Miki Route 2-3: Call Waiting

label en_M3:

    "The bells chime through the school for the final time today, calling an end to the tedium of the mid-week classes."

    "A well deserved end, too, if I had any say in it."

    "I glance to my right and from the look on Miki's face, I can tell she feels the same way."

    "Together with Suzu, the three of us make our way out of the classroom."

    #Switch to hallway 3

    "We work our way through the crowded hallways at a sluggish pace, in part because Suzu is trying to stay close to Miki, and in part because Miki is staring down at her phone instead of paying attention to her surroundings."

    "Before I can try and steal her attention from the screen, though, Miki stops in place and twists on her heels to face us."

    mk "Looks like my mom was trying to reach me. Give me just a sec so I can call her back."

    "Suzu scowls, provoking an apologetic smile from her friend."

    "Miki steps out of the way, the rest of our classmates flooding out of the building to enjoy what's left of their day."

    "Suzu and I follow suit, and so the three of us stand lined up against the wall."

    #hide Miki

    "Soon enough Miki distances herself from us as she brings the phone to her ear."

    mk "Hey mom, you called?"

    "I don't want to seem rude by giving off the impression that I'm listening in on her conversation, so I turn to Suzu instead."

    "She seems to be ignoring me, though. Instead, her attention is divided between her watch and the occasional glance at Miki to see if she's finished her call yet."

    hi "Are you in a hurry?"

    "She looks up at me, though she doesn't seem very interested in having a conversation."

    su "Kind of. I have to go to my room."

    mk "No, I haven't."

    hi "Is that because of your naps?"

    "Suzu glances over at Miki again, though this time there's a slight flicker of annoyance in her eyes."

    su "Did Miki tell you?"

    hi "She did… was she not supposed to?"

    "Her expression softens as she meets my gaze again."

    su "It doesn't really matter. In the end we're all here for a reason, whether it's narcolepsy or a heart condition."

    "No wonder it didn't surprise her."

    mk "No, mom. I don't want to."

    hi "Miki talks a lot."

    #Suzu happy

    "The comment makes Suzu smile. I think it's the first genuine smile I've seen from her."

    su "She does. I wish she would hurry up."

    hi "Are your naps really on such a tight schedule?"

    su "It's important to keep a routine going in order for them to have the intended effect."

    hi "I understand, I think."

    "I can't imagine how demanding her condition must be. Scheduled naps, having an escort whenever you want to go anywhere…"

    "Compared to that, taking pills every day seems like barely any trouble at all."

    "Suzu checks her watch again, then looks from Miki to the exit."

    "Now that I think about it, maybe this could be another chance for us to get to know each other a little better."

    hi "If you want, I could walk you to your dorm instead."

    su "Thanks, but I'd rather it be Miki."

    "I'm not sure why I expected her to agree to it."

    mk "Mom! Don't do that! It's fine!"

    "Our attention is drawn to Miki, as her voice gets louder."

    su "Miki! Can we please get going?"

    "She turns and gives us an apologetic look, mouthing that it won't be long."

    su "Have you ever had déjà vu, Hisao?"

    hi "No, why?"

    su "I think I'm experiencing it right now."

    mk "I don't need this right now! Can't we talk about this later?"

    hi "What do you mean?"

    su "I've heard Miki's half of the conversation more times than I care to remember."

    "There's a certain frustration in her voice, one I can't exactly blame her for, considering Miki is getting more and more worked up."

    hi "Does she not get along with her mother?"

    "Suzu shrugs, looking uncomfortable."

    su "That's something you should really ask her about, not me."

    hi "You're probably right, sorry."

    su "Miki!"

    "Miki turns to face us. Suzu taps her watch for emphasis and Miki nods."

    mk "I gotta go, mom. Talk to you later."

    mk "Yes I will."

    mk "Yes, I will!"

    mk "Mom! Yes. I. Will."

    mk "Bye."

