"What are you doing?"
That night I was on the veranda of my room. Smoked the cigarette in my hand while enjoying the night breeze.
"Smoking"
Looks like I was caught red-handed, it could be serious if I get reported to the social agency. Imagine my room door banged on them with neat clothes and stunt guns in their hands... horrible.
"How could... a high school student get that thing?"
"...by buying it at the store? Where else?"
"No, no, no... you even need to show your ID card if you want to buy one... are you crazy? You could get arrest by the police!"
She's right. If a shop owner or cashier were caught giving items such as to a kid, they could face legal action.
The laws in this country are strict, and people are forced to obey the existing rules. This social system became an order that lasted for decades.
But...
"What do you care?"
Right after I said that in a cold tone, Shiina fell silent.
".... You're right, we're just strangers."
'We are just strangers' who happen to interact by accident, also living in the same apartment building, in other words, she is just a neighbor.
We are also classmates. But the word classmate only shows that we are both in the group of students in the same class, it does not mean that we can directly be called know each other better and close.
Because some people have different standards for being friends, but most would agree if it were to be said that a friend is someone you are close enough to be with you for a long time.
"And how about you?"
I threw the random questions that were in my head, while smoking the cigarette in my hand. White smoke billowed and disappeared in the night breeze.
"Just enjoying the view outside, and now it's ruined by your smoke."
".... Allright, I'll put it away."
I'm in a bad mood know.
But, being scolded by a pretty girl wasn't bad either. It almost feels like she cares about you.
"Are you happy now?"
She nodded satisfied
But it didn't stop there, she asked again.
"Since when do you smoke?"
Didn't your family teach you how far you can meddle in other people's business?
"Since when is it, huh?"
Throwing the butts in the trash, I leaned against the railing, looking off into the distance. Trying to remember.
"I already forgot, but it feels like... the 3rd grade in middle school maybe, I forget"
I'm not lying, it's a fact.
"Smoking is not healthy, you know?"
Even a little kid knows that. Don't you have any good arguments
"I don't smoke that often, only when I feel to."
At first out of curiosity, then over time it started to become a habit. The new environmental pressures made it difficult for me to adapt. Along with that, I started to get used to it. I started trying to smoke a cigarette after seeing my buttler smoke secretly in the living room.
