The Guest

On a day near the end of summer vacation, the chime of our apartment echoed through the room where Hayashi and I lived together.

“Coming!”

Hayashi raised her voice and headed toward the entrance. I didn’t bother to follow her with my eyes, instead sitting restlessly in the living room, alone.

The chime of this apartment didn’t ring all that often. If anything, it was usually for things like religious solicitors or delivery pickups, that sort of thing.

But the person ringing the chime today was different from those usual visitors.

Normally, a doorbell ringing out of the blue wouldn’t give you any clue about who’s there, but I was certain this time.

That’s because Hayashi had already told me in advance about the visitor scheduled to come to our place today.

Today, we were expecting a guest at our home. Not someone for me, the one renting this place, but a friend of Hayashi, who’s been freeloading here.

Hayashi’s got a wide social circle. But the guest she told me about was someone I knew, too.

In other words, it was someone who went to the same high school as Hayashi and me.

“Meg, I was so worried about you!”

A high-pitched, familiar voice came from the direction of the entrance.

Hearing that voice, my heart gave a sudden jolt.

“Hey, Akari, don’t just hug me out of nowhere!”

“Can’t help it! I was really, really worried!”

Sitting alone in the living room, eavesdropping like this, I probably looked pretty suspicious from an outside perspective.

Well, putting that aside, the guest who came to our place today was none other than Kasahara Akari, Hayashi’s best friend from high school.

“Meg, Meg~!”

“Eek, Akari, stop! That tickles!”

From the entrance, Kasahara’s excited voice kept ringing out as usual. And just as clearly, Hayashi’s annoyed voice came through, too.

Their friendship began back when we were in our second year of high school. Hayashi and I were in the same class for all three years, but Kasahara was in our class during our second and third years, studying alongside us.

In short, Kasahara and Hayashi were best friends in high school. They were so close, it was rare to see such a tight bond even within our class.

They hung out together every single day.

…I feel a bit bad for Hayashi, who’s clearly flustered, but after being out of touch with her best friend for nearly half a year since graduation, it’s no surprise Kasahara’s thrilled to reunite.

I think it’d be harder to expect her not to be excited.

“…Hey, Akari. There’s neighbors around, so maybe let’s head inside for now?”

“Huh? …Hmm, what should I do~?”

“What’s with that attitude?”

“Oh, nothing~ Just, you know, I was super worried about you.”

“I said I’m sorry about that.”

“So you’re apologizing. That means you think you did something wrong, right, Meg?”

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

“If you feel bad about it, you’ll indulge me a little, right? Just a tiny bit of my selfish whims?”

What the heck are those two talking about?

I couldn’t help but glance back toward the entrance, where their suspiciously cryptic conversation was unfolding.

Back in high school, I didn’t realize it, but it seems Kasahara’s the type who can speak her mind even with Hayashi without holding back. I always thought she hung around Hayashi so much to bask in her glow, so this is a bit surprising.

You’re lucky, Hayashi. To have a friend who cares about you that much by your side.

“…What do you want?”

“…Hug me.”

“Can you not do this at someone else’s doorstep!?”

At the heated atmosphere brewing by the entrance, I couldn’t help but shout.

Crap.

This was my first time seeing Kasahara again since our high school graduation. Honestly, I wanted our reunion to be a bit more… calm. But no, this is her fault. Why on earth would she pick my doorstep to pull something like that?

Couldn’t hold back anymore (question)?

…Couldn’t hold back anymore (realization).

The entrance, which had been filled with their playful flirting just moments ago, suddenly went quiet.

Soon, I heard the sound of shoes being taken off and footsteps approaching.

“Long time no see, Yamamoto-kun.”

Kasahara, now standing in the living room, spoke to me casually, as if her earlier antics had never happened.

“…Yeah, it’s been a while.”

And so, Hayashi, Kasahara, and I successfully reunited.