    "With that she hangs up. The way she grips her phone gives the impression that part of her is tempted to smash it into tiny pieces."

    hi "Pushy parents?"

    #Miki irritated

    mk "You think?"

    "She sighs and shakes her head."

    mk "Sorry, she just drives me crazy sometimes."

    hi "Parents can be like that."

    mk "Yeah."

    "She closes her eyes and breathes deeply, as if willing away what frustration her mother caused."

    "When her eyes open again, she looks at me."

    mk "Alright, I'm not making the same mistake Emi did."

    "She looks at her phone and flips it open again. As she starts pressing buttons I start thinking she's going to make another call, but instead she holds her phone out to me."

    mk "You should give me your number."

    mk "You know, just in case one of us is running late or something."

    hi "Huh? Alright, makes sense."

    "I take the phone and quickly enter my number. As I return it, I take my phone out of my bag and get ready to have her enter hers as well."

    "With remarkable speed she enters her number and hands the phone back to me."

    mk "Can you head out to the track and wait for me there? I'll be out soon."

    "I can't help but let a bit of suspicion creep into the back of my mind. Is there something she wants to talk about with Suzu and not me?"

    "I feel like she's shutting me out, but at this point there's little I can do. I don't think it'll help anybody if I press this right now."

    "She's opened up to me before, though. Maybe it will happen again if I just give her some space for the time being."

    hi "Yeah, sure. Don't be too long."

    #Miki sad

    "From the look on her face, I can tell that came out more seriously than I'd meant for it to be."

    hi "I mean… Never mind. See you in a few."

    mk "Bye."

    su "See you tomorrow, Hisao."

    "I give Suzu a nod and head outside for the track, leaving the two girls standing in the hallway."

    #track

    "As usual, the track seems to already be peppered with various track and field club members."

    "I hardly see any of the faces from when I was here on Monday. I guess it's not too weird that the club is so popular here, considering that it was about the same at my old school."

    "Still, I wouldn't expect nearly as many students to be keeping this active, with their disabilities to take into consideration."

    "The majority of the students I see practicing today are girls. I wonder how many of them will be taking part in the track meet alongside Miki and Emi?"

    "After looking over the track one last time, I glance back at the dorms only to find that there's still no sign of Miki."

    "While I wait for her to show, I decide to get started on my homework. It's not like I have anything better to do."

    #Short timeskip

    "The homework for tomorrow is pretty easy. Keeping up during my hospital stay is definitely paying off."

    mk "What are you doing? Don't tell me you think this place is so boring that even homework is more fun."

    "She looks her old self again, even her grin is back."

    hi "I had to find {i}something{/i} to keep me busy while I waited for you to show up."

    "Miki's grin wavers for only the briefest of moments."

    hi "So what was that call about?"

    "Her smile fades. She must have been hoping we could pretend it didn't happen."

    mk "That? Yeah, sorry for that. My mom's sweet, but we don't always see eye to eye about what's best for me."

    "I want to press just a bit further, but before I can respond Miki beats me to the punch."

    mk "Let's just get started, alright? Still got the stopwatch?"

    hi "Yes, I have it right here."

    "I reach into my bag and pull it out in demonstration."

    hi "Sorry, I forgot to give it back to you earlier."

    mk "It's fine. Since you're the one actually using it, it's probably easier if you hang on to it for now."

    hi "Will do."

    "Miki nods and gets started on her stretches. Oddly enough she seems to be rushing through her exercises."

    "It only takes her a minute to run through all of them, after which she heads for the starting line, expecting me to follow."

    "She wordlessly kneels, keeping her eyes fixed on the track."

    "This is the Miki I saw on Monday, concentrating only on her run. I like this side of her; it makes me wish I had something I could be as passionate about."

    "In my admiration, I almost forget my role."

    hi "On your mark."

    "Miki tenses up, eager to start."

    hi "Get set."

