Indecision/Transcript

NARRATOR: "Two days later, I'm feeling less miserable. I even go for a long, brisk, healthy walk like the nurse recommended, something which I had avoided and dodged with all sorts of excuses earlier. I feel more active in class as well, delighting our science/homeroom teacher, Mr. Mutou, with correct and promptly delivered answers. The break right now between the two morning classes is too short for any sort of meaningful activity, but too long to just spend it sitting in the classroom and doing nothing. Going out into the hallway isn't much better, but flexing my stiffened muscles is a better use of time than letting them get even stiffer by staying seated. The door of the neighboring classroom door opens and the students of 3-4 emerge to further fill up the already semi-crowded hallway. It seems their teacher kept them in for a few extra minutes. Emi is among them. She notices me noticing her, which almost makes me look away on reflex. I don't, however, and Emi smiles at me as she happily skips towards me past the other students. Emi looks pretty energetic, showing no sign of illness whatsoever. It seems she recovered from the cold."

EMI: "Hey! Good morning!"

HISAO: "Nice to see you back on your feet. Feeling better now?"

NARRATOR: "She looks fine to me, but I still feel compelled to ask."

EMI: "Thanks! And yeah, I do. It was just a cold, nothing serious."

NARRATOR: "Emi laughs confidently, as if to emphasize her condition. I wonder for a moment what would count as serious in Emi's book. She seems to be eager to put the topic aside, though."

HISAO: "Where are you going?"

EMI: "Off to Rin's room to see if she's awake yet."

HISAO: "Oh? She skipped the morning class?"

NARRATOR: "A sheepish smile emerges on Emi's face and she gets slightly flustered."

EMI: "Err... not exactly. It seems that she caught the cold that I had."

HISAO: "Sorry to hear that. Well, she was out in the rain on Sunday with us, after all. I saw her on Monday and she was feeling a bit under the weather back then too."

EMI: "Yeah. Anyway, I'll ask the nurse for some cold medication to give her if she doesn't get better soon."

NARRATOR: "She leaves for the girls' dorm. I want to go with her to wish Rin well. I want to tell her that I'm better now too, but it doesn't feel appropriate. An unspecified feeling diverts my thoughts away. Somehow I just can't summon the resolve to go in there. Is this what Iwanako went through when she tried to tell me what she felt?"

Next Scene: Signal Interference