At this time, I found a girl who often stared at me intentionally or unintentionally. The girl had extremely short hair, wore a pair of dark sunglasses, and a white mini cotton dress. Because I didn't remember seeing her before, I kept eating by myself, but then she stood up and walked towards me. Then he put one hand on the table and called my name.

"Your surname is Watanabe, right?"

I raised my head and looked at her face again, but no matter how I looked at it, she just didn't feel familiar. She looks quite conspicuous. If you had seen her before, you would probably recognize her. Besides, there aren't many people in school who can call me by my name.

"Can I sit down for a while, or will someone come later?"

Although I was a little confused, I still shook my head. "No one is coming. Please sit down!"

So she pulled out the chair and sat down opposite me, staring directly at me from behind her sunglasses, and then turned her gaze to me again plate.

“It looks delicious!”

“It’s delicious! This is mushroom rolls and pea salad.”

“Yeah!” she explain. "I'll order this next time. I already ordered something else today."

"What did you order?"

"Macaroni."

" Macaroni is good too,” I said. "By the way, have I seen you somewhere before? I can't remember it at all!"

"Euripides." She replied succinctly. "Elekdra. (Translation: Greek God) 'No! Even God doesn't listen to the unfortunate.' Didn't you just have a lesson?"

I stared at her face. She took off her sunglasses. Only then did I remember. It turned out to be a first-year girl I had met in the "History of Drama Part 2" class. It’s just that her hair style has completely changed, and she’s unrecognizable all of a sudden.

"Your hair was still here before the summer vacation!" I pointed to a place ten centimeters below my shoulder.

"Yes! But I got permed during the summer vacation. It was very bad and looked terrible. I really wanted to die at that time! It was really bad. It was like my head was covered with drowned seaweed. The body is the same. Then I thought about it and decided to cut it short. It looks cool now." Then he started stroking his hair, which was about four or five centimeters long. He smiled at me again.

"It's very good!" I said while eating the mushroom rolls. "Let me see from the side!"

She turned her face away and paused for five seconds.

"Well, it suits you very well! You must have a good head shape. It also looks good with your ears exposed." I said.

"Yes! I think so too. Wouldn't it look good if it were cut shorter? But! Men don't think so. They all say they look like elementary school students or people from a shelter. Oops! Why do men like girls with long hair? It’s so boring! Why do they always think girls with long hair look elegant and feminine? Fifty people with long hair and no skills. Really!"

"I like the way you are now," I said. This is not a lie. I remember when she had long hair, she looked like a perfectly ordinary pretty girl. But in front of me, she is like a newborn calf welcoming the arrival of spring, with a fresh vitality overflowing from her body. The pair of eyes seemed to be an independent entity, turning around, sometimes smiling, sometimes angry, sometimes sad, and sometimes gloomy. It had been a while since I'd seen such a vivid expression, and I stared at her face in ecstasy.

"Do you really think so?"

I nodded while eating the salad.

She put on her black sunglasses again and stared at me from behind the lenses.

"Hey! You can't lie, can you?"

"If possible, I try to be an honest person." I said.

"Oh!" she said.

"Why do you wear such dark glasses?" I asked.

“My hair was suddenly cut short, and I feel insecure! It’s like being driven into a crowd naked, and I can’t feel at ease at all, so I wear sunglasses.”

"That's it." I said. Then eat the remaining meatloaf. She watched me eat with great interest.

"Doesn't it matter if you don't go back and sit down?" I pointed at her three friends and said.

"It doesn't matter! I'll go back when the food comes.

Nothing happened! But will my presence here disturb you from eating? "

"How come? I've finished eating! "I said. Seeing that she had no intention of returning to her seat, I ordered another coffee. The lady boss took the plate away and handed over the sugar and creamer.

"Hey! Why didn't you answer when roll call was called in class today? Isn't your name Watanabe? Toru Watanabe! "

"Yes! "

"Then why don't you answer? ”

“I don’t really want to answer today. "

She took off her sunglasses again, put them on the table, and stared at me like she was spying on a cage containing rare animals. "'I don't really want to answer today. ’” she repeated. “Hey! The way you talk looks like Humphrey Bogart! A bit grim. "

"How come? I am very ordinary! There are people like me everywhere. "

The landlady brought the coffee and put it in front of me. No sugar or creamer was added, and I took a sip gently.

