The beautiful, blooming spring afternoon contradicted the aura of farewell that emanated from the Fujou School on its last day of classes. In the bustling corridors, the eagerness to confirm their approval was the most popular topic among the students. Nevertheless, there were other reasons for their beating hearts: their love lives created there.
Takao shuddered at the thought of these things. It had been more than a year since she had noticed the passion in her heart, still as a sophomore. Fear had made her unable to declare herself, and after so many vain attempts to proclaim her love, she realized that today could be her last chance for a happy ending. Her beautiful brown hair was in its traditional braided form, but her countenance was no longer as carefree as always. Near her, a girl with glasses and dark hair breaks the silence: "So? What are you going to do? This might be your last chance. "I know, Inada, but I'm nervous..." replied Takao, sighing.
Inada was the only one to know, by her own confession, about Takao's feelings. This was because they were remarkable to any outside observer, but the exception was precisely the target of his passion: Kazama Kenji. He who was in Takao's view once just a member of the rival club, was now, a year and a few months later, consciously his love. "You better propose soon, that way you'll be dating by the time you're in college" joked Inada. Takao didn't answer, just returned an embarrassed smile. They continued walking the halls and talking together. By now they had confirmed their approval, and relief was evident only on the part of the girl with the glasses.
It wasn't long before, in the midst of the crowd of teenagers, they spotted Kenji. At that moment Takao's heart soared, it seemed as if it was about to explode. The figure of her loved one made her hesitate briefly, however, she recovered steadily. She watched him and thought she was finally decided to confess her feelings. However, when she decided to meet her beloved, she noticed something strange: Kenji had a distant and turbulent look in his eyes, which made her hesitate. After that, he decided to take an unusual direction, he seemed to be looking for something. "Go!" ordered Inada, and she followed him.
In the course of her steps she felt memories seep into her mind: the places, the sensations, the chances to declare herself, she imagined she would miss those moments. Kenji's pace was slightly faster than hers, and this, combined with the amount of people present in all directions, almost made her lose sight of him, until he reached a less busy sector of the outer corridors. Now it was possible to follow him perfectly, and she could still declare herself without inconvenience, she thought she should do it right there, but she was still unsure because of Kazama's expression.
Suddenly, his voice resounds, "I finally found you!" he exclaimed. Hearing this, Takao hesitated, stopped and tried to listen to the conversation, carefully aiming not to be noticed. He was talking to someone else, Takao felt his heart freeze when he recognized the voice. It was Mogusa, Kenji's childhood friend whom she had once met when she stayed at the Kazama house during her 2nd year summer vacation. Takao knew that they spoke again during 3rd grade, but he remembered the day they met, in which she stated that she had no interest in Kenji and preferred boys like Shiou Hachi, who was quite popular with the girls.
"K-Ken-chan? Why did you call me here?" asked Mogusa. "Mogusa, I need to tell you something..." began Kenji. Takao widened his eyes, that scene seemed to dissolve his hopes in the painful cup of rejection. "M-Mogusa, I actually... like you. Do you want to date me?" he said. Hearing this, Mogusa was quiet for a few moments. Takao was shaken, and before she even heard the answer, she stormed out of there, crying.
...
The noise of the alarm clock burst upon Takao's turbulent mind, which took a few seconds to pull itself together. "Ah, it was just a dream..." she said, after a long yawn, her expression revealed a mixture of dismay and relief, her dark circles under her eyes were apparent. She was wearing her usual pajamas, and was lying on the bed in her apartment. She leaned over slowly to look at her watch, and when she realized that it was already the third ring of the alarm clock, she jumped in despair: "I'm going to be late!"
...
Some time later, in her car on the way to work, she thought: How long has it been since I dreamed about this? It has been 7 years since that day. Today, at the age of 25, she is a programmer, and because of her talent and success in previous works, she is now working on developing a new game for a large company. Despite the weather, she was still wearing her characteristic pigtails, along with her bandanna, but the school uniform gave way to standard jeans and an authentic T-shirt with Mason from the game Magic Village printed on it. It was noticeable that she remained slovenly when it came to fashion conceptions.
By now, Takao had gotten over the recalled event, however, she had dreamed it several times for a few months after the event, the relapse surprised and intrigued her. She knew that Mogusa had accepted Kenji's request and that they had become boyfriend and girlfriend that day. She knew, however, that he had chosen to follow in the footsteps of Professor Shaun Konekone and had entered Classical Literature.
...
A few hours later, around 11am, she was in her workroom and had finished the activities planned for that day. She sighed in relief and smiled, thinking Finally it's over, and since today is only half-day, I'm free for the rest of the day. Takao's subtle celebration was interrupted by a message that arrived on his cell phone, it was Inada. "Today is Friday and we are free, shall we go to the cafeteria? She also worked in the same studio as Takao, however, she was a designer, and used another room, on a lower floor of the building. Her momentary excitement matched perfectly with the timing of her friend's message, which led her to accept: "Okay, I wasn't going to do anything anyway, let's go".
...
They were already seated at the coffee shop table and had their coffees in hand. This was a familiar situation: it was not a busy place, nor was it a "ghost town". Countless times they had been together there, which gave them a good relationship with the people who worked there. This common situation made Takao think about the unusual: he had never been there with a boyfriend, but only with friends. "Takao, you never came here with a boyfriend, right?". Takao was taken aback by her friend's almost mind-reading and narrowly missed choking on her coffee. "Inada, there's no need to be so direct," she said. The bespectacled girl continued, "Year in, year out, and you're still an old maid. Takao made an embarrassed face, but replied, ironically: "What about you, Inada-chan? Did you magically get a boyfriend yesterday? Inada's face remained still. "No, but in all that time I've already had a boyfriend, you've been at zero since I've known you," she said, and after a sigh she shot back, indignant: "Not to mention that I don't even have that many options, but you: I know countless of handsome guys who give a shit and you just don't care!"
Although their conversation was nothing more than usual, there was something different about Takao's reactions. I think that dream affected me a little, I'm more sensitive to this topic thought Takao, convinced. Inada noticed her friend's silence, was surprised, and felt a little sorry for her.
Nevertheless, the feeling didn't last long when the bell on the cafeteria door rang. It seemed to be a subtle ringing, a mere herald of a person's arrival, but Inada instinctively noticed a disparate presence. Slowly, Takao noticed it too, and gradually his despondent look faded, his eyes grew wide and his heart soared at what was imminent. That face, that hair, that presence, everything was familiar to Takao. As he stared at the door, his suspicions were confirmed: the person who had entered the cafeteria was Kazama Kenji.