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“Huh?”Fushimi’s eyes turned into dots.She whipped around to face Himeji, who was sound asleep by her side, and pinched her cheeks.“Looks like this dirty, deceitful mouth needs washing!”

No matter how hard she pinched, though, Himeji showed no sign of waking up.

Fushimi leaned back in the seat again and let out a weary sigh of relief before grunting:

“Oh.Mwoh?!”

“What?”

“I auditioned for a play and…look!”

Fushimi shoved her phone in my face with a dazzling expression.

There was an email, and the subject line read,Preliminary Selection Results.She was informed that she had passed the first screening.

“It’s only the first step, though—they just reviewed my documents.But still.”She could barely contain her smile.

“…You gotta wait for an email for that?”

“Don’t question their ways, okay?”

I think I was feeling jealous of her again.Why couldn’t I just say congratulations first?

“…Good for you, Fushimi.Congratulations.”

“Yes.Thank you, thank you.I want to thank all the people in the world!”

She was more hyper than usual.

Meanwhile…what did I have?

Like Himeji and Fushimi, what could I put my all into?

I didn’t want something to brag about, nor did I aim to surpass someone.I just wanted something to share with other people like that…

“While practicing, my teacher told me…” Fushimi explained how she had gotten into the audition.There were four screenings to go through before actually being selected.“I applied online, and I also linked the social media account we made recently.I think that worked in my favor!”

Pretty modern of them to use social media as a reference.

“It’s all thanks to you and Shii,” she said in all seriousness.

“I don’t think we did anything.”

“Really?”Really.“Look at me.”

“Huh?Okay?”

“I want you to cheer me on.”

“Of course I will.”

“Thank you.”She smiled innocently, and I could only look away.

She said she was unfair and a bad girl, but honestly, I was sure I was much worse.

“Just knowing you’re rooting for me gives me the strength to do anything!”

Just today, she had climbed up many steps; there was a fire burning within her.All while remaining as diligent as always—she reassured me she would still give her all to the film.

Once back home, I washed away the sweat and salt residue from the ocean in the shower, all while looking back on what had happened during the day.A lot went on as we spent the day filming and playing on the beach, but what remained strongly in my mind was the conversation with Fushimi on the train.

I finished showering and went back to my room.

I tried thinking about something else, in an attempt to forget the shapeless, heavy weight on my chest.

I tried reading the manga I’d started recently, then a movie I was recommended; then I just tried thinking about anything else, but no matter what, the thought came back to me like a boomerang.

I fiddled around with Mr.Matsuda’s camera.The battery was running low; I had to charge it.

At first I thought it’d be too much for me to handle, but now I was entirely used to operating it.I mean, I wasn’t a perfect cameraman, but I knew how to use the thing.

“I…”

Why don’t I have anything?

Just as the thought crossed my mind, I felt as though the camera in my hands was trying to tell me something.

I took out the SD card full of recordings for our film and changed it for a new, blank one.

I grabbed my pencil case and took out a mechanical pencil and started writing down whatever came to mind on my classical literature notebook that was just lying around.

It was past midnight by the time I checked the clock.

Don’t think you have nothing.

Think about how you could achieve something.