand subjects right now, but I've simply stopped learning them since high school, or rather, I haven't tried to learn them. I'm not sure I like any subject myself...and I'm not good at any subject. I guess I should have just counted on my luck and gone to a place where they'd take me with open arms, but..."
Akiko became embarrassed in front of him, and continued: "I wouldn't want to be in a place where I wouldn't feel at ease. I think I want to be around all of you..."
Glenn was quite taken aback by her rambling answer.
'So that's what she is... Akiko Akiyama. A fragile and loving girl who needs help from loved ones because she relies on them and trusts them. The tension coming out of her side at the moment... seems cute and suits her true character. Could it be that she is trying to prove to herself my sincere loyalty with this?'
"Akiko-chan..." Glenn called to her, making her surprised, for she felt in him both confidence and comfort. "It's still two months until exams start, and then the first half of March — you'll make it in time!"
Glenn showed determination, causing him to move abruptly closer to Akiko, who was standing beside him.
Mari covered her mouth with her delicate and thin palms, blushing shyly at his courtesy.
Akiko, shaken, did not know where to put her hands.
"But there are only two and a half months left..."
"That means it's time to take all the initiative in your fists! In that time you can choose a subject that suits you and learn quite well in that time, all you need is the eagerness!"
"You mean our prep classes? But there isn't much time..."
"Of course you should go to preparatory! This is the time when more and more students are starting to go there to get some of their knowledge up. For that matter, I'll give you a hand and I won't expect you to thank me."
"Glenn-kun..."
'It can't be that he... Does he really have hopes for me?"
"I set out my hopes for you, Akiko-chan. My willingness to help my loved ones will never fade, so please allow me to do so and return the favor."
'Creepy! He talks like that with an innocent face, but it's like the words go through his bones! He clearly doesn't want to lose...He doesn't even give me any other choice!!! How dare he... How dare...' she, confused by emotions of indignation and appreciation at the same time, all the while glaring at his keen and caring look.
Akiko had lost the grip she had before coming to visit him, and her face was covered in an obvious blush.
'Sis seems to be lost in herself...!' Mari reflected, whereupon Glenn perplexedly asked why she was reacting so strangely.
A blushing Akiko, not knowing how to proceed, cried out anxiously:
"How can you talk about such things in a businesslike manner like that! Hic!"
"Wha...? Did you hiccup?"
"Huh?! Forget it! Just don't ment— Hiccup!", Akiko covered her mouth with both hands and awkwardly tried to shut up her unexpected hiccup.
"I'll get some water now!" Mari ran happily into the kitchen.
"But Akiko-chan, what are you getting so excited about?"
Akiko sat down on the couch next to Glenn. "Glenn-kun, do you really believe in me?" she said, slowly.
"А... Uh-huh, I wouldn't have it any other way. Everyone would be better off if you passed your exams and got into university. I wouldn't want any of us to be sad, because I intend to always see your blissful faces. Akiko-chan... I believe in you with all my heart and can even say that you will succeed. Akiko-chan...?"
His expressive words, rushing into Akiko's ears with their tenderness and all warmth, gave her confidence, making her think about what she wanted.
"In that case, I'm relying on you," she said, bemused, and the humbleness in the room reasserted itself. "On that I am all yours."
Raising her eyes in his direction, Akiko herself didn't notice how she was able to make Glenn happy with her words, and through him the girl could feel the real charm.
"At that rate, I'll be happy to share my knowledge with you. In a regular format."
"Ah, yes! You're an honors student in our school... How did you manage to combine both study and work at the same time?"
"That's a tough question, I can't answer that right away. I guess I just liked my routine and the daily environment. I didn't experience any hardships. However, in the last month I was out of school — that might mean that we would be studying together. I'm sure you can overtake me in knowledge, because the Akiko-chan I know can sometimes be hard to stop if she genuinely finds herself involved in something."
Akiko smiled, then lowered her eyes and looked down at her feet.
"Sometimes I think of one thing and every time I can't stop wondering... I couldn't even imagine that we would become so friendly with each other and be alone in your house. I used to be afraid, because the way you looked at me instilled mistrust and suspicion. Besides, you used to break our plans from time to time. I wonder if you could have foreseen that."
