Annoying Buzz

I woke up to a piercing beam of sunlight on my face. The curtain was rolled over to cover the window, yet there was a small gap in between that allowed the tiniest bit to seep through. As luck would have it, it was aimed right at me. This world hates me, doesn't it?

I pulled my phone from the nightstand and opened it. The screen says '9:53.' Conveniently, that's seven minutes before my alarm.

Like, what is going on? Seriously. How does my body just know when to wake itself up? This has happened way too many times for me to believe that it's all a coincidence.

I pulled myself up, rubbing my eyes to alleviate the heavy feeling. It didn't do much. I reached as high as I could for a stretch. That didn't do much either.

Nae should be at school around this time. Thankfully, she's able to wake up on her own now, which wasn't the case back then. I had to wake up early just to get her moving. Sometimes, I didn't even sleep. That may or may not have contributed to my insomnia, but it's fine. At least, she's okay now.

Suddenly, my phone began to ring. I lifted it and was surprised to see a certain someone calling me.

I answered. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Yozora!" Suguha screamed. At this point, I'm used to hearing me shouting in my ears, so this wasn't all that bad.

"Good morning. Also, whatever it is you want me to do will have to wait. Today's my day off."

"Hey! Why did you immediately assume that I was calling you to work?!"

"Why else would you be calling me?"

"Cuz I'm bo~red. We don't have anything scheduled today, which... Huh. That's probably why you have the day off."

I wonder if that's how it works. If Sunayomi is off, then I'm also off. After all, I don't have anything to do when they're not in the building. At least, not anymore. After I was 'promoted,' Manager Na hired a couple of people to take my previous position.

"I mean, that makes sense, right?" I said. "Just go out with the others. They're probably free like you are right now."

"No can do," she muttered. "Yoko and Mira are out shopping again, and I didn't feel like shopping. Nabi is in the studio for some reason. That girl just can't take a break from work. So! All that's left is me, and I'm just sitting on my ass doing nothing."

"Then, I guess you're all out of luck."

"Eh?! No, I'm not! At least, not 'completely' out of luck.

"Hm? What else do you still have?"

"Ehehe... Wanna take a guess?"

I don't like the sound of that. Why is Suguha making it seem like I'm supposed to know? Wait... If the other girls are preoccupied, then the only option left is...

"I'm not doing it," I said.

"Wha~t?! Yozora!" she whined. "You didn't even hear me out!"

"I don't need to."

"Eh?! B-but we had that talk a while back, remember? You said you'd show me around."

"I didn't say that. You did. Anyway, I'm hanging up. Good luck."

"W-wait! Yozora! The loneliness! The boredom! Ack... It's killing me..."

For some reason, I could easily imagine her melting to the ground as she said that. Isn't this a bit dramatic? I know that Suguha is the type to put on an exaggerated act, but this is too much.

"Ahem... So... Is there no chance that you can come with me today?" she asked normally this time.

My mind kept swaying back and forth. If I go with her, I know I'm gonna regret it. If I don't go, then I won't be able to stop thinking about how she'll feel about my refusal. Now, it's just a matter of which one I'll regret more.

I let out a restless sigh. Why am I feeling bad all of a sudden?

"What time?" I asked.

For a moment, there was an awkward silence.

"Suguha?" I called out.

"Y-yeah! I'm still here! I mean... Were you... being serious?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't."

"Ah! Okay, okay! Um... Um! How about noon?"

Noon... I have just a little under two hours before then.

"That works," I answered. "Where at?"

"Eh? Weren't you the one who said that you'd get a list from your little sister?"

"I did...? Oh, yeah. I did, didn't I?"

"You forgot..."

"I may have. Is it okay if I call you back in a bit? I'm gonna message my sister."

"Fine, but you'd better call me back!"

"I will, I will. Bye."

I hung up and immediately, the shower of regret poured onto me like a storm. Just the thought of having to leave my apartment on my only day off is irking me.

It's fine. It's whatever. It is what it is. I just have to suck it up and get it over with. I say that, but I know damn well this little trip might end up killing me. My head is hurting again.

I opened Line and sent Nae a text.

Me: "Hey, weird question. Can you send me a list of a popular hangout spots? Preferably cheap, but it's fine if it's a bit more on the expensive side."

I can't believe I just sent Nae something so cringe. Again... It is what it is... but there are only so many times I can say that before I start to lose it.

Right as I was about to get up from my bed, my phone dinged.

Nae: "Wow... That IS a weird question. You hanging out, Big Bro? With who?"

Me: "No one important."

Nae: "So it's someone important. Got it. Wait... Are you going out with Sunayomi?!"

Me: "What? Absolutely not. It's just someone from work."

Nae: "Just one of them, or all of them?"

Me: "I told you... It's not them."

Nae: "Ehehe, sure. Anyway, here's some spots I regularly go to with my friends."

She sent a list of ten bullet points, each with the names of the places. I recognized a few, but most were unfamiliar.

Me: "Thanks."

Nae: "No problem! Say, if you get the chance, can you grab me an autograph. Doesn't haven't to be Yoshino Yoko. Anyone works!"

Me: "Get off your phone. You're in school."

Nae: "You texted me first!"

Me: "Nae."

Nae: "Tch... I hate you."

With that out of the way, I called Suguha back, and she picked up almost immediately.

"Sure took your sweet time," she muttered.

"What? It's only been five minutes," I said.

"Ehe. Oops. It felt way longer than that. So! Where are we going?"

"Here are a couple of spots close to the area. The park, the mall, the outlet, the street market, the—"

"Wait, wait! What was the one you just said?"

"Hm? Street market?"

"Yeah, that! What do they sell?"

I thought back to a couple of months back when I went to the street market with Nae. It wasn't that memorable of a day. I only recall that it was warm and humid, so it wasn't exactly the most ideal weather to have gone out.

"They have a lot of food," I replied. "I think there are a couple of souvenir shops here and there, but it's mostly street food."

"Huh... Is there a bubble tea shop?" Suguha asked.

"Yes. More than I can count."

"Then it's settled! Street market! Wahoo~!"

While Suguha cheered over the phone, I sat there to rethink my life choices. I just wanna be alone. That's all, so how it is that I'm about to go out with one of the nation's most famous celebrities? What am I supposed to do now?

"Alrighty, I'll see you in a bit, Yozora," Suguha said.

"Yeah, sure..." I sighed.

I wonder if she knows just how unwilling I am to go through with it. I made it pretty obvious with my tone. Granted, I don't think she's the type of person to care about anything except having fun, even if it comes at the detriment of people like me.

"Haha..." I let out a slight chuckle.

I know I'm gonna regret this. I know how sick I'm gonna be the moment I step out of this room, but... For some reason, it doesn't feel all that bad this time around.