The Umbrella

Chapter 06 – The Umbrella

Nothing special happened on the weekends.

Today, nothing is going to be special either. I have my umbrella with me, and surely, she has hers as well. Even if it rains, we are not going to be sharing an umbrella again.

That thing will never happen thrice.

Koharu arrives at the classroom a minute later than me. She immediately greets her seatmates and friends.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Haru-chan.”

She also glances at me and gives me a friendly smile.

I smile in response and after that, she takes her seat.

Her smile is also a form of greeting. There is nothing more to it.

The weekend if nothing else has given me time to realize that us sharing an umbrella two days in a row is simply a miracle. If I misunderstand things there, I am simply getting full of myself. Why? That is because we never shared a word after she returned her umbrella to me.

This is fine. I had plenty of crushes before, all of whom I eventually forgot. Koharu is going to be one of them.

It is afternoon, the time when my focus dwindles. However, she is still listening attentively to the boring classes of our teacher, bobbing her head up and down gingerly as she takes note of the lesson. Seeing her trying her best like always relaxes me. I suddenly feel sleepy.

“Romance comes to volition,” I’ve read somewhere that it seems to be that way. I can talk to her when the classes end, but I won’t.

Just like this, I’ll keep watching her back. I’ll keep watching her, until my feelings fade…

I closed my eyes.

…

A monotone drum is playing, and its rhythm is gradually getting faster and beats getting uncountable. Pitter-patter, I realize that is the sound of the rain hitting against the window.

To my heavy eyelids, the classroom is gray all over again.

The sounds that everyone is making are getting drowned in the countless drops of rain, making them all simply noise. The teacher—the one for our last period—also is not getting through. I look outside the window, yawning as I enjoy this gloomy atmosphere.

I shift my focus to her, and to my surprise, she is actually nodding off. Then she keeps her head straight. She seems fine now.

It is just a moment but just being able to witness that brings a warm fuzzy feeling inside me.

…Just like this. I’ll keep watching her.

Eventually, the last period ends, and the students start to leave after the teacher exits the classroom. I hold my umbrella in my hand, watching the rain as I stand on the platform in front of the school building’s entryway. Koharu is also there with her friend.

I am simply waiting for her to go home, and then I will also go after she has already made a good distance.

Koharu is talking to her friend. I gaze up at the rainy sky, simply watching the raindrops fall to the trees and then to the ground.

In the corner of my eye, I see her move so I turn at her. To my surprise, she suddenly gives her foldable umbrella and says something to her friend, who is just as confused as me. She then meets my eye.

We are looking eye to eye as she smiles at me, making my heart skip a beat.

It is a different kind of smile. It is beautiful and gentle, yet it is also demanding something. I just know it because she’s now approaching me.

“Amemiya-kun,” she says my name.

“W-what is it, Nijima-san?”

“Can you share your umbrella with me?”