Sheep Costume
1
If I were asked if I had confidence, I would probably say I had none.
But, if it was someone like God who was asking, and I was guaranteed no one would think worse of me for telling the truth, I think I would surely say “I never thought I would fail”.
Funado High School is known locally for being a hard school to get into. That said, because it’s a public school, the number of applicants are adjusted by middle school, and it’s not that competitive. The test numbers of those who passed were posted in front of the gymnasium. I gazed at the numbers with the same carefreeness as if I was going out to see the neighborhood cherry blossoms, and found my number before long. Even so, I guess I was a little worried, because I let go a small breath.
At any rate, that wrapped it up for me. However, I couldn’t be entirely relieved. A companion I exchanged promises with weighed on my mind. We came here together, so she should be somewhere near…. I couldn’t see at all through the sea of people crowding around the bulletin board. This is hopeless. After all, this partner of mine is tiny, and above that doesn’t stand out. I gave up on trying spotting her, and slightly separated myself from the crowd. I took out my cell phone, and brought up an email address. The registered name was “Yuki Osanai cell phone”.
‘I passed. You?’
The answer that came back was,
‘Where are you now?’
I look around my surroundings for something to use as a landmark. This is my second time being here after all, the first being when I took the test. Being lost as to what to use as a landmark, in the end, I replied with this,
‘I’m going to the school gates’
‘I’ll be right there’
Communication finished. I put my foldable cell phone away in my pocket while heading for the school gates. The emails we exchange are always brief. Osanai-san never uses faces or emojis, so I don’t either. I asked her about it a while back, but it seems she doesn’t use things like that in order to match me. Osanai-san or me, just which of us is modest, and which of us is matching the other. It’s probably about fifty-fifty.
Near the school gates, there were a few groups of people. Osanai-san hadn’t come yet. …Or so I thought, when I spotted the upper half of a small girl in a sailor uniform in the shadow of the unfriendly concrete-made school gates. Just whom is she hiding from. I beckoned to the girl. She lightly scampered to me, and said in a small voice that seemed that like it could disappear,
“Me too.”
“…What?”
“Kobato-kun, you passed, right?”
Aah, I get it. I broke into a wide grin.
“Oh, so you passed too. That’s a relief.”
“Yeah. …I’ll be counting on you.”
It was just a normal conversation; it wouldn’t be a problem if anyone overheard it. However, Osanai-san didn’t change her small voice, which seemed to be out of consideration of the others.
Her name is Yuki Osanai. If you ignore her small stature, there’s nothing remarkable about her appearance. Narrow eyes and thin lips, a small nose. Every part was small, even her face itself was small. If I had to say, she had slightly large earlobes. She had a bob cut, and slender hands and feet, matching her small frame. She can ride the bus for the price of a grade-schooler. She wore a milk-colored cardigan over her middle school sailor uniform. Her atmosphere… this is a description she’d be pleased with, but she’s like a small animal.
Osanai-san has been with me since early summer of our third year of middle school.
A weak wind blew. Spring was around the corner, and although Osanai-san and I had passed, the air was still quite chilly. I shivered. I don’t have any more business here until the opening ceremony.
“It’s cold, so I’ll be heading home.”
“Me too.”
Osanai-san said, and then thought a little while.
“Sure is cold.”
“That’s why I said I’m heading home.”
“Why don’t we get something hot, to celebrate passing?”
That’s a good idea. I don’t know this area too well, but Osanai-san probably knows a place or two. I agreed without a second thought, but just as we were about to go, I was suddenly called out to.
“Hello.”
Standing there was a somewhat shady-looking man in a rose-gray windbreaker, holding a notebook. On his arm was a reddish-brown armband with “News” printed in white lettering. Osanai-san instantly turned around and hid behind me with incredible speed. The man glanced at Osanai-san, then turned to me and asked me with a mostly expressionless face,
“It seems you were accepted, congratulations. Could I have a moment of your time?”
An interview? With me? I see.
I promptly answered with a smile,
“I’m sorry, but I still have some stuff to do.”
Just saying that, without waiting for an answer I quickly headed to the sea of people. Osanai-san stuck close behind. It’s not that I harbor a special distrust of the press, but I just don’t want to get involved. Osanai-san probably feels the same way, but after moving a proper distance, she worriedly looked up at me with a furrowed brow.
“Kobato-kun…. Do you think that guy got mad?”
I was also curious about that, so I glanced back over my shoulder. The reporter wasn’t chasing after us, but was passing his eyes over the surroundings, seemingly looking for his next target.
“Looks like it’s alright. Even if he got mad, let’s just think of it as that being his job”.
“…Okay.”
Even as she nodded, her expression didn’t clear up.
