Double Planet Episode 9

Double Planet
Episode 9: Are you Tamaru-san?
Satoru Aono (Furuta Jun & Kanda Yota / Radio Shonan Personality)

"I'm sorry. I can't meet you. I'm sorry... Tamaru Luka."

I've read this message so many times, I think I've read it 30 times already.
I read it 30 times and it always said the same thing.
However, I felt like maybe I had misread it and it actually said "It's okay," so I read it over and over again.
I felt sorry for making him say "I'm sorry," and every time I saw the final "..." I couldn't help but sigh for some reason.

Even though I'm a second-year high school student, I still don't understand girls' feelings.
Mr. Tamaru and I only know each other vaguely through the radio.
We only exchanged a few messages on Twitter.
However, maybe I was getting too cocky when I asked to meet and talk.
Maybe they thought I was a suspicious person after all.
By the way, I don't feel like I was getting too cocky.
I wanted to meet Mr. Tamaru and hear about the play "Sora to Puzzle." That's all.
People express their feelings in the way they speak. I wanted to get a hint at those feelings.
I wanted to get a glimpse of Tamaru-san's hidden feelings.
My rival, Kanda, didn't know my feelings, so I thought that this was the place to set myself apart.
But now that has become difficult.
My plan was back to square one.

Time passed without me being able to send any message back to Tamaru-san. I had no idea what words to use. I even tried searching on Google. But there was no answer.

During class, I was thinking about "The Sky and Puzzles" so much that I couldn't concentrate on the class and fell asleep before I realized it. Naturally, the teacher got angry at me. There is no answer in a dream, but I feel like the answer is in my dream. It's an escape from reality.

School ended early that day.

I didn't feel like going straight home, so I bought a manga at a bookstore near Fujisawa Station and decided to read it at a cafe. It was a manga about band members, and while I was reading it, I felt like I was playing music. When I finished reading the manga, I woke up from my dream and returned to reality. While wondering what to do, I suddenly wanted to ride the Enoden for the first time in a while. I haven't ridden it for a while. I don't have a place I want to go, but I'd be happy to just go to Kamakura, turn around and come back. I wanted to see the ocean while being rocked on the train. If I saw the ocean, I might come up with a good idea for "Sky and Puzzle".

The Enoshima Electric Railway is a mysterious train. Just when you think it's running on the road, it meanders through the houses like the roller coaster at Hanayashiki, and heads out to the sea. I love that "It's coming, it's coming" feeling.

Looking around the train as it departed from Fujisawa, there were not many tourists, as it was a weekday evening. Instead, there were many high school students about my age on board. Looking at the high school girls chatting by the window, I couldn't help but think of this.

What if that girl is Tamaru-san?

I don't even know her face. I can't say there's no chance that the girl in front of me is Tamaru-san.
I wonder what would happen if I took a chance and asked, "Are you Tamaru-san?"

I'm definitely a suspicious guy. This is not the time to raise my fist and act defiant.
Seriously, deep down I'm such a hopeless guy.

I realized that I hadn't thought about what time I would be home today. If I'm late, my parents will worry. I don't have the money to go out for dinner. I have no choice but to give up somewhere and go home. It was a short, half-assed solo trip that I couldn't even call an adventure.

Before I knew it, the train had arrived at Koshigoe station. The next station was Kamakura High School. It's famous for being featured in the anime Slam Dunk. The students at Kamakura High School always look dazzling. I was shy and don't remember getting off at that station. I felt like I would be burned by the brilliance of Kamakura High School. The sea comes into view. The setting sun. The sea that should be familiar to me from the train window jumps into my eyes. The setting sun. The high school girls who had been chatting also stopped their conversations and looked towards the sea. The setting sun. A large amount of orange light poured into the train.

Perfect, I thought.

"Stop Time"

I muttered to myself. I felt like I wanted to watch the sun go down until the sunset, at least today.

Where can I see it?

If you want to get off, your only option is the next stop, Kamakura High School.
It's a great location for going out to sea.
When we arrived at the station, the doors slid open and the students from Kamakura High School boarded the train all at once. A glittering procession.
I was worried as I was about to be swallowed by the galactic group. Should I get off or not? If I get off, I'll be late getting home today. I have homework. I have live streaming I want to watch. But I couldn't beat today's sunset.

Just before the doors closed, I fell through the gap and jumped onto the platform.

By the time the doors closed, I had fallen onto the platform.

As if nothing had happened, the Enoshima Electric Railway headed off for the next station, Shichirigahama Station.
At this time of night, there were hardly any passengers getting off at Kamakura High School Station.

"Um... are you okay?"

I turned around and was called out to by a high school girl who had gotten off at the platform just like me. Judging from her uniform, she wasn't a student at Kamakura High School, nor was she from the same high school as me. Of course, I wasn't sure. How could I ever be sure? I had no basis for it. Nothing. I was going crazy, despite having nothing. Maybe I had hit my head when I collapsed on the platform. My mouth was moving on its own.

"Are you Tamaru-san by any chance?"

If this were a scene from a drama, the high school girl would probably be Tamaru Ruka. A screenwriter once said that a convenient "chance encounter" depicted in a drama is allowed once. Because the audience will swallow the lie. But twice is not okay. Because the audience is not stupid. So, does that once happen in one's long life? Even in this corner of the world where a person like me lives.

"How do you know my name?"

"to be continued"

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