Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume34 Chapter6

An Honset Lie

It all started with the Holly-go-round.

What is that?

When I first heard the name, I too had no idea what it was. Is it a fashion brand, an amusement park attraction or the name of a video game?

However, it seems that some very select few music fans scream just from hearing the name. It’s the name of a rock band that had recently had its major debut, and is well known to those in the know.

“Really? Is it Holly-go-round’s company?”

I first heard about it during lunch break in class.

“Eh, ……yeah”.

While eating lunch I overheard this conversation from behind me.

“I knew Maoko-san’s uncle worked for a record company, but I never imagined it would be the same company that had Horigora. I’m so happy~”.

The person talking was Motomi-san from another group, and it seemed like she had just dropped by after her meal. She kept repeating “Horigora” like an expert, so I ended up learning the abbreviation for “Holly-go-round”.

The classmates that were eating lunch with Maoko-san were the same. Although they didn’t seem to have heard of Holly-go-round, they responded with “That’s amazing” as Motomi-san sang their praises. They didn’t understand what’s so great about them, but they were just swept up in the atmosphere.

Horigora is a five-piece band that started out in small live music venues. They turned down several scouts from major record companies and signed with a lesser-known one because they felt they had a good chemistry with them. Motomi-san spoke enthusiastically about how cool that is.

“I’m sorry. I don’t really know much about music”.

Maoko-san was visibly hesitant. However, she couldn’t just grab her lunch and run away.

“Is that so?”

“I don’t live with my uncle”.

“Hmm”.

Sensing that she wouldn’t get much more from this conversation, Motomi-san said, “See you”, and left the room. She probably approached her hoping she could get a ticket to a concert using Maoko-san’s connections.

I was listening to this exchange happening behind me.

(Hmm)

Muttering to myself, I put my lunchbox away and got ready for the fifth period.

(Ah)

I then realized that I hadn’t looked up the English words in the reader today.

What should I do? I stood up without thinking and Maoko-san, sitting behind me, asked, “What’s wrong?” The class was about to start. I guess she was naïve and thought, “Why would she go to the bathroom now?”

When I turned around, my eyes landed on the vocabulary book on Maoko-san’s desk. But I quickly looked away and said,

“I have a stomach ache, so I’m going to the nurse’s office”.

I had just finished eating my lunch, so I wondered if there would be a problem with the “I have a stomach ache” part, so I quickly added:

“It’s actually menstrual cramps”.

“Well, that’s tough. Arisa-san has an irregular period”.

“An irregular period? Ah”.

Come to think of it, two weeks ago I forgot my gym clothes, so I said I had “menstrual cramps” and watched the gym class. I have to be careful. Those who remember remember.

I went to the nurse’s office, clutching my stomach, which wasn’t even in pain. I was given some painkillers even though I wasn’t in pain, spent the fifth period in bed, and returned to the classroom for the sixth period.

I’m not a careless girl. I never forget things, I never neglect to prepare in advance, and I’ve never been late for any reason other than the bus being late. But I do tell an occasional lie.

That’s the way the world is.

Both mom and dad live with a little bit of a lie, which is why they are able to be kind to their families. I’m a perfectly good kid, so I’ve never been one of those “unwanted children”.

I have something that Maoko-san doesn’t have.

“Arisa”.

After school, in the second year peach class, Norika-sama said while flipping through a magazine.

“I heard you were in the nurse’s office during the fifth period today? Are you okay now?”

“Ah, yes”.

I nodded. I didn’t think anything about how Norika-sama, who was one year my senior, could know about it. When I entered the nurse’s office, a health committee member from Norika-sama’s class left without saying anything, so I expected that she would hear about it.

“Well, that’s fine”.

Norika-sama looked up, then down again and picked up the words in the magazine. She was the one thing that Maoko-san didn’t have. An “Onee-sama”.

I often pop into my onee-sama’s classroom after school. Neither of us are in any clubs, and we go home in different directions, so we have no other way to spend time together.

“Were you worried about me?”

I clung to her arm fondly. At that moment, my attention was drawn to words in the magazine that I just happened to see.

“Ah, it’s Horigora”.

I didn’t know it by looking at the photo of the members. I just saw the word “Holly-Go-Round” and said “Horigora”. In a way, I was brainwashed by Motomi-san.

“Arisa, you know about them?”

