Another (Volume 1) by Yukito Ayatsuji

Author:Yukito Ayatsuji [Ayatsuji, Yukito]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780316252751
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2013-03-18T23:00:00+00:00

7

The footsteps were frantic, completely out of place in this situation, with the entire school wrapped up in test-taking. Even as I wondered what was going on, I saw who it was—a figure wearing a navy blue sweat suit.

It was Mr. Miyamoto, one of the gym teachers. I was still sitting out of gym classes, but I knew the name of the head teacher and what he looked like, at least.

Mr. Miyamoto came toward us and opened his mouth to say something, but in the end ran up to the Class 3 classroom without a word. Then he opened the door at the front of the classroom and called in, “Mr. Kubodera! Mr. Kubodera, could you come over here?”

After a moment, the language arts teacher—who was in the middle of supervising a test—stuck his head out from the classroom. “What’s going on?”

His shoulders heaving with his ragged breathing, the gym teacher said, “Well.” Where Mei and I were, I could just barely hear what he said.

“We just got the news…”

…And that was all I heard. He had lowered his voice partway through.

Mr. Kubodera’s reaction when he heard Mr. Miyamoto’s news, though, I could interpret clearly. As soon as he heard whatever it was, he became speechless and his face stiffened.

“I see,” he replied solemnly, then went back into the room. Mr. Miyamoto looked up at the ceiling, his shoulders still heaving badly.

Finally—

The door Mr. Kubodera had shut was flung open and a student came flying out of the room.

It was the class representative, Yukari Sakuragi. She had her bag in her right hand. She looked to be in complete turmoil.

She shared a few brief words with Mr. Miyamoto, who stood near the door, then Sakuragi grabbed her umbrella from the stand outside the classroom. It was a beige stick umbrella. Then, her legs tangling, she started to run…

At first, she headed toward the East Stair. But then, who can say why, that impulse was checked and she seemed frozen in place. It seemed to happen the instant her eyes locked on us, standing by the windows in front of the staircase.

The next moment, she had spun around on her heel and started running down the hall in the opposite direction. It looked as though her right leg, which she told me she’d twisted after a fall, still hadn’t healed completely. Her run was awkward, trying to favor it.

She ran off down the hallway that ran east to west and soon disappeared from my view. She’d gone down the West Stair on the other side of the building.

“I wonder what that was about.” I turned back to Mei. “What do you…?”

Mei didn’t react in the slightest. She stood frozen, her face ashen. I moved away from the window toward the sweat-suited gym teacher and tried asking him.

“Um, Mr. Miyamoto? What’s going on with Sakuragi?”

“Huh? Oh…” Mr. Miyamoto looked at me with a grimace on his face, as if scowling at me. “Her family was in an accident. We just got an urgent message for her to go to the hospital right away.

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