Come to think of it...
The boy's expression suddenly turned a little bashful.
"What are you doing?"
The gray-haired girl shook the branch beneath her.
The branch swayed up and down.
It really was just like sitting on a swing.
"What's with that look?"
Uh...
What look?
The boy instinctively touched his face.
Of course.
He couldn't feel what expression he was making.
Because the boy still looked completely bewildered.
"A weird, weird expression."
The gray-haired girl's legs swayed up and down along with the branch.
"What are you thinking about?"
A weird, weird expression?
The boy suddenly wished he had a mirror.
He rubbed his face.
But...
What was he thinking about...
The boy couldn't help swallowing.
"I..."
"I wanted to ask..."
Did that make them friends?
After all, this was their second time meeting.
He felt like they got along pretty well...
"...Friends..."
The boy murmured under his breath.
He mumbled it so softly that even he could barely hear himself.
But then—
"Friends?"
The gray-haired girl clearly and accurately repeated the two words the boy had murmured just a moment earlier.
"What?"
The boy jumped a little.
The gray-haired girl had actually heard him?!
Her hearing was way too good...
The boy marveled.
Then, without thinking, the boy reached up and tugged at his ear.
"It's just..."
"I wanted to ask..."
The boy took a deep breath.
Then he closed his eyes and shouted.
"...Are we friends now?"
It was quiet by his ears.
The boy could clearly hear the faint sound of the wind.
He felt a little restless.
He hadn't heard the gray-haired girl say anything.
He hadn't even heard the branch sway beneath the gray-haired girl.
The boy couldn't help cracking open his eyes.
And then