In fact, the topic of my classmates came up once. She laughed it off.
"Well, at least the girls don't hate you. In fact, a lot of them are starting to become interested, out of curiosity."
Although I hadn't noticed any changes in my level of popularity, I couldn't argue with her. She was the class rep, after all.
The remaining days of the school year continued to pass without incident, but somewhere in my gut I had the feeling that there was something incredibly wrong with the world. It was nothing major, but rather I began to notice several small inconsistencies. There was also an underlying feel of dread that hit me whenever I was with Asakura. As if something wasn't completely honest about her.
The silence from the SOS Brigade was troubling as well. Other than my brief discussion with Koizumi my contact with the club had been absolutely nil for almost a month now. Not that I wanted to admit to myself that I was worried, but I couldn't help but think about it. Haruhi was, if nothing else, a tyrant. The thought of the iron-fisted queen letting one of her playthings escape from her grasp was something contradictory to what I knew of the human psyche, at odds with the laws of physics, and stood in opposition with the rest of reality.
Such thoughts compelled me to return to the club room. I picked a particular day and headed to the old shack at the first ring of the lunch bell. Standing in front of the door, I pondered all the possible outcomes. Perhaps everyone would act as if I'd never left and business would continue as usual.
If Koizumi was to be believed, then perhaps Haruhi would strike me down for my insolence.
I swallowed my discomfort. After all, there couldn't possibly be anything worse than what she's already put me through. I was here to see what was up and nothing more. Yet I still hesitated.
Finally, on what was more an impulse decision, I forced myself to grasp the doorknob and open it. It was locked.
What a waste of my time.
---
Seeing as my current plans were put on hold, I decided to detour to a rather unsuspecting bench in a rather unsuspecting portion of the school. Sometimes even I needed a break from the rather mundane problems of my close friends. It was a rather cloudy day, but a nice breeze rolled through the midday gaggle of high school students. Nice weather to sit outside in.
Pretty nice weather for girl watching, too.
If only there had been a Society for the Advancement of Optical Research Equipment or something of that nature. I might not have been involved in this whole SOS Brigade business to begin with.
As group of girls from the Flower Arrangement Club walked past my attention was drawn to a lone tree in whose shadow lay the recumbent figure of Suzumiya Haruhi. Daydreaming wasn't really an aspect of Haruhi's nature that I was well-acquainted with, but as I thought about it I couldn't really find any other alternatives.
Although it was probably against my best judgment, my first instinct was to approach her.
"Yo," I greeted.
"Oh, it's you."
"Are you disappointed?"
"No, not really."
We arrive at an impasse in the conversation four lines in. I'm instantly reminded of my initial conversations with Haruhi. Has time bent around itself? If Asahina-san didn't seem so harmless I'd be keen to place the blame on her. Well, one can never be sure around the SOS Brigade.
It was Haruhi who broke the silence. "Did you need something?"
Well, for starters I'd like to know what happened to the real Haruhi. Did Nagato take her away in a spaceship and leave you here as some sort of joke? Has she ascended to the heavens to rule over Itsuki and his fellow espers? Wherever she is she's not right here. This is a fake!
"No brigade meeting today?"
"There's nothing to do so I didn't really see the point." She closed her eyes, signaling the end of that subject.
Another few moments passed in silence. Then I decided to act on an impulse.
"Hey Haruhi, come with me."
"What? Where?"
"I'm not exactly sure myself."