Short Program 4

Short Program, Volume 1, Chapter 4 (pp. 99~126)


<99>
Takeoff


<100>
=Yo, don't worry about it.

=Hey—This coffee cup's all black on the bottom.
SWUU—SH

=Won't kill anyone.

=Forget about it, come on.
=Hey—Hold on a sec.

DING—DONG—


<101>
Yeah—

CHUK

=Hey, Nishizaki.
=It's me.

=I can tell. You're the only guy I know who's this big.

=Can I take a look at your TV?
=Hum.


<102>
=This is Nagashima. Pal from college. He's kinda big, but don't worry. You'll get used to it.

=Oh, she's Kaori-san.
=Hey, remember I told you?

=—Oh, the college student you met at the grocery store who stayed up all night caring for you when you caught a cold.


<103>
=She's much prettier than you mentioned.

=Hah-hah...

BAM

[x2]*scratch*

=Different girlfriend... Huh?
=Don't you know what a wink means—?

=Sorry.
=Yeah, I know you didn't do it on purpose.


<104>
=—And, what about the TV?
=Oh, right right.

=PIP

=You don't wanna buy one?

=Not really—There's usually nothing I want to watch.

=—And that's all for the Women's 800 meter dash.

=Want a beer?
=Nope, can't drink alcohol.


<105>
=At all?

=I can drink a little bit,
=I just don't think it tastes any good.

=It's not about the taste.
=When you get our age, sometimes you just gotta drink, right?

=Not really—I haven't had anything sad to drink about,
=Or happy enough to toast over.

=You're a sa—d man.
PSST

=Huh?
=Why?

=Yeah yeah.
GULP..


<106>
[x2]WA—
=I didn't know you had a thing for track.

=Not track...
=Just this girl...

=The women's high jump final—Up next is,
=North Asakura High School 3rd-year, Satomi Nakata.


<107>
=Hey hey, you're too old for this kinda thing. I've seen her. She's all over the sports magazines and stuff.

=We're from the same neighborhood.

=Oh—
=So you actually know her.

WA

=Last year's champion, Nakata. Clears 1.83m on her first attempt.
WA—

=Cute.


<108>
=I heard this from her mom. She's always had this strange little habit, even when she was just a kid.

=She puts conditions on everything she does, this girl—

=Like, she won't eat rice cake on new year's unless it snows, or won't cross the road until a hearse passes.

=Or won't get out of the kotatsu until the cat yawns.

=Anyways, she never broke any of her conditions, no matter how hard people tried to convince her.
WA—

=That's not little. She sounds pretty screwed up if you ask me.

=But I think that's what's brought her this far...


<109>
=—And,

=What's she got to do with you?

=Height.
=Height?

=Her record jump during her first year of junior-high was the same as my height in my first year of high school.

=Huh?

=That's not all. The next year she improved her record to match how I much I grew.
=Exactly, not even a centimer off.


<110>
=Isn't that kinda cool? I started saying hello to her on the street after that.

=Saying hello...?
=...That's it?

=Yeah, that's it.

=—And, did she jump your height in her third year of junior-high, too?

WA—

=The day of the track meet. I ran into her after she'd gotten back.

=I tried to say hello, and...


<111>
=—So, I thought she'd messed up her jump...

=But then afterwards, I heard that she won with a new tournament record.

=So they were tears of joy.

=No...
=Those were... Definitely...

=—And, was the tournament record the same was your height that time?


<112>
=Ah, no.
=Guess I just grew too much that year.

=—Well, what about after?
=I came moved here for college, so I haven't seen her at all.

=Idiotic. So just two useless coincidences, huh.

=That's what I thought too.

=My height kept growing even after I came over here, and I just assumed there wouldn't be a third time...

=—But, after she won the championship in last year's nationals, she raised the bar to 1.92m on her last jump!


<113>
=That's exactly how tall I was last year! Isn't that cool?

=She didn't make it.
=But, it just made me happy.

=Jolly man.
BLICK

=You sure you don't want a beer?
=Yeah.

=—And, how tall are you now?

=1.97m.

=Whoa wait, You're this old and you're still growing 5cm a year?


<114>
=The Japanese record for the women's high jump is 1.95m.

=Hear that? 1.95m is the Japanese record.
PSHUCK

=You keep growing even if you just sit around like an idiot, but do you even realize how hard they have to work for a single centimeter?

=I don't know what you're hoping for, but it's impossible.
=If this kinda thing continues, it won't be another coincidence. It'll be a miracle.

=I know.


<115>
WA

[x3]WA—

=But man, she really is cute.

=She must be really popular with guys.

=No kidding. When you're that good, even the ugly ones get attention.
=She's got the looks. She's already a star.


<116>
[x3]WA—
=She makes it!

=After a disappointing finish at the inter-high school tournament,//Satomi Nakata has renewed her personal record to clinch her second consecutive national title!


<117>
=Close call. If only you'd stopped growing last year.

=It's not my fault that I keep growing.

=—And now, she's looking to improve her record.
WA—

=The bar is raised to—

WA—


<118>
=A miracle.
WA—

=Idiot...

=You should've known these weren't coincidences.


<119>
=Your height.

[x2]WA—
=1.96m would be enough to get the Japanese record.
=So why's she going for an extra centimeter?

=She's always been trying to jump your height.


<120>
=No way—How would she know my exact height when I haven't even see her for—

=It's 1.97m.

=What's up, mom? You called just to ask me something like that?

=And the year before... I think.

=—But, why?

=You said so yourself.


<121>
=She's got a strange little habit.


<124>
WA—


<125>
WA—

GLUB

=Nishizaki.

=Pass me a beer.

PSHUCK


<126>
=Two days later, I received a love letter from her.

=She had written it
=Three years ago.
[letter]Satomi Nakata

Takeoff (END)