"Sajou-kun, will you join the student council with me?"
"..."
Shinonome's eyes locked onto mine, as if challenging me to look away. She was clearly serious about this request and was expecting a response from me.
Silence lingered between us. Even the chatter of the students around us seemed distant. I held her gaze for a few seconds, thinking it over in my head. She mentioned how the West taking over the student council may bring back the discrimination of the past, and cause trouble for students of the East, myself included.
I'd also spent the past few years obsessing over something I could never attain. So I felt a desire to extend my reach, interact with more people, and grow as a person.
However, this was still not enough to convince me on the spot, even though I had been on the fence about joining the student council even before Shinonome asked me to.
Finally, I sighed.
"This isn't something I can give you an answer to right here and now" I said.
This seemed to satisfy her, because she looked away and said "Okay, so it's not an outright 'no'..."
*
After an uneventful rest-of-the-day, the weekend came. My alarm sang a melody that would've sounded nice... had I not been using it as an alarm.
Though it didn't particularly bother me this morning, because I wasn't asleep when it went off. That's right. I didn't get much sleep last night.
I may as well have not set an alarm at all.
I tried to get some rest, I really did. But the conversation I had with Shinonome on Friday kept on replaying in my head... One sentence in particular was the louder than the rest:
Sajou-kun, will you join the student council with me?
I didn't give Shinonome an answer, only saying that I would think about it. Though I didn't exactly have much time, seeing as the student council application deadline was the following month (November).
The actual student council presidential election would take place after winter break. Then the current council would formally hand over their post to the new members in March, a few weeks before the 3rd years graduate.
I made mental lists of the pros and cons of being on the student council as I lay awake in bed. How would it change my high school life? Were the privileges worth it? Did the satisfaction I got out of doing work outweigh the effort required?
I got out of bed and stretched. I had plans to go shopping with Ichinose today. I needed to be in top form when deciding on Natsukawa's present. As such, I decided to leave all other problems for the future me. I believed in him like I believed in myself.
Wait... what kind of circular logic was that?!
*
"Good morning, Sajou-kun!"
"Morning Ichinose-san, sorry to keep you waiting"
"Ah no, I just got here myself."
I arrived 10 minutes early to see Ichinose standing by the train station. She was wearing a one-piece dress with a black fitted bolero that hugged her shoulders. A hair clip held her fringe to the side, exposing her eyes which were glimmering with anticipation for the day ahead.
We exchanged pleasantries then headed towards the shopping centre.
We decided to shop around for Ichinose's bookshelf first. She seemed to have done some research, because she had a list of stores she wanted to check out.
Unfortunately, nothing caught our eyes in the first few stores we visited. They were either not to her taste, or the wrong dimensions. I never really thought about it, but buying a new piece of furniture was not easy. Not only did it have to match your existing decor, but it also had to be just the right size.
Naturally, I did most of the talking with the store clerks. And whenever Ichinose had something say, I made sure to give her plenty of time to get it across. Her communication skills had improved immensely since she started her part-time job. However, she was still not at a level where I could talk to her at the same pace I did with, say, Ashida for example. Though, to be fair, me and Ashida had quite a unique dynamic.
We decided to change things up by heading to the only bookstore on Ichinose's list (the rest were all furniture stores). One that apparently sold bookshelves as well.
It was easy to spot. The store stood in stark contrast to its surroundings. It had a vintage vibe to it that made Gramp's second-hand bookstore seem modern.
The first thing I noticed upon entering was the incense burning on the counter. It filled the room with a sweet scent and gave a sense of stillness to the space. There were beanbags in one corner, surrounded by a few candles. That, combined with the absence of customers, made me feel like I'd walked into someone's house rather than a store. The maze of shelves at the centre added to the illusion, making it look like one gigantic study room. The type you'd find in a castle, or an old mansion.
It felt as though it was a place where time did not flow. A haven where you could lose yourself reading books for years and years, slouching on one of the beanbags. And when you decided to finally leave, there was no guarantee that you'd find your back to this magically isolated space again.
Perhaps because of the incense, my mind was slowly being lulled, and my senses dulled. So when the shopkeeper greeted us, Ichinose had to pull on the sleeve of my shirt to get my attention.
Right, I need to pull myself together. Ichinose isn't very good at talking to strangers, so I have to do the talking here.
I turned to look at the lady, and eloquently stuttered:
"U-uh bookshelf"
I then decided to die of embarrassment.
*
"Here's your receipt. Could you please have a look at this paper to confirm the delivery address one more time?"
After about 20 minutes, Ichinose decided on bookshelf. It matched the furniture in her bedroom and was of the right dimensions.
Once we left the incense-filled bookstore, I look back over my shoulder. It was still there. The sign, the storefront, everything. Part of me expected it to just vanish, or for there to be a solid wall where there had originally been a door. I know, I watch too much anime...
My musings were interrupted by Ichinose.
"Thank you for helping me pick this out, Sajou-kun. I will send you a photo once I install the bookshelf"
"Don't mention it! I'm excited to see how it turns out"
Suddenly, a third voice joined in on our conversation.
"Sajou-senpai! Ichinose-senpai!"
We both looked ahead. The owner of that melodic voice was the one and only Sasaki-san (sorry, Yuki-chan!).
She was wearing a white blouse and a long skirt that screamed maturity. With her, was a grade school kid who was smiling at me.
"Sasaki-san, fancy running into you here. Hi Kouta!" I resisted the urge to call her Onee-san.
"Sajou-senpai, how's your injury recovering?" Asked Sasaki, concern reflecting in her eyes.