    "In one fluid motion she switches to the next pose, resting on her right hand again. Her concentration now is intense."

    hi "Go!"

    "For a moment everything about Miki seems to move in slow motion."

    "The way she rises, launching forward as she pushes off against the ground with three of her limbs…"

    "Then, as soon as she takes her first step, time lurches forward again."

    "Miki runs in a way that makes the rest of the world seem to move at a crawl."

    "However, after she rounds the first corner I keep an eye on the time as well and it seems to catch up to her."

    "She crosses the finish line before too long, turning around as soon as she comes to a standstill."

    "She walks up to me, beaming."

    mk "How'd I do?"

    "I don't want to tell her."

    hi "Well."

    mk "C'mon, let's hear it!"

    "I can't. Instead, I just show her the time displayed on the stopwatch: one minute, three seconds."

    "Her face drops considerably."

    mk "Seriously? I thought I'd broken a minute again that time."

    "She rubs her bandaged wrist and then turns around."

    mk "Oh well. If at first you don't succeed…"

    "She kneels back down, starting the cycle anew. I write the time down and reset the stopwatch."

    hi "On your mark."

    "Miki's jaw is clenched, making her look even more determined than before."

    hi "Get set."

    "As her rear rises and she shifts her weight forward, I notice that her right arm seems to tremble, just barely."

    hi "Go!"

    "Once more she launches forward, though this time she seems to move forward more than she does upward. It's not until she hits her stride that she's fully upright."

    "My eyes alternate between her running form and the stopwatch. I find myself willing the device to count slower, just so Miki's time will improve."

    "But when she does cross the line, the result I end up having to write down isn't better."

    "We walk towards each other, meeting halfway. I show her the stopwatch and she glares at it."

    mk "Dammit!"

    mk "Again!"

    "Miki is determined to match her time from Monday, I can tell that much."

    "I can also tell she's not enjoying herself like when we run in the mornings."

    "How long will she keep trying? Would the thought of giving up even cross her mind?"

    #timeskip, sunset

    #look at the possibility of an NVL for this segment
    #and by possibility, I mean I wrote an NVL for this segment

    window hide

    nvl show Dissolve(0.2)

    n "After her sixth consecutive attempt, she took a break to catch her breath."

    n "She's about to start her ninth, but her times have only gotten worse. Now they don't even beat the first time of the day."

    n "At first glance, I couldn't understand why today's times would be any different than her earlier ones. Miki is running just as hard as she ever has, maybe even moreso."

    n "I just attributed it to her being unhappy with her first time, letting that get a bit into her head…"

    n "but after seeing the same times play out over and over again, I began to notice something."

    n "Hell, I'm surprised I didn't catch it sooner."

    n "She's forcing it. Even from her very first run, she's been forcing it."

    n "There's tension in each step, almost as if she were an animal frantically running after her prey. That natural grace, that ebb and flow of her running… it's gone."

    nvl hide dissolve

    nvl clear

    window show

    "Miki's skin is glistening with sweat. Her breathing is ragged and her eyes reflect desperation, rather than determination."

    "The number of students hanging out at the track has dwindled over time."

    "Some had stayed to watch her run, but eventually it's just us two left."

    "The sun is beginning to fall dangerously low over the treeline, just another sign that time is running short for today's run."

    "I browse through the results on my notepad. As much as I hate to admit it, it's becoming more and more unlikely that she'll break one minute today."

    "With a sigh she drops down to one knee again, resting her left arm on it as she waits for me."

    hi "Maybe we should call it a day."

    "Rather than responding, Miki simply lets her gaze drift out along the distance of the track."

    "She doesn't even seem to be focusing on anything in particular; she could be staring 1000 yards in the distance and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

    "Soon enough, though, my suggestion seems to click in Miki's head. Her gaze rests on me again, this time with a newfound defiance."

    hi "You're getting too worked up right now. The numbers so far don't lie either, maybe you should rest up and try again tomorrow."

    mk "Look, it's only a couple days until the track meet. That's why I'm going to break one minute today, alright?"

