Red Data Girl - Series 1 & 2

My First Familiar - 16

Red Data Girl: My First Familiar
By Noriko Ogiwara
A Translation

Red Data Girl: My First Familiar
Chapter 3: Yukimasa
Part 2 (1 of 2)

Seeing as Nankishirahama Airport was so far away, it was practically the break of dawn when the students climbed onto the bus in the school yard. They had gathered at the school before the gates were even open and the clouds in the sky were only just beginning to turn red. All the same, they were bursting with excitement. Most of the students had parents who had come to see them off and this only made them all the more ready to go.

"Huh? Wamiya?"

In high spirits, Ayumi laughed for no reason as she spoke.

"Ah, didn't you know? He's not going on the trip. His name was never on the sign-up sheet from the start,"

"Wamiya's not coming?" Izumiko said, her tone unexpected disappointed.

"Now that I think of it, Wamiya doesn't really go on trips. He's like you, Izumiko. But you're actually here. This is the first time you've showed up on the morning of a trip," Ayumi said cheerfully. "Actually, I thought you might come today, as long as you remembered. I'm glad you're able to come with us on our last class trip. Let's have a lot of fun."

Truthfully, if it hadn't been for what Miyuki had said, she would have never come. Her body had been sluggish since she had woken up and her head hurt.

If Sawa had been in her usual state that morning, she would have noticed Izumiko's pale face immediately. But for better or worse, Sawa had been in a flurry of activity before they had left for school. She had taken one look at the suitcase Miyuki had packed last minute and had promptly gone into a fuss, rushing all over the house to find things he would need.

When Mr. Nonomura had urged her to hurry up, she had finished without once noticing Izumiko's condition. Izumiko had breathed a sigh of relief when it had become apparent that she had escaped the thermometer. But she still wasn't feeling well. When she thought about the long distance they would be traveling, her discomfort only increased.

I'm putting myself through all this and Wamiya isn't coming...

The little time remaining before the trip ticked away and Izumiko almost felt betrayed by Wamiya's lack of appearance. Her first and last class trip was beginning on a very bad foot.

On the bus and then in the airport, Izumiko was unable to share her classmates' good spirits. She was feverish and her vision was hazy as if there were clouds around her head. She couldn't respond well to what Ayumi and Haruna were saying either. As this was common for the soft spoken Izumiko, though neither of them noticed that anything was wrong.

Izumiko continued to feel dizzy as they waited for their flight at Nankishirahama Airport. But it wasn't until they were sitting in their seats on the airplane that she truly began to feel ill.

I'm with all these passengers I don't know...

Izumiko had never ridden on a public bus or even a train, so she had never had the experience of being a passenger along with other people. The moment she became aware of the strangers sitting around her, she suddenly felt exceedingly anxious.

A plane is something anyone can ride. It's weird to be afraid of it...

She knew this in her head and she knew she was being ridiculous. However, her fears were strong enough that she couldn't calm down. Her panic was growing by the second.

Compared to those feelings, take off was nothing. As the plane left the ground, the students murmured to each other. Surprisingly enough, Izumiko wasn't afraid of flying itself. Instead, it was being up in the air, locked in the same place as strangers with nowhere to run to that made Izumiko shake with fear.