The heater clonked and clonked.
The heater that was installed in the clubroom had been put to use for a considerable amount of time. With it operating for so long, it was seemingly starting to show signs of wear. Either the fan got stuck, the motor had issues, or the frame was warped somewhere.
Around the time it became evening after school, our little heater started making peculiar noises as if to announce the end of club activities.
I didn’t pay it much attention since I had been focused on reading and listening to Yuigahama and Yukinoshita chatting. Though the instant they went quiet, the noise became audible.
Yukinoshita who had her gaze dropped to her paperback book stopped turning the pages of her book and looked at the heater near the window. The same noise was apparently bothering her as well.
“…It’s rather peaceful today, isn’t it?”
“I know, right? It’s kinda relaxing.”
Yuigahama stretched out her hand, which had been fiddling with her cellphone, to her mug. Similarly, I grabbed my teacup and gulped down the tea lacking in warmth.
After we both breathed out with satisfaction, the clonking noise filled the room that turned silent once again. Even Yuigahama eventually found the heater concerning and looked at it.
We never really did notice how incessant the noise of the heater was. It might’ve been because Isshiki had dropped by so often recently.
Of course, it’s not because she’s annoying or loud or noisy or talkative, but our attention naturally shifted to something else whenever she wasn’t around. And every time Isshiki visited us, she’d bring some kind of good-for-nothing request, so things just end up becoming hectic.
So with all that had happened, it’s been a while since the room had been this peaceful.
As I helped myself to warm tea and sweets, I’d read my book absentmindedly while listening the exchange between a collected voice and a cheery voice, occasionally contributing with my own.
No visitors, no work, only a mellow atmosphere. Becoming familiar with this situation made it seem more like your regular every day of trivialities, but even so, it’s a wonderful feeling being able to experience it after so long. Because of that, the persistent noise of the heater was like the sound of a light shower in the early afternoon, resembling a rhythm with elegance.
I closed my book and looked towards the window while listening to the noise of the heater.
I gazed into the sunset absentmindedly and Yukinoshita spoke up.
“Shall we call it a day?”
“Oh yeah, it doesn’t look like anyone’s gonna come, anyway,” Yuigahama replied. She took the last cookie going, “Last cookie’s mine!” and started cleaning up the tea cakes.
Yukinoshita and I promptly got ready to head home while checking that the doors were locked. In addition to confirming the locked windows, I moved my hand to the switch of the heater.
“Good work,” I said, and flipped the switch. Upon turning it off, the clonking halted. Considering the cold season was going to continue for a little longer, it might not hurt to ask Hiratsuka-sensei to see if we could get the heater examined and repaired.
After adjusting our coats and scarves, we exited into the hallway. Yukinoshita locked the door to the room.
With this, today’s business hours were now over.
Now that work was over, all that’s left was to head straight home. When we walked down the hallway of the special building away from the clubroom, Yuigahama shivered and adjusted the front of her coat. “…Yikes! The hallway’s freezing!”
The emptiness of the hallway wasn’t the reason why it had been so cold. It felt like a chill was crawling upwards starting from my feet. I squeezed my scarf and tightened it.
“I guess it’s just more noticeable since the room was pretty warm.”
“The hallway isn’t installed with heaters, after all.” Yukinoshita trotted forward as if telling her to deal with it. Yuigahama was walking beside her and had a contemplative face while rubbing her scarf.
“Mmm… Oh, I know!” she said, and then hugged Yukinoshita’s arm. “It should be a little warmer if I do this!”
“Y-Yuigahama-san, wait just a moment.” Yukinoshita staggered, her voice sharpening and her eyes becoming resistant. But after she saw Yuigahama’s melting face, she sighed and gave in.
“…Ooooh, so warm.”
“It’s hard to walk…”
In reality, their temperatures shouldn’t have been all that different, but apparently their heat indexes were. Just the sight of those two is enough to warm me up!
Even after Yukinoshita had returned the key to the faculty office, Yuigahama continued to glue herself to her.
I followed the two who were tangled around each other and advanced through the hallway that led to the entrance. On the way there, a familiar face appeared from inside the student council room.
“Oh, it’s Iroha-chan. Yahallo.” Yuigahama lifted her left hand and waved, her right hand still grasping onto Yukinoshita’s arm. After noticing her, Isshiki rushed over to us.
“Ahh, good evening. I’m glad you’re all still here.”
“We’re already on our way home,” Yukinoshita said, Yuigahama still attached to her.
You’d think these two were flirting if you saw them from afar… At this point, it wouldn’t be odd to find them strange, but that’s Isshiki for you. She must’ve gotten used to it because she didn’t seem particularly fazed and answered back like normal. “I was also done with some things on my end as well, so I was thinking I’d drop by or something.”
“Did you need something?”