"From the moment I learned of your true intentions, I had one goal in mind: to help your relationship and end all discord. In the end, my efforts paid off, and I'm certainly glad about that... But the truth is, I couldn't foresee anything and ended up just relying on chance. Prayed in the house and in the hospital for you because you became something more to me than just people I was trying to help. All for friends, and you became special."
"Glenn-kun...," Akiko whispered with impressed eyes, getting his attention. "You're too close," she said, and lowered her head, whereupon Glenn, pressed against her, came to his senses and apologized.
Mari walked back into the room and brought her a cup of water.
"Thank you."
Glenn asked if they should make dinner right now, to which Mari happily agreed. Before leaving with Glenn for the kitchen, Mari raised her fist triumphantly and inwardly praised her efforts.
Meanwhile, Akiko, after taking only a few sips of water, placed the cup on the glass table and then grabbed her shoulders with trembling hands. Her body became agitated, and her face clearly expressed a misunderstanding of the sudden feeling of sympathy. She was a little uncomfortable sitting there, and even more uncomfortable being in the house of a guy for whom she had some degree of affection.
***
Yumiko walked around in her house and couldn't find answers to her questions.
Meanwhile, several hours had passed, and a pensive Yumiko was pacing around in her house, unable to find answers to her questions. Her mind was swarming with questions about tomorrow, for they were going to get ready, but no one knew exactly what they should prepare. One thing was certain: December 31 and the New Year's Eve celebration would take place at Glenn's apartment, because he was the only one who didn't have parents in the house.
"Crap, crap, crap. What should I cook for tomorrow? If I come in with nothing, they'll probably think I'm illiterate, but I don't know what to bring... Should I bake a cake? Or go back to the store and make seafood delicacies? What kind of things do today's schoolchildren like?"
There wasn't a single living soul in the house except Yumiko, so she was free to roam around all two rooms.
"And what are the best clothes for me to wear? Warm or more revealing? Although, considering there's no one to take us back home, we won't even be sleeping... Right, I'll ask Attyan!"
She started looking for her phone, but after searching her room, she couldn't find it. Leaning under the bed, Yumiko searched all over the floor, finally gave up and lay down:
"Where did I leave it..."
Looking at the light bulb, her empathy for her classmate, with whom she had renewed a former relationship a few days earlier, overwhelmed her.
'In the days since my argument with Ryou, I've noticed that he seems more loyal to me, as if he's somehow attracted to me... I can't even believe how vividly he expresses all of his emotions, to the point of euphoria or sadness. What was it that bit him?'
She recalled a fragment of each day she had spent with him since Tamotsu had joined their circle, and in each memory she saw Ryou as open and cheerful.
"Yumiko-chan, I'll walk you out!" he said when he met her at the exit from school.
"Would you like to go to the park sometime?" he asked at club activities when it was just the two of them.
"Here, it's my treat," he tossed the soda he'd bought from the school vending machine to her, tired.
'I'm hopeless. Only now I'm beginning to realize what all this action really meant...'
She tiredly put her hand to her forehead, "If what I think is about to happen, how am I supposed to answer him...?"
The phone rang in the hallway, and loud, tinkling Western retro music with elements of indie rock began to play. Yumiko got out of bed and ran over to the couch from which the bell rang. Picking up the plush pillow, she saw her touch-tone phone underneath, its screen displaying the user "Attyan."
"So that's where you've been all this time," Yumiko satisfied herself, then answered the phone. "Hello? No, it's okay, because I wanted to call you myself. Yeah, sure. Are we meeting at the same place we always do? Yeah, okay. Good luck..."
Turning off her phone, she thought to herself, 'Her voice sounded depressed, like she was sad. Is Attyan not feeling well? She was supposed to be at Glenn's house today, helping to hang garlands and other things. Had something happened between them? No... calm down, you're exaggerating...'
Yumiko took a heavy breath in and out to come to her senses and release the tension. She looked at the clock that hung on the wall above the TV, and decided to bide her time. The clock showed 3:28 p.m.
"It won't be long yet..."