"Could you... follow me for a second?"
At those words from the stupid girl, I heard a collective gasp of breath from the classroom.
"Whoa, she's being called out..." "Wait, will Hasu-san be okay?" "Well, Hasu-san looks pretty tough though..."
Whispers drifted from all directions.
"Seriously, what is it?"
"...Just come."
The stupid girl pinched my sleeve and gave it a couple of tugs.
...Well, whatever. I don't really care anymore.
If I just shook her off, that fragile-looking hand would probably peel away easily.
But.
To shake off a hand that had reached out. To reject someone seeking me out, in whatever form that might be—I found myself hesitating to do that now. ...It was stupid of me, really.
"Fine."
When I stood up, she, being shorter than me, looked up at me with a slightly frightened expression.
'I heard Erina-chan has a boyfriend who's a third-year senior, and things get bad if he targets you...'
The advice from a female classmate yesterday flickered through my mind.
Am I about to get a 'scolding' from a third-year senior? ...Am I going to get hit or something?
I was a little surprised at myself for how little I cared about even that. I almost felt like it would be fine if I got messed up enough that I couldn't come to school anymore, to the point where everyone would think, 'Well, that's understandable.'
If that happened... would anyone worry about me? Would they at least show some sympathy?
With her still pulling on my sleeve, we walked through the hallway and went down three flights of stairs.
"Seriously, where are we going?"
"...Somewhere where there aren't many people."
The stupid girl looked around frantically as if she were in a hurry, searching for this 'place without people.'
Eventually, we ended up behind the cafeteria.
This might indeed be the place with the fewest people during the morning commute.
The stupid girl looked around once more to confirm no one else was there, then stopped and turned back toward me.
...The senior didn't seem to be here.
"...So, what?"
Even so, I was half-resigned and half-prepared for the boyfriend to show up any moment.
"I'm so sorry about yesterday!"
Suddenly, the stupid girl bowed her head deeply.
"...Huh?"
The sheer randomness of it made my voice go up.
What is this? She's apologizing? Where's the scary senior?
Before I could catch up, the stupid girl continued.
"Erina didn't know Sakosh liked the Beatles, and I'm so sorry for saying mean things! Anyone would hate it if someone talked bad about something they love, right? Erina would hate it too..."
"...Wait a second."
Along with the shock of her unexpected behavior, I couldn't let a word even more nonsensical than that pass me by.
"What is that... 'Sakosh' supposed to be...?"
"Hwa? I mean, Sakosh, your name is Sako, right? Oh, since your last name is Hasu, would 'Haskappu' be better?"
"No, I definitely hate that..."
"Then Sakosh it is!"
What is this woman talking about? What even was a 'sakosh' in the first place? And 'Haskap'? Like the fruit? Wait, wasn't she planning to apologize to me? So why did she give me a weird nickname? Is she being rude? Is she being sincere? Which one is it?
The number of question marks exceeded my capacity, and I no longer knew what kind of face I should be making. Then, I felt the sensation of my hand being squeezed tight.
"Hey, do you forgive me...?"
Being asked that while she looked up at me with those eyes, the hostility drained out of me, and the question marks that had been floating around vanished like mist.
"No, not really... I mean, I might have said things in a nasty way too..."
"I see, thank goodness...!"
Her beaming, bright smile was so radiant that I actually felt she was cute for a moment.
If I had been able to honestly apologize with a simple 'I'm sorry' like this, would things have been different for me?
Even now, if I could say those words, would I be forgiven?
...No, there's no way I could take it back with just that. I did something that destroyed a ten-year friendship.
Still, though.
I thought that this person, who could apologize properly, was at least less of an idiot than I was.
"Well then, Sakosh!"
The girl lifted my hand, which she was holding with both of hers, up to her chest and smiled.
"Call me 'Erina' from now on! I explained it yesterday, right? The 'Eri' from English..."
"No, I'm not calling you that, so it's fine."
"Eeehh!?"
She widened her eyes in genuine surprise. She must have thought we had completely bonded.
"Why, why, why? Let's be friends!"
"I don't want to."
"Don't shake my hand so much. It'll come off."
"Why!?"
She looked like she couldn't understand it. From my perspective, you're the one who makes no sense.
"Just because..."
"'Just because' isn't an answer! Hey, hey, why, why, why?"
She started swinging my gripped hand back and forth like a swing.
"You're annoying..."
"No, no, it's not about being annoying, what Sakosh is saying makes no sense at all!"
"Anyway, let go of my hand..."
"I won't unless you tell me! Why?"
Because she was so persistent.
"Because friends... aren't actually friends or anything at all."
An honest thought that I shouldn't have said slipped out.
Then, the hand that had been swinging dropped down limply.
"What do you mean by that...?"
Even so, she didn't let go of my hand.
"...It's nothing. I mean, besides... someone like you could make as many friends as you want, even without me."
"'Someone like you'?"
"I mean, I have blonde hair, so no one talks to me. Besides, yesterday's matter is fine now, so you don't have to worry about me, or rather, it's just a bother..."
"Huh? That blonde hair is soooooo pretty!"
"...What?"
I furrowed my brows.
"Look, Erina is a returnee from England, you know?"
I didn't know that though...
"So, I'm just like, 'What's the big deal with blonde hair?' If anything, because you stood out that much, maybe that's why Erina was able to find Sakosh!"
"No, I didn't dye it blonde because I wanted to stand out. And besides, 'finding' me or not, the only reason you knew about me was because our seats are next to each other."
"Eh, but Erina doesn't even know who's sitting on my other side, you know?"
"Isn't that just a bit cruel..."
The girl puffed out her cheeks.
"I don't want to hear that from Sakosh, who didn't even know about Erina!"
"Where does that confidence come from..."
While I was exasperated, she tilted her head again in an affected way.
"But, why did Sakosh dye her hair blonde?"
"That's..."
The moment I was about to answer—or rather, the moment I hesitated.
Ding-dong-dang-dong...
I don't know if it was good timing or bad timing, but the warning bell rang.
"Let's head back."
"Ah, yeah, I guess so!"
I let go of her hand and started walking.
"Oh right, Sakosh."
"What."
As she trotted along behind me, she asked a question.
"Do you know which Beatles song my name comes from?"
"No, go ask your parents."
"Papa is in England, and Mama says she doesn't know!"
"I see."
Then just call him or something.
Ignoring her, I kept walking toward the classroom, and I heard her saying, "Muuu, I thought Sakosh would know for sure," behind me.
"...Eleanor Rigby."
"Hwa?"
Despite being the one who asked, she tilted her head in surprise.
"I said, the song 'Eleanor Rigby'."
I hadn't heard it from her parents, but with that name and the Beatles as an origin, there's no other song it could possibly be.
"What kind of song is it?"
"It's the origin of your name, and you've never heard it?"
"Hmm, I've probably heard it, but..."
That song has dark lyrics, a dark melody, and the character Eleanor Rigby dies and is buried within the song itself.
I wondered why someone would name their child after a song like that; if it had to be the Beatles, 'Julia' would have been perfectly fine.
"I see."
However, if there was one element that barely matched this woman's behavior.
"...It's a meddling song that spends the whole time wondering where all the lonely people belong."