{Satou-san Smiling Next to Me}

That morning, Satou-san was in the classroom.

She was sitting in the second row from the window, at the very back.

As I tried to take my seat next to her with unsteady steps, she called out to me.

“Good morning, Yamaguchi-kun.”

Then Satou-san smiled.

“It’s been such a long time. Of course, that’s to be expected…”

“Yeah.”

I nodded.

But I didn’t know what kind of face to make.

I hadn’t expected Satou-san to be here today—though technically, she should be here. It’s normal for her to be sitting next to me, but after not seeing her for a long time, I felt nervous.

Even the sound of placing my bag on the desk seemed unusually loud.

After a few days of sick leave, Satou-san had finally returned to class.

She seemed to have lost a bit of weight, with slightly thinner cheeks. However, her complexion was better than I had expected, and her smile was just like before. While I felt relieved, there was also a sense of awkwardness.

Perhaps it was because I had grown accustomed to the empty seat next to me.

The seat that had been empty for just a few days now had its rightful owner back. It might take some time to get used to it again. It seemed like I had developed a peculiar habit of frequently checking the empty seat.

Satou-san, with her hair tied in a single ponytail, was looking around the classroom.

“Everything feels so nostalgic. Even though I was only gone for a little while.”

She murmured wistfully and then laughed at her own words.

“I’m so happy to see everyone’s faces.”

As she spoke, she waved to the classmates who made eye contact with her. The looks she received from her classmates were warm.

The gaze Satou-san cast over the whole classroom was equally warm.

I didn’t think I had forgotten Satou-san’s expressions and mannerisms.

Even though it had only been a few days since I had seen her, I was confused by her presence.

Why was I feeling so awkward?

“Are you fully recovered now?”

I asked casually.

Sato-san turned to me and tilted her head.

“Yes, thanks to you. My appetite has come back, and I’m feeling great.”

“With the school trip coming up, do you think you’ll be able to go?”

“Absolutely. I’m back to my normal self.”

Given her good complexion, it seemed like she really was fine.

I said I was glad, and Satou-san smiled with a hint of disappointment.

“But I missed out on the perfect attendance award. Oh, how unfortunate.”

I wondered if the perfect attendance award was really such a big deal. I had never cared about it, so Satou-san’s disappointment seemed almost comical to me.

“You’re still on about that? Your health is more important.”

Satou-san spoke earnestly.

“I’ve always been punctual and never missed a day since elementary school.”

“Really…”

“This was probably my only chance to get an award at school. It’s really a shame.”

It was true that Satou-san might not have many other achievements to boast about.

Her grades weren’t outstanding, she often struggled to answer questions in class, and she was clumsy in physical education, dragging others down. She seemed awkward, slow, and not very perceptive, making me wonder if there was any subject she was suited for.

But she must be the kind of person who keeps promises.

I thought that her sincerity was the one thing she could truly be proud of. It was probably the reason she had cared so much about the perfect attendance award.

“But I really appreciate what you did, Yamaguchi-kun.”

Satou-san spoke in a serious tone.

I had a bad feeling and looked away.

I had a sense of what she was about to say next.

“I only vaguely remember, but… during that lunch break when I was feeling unwell, you were the one who spoke to me, right?”

Her voice was slow, as if trying to recall.

It was indeed a familiar voice. It had been a while since I had heard it.

“Well, yeah.”

I answered vaguely.

Although it was true, it wasn’t something I needed to confirm enthusiastically. Should I preemptively say that there was no need for thanks? Otherwise, Satou-san might be persistent.

“If you hadn’t taken me to the infirmary, I don’t know what would have happened. Thank you so much.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“I’m sorry. I wish I had thanked you properly at that time, but I don’t remember much because of the fever. I’m really sorry.”

Satou-san looked apologetic. She must have been giving me a downcast look to match her expression.

So I responded while deliberately avoiding eye contact.

“It’s fine. I could tell you were unwell. It’s understandable you wouldn’t remember much, especially since you were feverish.”

“Feverish? I was?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded.

Then I glanced at Satou-san out of the corner of my eye.

Satou-san, sitting in the seat next to me.

She looked a bit thinner, but her complexion was good, and the expression on her face as she looked at me with curiosity was the same as before.

I recalled the words she had mumbled in her feverish state.

I wondered what she had meant by waiting for something.

I had no way of knowing. But it wasn’t something I could easily ignore.

After all, if someone had made Satou-san, who tried to keep her promises, wait and disappointed her, that person would be a terrible villain.

It was frustrating to think that someone might have trampled on what Sato-san prided herself on, her commitment to keeping promises. Maybe that person had even caused her cold. If that was the case—

Well, it might just be my misunderstanding, and besides this should not be any of my concerns.

Satou-san was smiling next to me.

“How did I sound when I was feverish? Did I say anything weird?”

“Ah… well.”

Yes, she did say something strange. Satou-san said things that didn’t make much sense to me. She had uttered things that made me imagine and speculate, even though I had no relation to them.

But I shook my head.

Pretending to be an outsider who didn’t know anything.

“You were just moaning. Don’t worry about it.”

“Moaning? That’s embarrassing. Please forget about it, Yamaguchi-kun.”

“Got it, I’ll try to. By the way—”

I opened my bag, which had been left on the desk, to change the subject.

I took out a binder with loose-leaf notes. It was a special version of the class notes from the past few days, complete with furigana. I handed it to Sato-san.

“You’ll need these class notes, right?”

Satou-san’s eyes widened for a moment before she returned to her smile.

“Thank you! Can I borrow these?”

“Sure. Since you’re catching up, you need to work hard.”

“Yeah, I’ll copy them right away. I’m really grateful to you, Yamaguchi-kun.”

Satou-san’s smile was almost the same as before.

Her clumsiness in opening her notebook and her hesitation while writing were unchanged. Apart from being a bit thinner, Satou-san had returned to the seat next to me as before.

So, was it me who had changed? Was my awkwardness due to my own issues? I didn’t know how to interact with Satou-san and couldn’t even convey half of what I wanted to say.

“It’s hard to find the right way to thank you. I’m sorry for always being a burden.”

Satou-san said this so easily.

I struggled to respond.

I just shook my head and replied that it was nothing.

Even though I had thought about many things during her absence, I still ended up saying so little.

There were other things I wanted to say.

“Since you’ve just recovered, don’t push yourself too hard. And with the school trip coming up…”

I said this to steer the conversation away.

“Yes, even though I missed the perfect attendance award, I definitely want to go on the school trip.”

Satou-san nodded vigorously.

She was smiling in the seat next to me, just as she always did, unchanged.