"It hurts a lot less now, thank you for asking" I said, as Ichinose and Sasaki hugged. It made me happy, seeing them get along like that. If Natsukawa and Ashida were here, they would've called me a proud father. And I wouldn't have objected.
This was the first time I run into Sasaki after the 'incident'. But my injury had already come up in our texts. As such, she wasn't taken by surprise when she saw the bandages on my left hand.
"That's a relief." She smiled. "I'm on my way to a bookstore to pick out some new titles. They haven't made their way to the second-hand bookstores yet."
"Ah, must be the same store we visited earlier" It wasn't too surprising to run into her here, since this was our local shopping centre.
With that, we started chatting. I asked Kouta how school was, while Sasaki and Ichinose spoke about this and that.
*
After separating from Sasaki and Kouta, we resumed our shopping trip as planned.
"Ichinose-san, don't feel pressured to accompany me. I might take some time in picking out a suitable present."
"It's okay, I'd like to return the favour by helping you out, Sajou-kun" Ichinose mumbled while looking down at her feet.
"Okay then, I will gladly accept your help. I have a few jewellery stores I want to visit. Shall we get going?"
"J-jewellery...? Okay!" She regained her spirits after I accepted her offer to help, nodding enthusiastically at my suggestion.
I didn't mind Ichinose coming along obviously. But I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find a suitable ring right away... And, unfortunately, that is exactly what happened.
"Ugh, this isn't it either..."
I was holding a white-gold ring topped with a small ruby. The white and the red looked lovely together. But, for some reason, I just didn't think it was right thing to buy. I wanted to gift Natsukawa a ring that came off as thoughtful. Something that matched her eye colour, for example. But I wasn't having any luck.
Ichinose was initially flustered for some reason. But after a few minutes, she started pointing out rings she thought looked nice. She did not ask who I was gifting the ring to, which I was grateful for.
It was in the last store on my list that we finally scored.
"Welcome, what can I help you with today?" said the staff lady as soon as we entered.
"Good afternoon, I'm looking to buy a ring, but I'm not too sure of what to get"
"Certainly! I'm assuming it's a gift. For your girlfriend, perhaps?" As she said that, she looked over at Ichinose standing beside me.
Hey now! Don't just assume things like that! Besides, who would shop for a present with the person they're planning on giving it to?! It wouldn't be called a present anymore.
Ichinose was turning as red as the ruby I was admiring a few minutes ago, so I quickly cleared the misunderstanding.
"Oh no, it's not like that. It's for a close friend, which is what makes it hard to pick something out. If possible, I want something that comes across as thoughtful" I said.
"I see. If you want something like that, there is a new model that we stocked last week, which has been fairly popular with our customers. While it looks like a simple ring, it actually has a little hidden secret."
She handed me a genuine gold ring with a small jewel on top. Wait no, that wasn't a jewel. It was a little ornament, fixed with a tiny... crystal?
"Please peek through that lens"
Ah so it's a lens. It's tiny to the point of almost not being visible. Wait... Did she just say lens?! On a ring?
I did as she told me, bringing the ring closer to my right eye while closing my left. Suddenly an image jumped up at me out of nowhere. I was looking at a picture of a family of 4.
"Whoa" I couldn't help but be impressed. There was an image projected onto the lens. I wasn't sure how it worked, but I assumed the circular ornament housed the photo.
The parents at the back of the image were smiling away happily, as if they didn't have a care in the world. They had their arms wrapped around a boy and a girl, who were standing in the front. It looked like a moment of bliss that they wished would go on forever. And, belatedly, I realised that this is exactly what the ring attempted to do. It froze this memory in time, giving its wearer the ability to peak into the past whenever they wanted. It would make for quite a unique gift for sure. Not to mention the design of the ring itself, which was simple yet elegant.
But there was one problem.
I didn't think the golden sheen would suite Natsukawa. She shone brighter than gold, so something less showy suited her better.
Also, it would probably make her uncomfortable if I went and bought her something as expensive as gold. It had to go with the safer option here.
"Do you have this in silver by any chance?"
"We sure do" said the staff person, as she opened a specific display and took out the ring's silver counterpart.
"I'm assuming the image inside is customizable?"
"Yes, we can customize the image on the spot. Though that'll take about 15 minutes. Are you happy to wait on the couch over there while I do so?"
My mind was made up.
All that was left to do was to choose a memory to freeze inside of this elegant ring. I pulled out my phone, looking for one specific photo that I had in mind.
*
"Phew" I sighed, as I left the store with a small bag in hand.
"Thank you for today, Ichinose-san"
"No, I'm the one who should be thanking you. I'm glad we were both able to get what we wanted."
We decided to end our outing off by getting something to eat. We avoided the popular noisy cafes, opting to have lunch in a quieter one. After chatting about her part-time work, school and other things, we went our separate ways.
I hummed a melody as I made my way back home. I was deeply satisfied with today's outing. So satisfied in fact that I felt like buying Big Sis a steamed bun. Maybe that's what I'll do! What can I say, I'm just that generous. It's definitely not that she's conditioned me to be her slave. Yeah. Maybe.
With that aside, I knew that Natsukawa was going to like her present. My wish wasn't to mend things between us, per se. Rather, it was to make her smile again. Even if we drifted further apart. I did not mind. It pained me to say it but, ever since I stopped being overbearing, I'd gotten accustomed to watching over her from afar.
Various thoughts went through my head as I walked down a familiar street. I was oblivious, however, to the fact that some serious news was waiting for me back home. News that would greatly change aspects of my current high school life.