She is Reading My Thoughts Again Today - Chapter 40

Looking Back Day

Karaoke. It’s a place where I definitely shouldn’t go with Kisaragi. The private room I booked is too small that she can constantly read my thoughts.

But doesn’t she always read my thoughts? It’s the just as same as usual, isn’t it?

I’m staring at the droplets of water running down a glass of green tea in front of me to escape from reality. I wonder what kind of face she is having right now. I’m sure that the last time I checked the time on my phone was a minute ago. The time feels to be running slower than usual, it feels terribly frustrating.

“…what does looking back mean?”

She is the one who invited me to go karaoke today, I just accepted her invitation without any second thought because I have nothing else to do. Then I reluctantly looked up at her and answer her question.

“It exactly means as it is. It was unusually fun for a school event, so I thought I’d share and talk some memories with you.”

“Let’s go to the class party.”

“Nope, there’s no way I’m going there.”

I was invited to the class party with a warm smile. I said I’ll go there with a smile on my face, but I don’t have any intention of going there from the first place.

“So? Did you call me because I’m not going to bother you that much since I’m not much of a talker?”

“I’ll take care of the bills.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“In the meantime, would you like to sing a song?”

“So we’re going to talk that way?”

Then she offers me the machine to put in the song, I shook my head because I don’t feel like singing. She nodded and searched for the song she wants to sing. Regardless of the situation, I’m really curious what is she going to sing, so I looked at the screen. Displayed on the screen is a name of a song that is about a popular girl’s view of love. I can’t help but to feel admired.

“I thought you’re going to sing the school song.”

“I can’t sing the school song because it’s not in the list.”

“If it’s there in the list, would you sing it?”

“I don’t know if I will.”

“You don’t know huh?”

She is a terrible singer. She got the beat somewhat correct, but her intonation is a disaster. I guess she doesn’t know the song very well. The score displayed on screen is less than fifty.

“…you are not a great singer, are you?”

Surprisingly, she is worried about the mic condition, she doesn’t want the mic to be damaged because she sings continuously. So she puts down the mic on the table.

“Did something on the festival caught your attention?”

When I got back to myself, I found myself talking about it. What am I trying to do?

“First of all, on the first day of the festival, the planetarium by class 5 was really great. It was so good that it’s hard to believe that it was made by juniors.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“I really like the display of traditional Japanese meal samples by class 2. It may have been poorly done, but the theme really suits the festival.”

“Yeah, it certainly did.”

“On the second day, more than anything else, Mikinori’s cheerleader performance was really outstanding.”

I thought his performance won’t be that great because their schedule was advanced. But it really surpassed my expectations.

“I think that’s all I remember from the second day.”

“Ehh… You don’t remember about the difference between the mild-mannered Konaka-san and her role of playing the solemn mother?”

“Who is this Konaka-san?”

“You also don’t remember Sera-san who performed her signature joke and slips when she is on stage?”

“How can you remember all that?”

How can you remember all that names and events?

“I usually just hear their name a lot.”

“Ahh, that’s how it is.”

“You know…”

“Yeah?”

“…I’ll go back to day one, okay?”

“Sure.”

Then she started to talk enthusiastically. To be honest, I actually don’t remember half of what she said. But it’s nice to talk to someone who tells about what they like and enjoy enthusiastically. Her expression seems really bright.

Then finally, she says,

“…so that concludes our look back.”

Her cheeks are blushing, I can tell that she is really excited.

“Good work.”

Then I offer her a drink, she must be really thirsty after talking that much. She accepted it and drank it in one gulp. Feeling better, she reached for the machine again.

“Do you ever look back and think about something Hokuto-san?”

“Snow white. I think it would’ve been so much better if you’re the one who played it.”

After a short moment for her to think, the intro of the song begins to play. A deliberate sigh echoes from the microphone into the room.

“What are you talking about? You said it too late. If you don’t speak up, you won’t reach anyone but me.”

She doesn’t even turn back to look at me.

“Your words won’t even reach me if I’m too far away.”

As she began to sing, I search for a song that I can sing myself.

There’s none.