I flew on a plane for over five hours for the first time in my life.
Well, actually, it was my first time ever flying.
After finishing the university entrance exam, I started a part-time job, and a friend who went on a backpacking trip during the summer break of their first year in college mentioned that the cheapest plane seats wouldn’t even let you stretch your shoulders. Given that, it seems our plane tickets weren’t that cheap after all.
It wasn’t like those fancy business class seats I saw in movies, though.
Or maybe my body felt smaller, so it didn’t feel too big; also, the plane might have been a larger model, meaning there could be slight differences in seat sizes even within the same class.
Sitting for long periods was certainly not the most comfortable, but still, I was thrilled about flying.
I was in the window seat.
Inside the rising plane, I was constantly taking pictures of the view outside the window.
Fortunately, the weather was clear without a single cloud when we departed, so I could clearly capture the blue sky and the endless buildings below.
Oh.
Uuuh?
After about an hour of flying, the plane started to shake.
I wondered if it was turbulence or something else; the weather wasn’t particularly bad, but it felt strange for the plane to be shaking like that.
I wasn’t scared, though. It felt a bit weird during takeoff, but once we were high up in the sky, it oddly didn’t feel real, making it hard to believe how high we were.
Maybe if it had been a roller coaster or bungee jumping, or an observation deck, it might have felt different. In those places, my toes would tingle.
“Isn’t it amazing?”
Yuka, sitting next to Koko, asked with a smile.
Her tone had a hint of arrogance, so I looked over at Yuka and asked, “Have you ever flown on a plane?”
“Just domestically.”
Yuka shrugged her chin slightly as she replied.
…That’s kind of frustrating.
Back when we were about to depart, I was relieved that Kagami couldn’t join us, but if Kagami really couldn’t get a visa, wouldn’t it be tough for our family to go on an international trip?
The visa issues might only concern the U.S., but… if the U.S. shared that information with other countries, then it’d be a whole different story.
Personally, I wanted to visit Korea again. I was curious if my old neighborhood still existed as it was.
“…”
Well, it was a conversation that didn’t really need to be thought about right now. Either way, there was still plenty of time. It was a topic I could worry about a few years down the line when I was in college.
I just turned the camera towards Yuka and snapped a picture.
Click.
Koko right next to me, and Yuka beside her.
Mako and Harumi sat together a little further down the aisle, and somehow Yuuki noticed and made a peace sign in our direction.
It ended up being a pretty nice photo in many ways, so I was happy.
Well, I guess I can forgive her for showing off with this.
*
Hawaii… was warm.
Actually, it was more like hot.
Even though it was October, the sun was shining fiercely. It still felt like summer here.
Well, I guess that’s why it’s Hawaii.
I heard that even in October, Hawaii’s temperature drops a bit. But still, the lowest temperature in October is in the low 20s, and the highest goes just a bit over 30, so it’s still the kind of weather that wouldn’t be out of place calling it summer in another country.
Because of that, we could enjoy the sea even in October, and I brought short-sleeved shirts plus a light jacket to wear over it.
Wow!
The moment we arrived at the accommodation, Harumi exclaimed.
We ended up sharing rooms of three. Naturally, it was me, Koko, and Yuka together while Mako, Yuuki, and Harumi shared another room.
There were plenty of palm trees near the accommodation.
For me, Japan’s temperature felt quite exotic. It wasn’t just because it was a different country; the average temperature and the times for sunrise and sunset were different compared to Seoul, where I used to live.
Even though the time zones were the same, if you move according to Korea, evening comes too early, and summer feels like a tropical climate.
I heard that just going as far as Jeju Island feels that way, but honestly, I didn’t get to visit Jeju even when I was living in Korea, so how amazing this kind of weather felt!
Being located in the “middle of the Pacific,” the sea was incredibly clear. Even compared to the islands I visited with friends during summer vacation, it seemed even clearer.
Despite that natural environment, Hawaii’s capital, Honolulu, was a city with a lot of tall buildings.
The sight of tall buildings lining the coast, which was so close to a teal color, could definitely be described as spectacular.
Honestly, I just tossed ‘Hawaii’ around because it sounded good, but there’s not only one island.