"I'm telling you! As expected, he is the one who does not add sugar or creamer. ”

“I just don’t like sweet things. "I explained patiently. "Did you misunderstand something? "

"Why are you so tan? ”

“I hiked for two weeks! I walked everywhere with only my backpack and sleeping bag. That's why I got tanned. "

"Where have you been? ”

“Starting from Kanazawa, we circled the Noto Peninsula and then walked to Shin. "

"A person? "

"Yes! "I said. "You will meet your traveling companions everywhere! "

"Is there any romance? Meeting a girl on a trip or something. "

"Romance? "I was surprised. "Hey! You have indeed misunderstood. Where are the people wandering around with sleeping bags and beards going to have romance? ”

“Do you always travel alone like this? ”

“Yes! "

"Do you like being alone? She held her chin and said. "Do you like to travel alone, eat alone, and sit far away by yourself in class?" ”

“No one likes to be alone. I just don’t want to force myself to make friends. If you really do that, I'm afraid you will only be disappointed. "I said. "'No one likes to be alone. Just don't want to be disappointed. ’” She murmured while holding the frame in her mouth. “If you write an autobiography in the future, lines like this will come in handy. "

"Thank you! "I said.

"Do you like green? ”

“Why do you ask? ”

“Because you are wearing a green sweatshirt now! That’s why I asked you if you like green ones! ”

“I can’t say I particularly like it. Any color is good. ”

“‘I can’t say I particularly like it. Any color is good. ’” she repeated. “I really like the way you talk. It's like applying beautiful paint to the wall. Has anyone ever said that to you before? "

I said no.

"My name is Midori. But green and I are not compatible at all! Very weird, right? Don't you feel bad? It's like he's been cursed all his life. My sister’s name is A Tao. Isn’t it funny? "

"Is pink suitable for your sister? ”

“Very suitable. It's like I was born to wear pink clothes. Why! How unfair! "

The food she ordered has been delivered, and the boy wearing a plaid shirt shouted: "Hey! Midoriko! Eat! "

She raised her hand to show that she understood.

"Hey! Watanabe! Do you take notes in class? From the course on Theater History Part 2. ”

“Do it! "I said.

"I'm sorry! Can you lend it to me? I missed two classes. And I didn’t know anyone in the class. ”

“Of course. "I took out the notes from my schoolbag and made sure there was nothing else written on them before handing them to Midori.

"Thank you! Watanabe, will you come to school the day after tomorrow? "

"Yes! ”

“How about you come here at twelve o’clock?” I'll return your notes and treat you to dinner. Is it possible that eating with others causes indigestion? "

"How come? "I said. "But there's nothing to be thankful for. Just borrowing a note.

"

"It doesn't matter! I like to say thank you! Doesn't it matter? If you don’t write it down in the notebook, won’t you forget it? ”

“No. Meet here at twelve o'clock the day after tomorrow. "

The other side shouted again: "Hey! Midoriko! If you don't come and eat it soon, it will get cold! ”

“Hey! Have you always spoken this way? " Midori turned a deaf ear to that voice.

"I think so! Didn't pay special attention to it. "I replied. This is really the first time someone said that the way I speak is different.

After thinking for a while, she stood up with a smile and went back to her seat. Later, when I passed them When we got to the table, Midori waved to me, and the other three people only glanced at me. I called Midori and said that I had to talk to her anyway. I said I had a lot to say. I have to tell her. I want nothing more than her. I want to see her all over again.

Alu was silent for a long time. The drizzle was falling on the green grass all over the world, silent. During that time, I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the glass window. Finally, Alu said in a calm voice: "Now. Where are you? "

Where am I now?

I continued to hold the receiver and raised my face, looking around the phone booth. Where am I now? I don't know where that place is. I couldn't guess. Where was this place? All I could see was the crowd of people who were going nowhere, walking past me in a hurry, and I could only stand in that unknown place, calling A Lu.