I continued walking. And as I walked, I could hear and feel Kinoshita's hurried footsteps catching up to me. Without stopping my legs, I cleared the dirt off my hands by rubbing them together and glanced at her. She seemed anxious, her eyes darting around as if searching for a way out of the situation.
"W-Wait, Mizuhara," she said, finally managing to keep up with me.
I slowed down slightly, waiting for her to catch her breath.
"Where do we go."
"Um, I guess... karaoke?" she suggested hesitantly. "I've hardly ever been to karaoke, and I don't want to go alone."
"Sure," I straightforwardly replied, not really caring one way or the other.
"..let's go then," Kinoshita said, her voice much calmer now.
And thus, we proceeded towards the Karaoke building, with the gazes of those who had been watching us quickly shifting back to their own activities. The fleeting glances from the curious onlookers lingered momentarily, only fixating on what caught their attention.
*
