Bring Me Up
Chapter 2 Part 6
I slept terribly on the leather couch. As I was used to a normal bed, I sweated, wasn"t able to roll onto my other side, and woke up at the crack of dawn.
When I glanced at my phone, to check the time (it turned out to be five o"clock), the image was twitching slightly – maybe it was updated during the night. The sky outside began to brighten. The right side of my body ached. To wake up, I drank water from the fridge, pulled on some clothes and went to the store.
I left the sleeping neighborhood. The garbage truck rumbled across the street, on which the food stores were located. The crows, that were pecking at something, flew away croaking, as they noticed me. Black ants surrounded a crushed c.o.c.kroach and tore it to pieces.
When I entered the deserted shop, a sleepy salesman came to me, rubbing his eyes. Three, no four suitable buns went into the basket. I took the bag containing them from the salesman and left the store. The early morning was pleasant because of the silence on the streets. In a few hours, there will be huge crowds of people making noises, but for now, I slowly walked home, enjoying the peace.
***
"Very tasty." Minato, who already changed into her school uniform, bit off another piece.
The bun with j.a.panese tuna, a hundred and twenty yen. The bun with red beans, a hundred and five yen.
"Well, thank you." I answered, not leaving her alone.
The bun with mayonnaise and sausage, a hundred and thirty yen. The croissant with chocolate, a hundred and ten yen.
"You even have a coffee grinder, you live the right way."
Minato brought a cup of coffee to her mouth. The price is unknown.
"I don"t drink coffee, I don"t get it." I brought a cup of water to my mouth. The price of tap water has been changing recently.
"You have breakfast this way every morning?"
"Something like that."
"Food can be stored in the cold you know."
"For example?"
"Salad or soup."
I only kept seasonings in the fridge, I didn"t even keep instant noodles in there, what is she thinking?
"Is it okay that you didn"t return home?"
"I think, no one noticed."
"You have problems with your family?"
"I wouldn"t say so. We just don"t really talk."
"Hmm."
Somewhat complicated. It would be better to not ask for details. I turned on the TV. There was the morning news, on which they were talking about unfamiliar singers and idols. Useless, unnecessary information.
"You like watching this stuff?"
"No, not really."
We silently watched the television. Some results of a street survey were aired. Nothing interesting. They showed a woman with a hat with a large word, "FUN". It looked like some new trend. FUN in the head. Fun to its fullest. The most important thing for the dumb.
Seven o"clock in the morning, the woman-announcer reported.
"And you"ll go to school today?"
"What do you mean?"
Yesterday she pierced a cla.s.smate"s hand with a fork. Can Minato really go to school as if nothing happened? A normal person would doubt whether to go or not to go. But it seemed as if she didn"t even think about it.
"No, nothing."
What will be the weapon today? If not a fork, then a spoon? It will be even more painful. But the piercing power of a spoon is much lower. Minato stood and went to the kitchen, where she took a bento box. I don"t know when she had the time to wash it.
"Ah… So you, apparently, don"t make food for yourself?"
An empty fridge. An empty rice cooker.
Minato was hinting at something.
Suddenly I realized: something was missing.
***
At half past seven, we left the house and arrived at the school by eight. I was worried that Minato was walking nearby. I was afraid that I stood out too much to those around me. Who knows what they"ll think. Minato became target number one for the whole cla.s.s. I didn"t want to get there too.
I opened the door to the cla.s.s. For a moment all eyes were focused on me, scanning me from head to toe. The target was confirmed. So this is Idzono? They were disappointed? Usually it would just end at this. Few people in this cla.s.s were interested in me. But not this time.
Behind me was Minato.
The mood in the cla.s.s changed instantly. Hara and Fushimi haven"t arrived yet, and the attention of my cla.s.smates was focused on Minato, who was following me. Everyone was reacting differently: some looked dumbfounded, some looked hostile, but everyone present were staring at Minato. But she calmly went to her place through the dense crowd of stares, that turned into some kind of metal detectors. Several voices depicted a characteristic sound signal.
Dangerous items. Dangerous items.
Minato sat at the spot by the window. Tanabe, whose hand was pierced, left school early yesterday and still hasn"t appeared. There was a dangerous silence in the cla.s.s. Everyone was throwing sideways glances at Minato Rica. And at me at the same time, having arrived with her. Me, who never stood out ended up becoming a target.
In our closed environment, something finally began to happen.
Edited by: Akshaythedon