Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume10 Chapter3 2

Suspicious Clouds. Part 2

Monday.

They went to school without speaking a word to each other.

"Take care at school today."

Rei-chan's mother was taking the garbage out, so they walked alongside each other, as though being friendly, until they turned the corner and were out of sight. Their families were important to both of them, and they were both just thinking that they didn't want to worry their parents.

It took about eight minutes to reach the school gates. Had those eight minutes ever felt as long as today? No, even before the surgery on days when she wasn't feeling well, it hadn't felt as long as today. Even though it actually must have taken at least twice as long.

Why was that?

Yoshino realized why that was. Because Rei-chan would hold her bag and walk alongside her. Rei-chan would talk non-stop to cheer her up, matching her stride.

Yoshino was truly grateful for that. Every day she told herself that she had to co-operate with the unexpectedly delicate Rei-chan so that they could spend their time peacefully. However.

On days like this, when she was forcing herself to walk a few steps ahead, sighing and looking exhausted, those feelings were completely swept away, leaving only hateful thoughts.

Thoughts of, "Why should I have to do anything? Rei-chan has no right to object."

Yoshino walked on, spitting venom at the very short hair in front of her, and eventually the main entrance to Lillian's Girls Academy came into view.

(Oh boy, it's still a long way from here.)

The tree lined with ginkgo trees lazily stretched out from the gate. There was a small garden at a fork in the road, and in there was the statue of Maria-sama. Although they'd walked there in silence, they still lined up beside each other and prayed as usual.

Yoshino didn't ask Maria-sama to help them reconcile. Because beside her, Rei-chan would undoubtedly be pestering Maria-sama for that.

There was still a little time before the morning rush, but the entry was already starting to get crowded. Since this was the point where students coming from the other gates joined into a single stream.

Yoshino went inside immediately and was about to walk away from Rei-chan at the entrance to the shoe-locker room. The reason for that was simply because the second-year and third-year lockers were in different areas, not necessarily because they were fighting.

Most days, they'd meet again after they'd been to their lockers, but today they probably wouldn't be waiting for each other. The reason for that was most definitely because they were fighting.

"Yoshino."

Just as Yoshino was starting to walk away, Rei-chan opened her mouth for the first time since today's "Good Morning." Yoshino was thinking that the reconciliation had come pretty quickly, but that was wrong. Well, it would have been troubling to Yoshino if Rei-chan had apologized so readily anyway.

"I didn't get to tell you this yesterday. After school today, Shimako's going to bring Noriko-chan with her."

"Ohhh … "

Yoshino raised her eyebrows, so it was finally happening. Time for Shimako-san to take the plunge. Despite being a second-year like Yoshino, Shimako-san was already Rosa Gigantea, so it was high time she took a petit soeur.

"Ah, but after school today – "

Rei-chan was supposed to have kendo club practice.

"Make any necessary arrangements. Sachiko's asking this too."

Rei-chan responded curtly.

"Right."

They both implicitly avoided saying the words 'club activities.' The unnatural way they avoided it still left a gloomy feeling.

Even so, Yoshino found it somewhat pitiable that she had the schedule of someone she was fighting with engraved in her brain.

"Is there anything we should be preparing?"

The Yellow Rose family may be in the midst of a quarrel, but there was still room for them to find joy in the happy topic of the White Rose family.

"Sachiko said we shouldn't do anything special."

"Hmm."

Sachiko this, Sachiko that. Yoshino was irritated – what's your opinion, Rei-chan?

It wasn't something she'd usually notice, but Yoshino was annoyed by Rei-chan's wishy-washy personality, and the way it seemed to fade in and out.

"Well, that's that then."

Having conveyed her message, Rei-chan disappeared into the third-years' area. Hey, are you just going to dump this irritation here and leave?

"What's up with that?"

Yoshino snorted, turning towards the tall retreating figure separated from her by a swarm of students.

"Such a pigheaded person."

They were both pigheaded, but people tend not to notice their own failings.

"I tell you what, she really gets my goat."

Yoshino flung her locker open and threw her indoor shoes on the floor. They hadn't done anything wrong, but she had to let her feelings out. The rubbery tip of the shoes hit the ground and they scattered in different directions.

"Even my shoes are mocking me."

At times like these, Yoshino wasn't the sort of person to reflect on her actions, thinking that such an event might be a warning from Maria-sama. With the heels of her feet out, but still wearing the leather shoes like slippers, Yoshino sullenly chased after her indoor shoes.

Having picked up her left shoe from where it had rolled in front of a locker from the neighboring second-year peach class, Yoshino spied her right shoe just inside the second-year pine group area and was reaching out to it when –

"What are you doing?"

A voice came from the two legs that had appeared in front of her.

"…"

Of course, the legs themselves weren't speaking. It would be the mouth above those two legs that was making the sound. Yoshino shifted her gaze upwards, taking it all in.

Triple folded socks in leather ballet flats, the hem of the skirt coming before the knees became visible. The materials used in summer were thinner and lighter, but the design of the school uniform didn't change. Frizzy hair split into two bunches spilled across the slightly askew sailor collar.

"Ah, Yumi-san."

"Gokigenyou … What are you doing?"

Yumi asked again.

"Gokigenyou. Ah, I'm just doing a bit of weather forecasting."

Yoshino impulsively lied. How could she, as a high-school student, tell her classmate that she'd been annoyed by her indoor shoes.

"So, what did they say?"

" – Neither of them were upside down, so it should be sunny, I guess."

"Sunny?"

Yumi-san turned and looked at a window near the ceiling. It was cloudy this morning. The light coming through the window was dim, so the electric lights were on.

"It's definitely going to get sunny."

Yoshino said seriously as she put her indoor shoes on.

"… I don't think it's going to be sunny."

Yumi-san opened her locker, took her indoor shoes out and placed them on the ground.

"Oh, why do you say that?"

Of course, Yoshino had no reason to believe something as unscientific as shoe based fortune telling, but such an outright contradiction caused her sense of competition to bloom.

"Don't tell me it's something as boring as you saw a TV weather report."

To which Yumi-san responded with, "Nope," and a shake of her head. Then she pointed to her trademark hairstyle, tied with ribbons into two bunches.

"Your hair?"

Yoshino asked.

"What's your hair got to do with anything?"

Without more information, Yoshino had absolutely no idea what she meant.

They left the shoe-locker room, freeing up the space for their fellow classmates who kept coming. Thankfully, Yumi-san was in the same class as her. They wouldn't have to finish up their conversation because they were heading to different classrooms.

"My hair isn't listening to what I tell it."

Yumi-san said, as they walked down the corridor.

"Which means?"

"There's a lot of moisture in the air. Basically, it feels like rain's coming soon."

The basis for Yumi-san's prediction seemed a lot more persuasive than Yoshino's indoor shoe forecast.