{Our Make-Up School Trip (2)}

On a Saturday in late August, we set out on our trip early in the morning.

A day trip is quite relaxing, and we bought our tickets from the day-of vending machine. We boarded a regular train, not an express or anything special. Our destination was a port town about six stations away by train—much closer than a school trip or anything like that. But that’s exactly why we chose it; it’s a place you wouldn’t normally visit unless you had the chance, and it can be more novel than famous tourist spots. Since this was a trip for just the two of us, I didn’t want to waste time with transfers and connections.

Of course, being a port town, it had the sea, and it seemed there were some good places to eat. The guidebook also listed a few temples and shrines, so I thought we could visit those if we ran out of things to see. Satou-san agreed to my suggestion without hesitation. I expected she would, but it was nice to have it settled so smoothly.

We sat side by side in a two-seater.

As soon as the train started moving, Satou-san pulled out snacks from her backpack. She’s incredibly quick when it comes to things like this.

“Yamaguchi-kun, which one do you want to eat?”

As before, Satou-san didn’t seem to mind if her luggage got heavier or bulkier. Nowadays, most girls carry tiny bags that barely seem able to hold anything, but she brought a backpack that looked like she was planning to climb a mountain.

I wondered what was inside it for a different reason. Satou-san’s clothing style wasn’t new, but I was concerned about how tired she might get.

Satou-san kept pulling out snacks like a vendor, showing them to me.

“Cookies, rice crackers, potato chips, and… oh, the chocolate will melt if we take too long, so let’s eat that soon.”

“You bought quite a lot…”

I was overwhelmed by the variety. It almost seemed like she was preparing for a serious mountain climb. It looked like it could last for three days.

I had only bought some basic snacks and gum, so I was honestly impressed by Satou-san’s enthusiasm.

“I thought it would be better to have a lot if I’m sharing with you.”

She smiled shyly and pulled out another bag.

“Also, this is important. Crunchy ume (pickled plums).”

“Oh, for motion sickness?”

“Exactly. I’d hate to get motion sickness on a trip.”

Satou-san, looking like she wouldn’t even have time to get sick, buying ume seemed quite uncharacteristic.

Indeed, it might be effective, but just hearing the name made my mouth pucker.

“And…”

Was there still more?

Satou-san, peering into her backpack, didn’t notice my exasperation and asked,

“Yamaguchi-kun, you like mandarins, right?”

She asked out of the blue.

“Huh? Well, yes, I do like them.”

Seeing me nod in confusion, she immediately looked pleased.

“I thought so, so I brought frozen mandarins.”

The idea that she’s not like other girls seems understated. Even for a trip, bringing frozen mandarins on a date is quite unusual. I certainly hadn’t imagined it.

Now that I think about it, one of her Christmas presents last year was mandarins. Ah, so Satou-san brought them because she thought I liked them.

“Are these homemade?”

The mandarins she handed me were cold to the touch, with thin layers of ice on them. It seemed she had brought a cooler bag. Whether that’s thoughtful or not is up to interpretation.

“Yes. See how nicely the ice has formed?”

Seeing Satou-san’s proud smile made me smile back, feeling somewhat relieved.

Her homemade frozen mandarins were far tastier than any store-bought snacks. Perfect for an August trip. Though I might have praised them a bit too much.

Encouraged by my reaction, Satou-san said,

“I’ll make them again!”

It seems I’ll need to be more careful about choosing our next date destination. With Satou-san, you never know where she might take you.

In any case, the make-up school trip started off wonderfully.

Even though we spent most of the time eating and chatting, without looking out the window.

“It feels like we’re really on a trip like this,” Satou-san said, cheerfully sharing her snacks.

Her single-bun hairstyle and innocent expression were still captivating, just like during our school trip.

Perhaps the only thing that changed was me, now able to watch her calmly.

At university, there wasn’t anyone like Satou-san.

I had suspected there wouldn’t be, but there truly wasn’t.

Maybe there are some like her hiding among the more polished and fashionable girls I often see. But even if I found someone like that, they could never replace Satou-san, and searching for them would be completely pointless.

Yet my eyes always looked for Satou-san.

Even if she wasn’t next to me, I felt like she might be somewhere.

At least that was true up until now. Somewhere in that noisy Class C classroom, Satou-san was there, and because she was so plain and unpolished, she stood out more than any other girl, and if she happened to look my way, she would smile childishly or wave her hand.

Even now, in the university’s familiar grounds, the lecture halls without fixed seating, the crowded cafeteria, or while joking around with the many new friends I’ve made, I found myself searching for Satou-san. It was like a persistent habit, a sensory memory. It always felt like she was right next to me, but I never actually saw her. Of course, Satou-san isn’t a classmate anymore; she isn’t even a university student. We didn’t take the same path, so she can’t always be by my side.

—Every time I realized that, I felt incredibly lonely.

And then I woud want to see Satou-san directly.

Today, I wouldn’t have to feel that way. Even though it’s just a small day trip, we’d be together until the end. I hope it turns out to be a fun trip that can blow away old memories and new loneliness. I sincerely wish for that.

We arrived at our destination in just under two hours.

The port town station wasn’t very large, with only a few shops and restaurants. The station wasn’t very busy, and since we had no business there, we quickly left after passing through the ticket gates.

The sun was strong outside. There was a distinct smell of the sea.

“It’s so hot.”

Even Satou-san couldn’t help but groan at the heat.

The sea breeze was more of a hot wind than refreshing, and the brick-colored paving stones in front of the station were completely dry. Looking at the obnoxious numbers on the digital thermometer, I missed the frozen mandarins I had eaten on the train.

If we stood around here, we’d dry up in no time.

“Where should we go?”

I opened the guidebook.

“It’d be nice to go somewhere cool.”

Satou-san peered into the book with a slightly apologetic smile. It must be quite hot. I was worried about the backpack she was carrying.

“How about aiming for the sea, something more summer-like?”

“Sounds good. I might want to feel a cooler breeze.”

“Let’s go through the coolest places we can find and stay in the shade as much as possible. We can take short breaks along the way.”

“That sounds great. Let’s take it slow; we have plenty of time.”

As usual, Satou-san agreed enthusiastically.

Encouraged by her acceptance of the suggestion, I quickly found a route to the sea in the guidebook.

I had already picked out a few possible routes beforehand, so I quickly found a suitable one. There was a cycling road along the river near the station, and it was said to eventually connect to the coastal road.

There was also a bike rental office nearby. It wasn’t cheap, aimed at tourists, but riding a bike around an unfamiliar city sounded like fun.

Plus, a bike would make the backpack less of a burden.

“Let’s rent bikes, Satou-san.”

Satou-san looked puzzled.

“Is that even possible?”

“It says so in the guidebook.”

“Yamaguchi-kun, you’re amazing. You found it well!”

She was incredibly impressed, so I almost said, “I read it thoroughly until yesterday,” but managed to hold back.

It wasn’t something I had to confess, anyway.

But for a school trip, isn’t it important to prepare in advance?

We went to rent bicycles and then started riding along the river’s cycling road.

I was worried about whether Satou-san could ride a bike, but even she wasn’t that bad. Though she wasn’t particularly skilled, we decided to take it slowly.

Along the way, we took several breaks.

There were small parks surrounded by greenery along the cycling road, and we rested in the shade of the trees. At one of them, there was a well-placed soft-serve ice cream stand, and we ended up falling for the marketing strategy.

“It’s starting to feel like a trip focused on eating.”

When I grumbled, Satou-san smiled with a welcoming expression.

I noticed a bit of ice cream on her cheek and thought how typical that was for Satou-san.

But this trip was incredibly, incredibly relaxing.