xxddmm

Chapter 4 - Window watching.

Today's a sunny afternoon on a day off.
I didn't feel like going out, so I was hoping to take it easy at home... but instead, I spent the whole day moving back-and-forth.

Hikari's mom: "Hey, Hikari, where should I put this stuff?"
Hikari: "I told you, I'll do it! You don't need to help!"

I walked into the room with a cardboard box, only to find it was a complete mess, thanks to Mom's help.

Hikari's mom: "But are you sure you want to go back to this room? It's a lot smaller than the other one."
Hikari: "I've said it a bunch of times already! This room gets more sunlight!"

We were in a tiny four-and-a-half tatami room on the second floor's east side, which had been used for storage these last few years.

Now, I was busy hauling my things over from the six-tatami room on the west side across the hall -- which was my room until yesterday -- in a little in-house move.

Hikari's mom: "Honestly, you're so unpredictable! You couldn't wait to switch to your sister's room when she left, and now you want to go back to the smaller room less than a year later!"
Hikari: "Well... you know what they say, the grass is always greener on the other side, right?"

Our family, the Shirasakas, used to be four of us: dad, mom, my sister, and me. And as the younger sister, I was always a bit overlooked in favor of my six-years-older sister (Just my personal opinion).

The biggest example? Our rooms! I kept whining to my parents about how her room was bigger, so much that they eventually got fed up.

So, when my sister moved out last year for various reasons (most likely to live with her boyfriend), I finally got to move into the bigger room I'd been eyeing.

Hikari: "Thanks for the help, Mom! You can go now."
Hikari's mom: "Okay, I'll bring some coffee later. Just make sure the bed's set up by tonight, okay?"
Hikari: "Mooom! For the last time, you don't have to keep coming back!"

In the end, here I am, moving right back to my small, old room. Of course, there's a reason for it.
I'm pretty sure everyone's figured it out by now, though...

Hikari: "Alright!"

I opened the east-facing window that had been shut for ages, but there was nothing to see beyond it.
Just a couple of meters away, right in front of me, was the window of a room in the Takamura house next door, blocking any view.

......Yeah, it's Ta~kun's room, where I spend most of my time.

Back in middle school, the view from my room was always the same.
His desk, his bed, his bookshelf... and him, my childhood friend, just living his life in there.

In the mornings, he'd still be snoozing long after I was ready for school.
And at night, he'd be fast asleep, snoring as usual, as I stayed up late studying.

Well, about six months before high school entrance exams, our roles kinda flipped, I started seeing a hardworking yet slightly laid-back boy in my window.

And yet, back then, I didn't think too much about this privilege that only next-door childhood friends have.

I usually had the window covered with thick curtains because I didn't want him seeing me change.
Even if something came up, talking through the window felt way too embarrassing, so we just ended up chatting on SNS.
In the end, I chose having a little more space over this blessed environment.

Hikari: "What a dummy I was."

Looking back, in elementary school, we were unaware of our differences and just enjoyed being close best friends.

I remember the time Ta~kun tried to jump from his room to mine and ended up breaking his right hand.
Or the times we spent so long playing with the string phone we made in science class.
But it never worked well, so we ended up just yelling between our windows and got scolded by our parents.

......It's so old-school, like something straight out of the 80s. I'd probably get teased for it, but honestly, those kinds of memories are the most nostalgic.

Hikari: "Ha......"

As I was lost in these aimless memories...
It was like fate took pity on this regretful, daydreaming girl, because a figure appeared through the lace curtain of the room in front of me.

Dressed casually in a T-shirt and shorts, walking around his room like you'd expect on a holiday afternoon. It's exactly the boy I was just thinking about.

Hikari: "Ta~ku-......"

Ah! I almost called out to him without thinking, but I quickly covered my mouth.
I realized something very important.

Hikari: "I... haven't prepared an excuse yet!"

If I call out to him, he's definitely going to notice that I've moved rooms.
And then, of course, he'll end up asking, Why did you change rooms?
What am I supposed to say to that?

Well... it's because I want to see your face whenever I want...

No, no, no! I don’t have the courage to say something like that just yet!

Blushing, looking down, and snapping back with something like: Idiot, don't make me say it! -- yeah, there's no way I have the guts for that either.

So, if I want to keep my true intentions under wraps, I should avoid calling any attention to the fact that I switched rooms.
Then, when he finally notices, I'll just shrug it off with something like, Oh, yeah, that happened a while ago. So, what's the big deal?

......Though, I guess the reason our relationship never moves forward is because I'm always hiding how I really feel... but let's not get into that right now.

............
............

So here I am, resting my cheek on the window frame, just gazing at him through the glass in a bit of a daydream.

The glass and lace curtains make it hard to see his expressions clearly, but he's not just a hazy silhouette, either.

He pulls out a magazine or something from the bookshelf, casually lies down on his bed, and begins flipping through the pages on his back.

Hikari: "Wow, such bad manners~"

He probably thinks no one's watching. Then again, he's not much different even when I'm around... but right now, he's totally letting his guard down.

Sure, watching him like this is nice in its own way, but that's not the reason I came back to this room.

It would be a bit awkward if he noticed me right away, but... I still want him to notice me soon.

I want us to talk through the window again, just like we used to.
I want us to be able to look at each other through the window again, just like we used to.

But if I could, I'd want it to be more than just those silly, trivial conversations we had back then.
And if I could, I'd want it to be more than those innocent glances we used to share...

Hikari: "...Huh?"

As I’m staring at him, almost holding my breath, I start to feel something strange -- like something's just a little off about what he's doing.

He turned his body from lying on his back to lying on his side, facing his back toward me, and started moving around in a fidgety way.

Then he put his hand on his shorts, pulled them down along with his underwear, and began to move his whole body slightly.

Hikari: "Uh, um...?"

Is that...?

Pulling down his shorts... looking at a magazine... what is he...?

.........

Hikari: "EEEEEK~!"
Yuu: "GAAAAAAH!"

In tune with my scream...
No, actually, his scream was WAY louder than mine, and it echoed through the whole neighborhood in broad daylight.

............
............

I'm Shirasaka Hikari, sixteen years old......

......and my childhood friend gave me the silent treatment for a whole week.