I have never shown any interest in music magazines, so onee-sama was a little surprised to find out that I knew about those, whom “only those in the know know”.

“Yes. My uncle works for a record company. So I have a little bit of experience”.

I didn’t mean to say such a thing, but it just slipped out of my mouth. The reason was that I saw my onee-sama’s eyes sparkling more than usual. I’m sure she had always wanted to talk to her petit sœur about her hobby, music. Today, that wish had unexpectedly come true, and she was happy about it.

“But it’s not a very big company”.

I just wanted to see a happier face, but the lies started slipping out.

“Ah, could it be the one with which Horigora made their debut?!”

I nodded slightly.

“They were performing at small live venues for a while, but finally decided to make their major debut. They were a good match, so they turned down a major record company and signed with my uncle’s company”.

I spoke fluently as if it was the truth. It was easy because I was only repeating Maoko-san’s words.

“Right, right. Wow, that’s amazing”.

“But I don’t know much about music. Because I don’t live with my uncle”.

The information I had collected has run out, so I thought it was time to wrap things up. However, Norika-sama is not Motomi-san, so things did not go as planned.

“So, maybe you could get a limited edition or something?”

Norika-sama asked.

“Well? Um, maybe”.

Without knowing what a limited edition of Horigora was, I nodded. I figured that my uncle, working at the record company, would definitely have it. And on top of that, I ended up promising Norika-sama that if I ever got my hands on the limited edition, I would lend it to her.

“Hey, Arisa?”

Norika-sama moved closer as if she had seen something. Thinking that my lie had been seen through, I instinctively looked away, but she moved away.

“You’re wearing makeup”.

Norika-sama said.

“……eh”.

I just use a little mascara to make my eyes look bigger, blush to brighten my complexion and glossy lip balm. My makeup is so light that it’s hard to notice at first glance, but it’s obvious from such a close range.

“You can’t use makeup”.

Norika-sama gave me a slight “hey now” look. But I thought, I can’t let her say that. Norika-sama had first called out to me on the day I first wore makeup to school.

My onee-sama likes my face with makeup on.

The next morning, I waited for Maoko-san in front of Maria-sama’s statue at the end of the path lined with gingko trees. I was going to have a difficult conversation with her.

“A limited edition Horigora? Yes, I have it”.

Maoko-san seemed surprised for a moment, but she didn’t ask “why” and told me. The limited edition of Horigora is a CD released at the same time as their major debut album, and although it contains the same songs, it’s an ultra-rare CD with limited numbers, and all of the recordings are from the band’s live performances from their indie days.

Apparently, Maoko-san had the item on her.

“My uncle came to visit yesterday and left us a souvenir. I remembered that Motomi-san had mentioned Holly-Go-Round---”.

“Could you lend it to me?”

I said without pause.

“Eh? Yeah. That’s fine”.

Maoko-san was a little surprised, but quickly took the CD out of her bag and handed it to me.

“I haven’t told Motomi-san yet, so please go ahead”.

“Really?”

I was so happy I jumped of joy.

“I’m glad I could be of help”.

Maoko-san’s eyelashes were long and black even without mascara, and her cheeks were a light pink even without blush.

I immediately gave the CD to my onee-sama after school that day. Of course, I didn’t tell her that it was borrowed.

“Thank you. I’ll listen to it tonight and return it tomorrow”.

As expected, Norika-sama’s mood was even brighter than yesterday.

“Anytime is fine”.

I was so happy, I laughed along with her. I knew that if she said “I’ll return it tomorrow,” she would keep her promise.

But for the first time, the promise was broken.

Onee-sama didn’t come to school the next day. She had a high fever.

At first, I thought she was faking it. Maybe she didn’t want to return it after just one night so she was listening to it at home.

However, when I came to visit her, Norika-sama’s mother came out and said that her fever was 39 degrees and she was in no condition to meet me. She was worried she may have spread the virus to me yesterday. Of course, I couldn’t bring myself to mention the CD.

The next day, I apologized to Maoko-san for not being able to return it that day, and she said, “there is no rush”. I was relieved for the time being, but things weren’t going as smoothly as I had hoped.

I don’t know how Motomi-san had heard about the limited edition, but she made the next reservation with Maoko-san. She made me promise to bring it tomorrow. I had no guarantee that Norika’s fever would go down and she would come to school, but I said I would bring it. I didn’t know how to answer if she asked why I couldn’t bring it. I knew that subleasing was wrong.