Professor Clark left the words “Be gentlemen” to the students of Hokkaido University, but Osanai-san and I also have a similar principle. While closely resembling “Be gentlemen”, the social status is just a bit lower. “Be petit bourgeois”. This. For everyday peace and stability, Osanai-san and I are steadfast petit bourgeois. Although how we express it differs slightly. Osanai-san hides. I evade with a smile.
And as petit bourgeois, the television is something you watch, and the newspaper is something you read. Appearing on TV or in a newspaper article is out of the question. I have absolutely no intention of answering any questions even for an interview that might not even be used. But, it’s a problem that it’s also not very petit bourgeois to interfere in someone’s work and make enemies. On that point, I was relieved at the behavior of the man in the windbreaker.
Even so. I stop, and once again turn around to the school gate. Osanai-san asked,
“What is it?”
“No, nothing really. Just, we escaped in the wrong direction.”
After just escaping from the school gate, passing by that man again to get out would be a little awkward. I hate awkward things. There’re probably other entrances, but I’m not sure. As I was wondering what we should do, Osanai-san hid behind me again.
“…Don’t move, Kobato-kun.”
Wondering what it was, I looked around, and saw the likely cause.
It’s to be expected, but a large number of classmates from my middle school applied here. I’ve passed a number of familiar faces. Whom Osanai-san saw was one of those classmates, one from Osanai-san’s class as I recall. I understood why Osanai-san was hiding behind my back. Although Osanai-san passed, if that girl didn’t, it would be unbearably awkward.
Come to think of it, when we met up at the school gate, Osanai-san’s voice as she reported she passed was smaller than usual. That was probably because there may have been people around who didn’t pass. Good grief, even as a companion in the petit bourgeois way, I’m far behind Osanai-san when it comes to considering others. I sympathized with her feelings, and didn’t move for a bit, as she requested.
Quite a bit of time had passed since the numbers of the acceptants were posted. The excitement covering the sea of people gradually cooled down, with voices of celebration rising here and there, lacking Osanai-san’s considerateness. Speaking of cooling down, it had mostly died down. Just as I was thinking it was about time to leave and get something hot as promised,
“Hey, you there.”
Someone called out to me again. A deep voice, and pretty rough this time. Osanai-san instantly stiffened. I was also on the surprised side. There’s no reason anyone would suddenly call out to me like that here. For the time being, I meekly turned around.
Standing there was a guy with a rough atmosphere that matched his voice. With a wide well built body, his height was also much greater than mine was. The fact that he’s here means he’s in the same grade as me, which means he’s in the same grade as Osanai-san, but if you would line them up and take a picture, you could probably caption it “The developmental difference from nourishment”, and put it in a paper. Both sides of his head were shaved, and even though he probably originally had an angular face, his entire head looked square. I faced him, and gave a genuine smile.
“Well, look who’s here.”
“’Look who’s here,’ huh. Awful greeting you got there.”
“I think it’s better than saying ‘Hey, you there’ out of the blue though. It’s been a while, Kengo!”
Besides sniffing his nose, he didn’t give express any particularly affectionate emotions. It was typical of him to do that. Although Kengo and I are old acquaintances, we weren’t quite friends, come to think of it.
“So you applied for Funa High too, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“And looks like you passed.”
“Somehow.”
“I see”, Kengo muttered, and nodded. He didn’t quite have a scowl, but he had his arms folded with an unsatisfied face.
“It’s something you have to use your head for, so I didn’t think you’d fail anyway. …Same school again, looks like.”
So Kengo passed too. That’s great.
Incidentally, Osanai-san was being shy. It’s probably to be expected, but it’s especially difficult when it’s a male partner. Furthermore, the extremely manly Kengo is probably the type she’s worst with. She was again huddled up behind my back, grasping my fleece sleeve. It crosses my mind from time to time, but it might be convenient for everyday life if she walked around with some kind of cover, like a large cardboard box.
I turn around to Osanai-san and smiled to her.
“He may be a little rough, but he’s not scary, Osanai-san.”
Kengo made a scowl for sure this time.
“Who’s not scary?”
“Oh, sorry. Maybe you were scary.”
“I’m saying the first thing you say about a guy shouldn’t be saying if they’re scary or not.”
“You’re right. Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean any harm.”
However, the more I tried to sincerely apologize, the more he doubtful his face became.
“Why you…”
He started to say, and then swallowed his reply.
Since Kengo wasn’t going to continue, I had no choice but to introduce him.
”Osanai-san, this is Kengo Doujima. We were in grade school together.”
Receiving the introduction, Osanai-san reluctantly exposed her whole body to Kengo, and bowed her head.
“Kengo, this person is Osanai-san. We went to middle school together. She’s a friend.”
As for Kengo, he was exceedingly sincere. Unfolding his arms and sticking his chest out, he introduced himself,
“Hello, Osanai-san. If you’re a friend of Jougorou, you must be the patient type. I’m Kengo Doujima. We’ll be classmates from now on, so let’s get along.”
Talk about harsh words. Plus, Osanai-san hasn’t said that she’s passed yet.
