Sayu looked like she would burst into tears right then and there. People had been giving me curious looks since my outburst in class that morning, and I could feel intrusive stares all around us, from outside the school gate and within.
"What happened exactly?" I asked.
She ran her bow-less sleeve across the streaks on her face and attempted to talk through the tears, "Manabee and Hoggo inbited meeee! I habdo go!"
There was a quiver at the corner of my mouth. "Those girls Ms. Miura was yelling at? But, I invited you to my house after school to catch up."
"B-but!" She sniffled so loudly that the entire courtyard could hear it. "Manabi and Hoko invited me to the Hibino Bash! Rumor has it that everyone who went last year became the superstars of Yasogami!"
"I messaged my dad and told him and everything." My voice came out a lot softer than I was expecting it to.
Sayu clasped my hands in hers. "Na-na, pretty please! It's only one night. I'm super sorry and I'll apologize to Mr. Kenzo and everyone tomorrow! I need this! We're friends, right?"
"Yeah! Yeah, we're friends." I said as quickly as she'd finished.
She practically floated off the ground. "Great! You'll need to be in the parking lot in about two minutes. Here's my school ID-just obscure the face with your thumb or something. The club's student-led so I doubt they'll be too thorough. You see Ma-na or Koko anywhere?"
"Parking lot, two minutes, thumbs? Slow down, please! What was that last thing?"
Her eyes met mine. "Ma-na and Koko, you know, Manabi and Hoko. Have you seen them?"
I fought the twitch in my lower lip. "Ma-na... and Koko?" I shook my head and gave her an apologetic grin. "No, I don't think so."
She pivoted on her heel and placed a hand over her heart. "Then I swear to find them before the Hibino Back to School Bash!" She gave me one last wave as she took off, disappearing behind the doors to the school.
I stood rooted near the gate. For a thirty second eternity, students milled past as I held her ID in one hand and my phone in the Junes jingle played, and the tiny cell vibrated in my hand. I didn't have to look. I knew it was my dad's reply. It took everything in me check the message.
Sure nanako. bring home your friend. id like to catch up a little myself
There was a single wet drop on the screen. A few moments later, rain began sprinkling the grounds. I blinked hard, stuffed my phone into my pocket and ran.
At the rear of the school, there were two claustrophobic rows that stretched about half the length of campus. A handful cars stood, lonely and empty, at random, but after a quick check I saw two bodies leaning against one of the vehicles further down.
I approached, taking in their features. One was so broad and tall that if I weren't able to see the school colors, I'd have thought the girl opposite him had hired a bodyguard. The one twirling the keys around her fingers was easily taller than me, with short black hair and devilish red glasses that gave her a severe, dark look.
"Sayu Miike?" The girl asked. She glanced at a checklist that was safe from the rain inside the car. The big guy threw a look over his shoulder. The confused face of my seat neighbor greeted me.
Suddenly, this whole sham of an idea went nuclear. A horror film played in my mind. Him blurting out the truth, the girl reporting me to the principal, a new punishment with my real name on it and the quietest stare of disappointment my dad could muster.
"Sayu?" The guy asked. "Look like you just saw a ghost. And after class this morning, I probably know a thing or two about that."
A tiny tremble passed over me, but Sayu's smirking face from earlier appeared in my head. I didn't reply.
"Riveting. It's Ms. Takejo from class 2-E to you freshmen. Your warden for the next few hours, according to the principal. Get in." She slammed the door on any more conversation, and without a word, I slid into the backseat alongside my classmate. His sole attempt at conversation, a question about how she was liking being in her second year, was met with a stare so cold I was sure the windows frosted.
Inaba flew by in a blur. Before I knew it, we were beating a path through town I knew all too well when we turned down the Shopping District. Like a shot right through my heart, as Tatsumi Textiles and Marukyu Tofu flew past my window, I remembered.
Ms. Takejo, ma'am? Can we stop at Junes? Two easy sentences. But dad's text felt heavier in my pocket the more I thought about it. By the time Ms. Takejo announced we'd arrived, I'd played out every possible scenario of somehow getting to the party while not technically sneaking around my dad.
We pulled off the road and the car shuddered to a stop. Everyone slid out, and as I moved to follow, there was a soft flop. At my heel, Sayu's student ID lay there among the dirt and gravel, beaming hugely at me.
"Miike!" A very impatient voice shouted.
I moved around my classmate to actually see where we were at. We were parked on dead grass, with drying pavement lined with sun-parched weeds stretching in both directions. Across the asphalt, the tops of rough stone waited.
"The Samegawa Flood Plains?" I asked.
Ms. Takejo raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Principal Isagawa give you the long version in his office?"
"Yes, of course! He did indeed do that!"
Her suspicious gaze lingered for a second longer until she turned with a smirk.. "Daimon, Sayu, you two take the riverbed. I'll work the gazebo at the far side. If you have any questions, submit an official inquiry tomorrow during my free period." She adjusted her glasses, making sure they glinted evilly in the sun.
She reached under her Yasogami blazer and produced two shiny objects. Ms. Takejo pushed a smudged and speckled knife into my hands and a black plastic bag into Daimon's.
Without another comment I started down the steps, Daimon following at a defeated trudge. The riverbed gleamed in the orange afternoon sunlight. Daimon crossed over to the dock of smooth stone and took stock of the depression we now stood in. The grass was glossy, if a bit trampled. Trash lay squeezed into every nook and cranny.
As soon as Ms. Takejo's footsteps died away, Daimon flopped leisurely on the dock and let out a huge sigh. Up close, he wasn't as rough around the edges as he seemed when he was busting through doors. Short, messy brown hair and a sturdy face.
"Sayu Miike, huh? I guess I never did introduce myself. I'm Daimon Niichi." He held a hand out, and right when I went to take it, jabbed a finger at me.
"Wait, okay! Yes, I may not be-"
"It's that rabb-ARGH!"
A white blur dashed past me, vaulting off Daimon's face. There was a loud, mechanical clattering. When everything stopped moving, Daimon was laid out on the dock, I could practically see the daze in his eyes. My laptop lay even more broken next to him and across the river, a pair of beady red eyes sized me up.
I chanced a careful step forward. The rabbit didn't budge, didn't even blink. Daimon's expression was pained, and he was silent. I couldn't really tell if he was breathing or not. Fear and curiosity mixed like dangerous chemicals in me, and before they could explode, I found myself at the edge of the dock.
The rabbit's ears perked and twitched. It plunged into the murk.
"Wait!" I shouted at it.
I kneeled to the green-tinged waters, face to face with my entire body reflected at me. I couldn't see anything, and the more I strained my eyes, the more washed out and unclear the depths became.
Then I stood. The other me, my reflection, rose gracefully to her full height. My heart beat a fevered plea to run into my ribcage. My fingers quavered. These past forty-eight hours suddenly fell into place. The dream, the rabbit, the limo window.
Before my eyes, I was shrinking. My hair became shorter, my uniform brightened and fused into a single cloth, and a brand new band wrapped around my free lock of hair. I was staring at me, eight years ago.
The real me.
Suddenly, a strong hand appeared and interlocked with mine. Then another, this one plush and blue, and soon, a whole crowd had gathered around me. Laughing, smiling, shadowy figures that I could never mistake for anything else in my life.
Big bro and his friends were leading her away. The fake me. Taking her to live my life.
"No! NOOO!"
One heartbeat, I was on my feet.
One heartbeat. I heard my name somewhere far away.
One heartbeat. Brilliant blue water rushed up to meet me.