The next day, I tried to avoid her as much as possible. During each break, I pretended to go to the bathroom and left the classroom. During lunch, even though I had my packed lunch, I went to the milk hall to eat.

However, during cleaning, when we had the same cleaning area, there was no escape.

“Did you bring it?”

As I was sweeping the stairs with a broom, Motomi-san approached me with a dust cloth in hand.

“Yes, of course”.

Even at this stage I have continued to concoct lies.

If I said I forgot, I may have had a day to wait. But with Motomi-san’s momentum, she might even come to my house to get it. And when it’s not at my house, it would all be over.

“Well, give it to me when we get back to the classroom, okay?”

Motomi-san, who was probably in a good mood just thinking about the limited edition CD, hummed as she polished the handrail. Annoyed, I said,

“I have already given it back to Maoko-san”.

“Ah, is that so?”

I knew full well that I was strangling myself. But I didn’t know where to start to fix it. I couldn’t say it was all a lie now.

When I finished cleaning and headed to the classroom, Motomi-san, who was already there, was standing in the hallway and spoke to me.

“Maoko-san, she didn’t receive it”.

I knew that would happen. Because I haven’t actually returned the CD to Maoko-san.

“I put it in the desk before going to cleaning”.

My lies were moving ahead, and they were accelerating as if rolling down a hill, and they were now beyond my control.

“Maoko-san, since Arisa-san said so, could you please check inside the desk?”

Motomi-san pulled me by the hand and dragged me to Maoko-san. The kind-hearted Maoko-san said, “Oh, is that so?” and bent down to search the desk. I knew that she wouldn’t find the CD there. But I couldn’t admit it.

“I definitely put it in there”.

“You say that, but could it be that you actually lost or broke the CD?”

Sparks flew between two people.

“It’s not good to distrust a friend’s word like that. It may have fallen when the desk was moved during cleaning”.

In response to Maoko-san’s confusion, Motomi-san replied,

“Maoko-san, be quiet”.

It seemed far-fetched to leave out Maoko-san, who was one of the people involved.

However, right now she was more interested in csolding her classmate than in the limited edition CD.

“Sure. If you insist on having returned it, let’s talk about this in tomorrow’s morning homeroom. Many people have already left, so we can ask the people who cleaned the classroom then. Like, did you see the Horigora CD?”

“Sounds good. Let’s do that”.

Being desperate, I snorted and agreed.

“If we still can’t find it, we’ll ask the newspaper club to write about it in the Lillian Kawaraban”.

“Eh?”

“If what Arisa-san said is true, then it happened inside the school. Maybe someone has information”.

When asked if that was okay, I had no choice but to nod. There was absolutely no way it was “okay”.

I left the classroom and wandered around the school building.

What do I do.

If it gets published in the school paper, it will eventually be seen by Norika-sama. It will say that the place where the Horigora CD went missing is my classroom. If Norika-sama sees that, she will surely not think that I had nothing to do with it. She might start to doubt the origin of the CD she borrowed.

What do I do. What do I do.

As I was walking with my head full of those thoughts, I bumped into a middle-aged female teacher in front of the staff room.

“Oh, I’m sorry”.

The teacher was known for being strict when it came to students’ lifestyles, so I apologized sincerely just to be released.

“When you’re walking down the hallway, look where you’re going. Oh”.

The teacher cried out as she looked at the chest of her own outfit. There was a faint pink powder on the deep navy blue cotton sweater. What bad luck! It was the same color as my blush.

“Is this makeup?”

“N-, No”.

I stepped back. But the eyes of someone with decades of experience as a girl’s school teacher couldn’t be fooled.

“I’ll let it go today. But if I catch you tomorrow or later…… you understand”.

I bowed deeply to the teacher who was glaring at me and quickly left. I really wanted to run, but I was afraid I would be called back and reprimanded.

I wandered aimlessly and returned to the first-years’ hallway, when I saw a student walking towards me from the other side.

“……”

I was so surprised I couldn’t even speak. It was Norika-sama standing there.

“Oh, thank goodness. There was no one in the first year chrysanthemum classroom, so I couldn’t ask anyone about where Arisa is. I was just going back”.

