Short Story "Window" around 4800 characters

I wrote this novel for Novel Jam practice.

I finished the first draft in 2.5 hours.
The theme was "window," which I had an acquaintance randomly assign to me.

As expected, there are a lot of "windows" in it, haha.
It might be fun to read while counting how many there are...?

Well then, please enjoy the story!

"You've got to be kidding me?!"
The Excel screen buttons that I studied so hard to get certified in have changed due to an update.
Thanks to that, I have to relearn where everything is...
"That's why I told you so many times to just learn command input."
Nasuda, whose hobby is programming, mocked me from next to me.
"Damn it!!! Programming?! That's English, isn't it?! I'm a Japanese man...!!"
"Programming and commands are different. Besides, there's no point in debating the pros and cons of English education, which has been discussed since after the war, right here... Anyway, Windows is an American company, and if you're going to use their software, it's better to be able to handle English, you know!"
He threw his finished Red Bull into the empty can bin.
The empty can landed in the bin after a couple of drops of Red Bull splattered onto the plastic bag hanging on the trash can.
"Better to be able to. Must... right? Best? It's not, is it?"
"Are you a first-year middle schooler?"
"I'm supposed to be a first-year university student..."
There was no one else in the university computer room besides us.
Everyone was rushing to the library to avoid the extreme heat, and the computer room with poor air conditioning was unpopular.
"Hehe, you, how did you get into this university?"
"...Grandpa apparently donated a lot of money."
"Eh..."
"No, I was told when I received my entrance gift... It was a shock. Thinking it might not have been my own ability."
"...Wait? A rich kid?"
"My whole family wears 'Shimamura' from head to toe, though... Apparently, they owned a building in a prime location. Grandpa never told me anything like that."
"So? Even if you usually wear Shimamura, they buy their grandson's academic background?"
"No... maybe it was my own ability?"
"...Yeah. I'll just think that."

***

Then, with a snap, the lights went out.
Following that, the computer and air conditioner also turned off.
"Eh, what, a power outage?"
While I stood up, Nasuda held his head.
"Eh---!!! I was writing until just now!! The code?! It's gone?!"
"How many characters did you write?"
"That's not the problem!! Code is about sensibility! I had written some super beautiful stuff...!!"
"Don't worry about it."
I approached the entrance and tried to go out into the hallway to see what was going on.
But, perhaps because it was an electric lock, the doorknob wouldn't move at all.
"...Eh, aren't we locked in?"
Nasuda, who had been pleading with the computer to wake up, approached.
"...It won't open no matter what?"
"It won't budge... The academic affairs office... Wow, the cord for this extension phone is broken..."
Nasuda took out his smartphone.
"My smartphone too... the signal seems dead."
"Eh, are we screwed?"
"What could it be... a cell tower?"
Nasuda, who said that, chuckled.
"Isn't it the curse of Windows?"
At worst, he probably intends to break down the door to escape.

