The Galaxy Seller in the Next Seat.

Galaxy Seller. It was clearly written on the career survey form on the desk of Hoshina-san, who sits next to me. I tried to act casual, but my gaze was glued to it. I have to look away quickly, or she'll find out. Her handwriting is cute, yet somehow conveys a sense of strong will. It's well-known that she took calligraphy lessons when she was little. Hoshina-san even drafted the signs for the class booth for the school festival, including those for other classes. I force my frozen thoughts and gaze to move, creaking as I do. My eyes meet Hoshina-san's at the end of it.
"Oh, no."
A voice escapes me before I can stop it. The printout is quickly flipped over, and her face turns toward the front. I've done it now. What should I do?

That day, the words "Galaxy Seller" wouldn't leave my head. Even if someone said "sell a galaxy," my imagination could only conjure up the glass marbles containing galaxies that the aliens were playing with in the final scene of Men in Black, which I saw a long time ago. Hoshina-san standing on the street corner with a handheld basket, like the Little Match Girl, filled with glass marbles. Hoshina-san asking in a thin voice, "Would you like to buy a galaxy?" and being completely ignored by passersby. Ah, I want to buy them all. Would my meager savings be enough? "They're 20,000 yen each." Ah, Hoshina-san. Please don't make such a sad sound. I'll buy them all. Oh, but could I pay in installments? ...No, that's not it. I've never seen a job like that, nor have I ever met anyone who does it.

"Actually, I'm an alien."
Hoshina-san says apologetically.
"After I graduate, I have to take over the family business of selling galaxies. It's constant business trips for sourcing and sales. I haven't really seen my parents since I was little. I fly all over the country, the world, and even into space. Keep this a secret. It's a trade secret. If you tell anyone about this..."
Hoshina-san gently hugs me.
"I'll have to kill you."

"I won't tell! I'll take it to my grave! Or you can take me with you!"
I woke up from my own loud voice. What, it was a dream... Still, a galaxy seller. What kind of job is that, anyway? I can't help but be curious. She was so cute, Hoshina-san. Wearing clothes that sparkled just like an alien's. The clock showed 2:00 AM. When I opened the window and looked up, a starry sky spread out before me. Is Hoshina-san somewhere out there? No, it was just a dream. The galaxy seller part must have been a misreading. It must have been a dream.

In the end, I couldn't sleep a wink after that. When I arrived at school, Hoshina-san was reading something at the desk next to mine.
"Good morning."
"Oh, good morning, Hoshina-san."
This is a situation that wouldn't normally happen. It's the first time we've ever greeted each other. This might be my chance. If I'm going to push, I have to do it now. It's now or never. Hoshina-san is about to go back to her book. Hurry.
"Um, about yesterday..."
Hoshina-san tilts her head as if to say, "Did something happen?" Precious. I think I might die.
"That, the career..."
"Oh, the submission deadline is today, right? Have you turned yours in yet?"
"I haven't turned it in, yet."
I cut off at a weird place because of my nervousness. My heart is so loud.
"Employment? Further education?"
"I'm going to university. I was thinking maybe somewhere in the Kanto region would be better."
Now's the time, ask her. Just ask her.
"I see, maybe I'll go there too."
Hoshina-san's voice is mixed with a sigh. What did she say? What did she just say? I'm going to misunderstand, you know? Is that okay? Is it really okay!?
"A-are you looking for employment, Hoshina-san?"
"I'm wondering what to do. I haven't decided at all. Even when people ask me what fields I'm interested in, nothing clicks. That's why I wrote that down."
Hoshina-san sticks out her tongue shyly. I'm going to die! If you show me a face like that, I'll die!
"I love space. So, I thought I wanted to work at a planetarium, but when I actually looked into it, it's incredibly competitive, and getting the qualifications is hard, and the universities are all high-deviation-score ones. I'm just like, what am I supposed to do?"
Maybe she hasn't been able to tell anyone. Words different from the usual image of Hoshina-san are being spun one after another.
"It doesn't have to be space, but I wanted to live my life involved with things like space or stars. But my parents and teachers only talk about being realistic or employment rates. Even though they're the ones who told me to have dreams, have dreams."
Her voice, audible only to me, fades into the morning bustle of the classroom.
"Before I knew it, I had written 'Galaxy Seller.' It appeared in a picture book I read a long time ago. It's a story about a mysterious man who walks around selling sparkling marbles filled with galaxies to children. I thought it was wonderful. I'm going to submit it as is. Total war is guaranteed at the three-way parent-teacher conference."
Hoshina-san smiles, saying "Heh."
"I'm rooting for you. For you, Hoshina-san."
Saying that, I finally sat down, stretched my body, and whispered into Hoshina-san's ear.
"Um, if you'd like, would you like to exchange LINE contacts?"
Hoshina-san's eyes went wide, and she laughed.

~FIN~

The Galaxy Seller in the Next Seat. (2000 characters)
【Shirokuma Literature Club Participation Work & One Phrase To Story Project Work】
Shirokuma Literature Club Theme:A novel starting with "Galaxy Seller" ( Kosuke Komaki )
Core phrase provided by: Hanana
"Whispering into the ear"
Text written by: Pawn【P&Q】

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I have participated in the Shirokuma Literature Club.
Thank you for reading this far!

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One Phrase To Story is a project where we create a story using a one-phrase idea that someone came up with as a seed.
Mainly, Hanana creates the one-phrase, and Pawn turns it into a story.
Other works are collected
here.