Maria-sama ga Miteru - Vol 34 - Chapter 2

Chinami-san and me

Although I entered high school after much effort cramming, from the very start it was a failure.

I was freed from studying for exams, and of course I didn't have any homework, and on account of being in the prime of my youth and spending every day of spring break playing around with middle-school friends, somewhere along the way it seems I caught influenza, and so I was absent since the first day.

I wanted to attend the school entrance ceremony, that is said to be an introduction of the classmates who will study together for a year in the same classroom, even if I had to resort to crawling, but I was dissuaded from this course of action by my mom since it's probably inexcusable to be spreading illness to your classmates who will be studying together with you in the same room for the year.

Because of that, that you couldn't tell by looking if managed like a virus for the year, and "Influenza," somehow even that strange name is unpleasant.

Even so, I recovered completely, passed through the sleeves of the yearned for black uniform, and as I tried out going to school, I closely crossed paths with the neighboring seat's pupil who ended up being absent. Of course, the reason was not because my virus had accidentally spread.

"Chinami-san is completing her treatment for her illness overseas. If Terasu-san is here, she said to pass this along, even though she was taking care of this."

What the classmate held out was a notebook.

Thanks to the drugs and the injection, the influenza's high fever abated on the 3rd day, but my home doctor since childhood wouldn't give out the OK, and so my first day of school was about 10 days after the school entrance ceremony had passed. In that time, it seems that not only had orientation completed, but lessons had also already started.

For my benefit, it seems that the neighboring seat, this kind Hibino Chinami-san, had gone and made a notebook to be given to me. In this notebook she had written the information of the lessons for all the subjects. It wouldn't be unreasonable to rely solely on this study guide, and there were amusing things such as the page that had the contents of sensei's self-introduction -- it even had a portrait of a cat, and such.

"Today, it was very good that Terasu-san came to school. Although the continuation of it was entrusted to me by Chinami-san, my... letters and pictures aren't as skilled as Chinami-san's."

Probably having opened the notebook and looked inside, Hiroe-san, who was one seat in front of mine, added while seeming to laugh.

  *  *

Having been absent, I was warmly ushered in by my classmates.

At the highly respected Lillian Academy for Girls, being a school for ladies, of course there wasn't a pupil who called a nobody like me a joking nickname such as "influenza-san." Not only that, here, nicknames aren't being attached to anyone. If students belonged to the same class, it seems that calling first name with "-san" attached is standard.

And so, once I had received the notebook, it was decided that I had taken responsibility for the continuation that Chinami had requested of our classmates.

They said, since I was present, isn't it already unnecessary? What are they talking about!? Starting today, the notebook should be changed over to benefit Chinami-san who was absent.

"Shall I help?"

Although such was said by someone in the class, I cut it off with, "It's ok." From what they told me Chinami-san had said, the notebook had been made for my benefit alone, so there is no reason that I can't do it, moreover and more importantly, I wanted to do it by myself.

Why, you say? I felt that this time was my turn. This, it was akin to an exchange diary. Though we had not yet met, I had just become a high school student, and Chinami-san was my friend.

I imagined this and that about Chinami-san's situation as she was making the notebook.

"Chinami-san? Right. Hair somewhat short, and a round head. But, thin, and with slender arms and legs, I think. Her skin color looks whitish, and, now that I think about it, I wonder if the pale complexion was due to illness. Also, there is a yaeba." (TN: a double/protruding tooth)

When asked, Hiroe-san informed me so. Round head, thin, pale complexion, somewhat short hair, has yaeba, and ――, even if these disparate features were lined up, she couldn't quite construct an image of the girl. If she were to say which TV personality resembled the image and such direction, it wasn't so easy to do. I wonder if Hiroe-san doesn't have a knack for remembering things.

"If I have to say, she's similar to my cousin, if."

"………"

While regrettable, I haven't laid eyes on Hiroe's cousin even one time, and even hereafter, the chance of that does not seem likely.

"Quiet and refined, and I guess the impression is that of a diligent and reliable person."

Regarding that, if you looked at the characters very neatly written in the notebook, it was understood. And, if one thing is added to another, it's a strong illustration.