There’s the ‘Hawaiian Islands,’ with big and small islands lined up together.
Among them is the capital Honolulu, and the most populated area is on the largest island, not Hawaii Island, but the third largest island, ‘Oahu.’
I don’t really understand how people came to be living on the third largest island instead of the largest one.
*
“The sea!”
Well, there’s no rule against going to the sea in Japan in October, but there’s a massive difference between enduring the chilly weather and going to the beach in the peak of summer.
For us, it was not the weather that should be considered summer, but in Hawaii, where we were significantly further south than Tokyo, we were now just enjoying our second summer!
Um, so it might actually fit better that Harumi exclaimed like one of those lines from summer episodes in anime.
She didn’t follow up with the usual “Oh, oh,” but Mako was grinning as she looked at Harumi’s back. Even without words, her expression conveyed that line.
Harumi’s swimsuit was a bit bolder this time compared to the last time we went out.
I mean, should I say bold? I wasn’t sure what to say seeing the leopard-print bikini. It suited Harumi tremendously, but if I wore it, I’d just look pathetic.
Oh, surfing! Let’s go surfing!
Harumi, all excited, pointed at the surfers riding the waves and said.
“Harumi, do you know how to surf?”
Mako, surprised with an expression of complete disbelief, asked, but Harumi shook her head vigorously.
“No? Of course not! I have to learn!”
Well, it doesn’t seem like such a bad choice.
By the way, we had plenty of time. Usually, people say the first day of trip like this counts as wasted time, but Hawaii is a whole nineteen hours behind Tokyo.
To calculate a bit more intuitively, you just turn the date back by a day and add five hours.
Even though it takes seven hours to get here, considering we’re going to a place that’s nineteen hours slower, if you do the math, if you depart in the afternoon from Tokyo, you’ll arrive in Hawaii in the morning, which brings us to the conclusion.
So, we had school classes, went home, came back together in the evening, and took a flight out.
After leaving at eight-thirty in the evening, we arrived in Hawaii a little after eight-forty-five the next morning. By the time we moved to our hotel, it was just after ten.
Even though we were on the plane for seven hours, it took everyone around thirty minutes to an hour to fall asleep, so we were all a bit sleep-deprived. But the moment we unloaded our luggage in the hotel, our energy started to overflow, and as soon as we finished the instructions with the teacher early in the day, we raced to the beach for lunch.
There were quite a few kids around us that seemed similar to us. There were also a few teachers scattered around.
“Who’s that—Ah.”
As we turned our gaze, we locked eyes with someone.
Sasaki.
Next to Sasaki stood Nanami, and the two boys who probably shared a room with Sasaki were teasing them relentlessly.
To be precise, they were teasing Sasaki, and even though they were jokingly asking if they were dating, Nanami’s face was turning bright red from genuinely liking him.
And there was a surfboard beside Sasaki.
“…….”
Harumi’s eyes sparkled. It’s not like she was excited by Sasaki, which was good. Honestly, it would feel more comfortable learning from a classmate than from a stranger.
The problem was whether it was okay to approach Sasaki right now.
It might seem playful, but those two friends were probably genuinely hurt. Nanami was quite a beauty in our class, after all.
It’s just a joke to play around as friends, but I didn’t genuinely feel jealous—
“Sasaki—!”
“Uh, wait, Harumi!?”
Before I could even finish thinking, Harumi was already running out, her eyes bright with excitement.
Her well-balanced figure wobbled nicely with each step she took.
At Harumi’s voice, Nanami jumped, looking this way, and Sasaki looked a little surprised as well.
Sasaki’s friends turned their gaze from him to Harumi approaching and then back to us standing awkwardly behind before becoming a bit serious.
“……”
Umm…
Well, if I were to learn surfing, I’d much rather learn from a friend than fumble around with a foreigner that I can’t communicate with.
Is it really okay? Is it genuinely okay? Nanami’s expression was filled with vigilance! Two of Sasaki’s friends were seriousness personified as they readied themselves!
……
Well, whatever will be, will be.
We exchanged glances for a moment before just following Harumi in a rush.
Since we were all here, let’s just have fun! Don’t you think so?
I decided to just think casually.
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