    "Knowing her, she probably would stay here by herself, even if I tried to make a point by leaving."

    "I glance at the stopwatch. There is one way to guarantee her next try will be her last, before she seriously overdoes it."

    hi "Fine. On your mark."

    "Her arm slides off her knee, to her side."

    hi "Get set."

    "Miki rises, though it's no longer as fluid as before. To my surprise, she's no longer leaning on just her right hand, either."

    "She presses her stump against the ground and I can see her wince in pain as she puts some of her weight on it."

    "The only gain is that her right arm is no longer trembling under the weight of her body."

    hi "Go."

    "The relief of getting up seems to invigorate her and for a moment I see a glimmer of her usual running style."

    "The moment is lost when she builds momentum. There's little grace to her running now."

    "The stopwatch is feeling oddly heavy in my hand. I glance at it, my fingertips resting on the buttons."

    "I could stop it for just a few seconds."

    "Just enough for her to break one minute."

    "Just enough to get her to stop."

    "It's not like she would find out."

    "She's halfway round the track. Now would be the moment."

    "My thumb slides over to the button."

    "Even if it's cheating, it's for the right reasons. Miki would understand, right?"

    "Except."

    "I know she wouldn't. To Miki, breaking a minute would mean being that much closer to beating Emi."

    "Deceiving her like this would invalidate her efforts up until now."

    "That's how she would see it, anyway."

    "I watch in silence as she makes her way through the last corner and crosses the finish line."

    "The stopwatch reads one minute, two seconds."

    "Miki is out of breath and bends over, resting her hand on her knees as she tries to steady her breathing."

    mk "How did I do?"

    hi "One minute, two seconds."

    "She closes her eyes, frustrated. She doesn't even bother cursing anymore."

    mk "I hate it when you're right."

    hi "In this case I don't like it much, either."

    hi "There's always tomorrow, right?"

    mk "Definitely."

    "She rises to her full height again and stretches her legs."

    "I can't help but feel like there's still a bit of tension in the air, only exascerbated by the silence of the vacant track."

    "Against my better judgement, I decide to speak out while I have the chance. Hopefully I can at least try calming Miki's nerves a bit."

    hi "Look, I'm sorry if I upset you when I asked about stopping earlier. I wasn't trying to imply-{w=.5}{nw}"

    "She sighs and shakes her head, motioning for me to stop."

    mk "No, I'm sorry. That was unfair. I've just had some things on my mind and talking to my mom earlier only messed with my head more."

    "When Miki brings up the phone call again, she starts shifting her weight from one foot to the other."

    "Maybe her mom stressed her out about the race when they talked? I don't know how much she would care about Miki's running, though."

    "I don't want to dig too far into it, especially after my earlier attempts, so I try to work my way around the question."

    hi "It's okay, really. Is she coming to the track meet?"

    mk "Huh? Nah, my folks can't make it. They live too far away."

    "It's odd, I thought she'd be upset about them not being there."

    hi "You almost seem relieved."

    mk "I wouldn't say that. I mean, they're great parents and all… Still, it saves me the trouble of having her nag me in person."

    hi "She doesn't like that you run?"

    mk "She's fine with my running, but she's just pushing me to start working on my 'future'."

    mk "Not like my grades would get me into college anyway."

    "It's weird to hear a kind of resignation in her tone. I don't like it."

    hi "Are you sure about that? There's still plenty of time left to catch up."

    mk "Thanks, but having this conversation once is enough for one day, I don't need to have it again."

    "She smiles and stretches her arms out over her head. It's only then that she seems to notice the sun has started to set."

    mk "Crap! I'm supposed to have dinner with Suzu tonight. I'll see you again tomorrow morning, don't be late."

    hi "Same goes for you."

    "She grins and jogs back to the dorms, leaving me with the notepad in one hand and the stopwatch in the other."

    return