< Let's Study Hard! | Story
Chapter 4: The Encounter That Day
あの日の出会い (? (edit))
あの日の出会い (? (edit))
Character appearances:
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Main Street
An
Whew~. I'm beat!
はあ～。つっかれたー！
Mizuki
Right? My whole body hurts. Why do they make chairs at school so hard?
だねー、体中痛いし。 学校の椅子ってなんであんなに硬いんだろ
An
You think? I don't think I’ve ever noticed that.
そう？ それはあんまり気にしたことなかったな
Mizuki
Seriously!? You'll break your butt if you sit on something that hard for so long, y'know?
うそ！？ あんなところに何時間も座ってたら、体壊しちゃうよ
Mizuki
From where I'm sitting, it's a total mystery how people are able to sit in class for hours at a time like it's no big deal.
ボクからしたら、なんでみんな当たり前に何時間も 教室にいられるのか不思議だな～
An
Now that I think about it, you're never at school this long, are you Mizuki? Even when you come to school, you end up skipping class a ton.
たしかに瑞希、普段はこんなに学校いないもんね。 登校してきても、結構授業抜け出してるし
An
But thanks for going along with our study session today despite that. You made it super easy to understand, so it helped me out a ton!
それなのに、今日は勉強つきあってくれてありがとね。 教えかたもわかりやすかったし、すっごく助かったよ！
Mizuki
Don't worry about it! It was more fun than I thought it'd be. ♪
いいっていいって！ 思ったより楽しかったしね♪
Mizuki
…Oh! Enough about that, that store over there! That's the yummy apple pie place someone told me about!
……お！ それよりあれあれ、あのお店だよ。 知り合いに教えてもらったアップルパイがおいしいってお店！
An
Ohh? It smells super amazing, even from outside the store!
へえ。お店の外だけど、もういい匂いがするね！
Mizuki
It's got pretty good reviews online, too. Oh, but… It looks pretty packed inside there.
ネットでも結構評判らしいよ。 わ……でも、お店の中混んでるな
Mizuki
Hmmm…
ん～
Mizuki
It doesn't look like a lot of people can fit in there, so i'll go buy some for us. You wait here, An!
あんまり人入れなさそうだし、ボクだけで買ってくるよ。 杏はここで待ってて
An
Ah, are you sure? Thanks, Mizuki!
あ、いいの？ ありがと瑞希！
Less Than an Hour Later
An
…I wonder if Mizuki's gonna take much longer?
……瑞希、まだかかりそうかなあ
An
—Ah, I know. Maybe it'd be a good idea to study for a little bit, while I’ve got time. I'm sure I can memorize some classic vocab right now!
——あ、そうだ。こういう時間で勉強すればいいのかな。 古文の単語くらいなら、今覚えられそうだし
An
Honestly, my head hurts 'cause I studied so much today… But everyone's doing their best to teach us, so I’ve gotta match that, huh?
今日はめちゃくちゃ勉強したから正直頭痛いけど…… みんなも一生懸命教えてくれてるんだし、 頑張らないとダメだよね
An
Um, the vocab sheet…
えっと、単語集……
Classmate A
—Huh? It's An!
——あれ、杏じゃん！
An
Ah… What're the two of you doing here?
あ……ふたりともどうしたの？ こんなところで
Classmate B
We're coming home from club! Man, they made us run so much today, it was suuuper tough.
部活の帰り！ もう、今日もいっぱい走らされて、 本当大変だった～
Classmate A
Oh right, An, I heard about your remedials. What's this about you repeating a year~?
そうだ杏、聞いたよ補習のこと。 留年しちゃうかもしれないんだって～？
An
Huh!? Why do you know about that!?
えっ！？ なんで知ってるの！？
Classmate B
Just some rumors going around. I knew you weren't great at studying, but I didn't think it was this bad~.
噂になってるよ。 勉強苦手なのは知ってたけど、そこまでとはね～
Classmate A
Well, it looks like something they do to bail people out every year. If you take it seriously, I'm sure you'll be fine!
まあでも、毎年やってる救済措置らしいし。 真面目に受けとけば、なんとかなるんじゃないかな
An
Ugh… I really hope so…
う……そうだといいなあ……
An
I do have people who're pretty smart helping me out, so I think I'll be fine, but…
一応、勉強できる友達に教えてもらってるから、 大丈夫だと思うんだけど……
Classmate A
Oh, really? I guess that means we don't get a chance to shine, then.
あれ、そうだったんだ。 じゃあ私達の出番はなさそうだね
An
Huh?
え？
Classmate A
Just now, we were talking with our friends about how if you were struggling, we could all get together to try and tutor you.
さっき、杏が困ってるなら みんなで勉強教えようよって他の友達とも話してたの
Classmate B
It's not like we're that great at studying either, but like, they say that three heads are better than one or something, don't they?
