Cat Phantom |
“Hey, Hakamada! Drink more! Drink up, drink up, drink up! You’re being a downer! Hey, you’re stiff!!”
“Tanaka’s right! Come on! I’ll get it for you, just say the word! Or I’ll force you to drink it!!”
Hmm…
Seated across from me, the guys I had known since high school were red-faced and kept thrusting lines at me that I had heard over and over again.
How many times did they say the same words back to me? I already told them from the beginning that I couldn’t drink even a drop of liquor today, though.
“Whattttt! You can’t drink our liquor!”
“You can’t drink it, come on, come on!!”
Two of my friends insisted on forcing me to drink while leaning over the table and pressing their mugs on my face.
It hurt and it was cold.
As for why things turned out this way, well, nothing serious. I was simply getting together with three high school friends, all of whom were actively engaged in society (except me) for the first time in a long while and drinking. More beer mugs were set out in front of me than the platters of food we had already consumed, and both of my friends were rubbing their shoulders with enthusiasm, grinning widely, and relishing their beer.
Although meeting each other for the first time in about a year and a half, they all looked exactly the same as they did back then, even if their hairstyles and atmospheres had changed. While I didn’t really like riotous moods, meeting up with friends after a long time was still a wonderful pleasure. I sipped from my glass of orange juice, basking in a tinge of nostalgia.
“Damn! You’re drinking orange juice! Do you like juices better than alcohol, Masa?”
“It’s disgusting, Nishimura. It’s not like I particularly like to drink this stuff.”
“Seriously! You’re really strait‐laced! One drink is fine!”
“Shut up, Tanaka, you drunkard.”
This time Iiate a huge serving of “Crispy Daikon Salad” while cursing at the two men, whose faces resembled boiled octopuses. The annoying interaction between these two was a regular occurrence, and though it was exasperating, I had no problem letting it slide.
“Don’t be too insistent, you two, or Masa will lose his temper.”
Kinoshita, a cool-faced guy with naturally permed brown hair, sat next to me and said something that I doubted was a follow-up to what had been said. This guy never got intoxicated despite the amount he consumed, he was a monkey.
“Kinoshita!! You should say something to Hakamada too! We haven’t met in a long time, and he’s not in the mood!”
“Didn’t Masa say it at the beginning? He can’t drink because he has to work the night shift.”
“One drink is no problem, he will leave soon anyway.”
“Stupid. If we let Masa have one drink and he gets in an accident and dies, it’s on us.”
“Uhi…”
When Kinoshita said this while grinning, Tanaka and Nishimura had already finished their drinks, and I, who hadn’t even touched a drop of alcohol, all froze in a split second.
“Just kidding.”
Kinoshita giggled and tilted his glass of cocktail. The two of them exchanged a look and shrugged their shoulders as if that had cooled their enthusiasm.
“I got it.”
“My bad, Hakamada.”
“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”
The two apologized lightly, and I responded while stuffing my mouth with salad.
“Thanks, Kinoshita.”
“You’re welcome.”
Waving his hand in the air, Kinoshita began to order a new one on the touch screen. Even though he never became inebriated, he did drink a lot indeed. Tanaka and Nishimura likewise consumed alcohol, albeit not as much as Kinoshita.
Oh… I wished I could drink a little too. Coming to an izakaya and drinking only juice was not sufficient for me. Next time I would drink to my heart’s content.
We chatted about each other’s personal lives for a while ordering food, sake, and orange juice.
Every day at work Tanaka received reprimands from his boss, and recently there may or may not have been a change in the shape of the back of his head from too many smacks.
Since his high school days, Nishimura had become considerably more flirty, and his speech had changed to reflect this. He was now working as a hairdresser somewhere in Azabu-Juban, Tokyo, donning rings, necklaces, and other flamboyant things. Apparently, he had a new girlfriend recently. Again, huh.
As for Kinoshita, he attended university, obtained a teaching license, and finally fulfilled his dream of becoming a middle school science teacher. He was teased by Nishimura for having a gloomy profession since he was sandwiched between the school and the overbearing parents in this day and age, yet he appeared to be enjoying it.
When I asked him if he was using a beaker to boil coffee with an alcohol lamp, something he had longed to do since he was a child, he responded by saying that he had done it secretly during recess the other day.
“These days, middle school students seem to be trouble that they are hard to deal with.”
“Well, yeah, but it’s pretty fulfilling.”
“I get beat up every single day…”
“Now that you mention it, how are you doing these days, Hakamada? Still working part-time?”
“You said you were working at night, like a janitor?”
“Ugh…”
Of the four of us, only I still wavered around without a proper job, so talking about it left me with a sense of helplessness.
Believe it or not, even though I was on the road to becoming a freeter, there was a time in high school when I studied diligently and painstakingly with the aim of entering university.
The three of them and my old friends would simply say to me, “How did you become like this?”
“I am working part-time at a… convenience store now.”
“Bu…!!”
“What…! For real!!”
No sooner had I said this than Tanaka and Nishimura blew up.
Hold on, hold on, I wasn’t done talking yet.
“Convenience store part-time job…! I can introduce you to some good places!”
“No, the wages are higher than expected.”
“Really?” said Kinoshita.
I gave a small nod. I couldn’t say, “It’s a challenge, in exchange for a good hourly wage,” though.
“Wow, is it that great, where?”
“No comment on that.”
“No comment?”
“Well, I hope you find something you want to do like we did, and you’ll be able to do it soon.”
“I think my present lifestyle is good enough for me, Kinoshita.”
“What? Are you planning to be a freeter for the rest of your life?”
“No, not really.”
I didn’t have any specific thing I wanted to do, which was why I was a freeter, and as long as my livelihood was stable, that was all I needed.
“…”
“What’s up?”
Again…
“Nothing.”
“What? Hakamada, you are acting strangely fidgety today, no?”
“Is… Is that so?”
Despite my attempts to play dumb, the three of them looked at me in wonder. It was no surprise that they thought I was acting strangely because I had undoubtedly been behaving peculiarly ever since the beginning.
Though I wouldn’t admit it.