Free The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa Page A

my wishes for a change…”
    As I talked into the night sky, I was given a sudden jolt as I realized the hateful thought going through my mind. I had an urge to smack my head against a hard surface.
    “You gotta be kidding me.”
    My words formed a white puff that dissipated into the air.
    I missed Haruhi.

CHAPTER 3
    December twentieth.
    On the third morning after the world had gone insane, I woke from my dreamless sleep to get out of bed, once again feeling like I had a dozen 30 mm–caliber bullets in my gut. Shamisen fell from his perch on my covers, where he had been sleeping, to land on the floor, where he stretched himself out. I toed his soft belly as I sighed.
    My sister peeked in through the doorway. A look of disappointment appeared on her face once she saw that I was awake.
    “Hey, did Shami say anything?”
    She’d been pestering me with the same question since the night before last. The answer hadn’t changed.
    “Nope.”
    I was rubbing my toes in the cat’s soft fur, when my sister grabbed Shamisen and walked off while singing her “Time to Eat” song. Cats have it easy; their job is to eat, sleep, and groom themselves. I’d love to trade places with one for a day. Who knows? He might have an easy time helping me find what I’m looking for.
    That’s right. I still haven’t found the keys. I don’t even knowwhat the keys are. Program execute condition. I have to figure something out today, or the world will be stuck this way. Though I’m worried that something worse might happen. Deadline, huh… Why was a deadline set? Was this limited time frame the extent of Nagato’s abilities?
    With plenty of questions and no answers, I headed for school. The overcast sky had people glancing up to check for flakes of snow. We might have a white Christmas this year. The weather would suggest that we’ll have accumulation if it snows. I hadn’t been paying attention to how much snow we’d gotten the past few years, but this year’s winter was more than cold enough for snow. Haruhi would be happier than a kid in a candy shop as she planned a winter event. If Haruhi were here.
    I didn’t come across anything attention-grabbing as I climbed the hill to North High like always and reached the 1-5 classroom. I suppose that my lack of willpower had filtered down to my legs, as I barely sat down before the bell rang. Many of my classmates were absent, just like yesterday, but I was pleased to see that Taniguchi was back after one day of rest. He still had a flu mask on, but at least he was in class. I never knew that he was such a big fan of school.
    And once again Asakura was sitting in the seat behind me with a knowing smile on her face.
    “Good morning.”
    Asakura delivered the same casual greeting she would offer any person. I merely nodded in response.
    Okabe dashed through the door as the bell rang and homeroom began.
    I’d managed to lose track of what day of the week it was. I wasn’t even sure if today’s class schedule was the one I remembered ornot. I couldn’t tell if these were the classes we’d had a week ago. I probably wouldn’t have noticed if today’s schedule had been switched with yesterday’s. So was I the crazy one here? Haruhi Suzumiya never existed to begin with, Asakura was the talk of the class, Asahina was an upperclassman beyond my reach, and Nagato was the only member of the literary club.
    This was how things were supposed to be, and the SOS Brigade was a product of my imagination.
    Bleh, I’m starting to sound pessimistic.
    First period was gym and another soccer match, during which I played the role of a defender who had no intention of guarding the goal. Second period was math, which I barely paid any attention to.
    I was sprawled on my desk to cool off a bit.
    “Yo, Kyon.”
    That was Taniguchi. His flu mask was shifted below his chin as he flashed his usual foolish grin.
    “Science is up next. The teacher’s gonna call on our room today. Give me some