The four friends fell silent. Even Valley stopped chewing her food.
“Hey—it could just be a coincidence, right? I know you’re sensitive to things like this with a mystical feel, but that doesn’t mean it’s the same signal as before,” Farah explained.
“I hope so too,” Nayla replied.
Mae fell into thought. “I’m starting to feel a little worried. Can you explain more about this premonition?”
“Have you ever felt a moment when you were desperate? It feels much stronger than ordinary desperation, along with tightness in your chest every thirty seconds. Your breathing becomes labored. But after I was examined by my family’s private doctor, I was told I had no history of any illness. Everything was normal.”
Mae, Farah, and Valley exchanged glances. At first, they wanted to deny Nayla’s explanation and say that it was a symptom of some illness, but after hearing her final sentence, they abandoned the idea.
Farah rose from her seat. “All right—let’s get back to class.”
“What?! I haven’t even finished my food!”
“You were too busy chewing to realize you’d already finished your food a while ago, Valley.”
“Oh, you’re right.”
Mae walked along while continuing to stare at the sky. Suddenly, her vision went dark when someone covered both her eyes from behind.
“Rio—”
“What happened to bring this habit back?” Rio lowered his hands.
Mae fell silent, then resumed walking. “It’s about Nayla’s premonition.”
“Premonition?”
“So—”
Mae explained in detail the conversation that had taken place earlier while she was with her friends during lunch. Rio, who usually liked to tease her, listened intently this time.
“I think it’s just excessive worry.”
“That’s what I thought at first, too. But Nayla isn’t the kind of person who would say something meaningless. That’s why I believe her.”
“In that case, we just have to wait and see if what she said actually happens. There’s no other way to confirm whether her premonition is real.”
“Yeah, of course.”
Rio took Mae’s hand. “Before we go home, let’s buy some food, okay?”
“You’re treating me.”
Rio laughed. “Absolutely.”
Rio took Mae back to her house, carrying two plastic bags filled with food and drinks.
“Thanks—be careful on the way home, Rio.” Mae waved.
“Give my regards to Ren. See you again.”
Rio and his motorcycle slowly disappeared from Mae’s view. “It smells so good. Ren will definitely like this.”
“I hope nothing bad happens tomorrow and Nayla’s premonition turns out to be wrong.”
“Hmm~ what delicious aroma is that drifting into my nose?” Ren exclaimed.
“Here it is! Rio treated me again, hehe!”
Ren smiled at the sight of his only younger sister’s cheerful face. They were all each other had and leaned on each other, because both their parents had passed away two years ago.
“Don’t you have any special feelings for Rio?”
Mae had just taken a small sip of her juice when she suddenly choked upon hearing her older brother’s question.
“Cough—cough! W-what do you mean, Ren?”
“He’s a good guy. It’s like looking at myself in him. Don’t let the two of you end up fighting.”
Mae didn’t understand why her older brother was saying that. She went back to enjoying her drink and the meal laid out before her. “This part is yours, Ren. Come on, let’s eat together.”
“You’re off from school tomorrow, right? How about we go to the movies together? After we eat, try calling Rio.”
“Yayyy! Okay, Ren!”