The rest of the morning went by just like any other day. The more I think of it, the more foolish it feels that I expected anything else.
Now that finals are over and the break is just around the corner, everyone seems even less interested in class than normal. Even the teachers are a little apathetic, probably because they know the students don't care and aren't paying attention. Nevertheless, we all go through the motions.
Once the bell rings for lunch, I’m caught off guard by Mutou's sudden appearance between me and the door.
"A word, Nakai?"
I hesitate, then nod, signaling Shizune and Misha to go ahead without me.
Once the other students have left, Mutou, now at his desk, looks visibly uncomfortable. In what seeks to be an attempt to avoid acknowledging my presence, he fiddles around with the various objects on his desk, moving one, frowning, then returning it to its original place.
Finally, he speaks, still focused on lining his pencils up just right.
"You, uh, you're probably wondering why I wanted to speak with you."
That's a safe bet when your teacher pulls you aside after class.
"It's about the finals."
"Not yours," he hastily adds, "but a mutual acquaintance."
Seeing my puzzled expression, he frowns.
"I guess that made more sense in my head. I meant your classmate, Miss Mikado."
I think my silence is making this more difficult for him. Interacting with people clearly isn't one of his strong suits.
"What about her?" I blurt out, perhaps a bit less polite than I should.
His eyes widen a little as he looks directly at me, but he quickly turns his attention back to his paperwork.
"Nothing bad. She actually did quite well. I'm impressed. But I did notice that she seems to have picked up on your, uh, unique way of addressing some of the problems."
"Not that it's wrong," he cuts in again, afraid that I'll get upset or something, I guess, "just that it's... different from the method I taught in class."
I'm starting to wonder where exactly he's going with this.
"I'm not saying that I suspect cheating. It's all her own work, and her answers aren't the same as yours. And it has all the markings of her... idiosyncratic style."
It may be my eyes playing tricks on me, but I think he gets a slight twitch when talking about Misha...
"Besides, she's always been honest about what she doesn't know."
With a slight grimace, he continues. "Very honest."
An awkward moment passes in silence, then he looks up at me again.
"You're still wondering what this is all about, aren't you?"
"A little," I admit, sheepishly.
He chuckles. It sounds dry and hollow, but that's probably just because those are the two words that best describe Mutou, no matter the occasion.
"Yeah, I thought as much. You've probably guessed that I didn't become a teacher because of my people skills. What I'm trying to say is that I figured out that you were helping Miss Mikado study for the test, and that you had done a good job of it, and, well, that I appreciate it."
"Huh?" That last bit was a little unexpected.
He attempts a smile. At least, that's what I think it is. And hope. "I mean it. Thank you."
Looking away from me, he returns to examining the sharpness of his pencils. For the third time.
"It's something teachers see all the time, but can't really help it - students with lots of potential, but no motivation. You can try to get them to care, to be relevant and interesting, but you'll never get them all. So you're stuck watching countless students coasting into a barely passing grade, throwing their futures away."
"That's why it makes such an impact when you see a student who cares, who's able to make other students care, too. You have a gift, Hisao, and you shouldn't waste it. Who knows, maybe you have a future as a teacher yourself."
Another laugh. "Not that I've done a very good job selling it."
He turns his eyes back to me, in what's possibly the closest approximation of happiness over seen him manage. "For all my complaints, the good far outweighs the bad. I can't imagine anything more rewarding than preparing the next generation for the world ahead of them. Think about it. You have time."
I guess that's my cue to leave. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind."
I'm not sure how to take Mutou's comments. I'd say that Misha's just a good student, but, well, I've seen how she is in class. And I don't think I could say it's entirely because she likes me - learning isn't really the first thing on people's minds when they talk about attractive teachers. At least, not the sort of learning you'd find in a high school curriculum.
As I turn the corner, any further thought is cut off as I nearly run right into Misha and Shizune.