“The fever?”

I ran over and barely managed to squeeze out those words.

“The fever had finally gone down and I am attending from today on. I went to your classroom several times during the breaks, but you weren’t there”.

“Yes”, she said, and handed me a familiar CD. The limited edition of Horigora.

“Thank you for this. I’m sorry I couldn’t return it to you the day before yesterday”.

“No…… No”.

I took it and hugged it. If I can give it back to Maoko-san, everything will be fine. It won’t be brought up at homeroom and I won’t have to worry about it being featured in the Lillian Kawaraban.

“Take your bag. Let’s walk to the gates together”.

I nodded and said, “Please wait for me”, and returned to the classroom alone.

As I was getting my bag, I was about to put the CD in Maoko-san’s desk, but then changed my mind and decided to put it under the nearest heater. The CD had fallen off the desk during the cleaning and slipped under there. We didn’t look for it properly earlier so it was fine. Even though it was autumn, it wasn’t cold enough to turn the heater yet, so there was no problem with leaving it there.

As I was squatting in front of the heater, I heard a voice from behind me.

“Arisa? What are you doing?”

I was so startled that I accidentally dropped the CD. The corner of the CD case broke. It was obvious even without picking it up.

“What is it?”

I was in a desperate situation. I never expected onee-sama to follow me.

I was on the floor, squatting. I had been hiding the CD under the heater. I did not know what excuse to make.

“Is something wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?”

I’ve been lying to her, wanting her not to know. There is no way I can talk to her about it.

“No matter what, I’m on your side”.

That’s not true. If I told her that this CD was Maoko-san’s, if she found out that I lied about returning it to her desk and was now hiding it again to make my lie seem more real, if she saw my pale face with its small eyes tomorrow, she would lose interest in me instantly.

No matter what? I’m on your side – that’s a lie.

What do you see in me that makes you say you’re on my side.

Clarity. I felt dizzy.

Um, who am I?

From the very beginning, was I ever in front of Norika-sama? Not just Norika-sama, as I ever in front of anyone?

No.

“I never existed in the first place”.

Yes. When I said that outloud, it had never before felt so right.

“Eh?”

And that’s why the lies I told don’t exist either.

“There was nothing”.

As I muttered this, the school building started shaking violently.

***

It was a big earthquake that lasted about ten seconds.

When the shaking ceased and Norika looked up, she found herself alone in an unfamiliar classroom.

“Huh? Why am I-”

Where am I? At least it’s not my classroom. Why am I here?

I feel like I was talking to someone just before the earthquake, but I can’t remember who it was. I looked around but the person wasn’t there, so I guess it was just my imagination.

Anyway, just as I stood up to leave, the door opened.

“Ah”.

The girl who appeared was clearly confused upon seeing Norika. She must have been a student in this class. Seeing someone other than a classmate, she must have thought that she went to the wrong place.

“I am the trespasser”.

When Norika said that, she smiled with relief.

“It was quite the shake, wasn’t it”.

She probably thought that I was someone who had been frightened by the earthquake and had rushed into the nearby classroom. That may have actually been the case.

“Oh my”.

The girl picked up the CD that had fallen next to Norika.

“I can’t believe it was here. I looked for it before but couldn’t find it”.

It belonged to the girl, and she kept it in her desk, but for some reason it had gone missing.

“It must have fallen out during cleaning, slid into the corner of the classroom, and then reappeared because of the earthquake just now. The casing is a little chipped, but it’s ok”.

What CD was it? I peered at it.

“Ah, Horigora”.

When I said it outloud, the girl asked me,

“Do you like them?”

“Yes. I like them”.

“I don’t really understand this kind of music. It was given to me by my uncle who works at a record company”.

I felt like I had heard this story before, but couldn’t remember where or who was telling it. By the way, I also didn’t feel like I was meeting this girl for the first time.

“I brought it because one of my classmates is a fan. Oh, do you want to borrow it? Of course, I can lend it to you after the classmate”.

“Thank you”.

Norika didn’t really want to borrow the CD at the moment. But she wanted to keep in touch with the girl, so she made a reservation.

“That’s right. My name is”.

When I tried giving my name, I was interrupted with an “I know”.

“Second year peach group’s Sazu Norika-sama”.

The girl smiled shyly.

“I’m from this class, my name is Isaka Maoko”.

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