A Hot Gimmick Afterstory

Chapter 4

I stand outside a set of coin lockers at Ikebukuro station. Flushed and out of breath, I open my phone.

There are 18 new messages from Ryoki. The last several ones read: "meet at the ticket gates at the south exit", "oi what's taking you so long?!", then "No not THAT exit idiot! Wrong floor!", followed by "No - further down the south end, even your goddamn blind eyes can't miss the Pokemon centre on the way", and finally, "Goddamn Hatsumi! Just tell me where you are and I'll come to you!"

How can there be so many commuters in the middle of a work day? I move out of the way of three young female tourists trying to shove a large hiker's backpack into a locker.

"One - two - three - push!" They heave at the same time, but the bag won't budge. One of them stands up and looks around, finally pointing to bigger lockers down the far end. She happens to look around and catch my eye. Her curled ginger hair cut short at the shoulders, blue eyes and wide smile make her look like a kid going on an adventure. I look at the floor, my bag feeling heavy over my slumped shoulders, and start walking away. There's no way I'd be capable of travelling alone like that...

"Watch it!" Someone shouts right ahead.

My face collides with a wall of trench coat.

It's Ryoki. He huffs as though he's been pushing angrily through the crowds. I look up at his fur-collared trench coat and styled hair. Gosh, is that what they mean by "looking like a million dollars"?

"Goddamit!" he snaps. "Is it even possible to take a wrong turn every time without fail?!" Maybe not, actually. Not with frown lines like that.

"Anyway," he continues, "let's get going! We'd be at the shopping centre by now if it weren't for your sense of direction!"

"Huh? You wanted to go shopping?" I ask. He doesn't look like he's looking forward to buying anything. "And how did you find-"

But Ryoki, looking down at me, snatches my hand.

"Get going already!"

His long legs set him off so fast compared to me that I'm pulled rather than guided after him. If I let go of his hand, I just know I'll get lost. I've taken so many wrong turns already. How did I manage without him before this?

We finally leave the crowd of commuters, like two fish breaking away from a school of sardines, and get onto the escalators. Floor after floor, each escalator spirals around a central installation of suspended mirrors, extending all the way to the glass ceiling. We don't exchange a word for seven floors. I think back to my friends and Akane having a peaceful afternoon in the cafe, eating dessert, career forms and pencils lying on the table.

"Why're you being so quiet?" says Ryoki suddenly. "I hope you're busy thinking of me and not some other guy." I look down.

"Actually Ryoki, I was thinking about something that's due tomorrow at school..."

"Oh?" He leans over the rubbery railing of the escalator to look at the heads of the people below. "I'll help you finish it. Your homework's a total cinch."

"No that's not it. It's the form where we choose our universities-"

"Oh, that!" interrupts Ryoki. We get off this escalator and go around in yet another circle to the next one. The air conditioned coolness here starts drying out my eyes.

"I mean er, I still can't decide which community college I should go to," I continue, embarrassed in front of this future Tokyo University student. "N-not being high-class university material and all..."