"Hi, Hicchan~! What did the teacher want?" Gasping dramatically, she continues, "Are you in trouble~?"
"Wait a minute! I'm the one who should be asking questions right now. What were you two doing hiding right around a corner like that? Someone could run right into you!"
"That's not important, Hicchan. You should be looking where you're going so you don't trample over cute girls standing around corners minding their own business~. It's irresponsible!"
Hard as she tries, she can't really get the "stern" bit down. At least, I think she's trying.
"Tackling someone and bombarding them with questions is hardly 'minding your own business.'"
Before Misha has a chance to respond, Shizune cuts in. [As a ranking member of the Student Council your business is our business.]
Misha nods enthusiastically. "That's right, Shicchan~! It wouldn't do for someone of your stature to act so irresponsibly while the other members simply look the other way. What kind of message would that send to the student body? A bad one, that's what!"
The hypocrisy is so thick that I could probably cut it with a spoon.
"He just wanted to talk about my plans for the future; what I want to do after school and that kind of thing."
It's not a lie. That is more or less the reason he wanted to talk. The other stuff isn't important.
Either way, my answer was unexpected enough that I've earned a reprieve. Only for a moment, though.
"Oh." Misha looks thoughtful for a moment. "What did you say?"
"Not much," I reply, "but he suggested I consider teaching."
"Hmm."
Just "hmm?" No laughter, no excited outburst of enthusiasm or anything?
With a surprisingly considered nod, she reaches her conclusion. "I could see you doing that."
Shizune contributes her own nod.
So that makes three people who think I would make a good teacher. What was that thing about people saying things about you? Two people is just a coincidence, but three means there might be something to it?
I won't count Shizune's nod. She already had the suggestion planted - it taints the evidence. So I'm only at two people who think I should be a teacher. Just a coincidence.
"Anyway, did you two put any thought into our plans for lunch, or were you too busy constructing elaborate scenarios for why Mutou would want to talk to me?"
"Um..."
If the response weren't obvious enough, Misha is biting her lip, and both girls have averted their eyes. Of course.
"In that case, we should probably hurry to the cafeteria if we don't want to miss lunch entirely."
"No need!" comes the cheerful reply. "Shicchan made lunch for us today~!"
Shizune pats her bag with pride, obviously pleased with herself. But when would she have had the time to do all that?
"But~! Where do we want to eat, Hicchan? All the good places are probably taken by now..."
[Why not the student council room?]
"We can't do that, Shicchan. Don't you remember? Aocchan and Keicchan are using it right now."
While this seems to satisfy Shizune, it just raises more questions for me. Why would their using it mean we can't? Rather than press the issue, it occurs to me that this is an opportunity I should seize.
"Why not the roof?"
“The roof?” Misha repeats dubiously, “I thought you didn’t like eating on the roof.”
Looks like she picked up on my past reluctance.
"Yeah, I guess I haven't been too keen on the idea," I admit, "but I read something the other day that said that food tastes better at higher altitudes, so I wanted to run an experiment to try it out. You know, for science."
"For science?"
Misha takes a moment to puzzle the idea over.
"Okay, Hicchan! Okay, okay, okay~! Let's go eat on the roof! For science~!"
With an exuberant first pump, she leads the way up the stairs. Shizune stays behind for a moment, hiding a silent giggle, then follows, leaving me to bring up the rear.
*****
Misha stands by the door to the roof, no doubt waiting for us to catch up before she makes her grand entrance. She likes to do that, even to an empty room. Perhaps especially to an empty room. Once we're all there, she throws the door open triumphantly.
"Hi, hi~!"
Despite her boisterous greeting, she seems genuinely surprised that there's anyone to receive it. For her part, Rin responds in her normal manner, which is to say, not at all. Emi, on the other hand, shifts rapidly from surprise to happiness to annoyance.
"It looks like the party's over, Rin. The anti-fun brigade just arrived."
Rin shrugs. "It was a pretty boring party anyway. There weren't any boys, and you forgot to bring a cake again. Or was it my turn?"