In the notebook's margin, a comical illustration titled, "Terasu-san conceptual drawing," had been drawn, although it was any number of times cuter than me -- things such as the hair style and -- what an exquisite arrangement of the facial features! -- even if drawn from imagination, the entire impression had very good resemblance.

  * * *

"Terasu-san. Want to join us?"

As I was about to leave the classroom carrying a boxed lunch, there came a call from a classmate's voice.

"Thanks, but since the weather is nice…"

Wanting to eat outside, I waved my hand and went out into the corridor.

Besides that, there wasn't any reason other than I wanted to eat outside no matter what. In this current season, eating lunch under the sun is something that feels good, even though, because it's outside, there are bugs, and the wind comes along carrying things like dust, and leaves.

That aside, the expected reply to "Want to join us?" is "Yes" or "No." So, it would be strange to respond with, "Since the weather is nice, I can't eat together with you guys." The girls who called out in no way did they say they definitely wouldn't eat outside. That's because eating boxed lunches together outside was a possible option.

"That so… Well, maybe next time, okay?"

My classmates didn't force the issue. And, again after a little while, it seems the response would be, "Want to join us?"

I was often alone.

In as many as 10 days from the school entry ceremony, the so-called close-knit groups have pretty much been formed while doing things like deciding the class committee member, eating lunch boxes together, and bonding with companions in the same club activities. For that reason, it was an existence where I fluffily drifted about the classroom, since I got a late start and there wasn't any place for me to belong to, or you could say, I just wasn't able to establish a position for myself.

Whether or not it was God's practical joke, with my surname of Watanuki (TN: can mean April 1st), my seat number was last. The situation was that we were made to pair up by the order in the class register, and currently with Chinami-san numbering among those absent from class, there was an odd number of students, and so I became the "extra".

(Aaah. Won't Chinami-san come back to school soon...)

While thinking such thoughts during a boring class with hardly any writing on the blackboard, I let out a sigh, and with just that timing a voice arrived.

"You called?"

If there was a reply to the mutterings in my head, even if it was a coincidence, it becomes, "What was that?" And so, before considering the logic of something like that, I turned my eyes to the direction the voice came from.

Naturally, there wasn't anyone in the empty seat to my right.

I made a bitter smile, and turned back to the still boring class. The elderly teacher broke the chalk while writing a formula. I copied it down into my personal use notebook.

There's no way it was Chinami-san. It was just this morning that the homeroom teacher said that the surgery she received overseas was a success, and that it would likely be up to two weeks before she comes back.

However, the moment I had convinced myself that I probably misheard, again I heard the same voice as just before.

"Am I being ignored? Hey!"

This time I heard it more clearly. I looked at the area around Chinami-san's seat. But, in front and to the right (our seats are in the last row, and my seat is to the left), I faced toward whoever was there and there wasn't a person appealing to me with, "The voice coming out just now, it's me." Far from that, it was as if there wasn't anyone who even noticed the clear, "Am I being ignored? Hey!"

What does that mean? And then, again.

"So it's like that. It seems that only Terasu-san can hear me talking."

Who?

"Koh, Koh, Koh, Koh"

Koh, Koh, Koh, Koh? A chicken?

As I looked at where a hand was waving, there's no mistake, from some time ago there seems to be a person that's come to talk to me.

(...)

No, it's doubtful if I should say person.

Looking at the person sitting on Chinami-san's chair, at the first glance it was a summer citrus -- a somewhat large pale green ball shaped body. It had a few eyeballs with large black pupils and serrated teeth like a meat eating dinosaur connected to an expectedly large mouth, and attached to it were small and thin hands and feet. There was some kind of hair just riding on top, like on a poor excuse for a tomato.

"Um…"

The shape was very similar to a local municipality or event's mascot, but, honestly, it was an appearance that couldn't be called cute even as flattery.

(Chinami-san...?)

I tried to ask in my mind. If I was to say why I thought it to be so, it's because there was no mistake that it was Chinami-san's seat, and I was thinking about Chinami-san just a while ago when there came the reply, "You called?" In the exchange up to this point, things I conveyed were understood without even speaking aloud.

