Suzumiya Haruhi:Volume4 Author's Notes

From Baka-Tsuki

Author's Notes

In place of my own views, I'm going to write about one of my memories, so please bear with me.

I had a classmate in sixth grade, who could pretty much be called a genius. He was the leader of the class, with a bright mind, good family background, and he was really good at creating a cheerful atmosphere for everyone. The reason this extremely popular classmate, with a dazzling saintly glow above his head, befriended me was because we shared the same interests. We both loved fishing and reading foreign suspense novels.

Whenever the class needed to be split into teams, I would always end up with him, with him being the team leader, of course. Once, when the school was having a festival, each class was required to send a representative to perform for the whole grade's leisure. Our team was at a loss on what to perform, as our wits came to an end, he would say, "Let's write a play." And he would then begin writing the script. I will never forget how hard I laughed and even rolled on the floor when I read that script, I never knew something that funny would exist!

Our performance faithfully kept to his comedic script. After watching our play, the whole sixth grade laughed, even the teachers were laughing. Our team eventually won the gold prize, we were even given a wooden shield sculpture as a reward. I can still vividly remember what sort of character I was playing.

Later on, we both entered the same junior high. But he would go on to enroll in some high school far away, and followed by some university even farther away.

I kept thinking to myself, could I ever make everyone laugh uncontrollably like he could? I also wondered whether his script had changed my life......

That thought had taken root in my mind and became entrenched in my memory.

......Looks like there's still room for more. Might as well write a second reminiscence.

When I was in high school, I was briefly a member of the Literature Club. As I was also a member of another club which I took priority in, I could only go to the Literature Club once a week. The Literature Club only met on Mondays anyway, since the only members were myself and a girl one year my senior. When I knocked on the door for the first time, I saw her in her glasses, looking very knowledgeable. That was the sole member, and also the president of the Literature Club. I had completely forgotten what my upper classman had said to me back then, she probably never even said a single word.

After joining for a while, we began to work on a periodical published by the club. I really don't feel like recalling just what I wrote in it, I just know that it wasn't novels. I was in charge of the cover illustration as well, which I'm not keen on recalling as well. It wasn't possible to fill up the pages in the periodical with just the two of us, so sempai called up some of her friends to write some articles. Though they were all people I didn't know, one of their names left a deep impression on me, to which I still remember to this day.

As sempai was approaching third year, she decided to quit the club to concentrate on her studies. At the same time there were five new members coming in. I wasn't too sure why there were that many coming in. I was having so much fun in the other club that I soon stopped going to the Literature Club.

The next time I saw sempai was on her graduation day. I have no recollection of what we said then. We probably just had some friendly chatter, and then she faded from my memory. The last I saw of her was her back as she walked off.

As to what that sempai's name was, I could never remember. She probably doesn't remember my name as well. But, I'm sure she would still remember that a person like me existed in her club back then.

Because I too remember a person like her existed in the club back then.

......After wasting the whole Author's Notes section on two seemingly fictional and inappropriate reminiscences, I sense how low I must have fallen. In perspective, excavating some old funny memories was nothing, there were other things that were giving me such a headache that I think I'm going to collapse......though I realized all things would eventually get sorted out, but it was a useless act, kind of like being a football that had fallen into a stream, wondering where the river would take it. Might as well put my energy somewhere.

Finally, I would like to thank the publishers, everyone involved in the publishing of this book, and to all readers my most sincere thanks. May we meet again.

Tanigawa Nagaru