{A Day When Sato-san is Melancholic}

“Ugh…”

Sato-san sighed.

Hearing it by chance, I looked over to my right, glancing at her.

I saw her profile, resting her chin on her hand.

Her downcast expression, with her eyelashes lowered, was something I had never seen before since we started sitting next to each other.

I almost stared at her intently but quickly averted my gaze.

On a morning in early May, the classroom was buzzing with activity.

The time before the teacher arrives is always noisy, but with the long weekend approaching, it felt especially restless today.

I’m looking forward to Golden Week too. I don’t have any special plans other than hanging out with friends, but just being away from classes is enough for me.

I wondered if Sato-san had any plans for Golden Week.

Well, I’m not going to ask. We’re not that close, and it’s not really my business.

“Ugh…”

Blending into the commotion, I heard another faint sigh.

I subtly turned my gaze back and confirmed that Sato-san still had a gloomy expression.

I wondered what she was thinking. It was unusual for her to be down in the morning. I was getting curious.

When a premonition of trouble arises, it’s best to step back and keep a distance.

Keeping that in mind, I quietly opened my mouth.

“Is something wrong, Sato-san?”

“…Huh?”

There was a slight delay before Sato-san turned to look at me.

Her face, even when she looked at me, wasn’t smiling.

“You’ve been sighing a lot.”

I said this while taking out the first-period textbook from my desk drawer.

I was pretending to be just making small talk—no, not really pretending; it was genuinely like that. I was just casually concerned about a classmate. I didn’t dislike her or anything.

“Is it because we have physical education in the third period? Does that get you down?”

I asked with a light laugh, and Sato-san managed a faint smile in response.

“That’s part of it, but…”

Her voice quickly sank again.

“Part of it?”

But what else could it be? Could there be something besides physical education that was bothering her? I was curious but didn’t want to push further.

Sato-san fell silent, so I didn’t pursue the matter any further.

The classroom’s liveliness today felt a bit annoying.

Everyone seemed to be blissfully carefree because Golden Week was approaching. But I wasn’t in the mood for that.

I was stealing glances at Sato-san’s melancholic profile from the corner of my eye.

I wondered if she ever showed such expressions. It didn’t seem to suit her at all. Her usually cheerful demeanor made her current serious look feel jarringly out of place.

After a while,

“Hey, Yamaguchi-kun.”

Sato-san called my name.

So, I turned towards her as a natural response.

“What?”

Sato-san, sitting to my right, softened her expression just a little.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a hypothetical situation…”

As she spoke, she gently stroked her tied-up hair.

“If one of your important friends was really down…”

“My friend?”

“Yeah. And if they came to you with their problems, what kind of words do you think would be best to give them?”

Sato-san’s question was sudden and quite challenging.

I rested my chin on my hand and thought.

“A friend… That’s a tough one.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“First, it depends on what kind of problem it is.”

When I said that, Sato-san gave a wry smile.

“Ah, I see. Yeah, well… how about problems related to life?”

“Life?”

That’s quite a heavy issue.

I thought it was a bit hasty for someone to burden Sato-san with such serious problems.

Sato-san, who is somewhat tactless yet overly concerned, might end up suffering herself by taking on others’ worries. It didn’t seem like she’d be able to give good advice.

Sato-san awkwardly but sincerely tried to explain.

“Well, it’s not exactly life, but more like… a way of living…”

“Like career-related worries, or something like that?”

“Ah, yes, exactly.”

She seemed relieved by my assist.

“If someone consults me with their worries, I feel like I can’t say anything strange. I want to be helpful, but only they can find the answer, so I’d hope to at least offer some warm words.”

She looked troubled after saying this.

“But… warm words alone are very difficult, aren’t they?”

“That’s true.”

I’ve heard that telling someone who is deeply depressed to “hang in there” isn’t a good idea.

When someone is desperate, adding pressure to keep trying might not help. I find such people annoying, but apparently, people’s hearts are quite delicate.

Even for me, if someone told me “hang in there” while I was overwhelmed with exam prep, I’d just think they should leave me alone. I don’t like being pressured. I’m trying my best already, as much as I can.

So what would be the best thing to say in this situation?

“I’m thinking of contacting them tonight.”

Sato-san said.

I wondered who she was talking about. It might not be a classmate.

But given how slow Sato-san is at typing, whoever it is, it’ll probably take her until tonight to reply.

“What kind of words would be best to say…”

While I was thinking unnecessarily, she sighed again.

Seeing her so melancholic made me uneasy. It felt out of place and made me uncomfortable.

I felt like I should come up with something to help.

“For example…”

I suddenly thought of something.

“How about saying, ‘If there’s anything I can do, feel free to ask’?”

It felt odd for me to say something like that. Very odd.

“Just offer a word and then wait. Maybe that could be good.”

“Huh? Waiting…?”

Sato-san’s eyes widened in surprise.

I continued, somewhat hurriedly.

“Just as an example. I think someone who is troubled needs someone to listen to them first. In your case, you’ve already listened, right? So, it might be good to wait until they ask for help with something else.”

If they confide more, you can listen.

If there’s no sign of that, it might be good to wait until they feel better.

“It might be nice to tell them that you’re always there for them. If they’re a friend.”

I told Sato-san, then wondered if I could say that myself.

It was clearly not my usual style.

I thought these words suited Sato-san. Not me. They seemed fitting for her.

Sato-san listened intently to what I said.

After a while, she lowered her eyelashes as if deep in thought.

“Being there… Maybe it’s better to meet and talk in person?”

“Yeah, that might be better. It’s often hard to convey everything through text. For someone like you, who is awkward, seeing their face and talking might communicate better.”

There are things that can’t be fully conveyed through writing. Especially for someone as awkward as Sato-san. Talking face-to-face might be more effective.

I didn’t really understand Sato-san until we started sitting next to each other and talking.

Whether it’s good or not, I’m not sure.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Finally, Sato-san smiled as usual.

Her troubled expression faded, and she looked bright and cheerful.

“Thank you. You’re really amazing, Yamaguchi-kun.”

“No, I’m not amazing. It’s just one opinion.”

“No, you are amazing. I find everything you say very convincing, and I think it’s impressive.”

Being praised so straightforwardly made me blush.

“You’re overestimating me.”

I turned my face away, but inwardly, I felt relieved.

Sato-san had returned to her usual smile.

She really doesn’t suit a melancholic expression; it’s better when she’s smiling.

Her smile isn’t particularly cute, but it’s comforting to see. Maybe it’s just because I’m used to it.

I don’t know what kind of troubles her friend has. But if Sato-san is smiling brightly like that, maybe it will be somewhat supportive. Do your best.

“I’m glad I asked you, Yamaguchi-kun. Thank you so much.”

Sato-san continued to thank me.

She’s still persistent. I frowned but felt unusually playful and said,

“Well, with this, you should be all set for the physical education class in the third period. I hear girls have hurdles on the field.”

“Huh…”

Suddenly, her face tensed up.

Seeing Sato-san looking so deeply troubled, I regretted saying that.

But I couldn’t give any better advice, so I could only offer silent support.

— Sato-san, do your best in physical education too.