Seems like I arrived on time, but what do I say now?
"Kozue-san?" Narumi questioned as she bit her lip. "Is everything okay? You're out of breath," she asked, puzzled.
"Narumi-san, I need to ask you something," I spoke from Kozue's body.
I approached Narumi and Kozue, who was inside my body.
"Narumi-san, did you—"
"I'm sorry, Kozue-san," Narumi interrupted. "I was talking to Koji-kun privately."
Dammit, she won't listen to me if I'm inside Kozue's body.
"Can you leave us alone?" Narumi smiled.
Kozue's eyes on my body shadowed under darkness.
"What were you telling me, Koji-kun?" Narumi asked Kozue.
Kozue looked down at the grass and her fists trembled. "I don't want to get involved with you."
Narumi stared at Kozue with her mouth open. Only water and wind waved on our ears.
You said it, Kozue. Are you happy now?
"Gosh, you're so funny!" Narumi laughed. "Seriously, what did you—"
"I'm serious," Kozue stated.
Narumi's body halted all its motion. Her smile slowly disappeared from her face.
"She's not!" I shouted.
Kozue and Narumi looked at me.
"She?" Narumi asked, emotionless.
Dammit, it slipped out!
"Narumi-san, just tell us. Are the rumors about you true?"
A short laugh came out from Narumi's mouth as it curved up. "It doesn't matter. You won't believe me."
"We will! Please, tell us—"
Narumi interrupted me, "You know, one of the reasons I like Koji-kun is that he understands what being targeted by unfair gossip feels like."
She likes me?
"And no one cares about it. Not even you, Kozue-san," she added and looked at me with sharp eyes. Her gaze pierced my soul although it was intended for Kozue.
"What do you mean?" I asked Narumi.
"Do you know anything about Koji-kun's past? At least a little bit?"
What do I say? How do I defend Kozue? Should I defend her?
"I even listened to their tip of making Koji-kun buy me a manga."
Their tip?
"And still, he doesn't look interested in me at all," Narumi said. She looked down and her blonde hair covered her eyes.
"In fact, he looks more interested in you every day, Kozue-san," she added.
What is she talking about?
A tear from Narumi's eye dropped to the ground. "Isn't life unfair? I've had no friends ever since that happened. I know they use me since I'm fragile and easily manipulated, but I have no other choice than to listen to them if I don't want to be alone. And it wasn't even my fault."
Her voice drowned more and more under sadness as she spoke and more tears fell down.
"You want to hear the truth?" she asked as she wiped out her tears. "I liked Daisuke a lot but didn't know how to approach him. I listened to their tips and I got pretty close to him. And, out of nowhere, rumors about him being expelled spread around the whole school. I tried to contact him, but he never replied."
"Narumi-san…" I let out.
"I didn't put those cigarettes in his backpack!" she yelled. "Why would I? But no one believes me. Because I'm popular? Because I'm pretty? Bullshit."
Kozue and I stayed silent.
"There's your truth. Now leave me alone—"
Kozue walked in front of Narumi and embraced her.
"Koji-kun?"
Kozue…
"I'm sorry for believing the rumors."
"You believed them?"
Kozue let go of her. "I'm Kozue, not Araki."
Narumi stared at Kozue with tears rolling down her cheeks. "What do you mean?"
I approached them and stood next to Kozue. "And I'm Araki. We swapped bodies."
Narumi fixed her eyes on me. "Why are you joking at a time like this? I'm not—"
"Why would we joke like this?" I interrupted.
Narumi stopped sobbing and wiped her tears once again. "That's why you called him—her she before?" she asked, still confused.
"Yes…" I laughed nervously.
"How does that work? Isn't it like magic?"
"It is. We still don't know how it works but we're trying to figure it out," I replied.
"If that's true, that means…," Narumi continued. "I was talking to Kozue inside Araki's body this whole time?"
"Yes," Kozue grinned.
Narumi blushed and walked between us. She stood silent behind our backs and we turned around.
"T-Thank you for listening," Narumi said. "And don't get me wrong, it's not like I believe something as dumb as that, but I won't tell anyone."
Kozue and I smiled.
It's nice when she's not that aggressive.
"Oh," Narumi added. "And I won't give up, Kozue-san. You better hurry if you don't want to lose," she said while still looking away from us.
She turned on the corner and disappeared from our sight.
"What is she talking about?" I questioned.
"I-I don't know," Kozue laughed nervously.
We crossed the bridges between the high school buildings and arrived at the entrance, where Kawahara also walked towards the gate.
"You are still here," Kawahara said behind us.
"Oh, you're also still here," Kozue replied. "How was your visit to the staff room?"
"Yasue-sensei explained to me the rules I broke and the dangers. However, the report letter for my parents is remarkably short. I wonder why," Kawahara responded.
"I see," Kozue said.
"How did the discussion go? Did she cry excessively?" Kawahara asked.
"Just a little bit," Kozue answered, scratching her head.
"You actually made her cry," Kawahara said.
"It was interesting," I remarked. "She told us the truth about her rumors and everything ended well."
"Can you believe her? Did she show you proof?" Kawahara asked.
"She was telling the truth, I know that," Kozue responded.
She bowed in front of Kawahara and me. "I apologize. Not only I didn't want to listen to Araki, but I also swapped bodies on purpose. I'm sorry."
Kawahara and I looked at each other.
"Apology accepted," Kawahara replied.
"I don't blame you, Kozue," I said. "I think we all learned something."
Kozue stood straight and looked at me. "Right!" she smiled.
I still can't get used to looking at myself acting like that…
"Oh, we also told Narumi that we swapped bodies," Kozue told Kawahara.
