Song of Cicadas
I.
Portrait of a Young Man in Summer
Each year, when summer passes through Tokyo, the temperature seems to rise higher than the year before. In reality, no summer has been significantly hotter than any other in at least two decades. But each year, it is sweltering nonetheless.
I remember the torture of those first weeks in July, right before the start of summer vacation. Classes would drag, lengthening across the days like mercury in a thermometer, until eventually they ran together. Really, I don't remember much, except a few things, like that day in July.
A breeze had come in from the east, and with it came clouds and the scent of the ocean. I was stir-crazy that year; at lunch, I would catch some fresh air on the roof just to make it through the rest of the day. Somehow though, I always fell asleep. It happened a few times. That day, Hikari had come snooping around as she often did, but said little except for her lectures, which had also become her custom.
Strange how clear that memory is.
"It's the third time already." Hikari leaned back in the shade, pausing to bite the white flesh of her peach. By then it was the middle of the fruit's season, but the peaches were still tart. I was tossing a dry pit idly between two hands.
"Are you lecturing me?"
"They'll call you in if it happens again."
I closed my eyes. "So they'll call me in."
"You're awful cheeky." She sighed, letting the half-eaten peach rest carelessly against her uniform skirt. The juice began to stain. "July is so long in the start."
I murmured my assent.
Overhead, thin gray clouds rolled leniently over the blue sky like waves, casting shadows on the rooftop. She draped her peach hand over her eyes, looking upward, and watching the clouds I could see her in the corner of my eye. Hikari looked younger than the rest of the class. She swore it was because her eyes were too big and dark, but maybe it was something in her air too.
I don't know what we were about then. I don't know if I started to love her afterwards, or if I had for a while, or whether it was an on-season or off-season for us. Maybe it was just summer and I was just some eager seventeen-year-old. Probably. I meant to pull down her thin, tan wrist and kiss it just for the hell of it, but I grabbed the peach instead and took a bite. She frowned, reddening slightly. I expected another reprimand, like she could reach my thoughts, but instead she said,
"My parents have a timeshare at Shibukawa Beach. Wanna go?"
"Shibukawa?" I sounded dubious, I knew. There was a rumble of thunder from the clouds which, as if in seconds only, seemed thicker and more menacing. "Like an overnight trip?"
She bit the peach and didn't answer. I still didn't believe what she was saying.
"Why don't you ask Nagase or Ijiri?"
"I'm asking you."
So I shrugged. "We'll see."
There was a second or two of silence, then the half-eaten peach dropped into my lap.
"Idiot."
I wasn't sure if I had offended her until the affirmative slam of the roof door cleared any misconceptions. I finished what was left of the peach. Then I closed my eyes again, leaning into the wall where above him, the clouds darkened and growled.
But no rain fell.
School let out for vacation a week later, and Hikari was still mad at me. I could tell because she wouldn't say my name. It's just something strange that she had always done. She had to nudge me when she wanted to talk, or clear her throat loudly, and in discussions with her friends she would make confusing, nameless references. Classic Hikari.
At the end of the school day, between the lockers and the front door, she pushed the back of my shoulder blade to get my attention. I smirked when I saw her. That was probably a mistake, because she immediately frowned.
"Have you thought more about Shibukawa?"
That caught me off guard. I'd been thinking about it a lot, about the possible "us", and what an over-night trip meant to most people. Trouble was, Hikari wasn't most people. She had a habit of doing things without questioning her motives, then acted surprised when people told her their expectations.
I didn't feel like explaining to her what everyone would think if we went to Shibukawa together.
So I lied. "No, not really. I didn't think you were serious."
Another mistake. She bit her lip and walked past me. I fought with myself a little bit about it. She'd probably stay mad at me if I didn't make it up, somehow. And fast.
I called out to her. "Hang on a sec. What days did you want to go?"
At first I thought she hadn't heard me. But eventually she turned around.
"The last week in August is the only opening."
"Last week in August." I said. "Okay."
She actually smiled. "See you later, Takeru."
I grinned back. All of this was unnecessary theatrics, of course. We see each other nearly every day in summer, since we don't live that far apart and typically do our summer homework together. But high school is all unnecessary theatrics anyway.
Later that night, Hikari called and told me the reservation was from August 21st to the 22nd, exactly two days before the start of fall quarter. She sounded really excited, and I didn't have the heart to ask her where we were staying, or how many rooms there were. Well, that's not entirely true. I just didn't know how.
I saw her the next day, and the day after that. We found summer jobs that weren't far from each other, and on our days we worked on our homework, or went to the beach. I never found the word to ask her what was going to happen in August, and she never mentioned it. A friend of mine told me it's not really the guy's job to think about that kind of thing anyway. So I closed my eyes and didn't think about it anymore.
I won't say that I was apprehensive, because I'm not weak. But subconsciously, maybe, I wished for July to last a little bit longer.
End of Part I.
Alright, so technically I should be working on Heavenly Deadly. But I figured I'd take a break because…uh, I don't know, I just wanted to take a break. School is kicking my creativity's ass. Apparently I can only write Takari at this point. It's sort of disappointing, because I wanted to write something lighthearted and I still ended up on the mellow side. It's the symbolism, I swear. Oh wells.
Incidentally, summer vacation in Japan apparently starts somewhere around July 20th and ends near the end of August, BUT it's in the middle of the school year. You may be staring at the screen right now like, "Well, yeah. Duh." But on the off-chance that you're not, there you go.
If you made it this far, you're a real trooper! Thanks so much.
P.S. This will be short, three parts max. I'm trying to finish it in a timely manner so I can get back to what I'm supposed to be doing. We'll see how well this goes. Thanks again.