Having successfully escaped the house without being noticed by Niya, Lina and I were walking together along the familiar route to school.
"It's really hard to even leave the house!"
"That's true. Well, we'll just have to be patient until we find out her identity."
"Identity huh?"
"What country does she come from?"
As I was walking towards the school and talking with Lina about Niya ,something very strange happened.
The sky was clear and beautiful, with not a single cloud in it.
Next to me is my childhood friend who has been with me since I was a child.
The school was in sight, and more and more other students were showing up wearing the same uniform.
I was walking along the familiar route to school and was about to cross the crosswalk in front of the school gate when...
"Bang!"
There was a tremendous sound that made my whole body vibrate.
At the same time, the people walking down the road, including us, were startled by the sound and stopped in their tracks, some screaming, and some letting out sounds of confusion.
"Wh-what?! What's that sound?!"
The Lina next to me is squatting and covering her ears , I tried to find out what the sound was. However, even though the scenery reflected in my eyes was the same as before, I already knew what the sound was.
Unless what I saw was wrong, it's unlikely that it would happen now .
"Thunder..."
"Thunder?! Even though it's such a sunny day?"
"I saw lightning in the sky right before I heard that sound."
I happened to be looking at the sky and was able to see it, and it was definitely thunder.
-- Judging from the sound, it seemed like it had struck quite close by, but as Lina said, it's rare for lightning to strike from a sky with not a single cloud in it...
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah."
I reached out my hand to help the crouching Lina stand up...
"Bang!"
The same roar of thunder rang out again.
"Seriously?! What is this?!"
Lina covered her ears and let out a shriek-like voice, then crouched down again from the half-squat position she was in the middle of standing up. --Come to think of it, this guy was not good with thunder.
She has been afraid of thunder since she was a child, and when she was in elementary school, I remember that during a terrible thunderstorm, she burst into tears on the spot and was unable to move, and ended up holding the crying Lina's hand for several hours until the thunder died down.
Just like back then, Lina tried to block out as much information as possible by covering her ears and closing her eyes. However, even in that state, she released her hand that was covering her left ear and gripped my shirt tightly next to me.
"Cherry...don't leave me behind."
Lina's grip on my shirt was strong, and I could feel her slight trembling even through the fabric.
"It's okay. Look, the thunder has stopped."
"Really? Ugh... I just can't stand thunder."
Finally, Lina stands up and together we made it to the school building and enterd the classroom of Class 2-1, where she is in the same class as me.
"Oh, are you two going to school together today? How cute!"
As we entered the classroom together, a male student spoke to me in a teasing manner.
"Shut up. I tell you every time, but Lina and I aren't like that. We're just childhood friends."
"Even if they are childhood friends, a boy and girl of marriageable age going to school together and insisting they are just childhood friends is something that only happens in movies."
The boys continued to tease me after I replied. It's true that Lina and I are a little close for an adolescent couple. Maybe that's why Lina didn't mind being teased about being a couple since elementary school, and before she knew it, she had started to ignore such teasing.
Seeing Lina like that, I feel kind of pathetic being embarrassed as a guy, so I act nonchalantly.
"Good morning, Aron!"
Lina greeted the male student as if our exchange had never happened.
"Good morning, Lina!"
The name of this cheerful, brown-haired, handsome boy is Aron ,I'm embarrassed to say it myself, but he's my best friend.
"More importantly, did you see that lightning just now?"
"Yeah, but it's pretty unusual. It's sunny out and we're having thunder."
"This is the worst."
"Ah, Lina is a perfect superhuman, but lightning is the only thing she's bad at."
"You're a perfect superman, Aron, you're really good with words."
In the middle of a trivial conversation, I remembered the thunder and looked out of the classroom window at the sky.
Suddenly, as if the clear weather from a moment ago was a lie, the sky was covered with dark clouds.
"Did the weather forecast say it would rain today?"
"Eh? I thought it was sunny all day today...huh!?"
As Lina answered my question she looked up at the sky in surprise, and Aron, who had been watching us, also looked out the window.
"Looking at this, it looks like Indra is going full berserk mode on"
The moment Aron said that, drops of water began to form on the window.
"You dumped me..."
"So today's PE will be held indoors."
As they watch the rain get stronger and stronger, Lina and Aron seem a little disappointed, although for different reasons.
And as I watch this rain, I realize something important.
"Oh no, I didn't bring my umbrella."
"It's okay, Cherry. I always carry a folding umbrella, so shall we go home together?"
"Seriously? That would be a big help!"
Thanks to Lina , I no longer had to worry about getting home, and the school bell rang. After morning classes and lunch, I went to afternoon classes, and a day at school just like any other had begun.
In the end, the rain didn't stop until school was over.
At first glance, the rain just seemed like a weather forecast gone wrong.
However, when I saw this rain, even though it was only a little, it made me feel something strange, something I can't put into words.