Chapter 10: My Future Current【Part 1】
【言語に関するご注意 / Language Notice】本作はすべて、英語と英語の表現で書かれています。翻訳作品ではなく、オリジナルの英語ライトノベルです。あらかじめご了承の上、作品をお楽しみください。
See chapter one for the main author's note.
Jerome
Noon at last.
The awkward morning with my new roommate is finally behind me. I sigh out the tension, stretch my arms overhead, and drum them against my sides.
“Are you practicing for the Mime Club, Jerome?” a voice giggles from my side.
I glance over, hands freezing mid-air before I shove them behind my back. “Oh no, no. I just… was fixing my hair.”
Fukimi steps into view, walking in step with Sayoko.
“You can polish the shards all you want, but they’ll never be a whole mirror again,” the girl under the open umbrella says.
“And a good afternoon to you too, Sayoko,” I say, eyeing her messy appearance.
Green smudges stain her clothes, and stray hairs spring up in odd directions.
I scoff lightly. “Did you sleep on a rock or something?”
“The rocks were covered in weird, slimy moss—”
“—W-what—”
“—So I had to settle for the gentle grass, if you really must know.”
“D-did she just...” I make eye contact with Fukimi.
Fukimi merely shakes her head, mouth pressed flat.
“Well… on the bright side,” I continue, “at least you didn’t have to wake up next to a stranger. You don’t want to know how awkward my morning was.”
“Hey, me too!” Fukimi chirps, jumping up. “He reads a ton of books, too. It’s like he stashed an entire library inside our room and there is barely any shelve space left for me. We haven’t heard the last of it...”
“My deepest condolences,” I say with a deadpan stare.
“Maybe we should stop by town hall and see if they’ll let us change rooms so we can all be together?” she chimes.
“All? The rooms only have two beds.”
“Oh, I just learned Sayoko doesn’t mind sleeping on the ground, do you?” Fukimi pats her umbrella dome.
Sayoko shifts her weight, tilting the umbrella just out of reach while Fukimi begins jumping up and down, to try to reach it.
“I actually have a few errands to run today, but I don’t mind starting at town hall,” Sayoko says, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Coincidentally, I already planned to file a formal complaint about their room-assignment.”
“I wanted to go straight to the lake, actually,” I interject. “I heard they’re throwing a party at the pier.”
“Oooh, a party already?!” Fukimi’s eyes dazzle with excitement.
“I don’t exactly have the energy for crowds right now,” Sayoko sighs. “How about I go to town hall in our stead, Fukimi? I have some other business to attend to today, and I wouldn’t want to drag you guys along.”
“Business?” I question.
Fukimi leans in close to my ear, her voice a loud whisper. “She always calls her weird errands ‘being on official business’ or something.”
“W-what kind of business?”
Sayoko holds up a flat hand to cut me off. “Alright, that is enough out of you today, Jerome. I will meet you guys at the pier later—assuming you’ve managed to grow some brain cells by then.”
Before I can snap back, Fukimi places a hand right on top of my head and shakes it violently. “Thanks, Sayoko! I’ll take our confused patient out for his daily walk!”
I yank her hand away. “Hey, I’m not—!”
Sayoko
“—Yes, you are,” I say over my shoulder, as I walk away
Even as I distance myself, the faint sound of Jerome complaining about Fukimi messing up his hair carries through the afternoon air.
It seems I wasn’t the only one cursed with an eccentric roommate in this place.
Based on the school’s encyclopedia on my phone—a textbook overflowing with dry words—the blame lies with the Ministry of Walls or something.
I make my way toward the main square. The area is buzzing with life, students crowding around the central fountain to soak in the midday sun.
The stone entrance of the town hall flanks the square, looking especially cramped as a bottleneck of people shoves through the doors. Nobody here seems to pay attention to anyone else.
I suppose it will be faster if—
Click.
It folds in as I step through the threshold.
A wall of loud, echoing chatter hits me instantly. The main lobby is a chaotic sea of students navigating rows of long reception desks.
I look up, scanning the hanging signs until my eyes land on one.
‘Ministry of Housing.’
Close enough.
Following the arrows, I thread through the crowd down a side corridor.
The secondary waiting room is even tighter than the main lobby, packed with anxious students practically hovering over the desks.
I let out a quiet sigh.
This is going to take a while.
Jiro
“Gaku, you’re early.” I close the distance between us and offer a fist bump.
“Can say the same about you. Always to the letter, huh?” he bumps his knuckles against mine.
I glance down at the longboard tucked under his arm. “You actually smuggled that past security?”
He hoists the deck up and down. “Hey, I can carry it, see?” He grins, dropping the board to the stone tile and restlessly rolling it back and forth under his sneaker.
I look at the board rolling. “I’m sorry we couldn’t catch up properly earlier. I had some… things to take care of first.”
He glances down at my bandaged wrist and clicks his tongue. “No worries. Looks like you’re the one who had it rough. Take a nasty fall or something?”
“Yeah… something like that”
“Well, looks like you’re surviving!” He slams a hand against my back, knocking the wind straight out of my lungs.
I wheeze, steadying myself. “Thanks. Now I can head straight back to the infirmary.”
“How about we hit the mountains today? I spotted some steep slopes earlier. We could take turns on the deck, or see if there’s a skate shop around these parts for you.”
I honestly cannot tell if he’s joking or actually serious. To avoid risking another bruise, I decide not to press him.
“Have you run into Sasha yet?” I ask, looking around. “I tried finding her after the headmaster’s speech, but no luck.”
He stops mid-roll. The rhythmic clack of the longboard dies.
The easygoing grin vanishes. He stares down at the grip tape, shoulders locking up as silence takes over.
My stomach bottoms out.
“What…” I ask carefully.
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Discover what happens next in: Chapter 10: My Future Current【Part 2】
Written by Limited_Infinity. Extras, official publishing platforms and updates are publicly available only on the Patreon page “_Limited_Infinity_”
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