"Mom.. I'm going out," Hayato shouted while wearing his shoes, sitting cross-legged right in front of the door. His voice bounced off the narrow hallway walls.
He stood up, tugged at the back of his shirt that was already sticking a little, and closed the door behind him with a soft click. Stepping out through the front gate, he stretched his arms wide overhead, looking up at the bright sky. "It's so hot."
The sun felt like it was pressing down on everything. Sweat was already starting to bead on the back of his neck. He slowly lowered his eyes.
A football came into view first—someone holding it high above their head like they were about to celebrate a goal. He lowered his gaze a bit more, and Takashi's face appeared, eyes wide open in surprise, mouth slightly parted like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Both of them stood there quietly, just staring at each other for a long second.
"No," Hayato said flatly.
"I didn't say anything though," Takashi replied, confused, tilting his head to one side like a lost puppy.
"I have a vague idea what you are going to ask," Hayato said, crossing his arms tighter.
"So what are you doing here? Are you following me?" Hayato asked, squinting a little.
Takashi laughed—a short, bright burst that made his whole face light up. "No, we just moved into this house," he said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder at the house right behind him. A few unpacked boxes still sat on the porch, and the front door was propped open with a shoe.
"So the truck yesterday was you guys moving in," Hayato said.
[Ahh… this dumb ahh kid is my neighbour now.]
As they stood there, a small creak came from the gate right beside them.
Tatsuya stepped out, closing his own gate carefully behind him with a soft thud. He stepped onto the road, glanced around—and froze the second he saw the two of them.
The three of them met eyes.
They all stood there completely still. In the background, a single wild tumbleweed rolled slowly past—even though they weren't anywhere near a desert. It just drifted by like it belonged there.
Tatsuya quietly turned back toward his gate.
"Haa, the heat has finally gotten into me. I seem to be having hallucinations." He reached for the latch again.
Hayato and Takashi moved fast, stepping up and jamming their shoulders against the gate to keep it from closing.
"Oi, step out," Hayato said.
"Tch, the hallucinations are getting realistic," Tatsuya muttered under his breath. He pushed back hard against the gate, face turning red, feet sliding a little on the gravel. But Hayato and Takashi leaned in harder.
After a desperate struggle of elbows bumping and gate rattling—Tatsuya finally let go. They dragged him out onto the road.
The three of them stood on the side of the road, breathing heavily, hands on their knees, sweat dripping down their faces.
"Did you also move in recently?" Hayato asked, wiping his forehead with the back of his arm.
"I have been living here for a long time. You just never noticed me," Tatsuya replied, still catching his breath, giving Hayato a flat side-eye.
"What are you, a ghost?" Hayato asked, one eyebrow shooting up.
"Ah, what do we have here?" a warm voice came from behind.
They looked up.
It was Takashi's mom. She leaned against her gate, arms folded loosely, a big gentle smile on her face. "Are they your friends?" she asked, looking straight at Takashi.
"Yeah, I met them yesterday!" Takashi said, bouncing once on his toes, eyes bright.
"No we're not," Hayato and Tatsuya answered at the exact same moment.
Takashi's mom burst out laughing, covering her mouth with one hand, eyes crinkling at the corners. "What are you guys doing?"
"I was on my way to the convenience store," Tatsuya said.
"Me too," Hayato added quickly.
"Ah! Then why don't you go together? I needed to buy some ingredients," Takashi's mom said.
She reached over, plucked the football right out of Takashi's hands, and pressed a slightly crumpled shopping list into his palm instead. "Here you go, have fun shopping."
"Bye bye," she waved cheerfully at all three of them and disappeared back inside, smiling.
Takashi turned to face them, holding the list in both hands like it was a treasure map. He looked up at Hayato and Tatsuya. "So… how about we all go together?"
Hayato and Tatsuya glanced at each other for half a second.
Then back at Takashi.
"Yeah, why not," Hayato said with a small shrug, hands slipping into his pockets.
Tatsuya gave a tiny nod, barely lifting his chin.
Takashi's face lit up—big grin, eyes sparkling. He started walking forward, swinging the list back and forth in the air like a flag. "Let's go…"
Hayato stepped up from behind and gave him a light smack on the back of the head. "The store's that way, you idiot," he said, pointing the opposite direction with his thumb.
Tatsuya sighed, already starting to walk ahead. "Yeah, let's go."
Takashi rubbed the spot on his head, cheeks puffing out in a quick pout, then hurried to catch up, falling in step behind them.
Takashi's mom watched from behind the second floor window, one hand holding the curtain aside, a soft laugh escaping as she saw the three boys walking down the street—Takashi still swinging the list a little, Hayato with his hands deep in his pockets, Tatsuya leading the way looking mildly annoyed.
"Looks like he made some good friends."