私達だって別に勉強得意じゃないけど、でもほら、 ３人寄ればなんとかって言うでしょ！？
Classmate B
A ton of people said they'd help you out too, so if we gather a lot of people, that just means we have a million times more heads, right?
協力してくれるって言ってくれた子はいっぱいいたし、 たくさん集まったら、もうそれは集まる知恵も万倍だよきっと！
An
You guys…
みんな……
Classmate A
Well, you know. If you ever have any trouble, let us know. We'll help you out!
ま、だからさ。困ってることがあったらなんでも言ってよ。 協力するからさ
Classmate B
Yeah, yeah! That's what friends do!
そうそう！ 友達だしね！
An
—Yeah! Thanks, you two!
——うん！ ありがとうふたりとも！
Classmate A
See you later then, An!
じゃあまたね。杏！
Classmate B
Bye bye!
ばいばーい！
An
Hehe…
……ふふっ
An
(It makes me kinda happy. It's not just Mizuki and the others, I have so many people who'll lend me a hand without batting an eye…)
（なんか、嬉しいなあ。 瑞希達だけじゃなくて、みんな当たり前に 協力するって言ってくれて……）
Mizuki
Sorry, An! I kept you waiting, didn't I? The store was super crowded!
ごめん、杏！ 待たせちゃったよね。 お店、すっごく混んでてさ
An
No, no, it's totally fine! I was just talking to some friends!
ううん、全然大丈夫！ さっきまで友達と話してたから
Mizuki
Friends?
友達？
An
Yeah. Some girls from our class just passed by. Turns out they'd already heard about the remedial stuff.
うん。今ね、クラスの子と会ったんだ。 もう補習のこと知っててさ
An
It's a little embarrassing… But the two of them were really encouraging, so it cheered me up!
ちょっと恥ずかしかったけど…… ふたりとも応援してくれて、嬉しかったなあ
Mizuki
Huh… Good for you!
へえ……。よかったじゃん！
Mizuki
Man, you really do have a lot of friends, don't you An? I see you talking to kids from other classes and our upperclassmen pretty often.
それにしても、杏って本当友達多いよね。 他のクラスの子とか、上級生とかともよく話してるの見かけるし
An
You think so? I think it's pretty normal.
そうかな？ 別に普通だと思うけど
Mizuki
No, no, you're not talking to just the students. You talk to the teachers and the janitors pretty often too, right? Most people can't talk to that many people so easily.
いやいやー、生徒どころか 先生とか用務員さんとも結構話してるじゃん。 普通、そんな簡単にいろんな人と仲良くなれないって
Mizuki
I like to think I'm pretty good at talking to all kinds of people, but even I'm not on your level.
ボクも、結構誰とでも話せるほうだけどさ。 杏ほどじゃないし
An
Hmmm, you really think so? I've never really thought about it before, but…
んー、そうなのかな。あんまり意識したことないけど……
An
—Ah, it might be 'cause I’ve been singing on Vivid street since I was a kid.
——あ、もしかしたら、 昔からビビッドストリートで歌ってたからかも
Mizuki
Huh?
え？
An
Everybody loves music in the town I was raised in. So I’ve been singing there on the street since I was really little, y'know?
私が育った街って、みんな音楽が大好きでさ。 私も、小さい頃からずっとあそこで歌ってたんだよね
An
Tons of people reach out and start talking to me while I'm singing, so I got friendly with them pretty naturally…
歌ってると、いろんな人が声をかけてくるから 自然とみんなと仲良くなれるっていうか……
An
And, if fights ever break out, everyone always makes sure to make up by the end.
それに、もし喧嘩になっても 必ず最後は仲良くなれるんだよね
Mizuki
Really? Wait, fights…!?
そうなの？ ていうか、喧嘩って……！？
An
Fights sometimes break out when people are singing in town.
街で歌ってると、たまに喧嘩になったりするんだ
An
The young people who come into town can be pretty hot-blooded, so sometimes they end up clashing with others over their singing.
街に来る若い人ってギラギラしてる人が多いから、 歌ってると因縁つけられることもあってさ
Mizuki
Huh… It sounds kinda dangerous…
へえ……。 物騒なところなんだね……
An
Ahaha… But, it's not like they're bad people. It's just that they get passionate about their music. I call it a fight, but they're usually duking it out through their songs.
あはは……。でも悪い人達じゃないよ？ 音楽のことになると熱くなっちゃうってだけだし、 喧嘩っていっても、歌で勝負するのがほとんどだからね
An
When you compete over and over with someone's singing, you start being able to see the passion and pride that they put into their music…
何度も歌で勝負してると その人の歌にかける情熱とか、プライドとかが見えてきて……
An
So even if at first, you're like "they're kind of a jerk", you end up realizing that they're just as serious about music as you are.
