[Pirika Library] Keihin-Tohoku Sadistic

My salary has remained flat since I joined the company, and though I love the company, there is nothing here for me.

“Everyone, gather at the back exit when you finish work. We’ll collect the membership fees there too.”
I heard the voice of someone who acts like a leader in the office.
It seems there is a drinking party after this.
But I haven’t been invited to the drinking party.
As I, who have been here since I was a new graduate, looked on, a mid-career hire who joined after me started tidying up their work with a smile.
It’s fine that I wasn’t invited. It’s fine, but for some reason, I felt like drinking a beer for the first time in a while.
I walked back and forth past my colleagues who were excited about it being Friday, but since they didn’t say anything to me, I left the office.
At the kiosk at my nearest station, where I don’t usually stop, my hand reached for a canned beer naturally.

"The next station is OKACHIMACHI."
Was the train announcement always this well-pronounced? I realized it for the first time in my 31 years of life. If I had taken my English classes more seriously, could I have become like this?

"The next station is UENO."
It is predictably crowded at this time on a Friday.
I leaned against the wall near the door, as if to protect my legs, which were filled with lactic acid.
The train windows were overflowing with the colorful lights of the city.

"The next station is UGUISUDANI
I opened the canned beer I had just bought. It was my first time drinking alcohol on a train.
I felt unpleasant gazes from those around me.
From any angle, I looked like a sketchy middle-aged man drinking alcohol on a train.

"The next station is NIPPORI."
Once I felt the gaze from someone wearing a Wacko Maria shirt, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
I couldn’t even tell if the beer I had gone to the trouble of buying tasted good.
To distract myself, I read the label on the can.
I have always ignored the gazes of those around me like this.
“Liqueur (sparkling)?”
What I bought thinking it was beer was, strictly speaking, not beer. It wasn’t pure happoshu either. It was what is called a ‘third-category beer.’

"The next station is NISHINIPPORI."
I am the same as this beer.
If there is a ranking for humans, I am a third-category human.
I looked back on my life so far.

"The next station is TABATA."
The auxiliary seat in the middle of the aisle that I was always assigned on school trip buses.

"The next station is KAMINAKAZATO."
The broken leg that no one paid attention to.

"The next station is OJI."
PictoChat, which I played with by myself.

"The next station is HIGASHIJUJO."
aiko, whose songs I can relate to too much.

"The next station is AKABANE."
The hair removal ads that play every time on YouTube.

"The next station is KAWAGUCHI."
The total lunar eclipse that I can never see because it’s always cloudy.

"The next station is NISHIKAWAGUCHI."
AirPods where only the right ear runs out of battery.

"The next station is WARABI."
Mos Burger, which I can never eat neatly.

"The next station is MIMAMIURAWA."
Since the unpleasant gazes wouldn’t go away, I glared back at those around me.
Then, I saw a man I recognized staring at me the whole time.
It was a junior colleague from work.
We made eye contact, so I gave a slight nod.

"The next station is URAWA."
It was awkward, but I pretended to be calm and spoke to him first.
“Oh, aren’t you going to the drinking party?”
“No, I wasn’t invited.”
“I see, is that so.”
The feeling of being somewhat saved outweighed the awkwardness.

"The next station is KITAURAWA."
“Senior, so you drink alcohol. You never join the drinking parties, so I thought you couldn’t drink.”
I fell silent at a remark that felt like being hit with a Gretsch.
Perhaps the junior realized it, as he shifted the conversation slightly.
“I always drink that beer at home.”
“Oh, well, it’s a third-category beer, though.”
“No, I drink this because I think it tastes better than real beer. I can’t handle the overly bitter taste of real beer.”
“I see, thanks.”
I felt as if I were being praised, and I thanked him without thinking.

"The next station is YONO."
“Do you want to go for a drink after this?”
I said it on impulse.
“Really? Let’s go. That’s perfect. I have a backlog of complaints about the company that I can only talk to you about, Senior.”

The outside is still overflowing with the colorful lights of the city.

I threw away the resignation letter I had been unable to submit, along with an empty beer can.

(1912 characters)

I was invited by Pirika-san to write this. Thank you for giving me this valuable opportunity.