The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Read Free

they wanted to know why she did it. They even called her to the principal’s office. Seems like all the teachers got together to question her.”
    “Why’d she do it?”
    “Dunno.”
    With that offhand response, Taniguchi began gulping down his white rice.
    “Seems like she never ’fessed up. You try dealing with Suzumiya when she refuses to say a word and gives you that killer glare. Can’t do a thing about it. According to one account, the drawing was to invite UFOs. Another said it was a summoning circle for evil demons. Yet another said it was to open a gate to another world. A bunch of rumors popped up, but since she never gave a reason, no one can really say. It’s still a mystery.”
    In my mind, I could picture Haruhi Suzumiya drawing white lines in the pitch-black darkness of the school grounds with an earnest expression on her face. The clattering line marker she’s dragging around and the heap of bags of lime were probably taken from the gym storeroom beforehand. She might have at least brought a flashlight. I couldn’t help but think that in the flickering light, Haruhi Suzumiya’s expression seemed filled with an overwhelming sense of tragic heroism. Only in my imagination, though.
    Haruhi Suzumiya was probably genuinely trying to invite UFOs or summon demons or open up a gate to another world. She might have spent the whole night toiling away on the middle school grounds. And then finally, after nothing showed up, she must have been really demoralized.
    Just some baseless speculation on my part.
    “She also did a bunch of other stuff.”
    Taniguchi was in the process of finishing off the remaining bits of his lunch.
    “One morning, we showed up at the classroom to find all the desks out in the hall. She drew stars on the roof in paint. She even took a bunch of weird talismans, like the ones they stick on a corpse’s head to reanimate it, and stuck them all around school. I really don’t get her.”
    By the way, Haruhi Suzumiya wasn’t in the classroom right then. We wouldn’t have been able to have this conversation otherwise. Though I got the feeling she wouldn’t care, even if she had been there. Speaking of Haruhi Suzumiya, she made a habit of leaving the room the moment fourth period ended and not coming back until right before fifth period started. I’d never seen her bring a lunch so she probably ate in the cafeteria. Still, it can’t take an hour to eat lunch. Come to think of it, I could safely say that she was never in the room between classes. I wondered where she wandered off to.
    “Even so, she’s pretty popular…” Taniguchi was still talking. “It’s because she has the looks. Plus she’s great at sports and probably gets better grades than most. You can’t tell she’s a freak when she just stands there and keeps her mouth shut.”
    “Are there any stories about her love life?” That was Kunikida, who hadn’t eaten even half as much as Taniguchi.
    “For a while, she kept switching from one guy to another. As far as I know, the longest lasted a week, and apparently the shortest was five minutes after she agreed to go out with him. It was always Suzumiya doing the dumping, without exception. She always used the same line. ‘I don’t have time to deal with ordinary humans!’ Then don’t agree to go out in the first place!”
    Taniguchi was probably speaking from experience. I guess he noticed me looking at him since he hurriedly went on.
    “It’s just a story I heard. Really. I don’t know why, but apparently, she doesn’t turn anyone down. Everyone had it figured out by the third year so there wasn’t anybody left trying to ask her out. But I get the feeling that the same thing’s going to happen in high school. That’s why I’m warning you before you get any weird ideas. Give it up. Consider it a friendly warning from a classmate.”
    There’s nothing to give up on. I’m not even interested.
    Taniguchi placed his empty lunch box in his bag and