***

"Speaking of Windows... what about going out through the window?"
I, who had been dejected, threw the idea at Nasuda.
"...A window, huh, we're on the 5th floor here."
"Is it game over if we fall?"
"Probably. There's nothing like a rope either."
"Yeah. The sun has set, so if it takes time, it'll be dark underfoot, and there's nothing but fear..."
When I said that, Nasuda took out a handheld fan and handed me a basic English textbook.
"Until the power is restored or a guard notices. Why don't you study some English?"
"...Ugh."
"Because the day before yesterday, you were called on and couldn't answer, that was seriously not funny..."
Nasuda blew the fan's breeze toward me in turns.
It seems he was quite worried about me.
"...You're a scholarship student, after all."
"Yeah, my only sponsor is my mom."
I became friends with Nasuda during the orientation before enrollment.
His mother, whom I spoke to at the entrance ceremony, asked me,
"He might be a bit eccentric because he's from a single-parent household, but please take care of him."
(I'm not really eccentric. Just blunt.)
I flipped through the textbook.
The words I should have crammed in for the entrance exam had already flown away somewhere.
"Well. In this day and age, you can just type it into an automatic translation site."
"If you do that, it seems you'll be looked down upon by English-speaking companies in business settings. People who can't reply quickly are seen as inferior, and they'll make you accept aggressive demands."
"Why not just not accept them?"
"You have to accept them to some extent. Otherwise, you won't gain anything... Can you really end it by saying 'it didn't work out' when it's your job?"
"Eh, if they don't meet us halfway, isn't it impossible?"
Nasuda shrugged his shoulders slightly.
"If you can get into a company where you can get promoted while blaming the other side, that would be great. Well, if such a place exists, that is?"
"You're mean, aren't you?"
"It's the harshness of the world, you see."
"...I only need to hear that kind of thing from my dad and the others..."
Actually, I intended to get a job at a local credit union after graduating high school.
Since a senior I was close with in my club invited me, it seemed like I could get in with just a casual interview... but my father and mother wouldn't agree, saying, "A credit union is nothing but cleaning up after the poor."
"Well, it's not like there was anything I specifically wanted to do at a credit union... so it's fine. I just feel bad for my senior."
While listening to my story, Nasuda was searching for any place where the doorknob screws might come off.
"...Then maybe it was for the best. A workplace as fastidious as finance isn't for a sloppy guy like you, and above all, it's not a place where you can get promoted while keeping your future goals vague, right?"
"But... isn't everywhere like that?"
"...Who knows?"
The sun had completely set.
The light from outside faded, and the power-outage-stricken town was wrapped in darkness.

***

"...It's hot."
Nasuda stood up and opened the window.
As he opened one, then two, the air circulated, and the stagnant air in the room was pushed out.
"Since I'm sweating, just having a breeze makes a huge difference..."
He peered outside while flapping his jacket.
When I lined up next to him, I saw someone from the academic affairs office entering the adjacent building from the floor below.

"Heeey!!"

Nasuda shouted loudly.
The person from academic affairs turned back, shone a flashlight at us, gestured for us to wait, and then entered this building.
"If you don't give up, you know. If you keep raising your voice... it'll be fine. If you cry out that you did your best, someone might actually help you."
"Relying on others?"
"Accumulate effort that makes people want to help you. If that fails, rely on someone before giving up."
"...Effort..."
"You've made the effort to be loved by your parents and grandpa, haven't you? Try shifting that direction toward building your own ability now."
"...Shut up. I'm busy making myself happy."
"Happiness, huh...?"
While we were talking, the room lights came on.
The air conditioner fan began to hum, and the computers Nasuda and I were using started up.

