The first time I met her was on a summer day when the sun was blazing. The asphalt, having swallowed the heat, sent up shimmering waves of haze, and the humming noise of outdoor AC units made for a typical, irritatingly hot summer afternoon.

On that particular day, the fan at home broke down and wouldn't start, and the library was closed... To escape the heat, I trudged all the way to the supermarket near my house to get some ice cream, but once I arrived—damn it—I realized I'd left my wallet behind.

It was truly the worst day ever. ...Or so I thought. Feeling embarrassed by the owner's glare that seemed to say 'What's with this kid?', I was about to turn away with a frustrated huff when a cool, sweet scent of shampoo brushed past my nose, and a pair of pale, slender fingers entered my field of vision.

"Excuse me, please ring this up with mine."

As if it were nothing, you lightly paid for my ice cream and left before I could even say a word.

After returning home that day, I was in a daze all day long. Is this what they call first love? A crush? Every movement you made floated through my head in slow motion, and just thinking about that moment made me feel a dizzying sense of floating.

...Ah, her number... Dammit.

Late regret washed over me, thinking I should have caught her when she left, but there was no way to bring back a moment that had already passed. And so, I spent the summer break suffering from a sudden fever of the heart. One day, two days, three days, four...

Then, just as I was starting to forget, you crash-landed into my daily life like a sudden patch of turbulence, shaking up my calm heart once again.

...She's the transfer student...?