"Hmm, I suppose so."

From the mouth attached to the pale green colored ball came a vague reply. Although, since the question was whether or not it was Chinami-san, I had expected a "Yes" or "No" reply.

Because of that, for the time being, I decided to provisionally call this person as "CHINAMI-san." It was decided to address her using a katakana spelling in order to differentiate it from "Chinami-san."
It had become lunch break, so I held CHINAMI-san in my right hand and my boxed lunch in my left and went out. Since the courtyard was too noticeable, today I journeyed to the athletic field area.

"Say, CHINAMI-san..."

Even though I called out, CHINAMI-san didn't reply. She was raising a strange cry as she ran around the sloped embankment that rose up like it was encircling the oval track.

I gave up and started to eat my lunch, but, without my noticing, she had mounted my shoulder and was peering at where the chopsticks were moving. She was a bit heavy, but I persevered and continued to eat my lunch. It took a lot of effort to get CHINAMI-san to come to my side, and it would be terrible if she got away. When said like that, it was truly such a feeling as if a dragonfly finally stopped on a branch right before my eyes, or something like that.

However, even though the lunch break came to an end, CHINAMI-san didn't disappear. She was on top of Chinami-san's chair acting like she was listening to the lesson. While watching out of the corner of my eye, I continued to take notes for two people. If CHINAMI-san was Chinami-san, then it would already be unnecessary to take notes for her, but I thought it to be an impossible task for her to hold a mechanical pencil with those short, thin hands.

 *　*　*　*

CHINAMI-san's continued to exist both the next day and the day after that.

CHINAMI-san responded at that place and freely turned large. During physical education she became about as small as an adzuki bean and clung onto the back of my ear. When it came to napping and such, she swelled up as large as a watermelon and we napped together in the shade of a tree.

"Say..., Terasu-san. The new book in the Cosmos collection, have you already read it?"

Occasionally, when she's in the mood, she will bring up such topics as well. Not just novels, there were also times where she talked about fashion magazine articles, television dramas, and whether I like things like idol groups.

That was the usual, but during one of the breaks that day, there was a story that I caught hint of from the chatter of classmates who heard about it. It was a story that, when I thought about it, was really similar to what CHINAMI-san does. At times, I have seen her proudly showing a "How about that?" face with her non-existent nose primly raised upward.

While I was thinking, "Wasn't that a story that I heard somewhere?" each time there came a reply something like "I'll buy the new book when I get my allowance. And so, keep quiet about the contents, okay?" or "I want the pink pants more than the blue skirt..." or "At the center, I liked the talented guy dancing to the right, more than the guy singing."

Then, CHINAMI-san seems satisfied and laughs with a "Gyah, gyah, gyah." Even if she heard my opinions and likes, she didn't try to talk about personal matters or return gifts. Far from it, it's to the extent where it seems like she's not even interested in my stories. However, responding to self-promoting topics wasn't anything other than enjoyable.

There was a time she mimicked a classmate's accent, it seemed she was enunciating rather carefully and like high-school girl, but CHINAMI-san's normal voice mumbled and cracked, so with that kind of annoying idiosyncrasy, it was weird. Well whatever, that might just be the way it is, since even her appearance is weird.

That she even did things like letting out a strange cry and running around, bounding with a *byon-byon* like a ball, and at times kicking off me, was in a sense perfectly suited to such an appearance.
However, since she was continuing to come to lessons, there I was without clearing up whether CHINAMI-san was merely some sort of ghost.

She didn't take notes, but when in the classroom she properly sat at her seat, and even when it was time to change classrooms she came along by perching on my shoulder or getting in my pocket.

The story was that Chinami-san was overseas receiving treatment for her illness, but surely her figure had become like this because she was receiving reconstructive surgery there?

Whether the surgery was a success or a failure was a delicate subject. But, her appearance was quite removed from human, and though she was fond of vigorously hoping around and mouthing off self-centered things, she never looked unhappy.

 *　*　*　*　*

[Part V is in progress]

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