***

As Nasuda was glued to his computer, trying to open Word, the door opened.
"Sorry for the delay."
The lady from the academic affairs office placed a flashlight on the table.
"It seems there was a construction accident at a nearby substation. I forgot that only this room's lock was electric. But just now, I switched to the campus emergency power."
"No... you helped us."
"Oh my. The extension phone. It's cut, isn't it?"
"It looks like a prank... it's cut so cleanly..."
Nasuda's scream drowned out the conversation between me and the lady.
"Wooooo!!! What is this?! It's still here!!!"
"Oh, Word? It seems that with this update, it started taking backups periodically?"
"That's the best!"
The lady turned off the air conditioner and closed the windows.
"I'm glad your important data remained."
"It is!! Seriously, thank you!!"
Nasuda chatted happily with the lady from academic affairs about the wonders of Word and Windows.
What is this? Is he into mature women?
"...It's late today, so move your data to a USB and go home. It seems the trains started running a while ago, so it'll be crowded, but I think you can get on."
Saying that, the lady left the room, saying she had to go lock up another room.
Nasuda happily moved his data to a USB.
"...I'm glad it remained, huh?"
"Right? Windows is amazing."
"...My Excel skills..."
"It's study. Let's relearn it, shall we?"
After packing his bags, Nasuda patted my shoulder and went around locking up and turning off the lights.
"Probably, right? It should be much faster to learn than from zero. That's what effort is. I've never had anything go to waste."
"Ehhh? That's because you're efficient."
When we went out into the hallway, we passed the lady from academic affairs.
We greeted her, and when I went to press the elevator button, Nasuda stopped me.
"Wouldn't it be annoying if the power went out again? If anything, it might be safer to walk home instead of taking the train."
"...The elevator is one thing, but you're doubting the train too?"
"Well, as long as the signal is dead... wait, it's still dead..."
While going down the stairs, we decided to head to the restroom on the way.
After washing my hands, I took out my smartphone to use the light to walk along the road where most streetlights were out.
"Hmm? ...The signal, mine is working?"
"Eh."
Since Nasuda was talking about cell towers and such, I hadn't checked mine... could it be that it was working from the beginning?
"Eh, then... oh, I see... just me..."
When he said that, Nasuda fell silent.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Yeah... well. Um."
"Did you forget to pay your bill?"
"...Yeah. I used a lot for entrance preparations... so Mom seems to have put it off."
"Ah..."
(Wait, isn't it an automatic withdrawal...?)
As if reading my mind, Nasuda grumbled with a sigh.
"No, fixed costs should be paid by credit card withdrawal... why... eh, then could it be that water and such too..."
Nasuda stopped in his tracks and turned pale.
"Eh, gas and such... right? The first things to be cut off, if I remember correctly."
Does the fact that there's no balance in the smartphone withdrawal account mean that utility bill withdrawals are also lagging?
"Sorry, I don't know. Eh, can't you check your balance?"
"Only Mom can... what should I do... I was so excited about my university debut... it's because I didn't take many part-time jobs..."
Seeing Nasuda losing his color, I took out my wallet.
"Um... I can only give you 5000 yen, but..."
"I, I don't need it."
"But if your smartphone stops, you can't... do anything, right?"
"I won't die! It's okay!"
"It's not okay. Even information about lecture location changes is on this."
"I'll use the store's Wi-Fi."
"...Is that your 'effort'?"
I asked, leaving the 5000 yen I had offered held out.
"If you miss information about lecture location changes and the seminar LINE group, will you be able to get into the major IT company you're aiming for?"
"I'll... take on many part-time jobs... so it should be back to normal next month..."
"You'll be fumbling around at first because you're not used to it, right?! In such a situation, having almost no means of information is nothing but a handicap, isn't it?"
"...Even so, from a friend..."
"Borrowing is also an effort. Make the effort to talk down your pride."
Nasuda's teary eyes looked at me.
Eventually, he bit his lip tightly and accepted the 5000 yen.
"...I owe you. I will definitely pay you back."
I watched the 5000 yen bill, folded into quarters, being put into Nasuda's wallet.

***

I let out a sigh and joked,
"Then... make sure to rely on your mom too, okay?"
Nasuda pouted when he looked down.
"No... I want to be Mom's child forever. So..."
He carefully put his wallet into his bag.
"Ah? Is that where the 'mature woman' thing comes from?"
I looked back at Nasuda, who was walking behind me.
He was gasping for air.
"Mature woman thing! Don't suddenly label me with weird characters!!"
He raised his hand to punch my shoulder, but I passed Nasuda and started running.
"Is that not it?! You mama's boy!!"
"You... let me punch you three times!!"
After passing through the park, there was the station ticket gate.
But I didn't head to the ticket gate and turned toward the road to walk home.

I felt like I still had a lot to talk about with this guy on the way.

The end.

How was it?
Actually, I was planning to polish it and save it for a public submission.
Since the Novel Jam sales battle seems to be doing quite well, I released it here.

It's resurfaced in the best-selling books section on BCCKS...!!

This one is a romantic comedy.

And a programmer...
After reading 'Window,' you might feel a connection like, 'Wait, is Nasuda-kun the protagonist of the later 'SPY×BANKER'?' or 'No, is the protagonist of 'Window,' Tanihashi?!'

W-well, I didn't intend that at all. They just seem kind of similar... sweat

If you purchase it before today's date changes, it will count toward the Grand Prix tally! Please feel free to at least read the preview✨

Digital version 275 yen
Book + digital version 800 yen (+ shipping 275 yen)

This is a work by Ichinose-san from the same team, Remote Community.
It is a profound story depicting a family.

The prices are the same♪
Digital version 275 yen
Book + digital version 800 yen (+ shipping 275 yen)

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