That’s How The Distance Between Us Got Smaller

After being in a coma for almost a week and a half, my sister had finally woken up. But just after getting her back, she had to go away again in order to go through rehab. She went there with the goal of fixing her life and becoming the sister I once knew again. This left me and Karou with the house all to ourselves yet again. We decided to create a schedule where, each day, we would alternate between chores. Today, it was my turn to cook dinner.

“What are we having?”

“Tempura.”

“Is it the school recipe we learnt?”

“Yes, but I added my own twist to it.”

“Ooo. The Sozen twist. Nice!”

With my sister’s reawakening, I had somewhat returned to my old self. In school, I was interacting more with my classmates again, and I was able to properly focus on the material being taught. I even began talking to Sensei again.

During homeroom, our teacher explained the trip to us, informing us about the location and what to bring. My friends approached me and asked me if I wanted to go shopping with them after school.

During break time, I went to see her. As I opened the door, I saw Sensei slam her laptop shut. From the brief glimpse I saw of the screen, it looked like she was looking at my profile.

“Is everything alright, Sensei?”

“Yes. Everything’s perfectly fine.”

From the tone of her voice, I could tell she was trying to hide her panic.

“What were you looking at just now?”

“Nothing. Why do you ask?”

“Oh. It’s because it looked like you were looking at my profile.”

Her actions and expressions at this point just made her even more suspicious. To confirm my suspicion, I quickly snatched the laptop from the desk.

“Hey!”

I opened the laptop, and as expected, I found my profile on it. Sensei quickly took it back from me.

“I was right.”

“It’s not what you think.”

What did she think I was thinking?

“As the nurse, I have to check everyone’s medical records every now and then to make sure they’re up-to-date. And I realised yours wasn’t. So it’s perfect timing that you came here. Shall we update your medical records?”

“Um, sure. As long as it doesn’t take long.”

“It’ll only take a few minutes.”

All of a sudden, we were going through the student medical checkup. We started with the vision test, where I read some words on a board with one of my eyes covered. I had average vision. Then we moved onto the weight test; I was weighed at about average. Then we moved onto my height. 

“Let me adjust this quickly,” she said, leaning towards me.

Too close. Too close! Her face was practically inches away from mine. I think she also realised how close we were since she quickly jolted back and hid her face. I was of average height.

Overall, I was average.

“All done. You can go now.”

This was not something I was expecting to happen today.

It was the end of the day, and my friends and I went to the mall to buy the necessary supplies for the trip. Karou and I separated from the group to look for some new footwear. Across from the shop where we bought our footwear, Karou saw a nice sundress in the window display, so she went to take a look. After putting it on, she showcased it to me.

“What do you think?”

“You look great in it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then maybe I’ll get this.” She said. Whenever she was complimented, she would always brush her hair to the side, which I always found cute. But I also noticed that she only did it whenever I complimented her.

Karou’s face changed from excitement to discomfort as her eyes locked on something in the distance. I turned around and saw a group of boys entering the shop, and before I could react, she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the changing room.

“Wait a minute. What are you doing?”

“Quiet,” she whispered.

As we found ourselves in the cramped changing room, the atmosphere became discomfiting, a confined cocoon entrapping us. Time seemed to pause inside that changing room. Our bodies were only inches away from each other, our sweat dripping down our faces. The tension ebbed away when the sound of boys’ laughter faded into the distance. We were finally able to relax.

“I think they’re gone.”

We looked at each other. A reassuring smile tugged at our lips, and then we burst into quiet laughter. After checking that the coast was clear, we stepped out of the changing room. Karou later explained that those boys had tried to flirt with her the other day, and she didn’t want to be seen.

We had some time to spare, so we decided to look around the mall until we came across an arcade. Walking through the rows of arcade machines, we debated who would be better at each game. What started as a debate became an actual competition. We went around to some arcade games and engaged in challenges, trying to outscore each other. We determined that Karou was the better gamer out of the two of us. We ended our arcade escapade by taking a photo in the photo booth. Exhausted from our competition, we went to the food court and bought something to snack on.

On our way to the rendezvous point, we came across an inside pool. I took notice of kids playing around recklessly in the water and parents chilling by the side. The sight of professional swimmers doing laps in the pool impressed me thoroughly, but it also reminded me of my time in the swimming club in my high school, a time that came to an abrupt end after I developed a fear of going close to bodies of water. We finally regrouped with the others. 

After separating from the group, Karou and I headed home with our shopping in hand.

“You know, today felt like a date.”

Did she just say a date? Well, the time we spent alone together did feel like one.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I wouldn’t mind doing this another time.”

“If you want me to come shopping with you, just ask, and I will.”

A smile blossomed from her face like rays of sunlight, a radiant warmth that only I could experience.

Under the sun of a new week, our class gathered outside the coach, the collective anticipation for the trip as vivid as daylight. We would stick together as a classes until we arrived at our accommodations, where we would split into smaller groups and head to our shared rooms.

After I placed my belongings on the storage compartment, I entered the bus. At the front was Sensei.

“Let’s have a good time, Kurosawa.”

“Yes, let us.”

I took my seat next to Yoshi, who had fallen fast asleep already. The coaches began their journey on the open road ahead of us, which promised an exciting and interesting trip.