Day23

“Did you happen to lend the necklace to someone?” Hitori randomly asked me this morning during recess.

“What are you talking about?” was my reply. I had no idea what gave him that idea, but if telling him that I have it will make him want to borrow it, I’d rather not do so.

Hitori looked around and sat on the seat next to me. He moved the chair closer, as if he wanted to say something he didn’t want anyone to hear. “You remember that girl I had a crush on?”

“Miharu?” I asked?

“Ssssh!” he shushed, despite the fact that I was already almost whispering. “Yes, her…” he whispered. “Anyway,” he added as he looked around. “There’re too many people here. Let’s talk somewhere else,” he said, standing up.

Thinking that the conversation has entertainment potential, I followed him. He led me to the hallway leading to the school roof. I almost thought he was planning to talk up there, but he stopped midway.

“This place is good enough.” Turning to me, he began, “Has Miharu ever seen you with the necklace on?”

After thinking for a while, I recalled that she did. “Yes, I accidentally bumped into her with it on. Why?”

“Next question! Did she, in any way, give you the impression that she likes you?” he proceeded to ask, ignoring my question.

“Hmm, there was a time I thought that,” I answered, not wanting to tell him the whole truth. I started suspecting what he was coming at that time. Knowing him, he probably really believed that the necklace had the ability to make people fall for a person. I was ready to laugh when he gave me his next question.

“Remember the time, around December, when Rinei seemed down?” he asked me. “Could it be that she had feelings for someone else?”

I didn’t laugh. I couldn’t laugh. Crazy as it seemed, what he wanted to prove started making sense to me. Looking back, I recalled that I used to feel closer to Miya whenever I had the necklace on, which made me believe that the necklace was my lucky charm. It was also after I lent Hitori the necklace when Miya suddenly developed feelings for him. After getting the necklace back, Miya and I became a couple again. Lastly, I remembered that, based on what she said, Yumi felt attracted to me when we bumped into each other, and I had the necklace on that time.

“Based on your serious expression, I guess that’s a yes. I’m guessing you were also just joking when you told me your necklace had some kind of magical power. Well, what do you think?”

I couldn’t answer him. I don’t think he needed an answer. The whole time, he kept his mind open to the idea that the necklace had magical properties, while I already discarded that possibility. But then a thought came over me. I was just about to tell Hitori about it when the bell rang. I just decided to tell him about it some other time. And so, we both went back to the classroom.

Miya ate with us during lunch time, so I didn’t feel like bringing up the topic. Surprisingly, Hitori didn’t bring it up himself. I half-expected him to, but it seemed like he thought that bringing up the topic would break Miya and me up. I guess the fact that Miya also seemed so depressed the whole time didn’t make him feel like talking about it.

It was after classes when I managed to talk to him about it again. When Miya got out of the room, I saw Yumi meet up with her. It made me feel less guilty about going up late.

Hitori waited for me to approach him before talking. “I thought you might want to talk to me about it.”

“I just wanted to tell you that what you thought was wrong,” I told him. “I once walked home, passing by some girls on the way. None of them even gave me a second look.”

“Yeah, it worked similarly for me when I tested it around in school,” he replied.

“Then what did you even bring up the topic for?” I asked him, wondering if he was messing with me for revenge.

“Because I had no feelings for those who didn’t fall for me.”

“Huh?” I looked at him, failing to see his point.

“When Rinei started eating with us, I got envious!” he blurted out. Looking down, he continued in almost a whisper, “I... I noticed she had a cute side.”

I was shocked by what he just admitted. “So… you wore the necklace in front of her?”

Hitori shook his head. “Remember when we were talking about the necklace, and I wore it while saying it looked ridiculous?” he asked.

I tried to think about it, but couldn’t remember anything.

“Well, I noticed Rinei watching us that time. But I didn’t think it would cause anything,” he added.

“So you knew she fell for you?” I asked. Several thoughts ran around in my head. I kept telling myself that the whole thing was ridiculous, but I couldn’t get myself to believe it after everything I just found out.

“I’ve had the suspicion. But I wasn’t really sure until now…” he answered.

After that, both of us remained silent. I couldn’t think of anything to say, not even certain of what to think anymore. Hitori soon decided to leave first, giving me some time alone to think. In the end, I just went home, not even remembering to visit Miya and Yumi in the rooftop.