“Purikura?”

It was when we were almost done eating our hamburgers. An unexpected word slipped out of Tachibana-san’s mouth.

“Don’t you know? It’s a kind of camera with various functions, found in game centers and such.”

“Well, I know what purikura is, though.”

I actually took one with my friends back in middle school. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but my eyes ended up looking huge from the edits, and I laughed a lot. Where did I put those photos, anyway?

“Actually, I’m kind of interested in it. It’s a good opportunity, so I was thinking of taking one… Are you okay with that, Natsuki?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s been a while since I last did purikura.”

“Hm, have you taken one before, Natsuki?”

Tachibana-san gave me a side-glance.

“Just once in middle school. We weren’t that close, but for some reason, I ended up taking one with a group after a test.”

I think it started with a plan to hang out with my classmates after the exams, and somehow, it spread to another group, so we ended up going out with a big crowd.

“Could it have been… with a girl?”

“Well, there were girls. In my hometown’s arcade, guys can’t go into the purikura space alone.”

I’ve always wondered why that is. I’ve never had any problems, but it’s still odd.

“…I see, so I’m the only one who hasn’t done it before.”

Tachibana-san turned her face away in a pout. It was such a childlike gesture, but it looked so cute that I couldn’t help but feel like I was doing something wrong.

“But, I’ve never done one with just two people. So, you’ll be my first, Tachibana-san.”

When I said that, Tachibana-san seemed to cheer up a bit. I secretly felt relieved.

“Well, okay then. If that’s the case, let’s not waste time! Let’s do it now!”

Tachibana-san crumpled up her hamburger wrapper and stood up. There should be a game corner inside the shopping mall, so the purikura machine should be there.

◆

The machine’s female voice started a countdown in a surprisingly high-pitched tone.

“T-Tachibana-san… Isn’t this… kind of close?”

“Is it? The ones I saw at Suzakura with my classmates were all close like this.”

We waited for the shutter to click inside the purikura booth. Tachibana-san wrapped her arm around my shoulder, almost as if showing that I belonged to her, and gave a peace sign to the camera.

As for me, I just let Tachibana-san do what she wanted. At least, I made sure to face the camera straight as a small form of resistance.

“Cheese!”

The flash went off, and my vision turned white. It’s a modern, high-tech machine, but the cue was still “cheese!” It was a bit funny.

“Alright, I think that one turned out well.”

Tachibana-san nodded happily.

…Although the space was only separated by a curtain, being alone in such a small space with Tachibana-san made her presence feel so much closer. I just hoped she wouldn’t notice how nervous I was.

“Well, that’s good. I’m not so sure about it, though.”

“In that case, next time, let’s try a pose that you want to do, Natsuki.”

Tachibana-san said that, but I couldn’t think of anything.

“Alright, time for the second one!”

The countdown started before I could think of anything. Panicked, I just threw up a peace sign toward the camera. It wasn’t much, but it was the best I could do.

When I glanced at Tachibana-san with my eyes, I saw she was doing the same thing, a modest peace sign with her hand. It wasn’t like her usual self at all. But with just that gesture, I realized that she was a girl. Tachibana-san had a clear difference between “active” and “calm” based on her personality.

“…I’m happy.”

Tachibana-san stared at the photo displayed on the screen, smiling brightly and clenching her fists. I couldn’t say anything and just watched her from the side.