最初はちょっと嫌なやつだなーって思っても、 歌に本気ってところは私と同じだなって 思えるようになってくるんだ
Mizuki
Is that right…
そうなんだ……
An
Yeah! Maybe it's because I have that experience. I think no matter what kind of person you are, if we talk to each other straightforwardly, we'll be able to become friends and accept each other.
うん。そういう経験があるからかな。 どんな人でも、正面きって話せば 最後は仲良くなれたり認め合えるって思えるんだ
An
So, that might be why I can easily get along with all those different people.
だから、誰とでもすぐ話せて仲良くなれるのかなって
Mizuki
…I get it.
…………そっか
Mizuki
You kind of are amazing. I didn't realize you thought about it that way.
なんか、すごいなあ。杏ってそんな風に考えてたんだね
An
It's not like I'm thinking stuff like this all the time, though? I just thought about it now and realized that might be why.
別に、いつもこんなこと考えてるわけじゃないよ。 今考えてみて、そうだったのかもって思っただけだし
An
Plus, it might just be because I don't really think about it that hard.
それに、単に考えなしってだけな気もするしね
Mizuki
Ahaha! I guess that makes sense!
あはは。そっか
Mizuki
(But…)
（けど……）
Mizuki
(An really is amazing… Being able to think she could be friends with and accept anybody.)
（すごいな、杏は。……どんな相手とだって、 仲良くなったり認め合えるって思えるなんて）
Mizuki
(I'm sure that's why, even back then, she was able to—)
（きっと、だからあの時も——）
Mizuki
(Whew… It's finally lunch.)
（ふう……。やっとお昼か）
Mizuki
(Man… Afternoon classes are such a pain… Maybe I’ll slack off once I finish eating.)
（あーあ、午後の授業めんどくさ……。 お昼食べたらサボっちゃおっかなー）
？？？
—Hey, you're Akiyama-san, right?
——ねえ、暁山さん、だっけ
Mizuki
Huh?
え？
An
I'm Shiraishi An! Nice to meet you! You can call me An, if you want!
私、白石杏。よろしくね！ 杏って呼んでくれていいから
Mizuki
Eh. Ah… Nice to meet you.
え、あ……よろしく
An
Ah, did I surprise you? I'm sorry!
あ、もしかして、びっくりさせちゃったかな。ごめん！
An
But… We're in the same class now, so I wanted to get to know you a little better!
でも……せっかく同じクラスになったんだし、 仲良くしたいなって思って！
Mizuki
…Ahaha! Well, you surprised me a bit, but I'm fine.
……あははっ。 まあ、ちょっとびっくりしたけど大丈夫
Mizuki
…You can call me Mizuki, too! Let's get along, An!
……ボクも瑞希でいいよ！ よろしくね、杏
Mizuki
(When I entered school, everyone avoided me, but an talked to me like she would any other person.)
（入学したばっかりの時、 みんなボクのことを遠巻きにしてたのに 杏は普通に話しかけてくれた）
Mizuki
(The reason she was able to do that was…)
（それができたのは……）
Mizuki
(Because she thinks she can accept anybody. That's why… She can face anybody straightforwardly.)
（どんな人でも認め合えるって思ってるから。 だから……誰とでも、あんな風に まっすぐに向き合っていけるんだろうな）
An
—Mizuki? Is something up?
——瑞希？ どうかした？
Mizuki
Ah… Nope. It's nothing!
あ……ううん。なんでもない！
Mizuki
—Let's just get moving! It's starting to get kinda chilly.
——そろそろ行こっか！ だんだん寒くなってきたし
An
Yeah!
うん！
Mizuki
Wait, the apple pie! I went out of my way to buy them, but they're gonna get cold!
っていうかアップルパイ！ せっかく買ったのに冷めちゃうよ！
Mizuki
Here, An, eat up, fast!
ほら、杏も食べて食べて！
An
Ah, that's right! Let's dig in!
あ、そうだった！ いただきま～す！
An
Mmm~! What the heck? This is delicious!
ん～っ！ なにこれ、すっごい美味しい！
Mizuki
Sweets really are the best thing for an exhausted brain, huh~?
疲れた頭には、やっぱり甘いものが一番だね～
An
Right! Thanks for treating me, Mizuki!
だね！ 瑞希、買ってきてくれてありがと！
Mizuki
You're very welcome!
どーいたしまして！
Mizuki
Oh right! These apple pies come in other flavors, like maple syrup and cinnamon, too!
そうだ！ このアップルパイ、 メープルシロップとかシナモンとか 他にもいろんな味があったんだ！
Mizuki
So let's come back here again sometime!
だから、また今度一緒に行こうよ！
An
For sure! When should we? When are you free?
行く行く！ いつにしよっか、あいてる日ある？