A Trip to the Past

It was a chilly February morning. The air was clouded with the nervous breaths of junior high students, who were gathered in a throng around a bulletin board in the middle of the school grounds.

A girl with short, curly brown hair pushed through the crowd, her heart beating so loud she was glad she was wearing earmuffs. She scanned the boards, looking for her name.

And… there it was! Uyeno Shizuka. Her heart skipped a beat, but that wasn't the only name she came to check for. She had come to see one more name, the name of her dear friend. But she wasn’t particularly concerned because if she had gotten in, her friend certainly had. She started scanning the array of names on the board again. Not on this row, not that one either, was it on this one? No, just the first name was the same. Her eyes trawled through the list until they reached the end. Wait, what? She must’ve missed it. She went through the list again. Nothing. She scanned the board one last time for good measure but came up short once again. She looked around for her friend, but he wasn’t amongst the horde of students gathered there.

She didn’t see him in class that afternoon either. After school, she tried texting him, but the messages were left on delivered. Where was that idiot? She scoured the neighborhood in search of him. She went to his house, but he wasn’t there. She went to the hill where they had counted the countless stars, but he wasn’t there either.

Finally, after hours of searching, with the sun beginning to set, she found him at the park sitting alone on the swingset.

“Makotoooo!” she called out.

The boy turned around, a little in surprise, but quickly turned back as if to ignore her.

She ran up to him, gasping in the chilly air. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Why haven’t you been replying to my texts?” she asked sternly.

“My phone died,” he replied. She knew he was lying because his nose always twitched a little whenever he lied.

“Whatever,” she huffed, taking a seat on the adjacent swing. “It’s getting dark, and your mom is worried about you. Are you doing ok?”

“...I’m fine.”

Also a lie.

“Hey, Makoto. Look at me.”

He hesitantly took his gaze off the snow and onto her.

“I’m sorry you didn’t make it in. But who cares! Kansai High is just another one of those dumb elite high school programs. You don’t need one of those to find success in life. We can attend Yoshida High together!”

“What do you mean?” asked Makoto quietly, his voice suddenly matching the air around them, startlingly cold.

“About what?”

“What do you mean, attend Yoshida High together? You got into Kansai, didn’t you?” asked Makoto, his voice gradually rising.

“Yeah, but I mean, I’d rather-”

“Why would you ever attend a tier 3 school like Yoshida if you got into tier 1 Kansai? Are you trying to mock me? I don’t want your pity!” yelled Makoto.

“I wasn’t trying to… I just meant what’s the big deal? I’m sure you-”

“What’s the big deal?” said Makoto incredulously. “What’s the big deal? Do you know how much time I’ve put into this? Do you know how hard I’ve worked for this? Do you know how much I wanted this? I sacrificed everything for the last couple of years for this.”

“Makoto…see, I know how you feel, okay? But you can’t get hung up on this. Life’s so much more than what high school you go to,” tried Uyeno.

“Life's just a joyride for you isn’t it? It must be nice being a prodigy and acing every test without studying, then going out with your friends. It must be nice being born in a family where you don’t have to worry about providing for your family. It must be nice telling people you know how they feel, when you haven’t lived a day in their shoes.”

“Hey. Don’t lash out at me,” said Uyeno sternly, her temper now rising too. “Just because you never bothered to care about anyone besides yourself doesn’t mean you’re the only one with problems. How about you take a chill pill bro?”

“What the hell did you just say to me?” snapped Makoto at her.

“Do I have to say everything twice? No wonder Kansai rejected you,” retorted Uyeno, realizing she’d crossed a line even as she said it.

And for a couple of brief seconds, there was silence, punctuated only by a chill breeze gently rocking the empty swing beside Makoto.

“Okay.”

“Makoto, I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over–”

“You know what? You’re right, Uyeno,” said Makoto softly. “You’ve got a chance to be an incoming freshman at one of the most prestigious high schools in the country, and I’m just a B-rate nobody.”

“Don’t be stupid, I didn’t mean that!” cried Uyeno.

“I think it’s about time we go our separate ways, don’t you?” he said, looking her dead in the eyes.

Uyeno opened her mouth to say something, but found the words caught up in her throat.

