Free The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa Page B

recover.
    “Ah, I see.”
    He sounded like he had just reached some form of enlightenment. After exchanging glances with Asahina and Yuki Nagato, he nodded with an expression of understanding, then voiced an incomprehensible sentiment.
    “Just as one would expect from Suzumiya. Very well. I shall join. I hope to have a good time with everyone.”
    He smiled, showing his white teeth.
    Hello? You’re going accept that explanation? Were you even listening?
    As I stood pondering, he walked over and extended his hand to me.
    “I’m Koizumi. Seeing as how I just transferred here, I’m sure I have a lot to learn from you. I hope you’ll show me the ropes.”
    I shook Koizumi’s hand.
    “Yeah, I’m…”
    “That’s Kyon.”
    Haruhi dismissively introduced me and moved on. “The cute one over there is Mikuru and four-eyes here is Yuki.” After pointing to those two, she looked quite satisfied with herself.
    Thud.
    There was a dull sound. That was the sound of Asahina hitting her forehead against the Othello board after trying to stand up in a hurry and tripping over her chair.
    “Are you OK?”
    Asahina responded to Koizumi by shaking her head like a bobblehead doll and looking up at the transfer student with dazzling eyes.
Meh.
I didn’t really like the expression on her face.
    “… Yes,” Asahina answered in a voice soft enough to be mistaken for a mosquito speaking, while looking shyly at Koizumi.
    “There you have it. We have five members now so the school can’t complain about anything!”
    I realized Haruhi was saying something.
    “All right, SOS Brigade! It’s finally time to unveil ourselves to the world! Everyone! Let’s join together as one and give it our all!”
    What do you mean by unveil?
    When I turned to look, I found that Nagato had returned to her customary position and was taking another crack at her hardcover.
    You’ve been arbitrarily included as a member, you know. Are you OK with that?
    Haruhi left with Koizumi in tow, saying something about giving him a tour of the school, and Asahina left because she had other things to do, so the only people left in the club room were Yuki Nagato and myself.
    I wasn’t in the mood for Othello at that point, and there was nothing fun about watching Nagato read, so I opted to go home pronto. I slung my bookbag over my shoulder. Then I spoke to Nagato.
    “See ya.”
    “Did you read the book?”
    My legs came to a halt. Yuki Nagato’s dark eyes shot straight through me.
    “Book. Do you mean that strangely thick hardcover?”
    “Yes.”
    “No, not yet…. Should I return it?”
    “Not necessary.”
    Nagato never minces words. One sentence is all she needs.
    “Read it today.”
    She sounded like she didn’t actually care.
    “As soon as you get home.”
    Except she sounded rather commanding for someone who didn’t care.
    Lately, I hadn’t read any stories that weren’t out of our Japanese textbook, but I figured if she was that serious about it, it must be good enough to recommend to other people.
    “I understand.”
    Once I responded, Nagato returned to her reading.
    I furiously pedaled away on my bicycle in the twilight.
    After leaving Nagato and returning to my home, I ate dinner and lounged around before returning to my room to peruse the sci-fi novel that had been loaned to me. Or rather, forced on me. The dense ocean of text was making me dizzy. As I flipped through the book wondering if I could possibly finish this monster, a bookmark fell down onto the carpet about halfway through.
    A fancy bookmark with floral printing. I casually flipped it over and discovered there was writing on the back.
    7 PM
.
I’ll be waiting in the park in front of Kouyou Park Station.
    It was written in beautiful handwriting, almost like it was typed. The laconic handwriting did indeed look like it could belong to Nagato. But that would raise a few questions.
    I received this book a number of days ago. This 7 PM would mean 7 PM that night, right? Or would 7