It’s probably also because of the difference in height, but Osanai-san was looking at Kengo with really upturned eyes. If was too much for her, I was thinking of giving her some backup, but while she had a rigid expression, Osanai-san somehow brought up a faint smile, and gave a small nod.
Just as discussed, we ordered something hot at a favorite coffee shop of Osanai-san’s. Coffee for me. Hot lemonade and a strawberry tart for Osanai-san. It was a tart so small, you could call it a petit cake.
Wrapping the cup that held the lemonade with both palms, Osanai-san released a breath. She had taken off her scarlet muffler and set it on her lap. Osanai-san repeatedly rubbed the cup to warm up her frozen fingers, and eventually brought it up and took a sip. She took her fork, cut off an end from the strawberry tart, and carried it to her mouth. Osanai-san’s usual somewhat gloomy expression was enveloped in joy for an instant. I smiled at her.
“Good?”
Osanai-san nodded. After nodding, she took a small sip of lemonade, and then tilted her head to the side.
“It’s good. But…”
“But?”
She lowered her voice,
“I’ve had better.”
“Really.”
Since it’s not like I really love sweet things, it’s probably unavoidable that my reply was a little apathetic. Even so, to continue the conversation, I asked,
“Where?”
A natural smile played around Osanai-san’s lips.
“Alice’s spring exclusive strawberry tart. It’s overflowing with strawberries. I’m definitely going to buy one this year too.”
Overflowing with strawberries. The first thing I think is that that’s not a very mouthwatering description. But, about the only time Osanai-san smiles like this nowadays is when talking about sweet things.
Which is why I didn’t rain on her parade, and instead answered that that sure was something to look forward to.
No matter how slowly Osanai-san savored the small tart, it disappeared within 10 minutes. By that time, I had gotten tired of my coffee, leaving a little at the bottom. The tart had vanished, and returning to her original depressed face, Osanai-san eventually timidly asked,
“By the way, Kobato-kun.”
“Yeah?”
“What kind of person is Doujima-kun?”
That’s a difficult question. I’m not the best at briefly summing up people when asked what kind of person they are. Without thinking, I asked back,
“You’re curious?”
Osanai-san had her eyes down, and kept glancing up to gauge my reaction. She was probably being considerate, since I was Doujima’s friend. I smiled at her, and waited for her to talk.
A small voice that was almost a whisper came out,
“That guy…. It seems like he was pressuring you. I’m sorry to say this about someone I just met, but he seemed kind of pushy.”
I can understand that uneasiness. We pick up on those kinds of signs. In all actuality, it’s not like Kengo’s never like that.
“You’re right. He’s a rather intrusive guy, if he hasn’t changed in the three years since I’ve seen him.”
“…”
Osanai-san’s naturally unsunny expression got a shade darker. For the coming high school life that’s beginning, it must feel like an overhanging black cloud she can’t shake. I really understand how she feels, but I wanted to come to Kengo’s defense just a little.
“But, you don’t need to worry. Kengo’s a good person.”
After saying that, I wondered if it was an idiotic thing to say.
As expected, Osanai-san shook her head slightly.
“Him being a good person makes me even more worried. …They don’t let you get away. Wasn’t it you who said it’s easier to deal with bad people?”
Yeah, I did.
But Kengo isn’t the kind of “Good person” we should be afraid of. He’s not the kind of “Good person” that would drive us into a corner with the slogan of “For the sake of…”. Of course, he’s also not a bad person. How can I explain that?
Seeing me fall into silence, Osanai-san hurriedly said,
“Are you thinking of what you should say? It’s alright, don’t worry about it. If it’s someone you want to stay friends with, I’m sure they’ll leave me alone.”
“…Yeah. I think that’s what’ll happen.”
While worrying that that was a slightly noncommittal sounding answer, I started emptying the little remaining coffee bit by bit. As if following suit, Osanai-san also took a gulp of her lemonade. I’m not friends with Kengo, but I considered him better than me. If possible, I don’t want Osanai-san to dislike Kengo. But well, that’s up to Osanai-san. I won’t get involved.
And, about the time the two cups became empty,
Osanai-san braced herself as if making up her mind, and said,
“Kobato-kun. If you ever need to run away from something, you can use me as an excuse. You don’t need to hold back.”
I faintly smile.
“Of course, I’ll take you up on that.”
It’s a promise between us that doesn’t need affirming at this point. Just as I use Osanai-san as an excuse, Osanai-san uses me as an excuse. I turn Osanai-san into a shield, and Osanai-san turns me into a shield. We’ve created peaceful times, doing that.
Yes. Soon, we’ll become high school students. We can’t let this chance get away.
We will begin our leap to becoming perfect petit bourgeois.
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Translated from volume one of The Spring Exclusive Strawberry Tart Case by Honobu Yonezawa, part of the Petite Bourgeois series.
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