Makoto packed up his things, and stood up to leave.

“These twelve years we’ve been together... Do they mean anything to you?”

Makoto glanced back at her one last time, and at that moment, he felt nothing but bitterness towards her.

“Not really,” he said, as he turned around and left.

Uyeno had missed his nose twitch.

***

“Should we talk about what happened back then?” she asked him, stuck in the elevator.

Makoto paused as she asked him that question, a slew of emotions and memories from that day going off inside his head, overwhelming him. If he started thinking about it again, it would take him to a different place, and he was not ready for that.

“Back then? Makoto chuckled nervously. “What happened back then? Lot’s of things happened, ya know? School trips, sledding, playground parties, and more!”

“Very funny, Makoto,” she replied with a dead face. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Makoto started sweating bullets. Was now finally the moment to confront their breakup? He sure as hell wasn’t ready for that…

“Umm…”

Uyeno sighed. “I’m talking about the time you took a bathroom break and those guys followed you into the bathroom.”

“Oh…” Makoto replied as the tension was released.

And then it came back like a hundredfold.

“W-Wait wait wait, you saw that? I-I mean, you saw what? When did that happen?”

“What were you trying to pull at the cafe?” interrogated Uyeno, pulling no punches.

He groaned internally. He knew she would bring this up at some point. As gifted as he thought he was at verbal finessing, there was no easy way to talk himself out of this one.

His sweating bullets intensified. “It’s what it looked like. Three thugs came up, and I needed to protect you.”

“Mhmm. Two of them are Nishinoya and Akashi, right? Your friends from our high school?”

M-Masaka?! How did she read through their disguises? In moments like these, it was important to remember the ultimate strategy: deny, deny, deny!

“Haha, what are you talking about?” he laughed quizzically. “Why would it be by them? That wasn’t even the thugs' names! It was Ihsaka, Shinoniya, and Ichoro.”

“I see. That’s rather interesting, Otokam.”

B-Bakana?!

Suddenly the loud speakers chimed in. “The technicians have arrived and are ready to let down your elevator to safety.” Please cooperate by standing and holding onto the rails in the back of the unit. Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation.”

***

Eventually, the technicians did arrive, and with some careful maneuvering by them, they were eventually dropped off at the first floor entrance.

They took one step outside, then two steps back, as they realized feeling rather stupid that it was still raining outside.

“Just perfect. The one day I forget to carry an umbrella. Should’ve never left the dorm today,” grumbled Uyeno.

“Dorm? You live on campus?”

“Yeah. Scholarship covered for it, so might as well make use of it,” she replied.

Kuso! She got a better scholarship offer than him?!

“Wait, so why were you on the train that one morning?” he asked, remembering that time when they shared that silent train ride not too long ago, that day when they had been paired up to complete the economics assignment. He’d assumed she was a commuter, like him.

“Nunya business... but I was just visiting my parents then.”

Made sense. Makoto reached into his bag and retrieved his black umbrella. He was just about to leave when a thought entered his mind: should he let her just walk outside by herself in the rain? After their shared ordeal tonight, that didn’t feel right to do, even for him. Actually, that definitely wasn’t something he should let happen. Even considering their rocky relationship over the past couple of years, he still wasn’t that cruel.

“I-uh, have an umbrella.”

“And I’m the pope. What are you trying to say?”

“So if it’s okay with you, and keep in mind that you in no shape, size or form have to feel obliged to say yes, and I fully understand if you do not wish to and would rather the other option, but–”

“You gonna finish your sentence before it stops raining?”

“Do you want me to walk you to your dorm?”

“Yes.”

“Ok.”

A moment of silence followed.

“Wait what?”

***

“And we’re here,” she announced.

“That’s closer than I thought,” said Makoto, withdrawing his umbrella as they walked underneath the porch. “Must be nice to have everything on campus within reach.”

“Nice it is. Now, if you excuse me, I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“Nuh uh,” replied Makoto. “My phone is dead, remember? Can I charge it quickly in your room?”

“Just go to a cafe or WcDonald’s or something,” she said, shooing him away.

“Well, I’m also kinda curious what the dorms look like. Want to see what I’m missing out on. Plus the Donald WcRonald dude outside the place is creepy. Pleeease?”