Kawahara's brows lifted a few millimeters. "That is unexpected. How did she react?"
Kozue thought for a couple of seconds. "She looked like she believed at first, but then she said she didn't."
"She also said something about Kozue losing if she didn't hurry—"
Kozue shut my mouth with her hand, "Y-Yes! So we don't know if she believed us or not!" she interrupted.
"Understood," Kawahara said and pushed her glasses up. "I also understand you won't be able to swap bodies for some time. If my hypothesis is correct, around thirty minutes more."
"I see! Thank you very much, Kawahara-san!" Kozue smiled. "What should we do, Araki-kun?"
I tried to speak but my voice was muffled by Kozue's hand.
"Oh, sorry!" Kozue laughed and took her hand off my mouth. "What did you say?"
"I said we should wait. Going home with each other's bodies would be very awkward. We know practically nothing about each other."
"Yes, you're right," Kozue replied. "I'll call home to tell my dad I'll arrive a bit later."
"I'll tell my chauffeur to wait," I said.
"Sounds like you have a plan," Kawahara spoke. "I'm going home. I need to deliver this report to my parents."
"I hope your parents don't scold you too much," I told Kawahara.
"They will understand," Kawahara replied. "Have a nice day, Kozue Suzuka-san and Araki Koji-kun," she added and walked away.
Kozue took my phone out of my backpack and tapped on the screen a few times.
"Wait," she said. "This isn't even my phone."
"Right. Where's yours?" I asked.
"Give me my backpack. I'll call and you'll talk," Kozue replied.
"I have to?" I asked as I gave Kozue her backpack.
"Yes," she responded and took her phone out. "It'll be weird if I talk to my dad with your voice."
"You're right."
"Uh-oh."
"What is it?" I asked.
"I have no service to make phone calls anymore," she laughed without emotion.
"You can use mine."
"Oh. Really? Thanks," she said.
Kozue made her phone call and I talked for her. Luckily, it was a short call. It was the first time I heard her father's voice.
We stepped out of the high school and approached the car my chauffeur drove. I made Kozue tell him to wait for my phone call. She acted a bit awkward, but everything ended well.
We headed to the town nearby, a small town hidden between mountains and woods outside the city.
The sun shone against the cloudy sky as we wandered around the short streets populated with homes and shops.
We stopped to buy snacks at a convenience store and arrived at a park after some minutes. We sat on a bench underneath the shadow of a tree while kids played around.
"So, ten more minutes?" Kozue questioned as she chewed her pineapple-stuffed bread.
It's weird looking at me eating like that…
"Yes, according to Kawahara," I replied.
"Nice!"
My body's cheeks puffed up like a hamster as Kozue took more and more bites of her bread.
I stared down at the chips on my hands.
"Why aren't you eating?" Kozue asked with her mouth full.
Is she always this inappropriate?
"I'm supposed not to eat chips or any junk food," I answered.
"Really? Are you on a strict diet?"
"Not strict, but they don't want me to fall in an endless hole of sorrow from which I'll never escape or something like that."
"Are you serious? They make it sound horrible! It's not that bad. I was in very good shape and still ate a lot of chips in middle school!"
Kozue's smile narrowed down after what she said.
"Also, you're in my body, it shouldn't affect yours," she smiled back.
"You're right."
"So, will you eat them?" she asked.
"Sure…" I replied.
I ripped the chips bag open and looked at them, yellow and shining like gold. My jaw dropped on its own.
I took one chip out of the bag and slowly moved my hand to my mouth. The chip snapped as soon as my teeth closed.
It continued to crunch as I chewed it and gulped it after it turned into pieces.
Delicious!
I entered into a frenzy of junk-food eating, taking chip after chip with no remorse.
"Why is this so good?!" I questioned with my mouth full.
Kozue chuckled.
I came back to reason.
What am I doing?
"I would pay to see that expression on your face," Kozue laughed. "Wait, I'm in your body, I can do it!"
"Don't," I said with a poker face. I looked inside the bag. "I almost finished them!"
"Give me one!" Kozue said and took a chip out of the bag on my hand.
She bit it and crunched for a few seconds before gulping it.
"It's pretty good!" she said. "But I remember it being even tastier than this. Same with this bread."
"That's weird," I said.
We finished our snacks after a couple of minutes. Gray clouds had hidden the sunlight and fewer kids played in the park.
A weird silence halted our chat.
"S-So, how's your family, Araki-kun?"
"Well, my father is traveling somewhere, probably outside the country."
"Really? That's amazing!"
"He does that often, so I don't get to see him too much. Even if he's here, I barely see him, to be honest."
"I-I see," Kozue laughed nervously. "What about your mom?"
"My mother is always traveling overseas for work," I replied. "I talk to her when she's not busy. It's been almost a year already."
"Have they always been away?"
"Since I have memory."
"Who takes care of you, then?"
"The maids and butlers. They are very nice to me and they have taken care of me since I was a kid."
"I see! That's nice of them."
"Well, they are paid to do so."
"I bet they would do it anyway," Kozue smiled.
I looked at Kozue.
"And you don't have siblings?" Kozue asked.
Siblings. Otsune…
"I—"
A vibration from Kozue's bag interrupted my answer.
"Someone is calling you," I told Kozue after taking the phone out.
"Who?"
"Hisa…" I read out loud. "Oh, Hashimoto?"
"Hisa? She never calls at this hour," Kozue wondered. "Answer her."
"What? What am I going to say?!" I exclaimed.
"Just turn up the volume and I'll tell you what to say."
I let out a deep breath and touched the green button.
"Su-chan! Are you okay? Where are you?" Hisa asked, worried.
We both looked at each other, confused.