She sighed. “You’re not missing out on much, but okay, fine. Only ‘cause you helped me get here.”

Not that Makoto really cared about entering a girls’ dorm, but he figured Akashi would like to know what it was like. He was doing it purely out of the goodness of his heart to help his friend. No ulterior motives at all. Purely for research purposes.

They went inside the building and got to her room.

“I think my roommate is inside,” she said as she unlocked the door and marched inward. Makoto followed her in and was met with the view of a pretty nice room, all things considered. It was one massive area, but each half was a mirror of the other since it was to accommodate two people. On Uyeno’s side there was a nice bed, desk with a nice armchair, full-sized bookshelf, and a wardrobe. The reputation of Takaoka Uni certainly held up in the dorms given their quality.

“Uyeno, welcome back,” said a girl with a husky voice. She spun on her desk chair to face the entry door. “You’re late tonight, girl. What happened?”

“It’s a long story, Himari,” shuddered Uyeno.

“Jeez Louise, well I sure am glad you’re back in one piece, given the storms and howling winds outside.” Himari’s gaze left Uyeno and went further back to Makoto. “WAIT, IS THAT A BOY?” she fake gasped. “Uyeno, did you bring home your boyfriend?! OMG, I’m so proud of you girl! Is that why you were so late? You should’ve told me earlier! Give me a sec to pack my bags real quick and give you guys some alone tim–”

“No, no, he’s just a friend, Himari. F-R-I-E-N-D!” Uyeno vehemently denied, her face turning the slightest of red (or maybe that was Makoto’s imagination). “And no, he is not the reason I’m late!”

Did she just call him his friend? For some reason, the level up sound from Super Nario played in his head.

“Hi, in these parts, I’m known as Makoto, friend of Uyeno, and not the reason she was late,” he introduced himself, raising his right hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Himawari laughed. “I like your friend. He’s funny,” she said, giving Uyeno a knowing smirk before turning back to Makoto. “I’m Himari Mei, her roommate,” she responded.

“I’m an off campus student, but man these rooms rock!” said Makoto, attempting small talk. “They’re so spacious and well furnished.”

“For sure, bro. Except for the walls, they are exceptionally thin,” she remarked. “Even the lightest of noises from our neighbors will leak through.”

“Really?” replied Makoto. “But, I mean, it can’t be that bad right? Maybe just some light conversations at most, right?”

“Oh, you really don’t want to know what we hear sometimes,” replied Himari.

“Hmm…”

“Ok, enough lollygagging,” interrupted Uyeno. “Charger’s on the desk,” she said, pointing over to the desk next to her bed.

“Ah right, thanks,” muttered Makoto as he headed over and began charging his phone. Maybe once his phone hit, say, 10%, he would try to lea–

“OH YEAH! JUST LIKE THAT!” moaned someone in the adjacent room, interrupting Makoto’s train of thought. The sound of a bed thumping against the wall began shaking the room.

Makoto took a glance at the two girls in the current room. Himari was seemingly ignorant to the passionate love making, her attention already back on her homework sheet. Uyeno on the other hand – she was beet red.

“Man, my friend Akashi would give a fortune to live here. He’s got some weird kinks.” he remarked.

“Well,” Himari replied monotonously, “college students gonna do what college students gonna do, if ya know what I mean. That’s why I’ve been telling Uyeno over there that it’s time for her to get her nose out of those books, and instead focus on getting a boyfriend, so she can experience the magical wonders of the male bod–”

“Okaaay, that’s enough,” Uyeno interrupted, turning even redder. “Makoto, you’ve seen the room and you’ve charged your phone. Time to leave.”

“But my phone is only at 1%!” he complained.

“Too bad, so sad. Now out with you! I’ve got work to do.”

“Ok ma’am,” he said as he gathered his belongings and made a beeline to the door. “Well, as abrupt as our time was together, it was nice meeting you Ms. Mei and Ms. Shizuka.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you too, male friend of Uyeno’s,” Himari replied. “May you have a safe journey.”

“Thanks.”

And with that, Makoto had left the room.

They’d better give him a promotion in the next Wingman Squad meeting.