Emi opens her mouth to respond, then thinks better of it. Turning her attention back to us, she rolls her eyes.
"How many rules am I breaking this time?"
After receiving Misha's translation, Shizune begins signing, smiling pleasantly.
[I don't see any rule breaking going on here.]
"Shicchan says you aren't breaking any rules! None at all~!"
After a short pause, Misha turns toward Shizune.
"Are you sure, Shicchan? I thought that-"
[Hicchan told us that Emi and Rin agreed to help us with the rooftop safety inspection, remember?]
"Hicchan told us that Emi and Rin agreed to help with the rooftop safety inspection~! ...When was that?"
I'm wondering the same thing myself.
[Silly me, I forgot. It was this morning at breakfast, before you arrived.]
"Oh! It was at breakfast~! That would explain why I didn't know. But next time, I'd really like it if you didn't keep me in the dark, Shicchan~."
"So," Emi cuts in, "rooftop safety inspection, right? What all goes into that?"
It's obvious that this development also caught Emi off guard, but she seems to have decided that it's better than a reprimand. She shoots a questioning glance in my direction, but I can only shrug.
Instead of replying, Misha looks left, then right, up, down, and then spins around in a circle.
"Okay! Okay, okay~, everything looks safe! Now let's eat~!"
While Misha and Shizune begin unpacking food, Emi remains standing, dumbfounded at the extent of their "inspection." I probably look the same.
"The storm fence in the northwest corner shows signs of significant metal fatigue. It would probably give way to a solid push."
We all turn to look at Rin, who hasn't moved since we first arrived. As usual, Misha is the first to break the silence.
"Ahahahaha~! Good catch, Rin! All the way on the other side of the roof, too~! After lunch, we can go fill out the paperwo-"
"Rirrin."
The interruption almost literally throws Misha off balance. "Huh?"
"You can call me Rirrin. You were trying to give me a nickname before, but you weren't very good at it. So I decided to give you a hand."
Misha stands still for a moment, as if the words are taking longer to reach her ears than normal - her rapidly moving hands notwithstanding. For my part, I'm wondering if that word choice was intentional. After a couple seconds of this delayed response, she bursts into more laughter.
"Wahahaha~! Ahahahaha! I like it! Hahahaha~, okay! Rirrin it is!"
"And~! Since you two were so helpful, you're invited to have some of the delicious lunch Shicchan made!"
"That sounds good. I'm not sure the last time I ate."
"It was just five minutes ago, Rin. You were still chewing when they came out the door."
"Was it? I'm still hungry, so it must not have been very good."
"You said it was delicious!"
"If you insist. I'm still hungry, though."
Fortunately, there's plenty of food to go around. I still have no idea how Shizune does it, and I'm not sure I want to know. Despite her initial protests, Emi has several helpings, using the excuse that it would be rude to be the only one not eating.
Once we all finish eating, it occurs to me that lunch should be over soon. Sensing that I'm probably the only one who won't try to make an excuse to skip the afternoon classes, I speak up.
“The bell is going to ring any minute. We should probably pack up.”
As if on cue, Misha opens her mouth to inform me of the “official duties” that will, regrettably, force us to miss class. Before she gets a word out, a fat raindrop lands right on her head. Seconds later, its brothers and sisters come to join in force. Any further discussion is cut off as we all hurriedly make our way to the stairs.
Once inside, we all huddle near the entrance, watching the sudden torrential downpour.
“That's a shame,” Rin comments, with the tone of someone who has to settle for their second favorite flavor of ice cream.
“We were done anyway, and classes are about to start.” I wonder if we'll even be able to hear the bell over the rain.
“No, not that. My bag is still out there. The rain might ruin my sketches. It also might make them better, but then I'd have to give it credit.”
Not really needing an excuse, Emi bursts out into the storm, calling back, “I've got it!”
She disappears for a moment as the rain obscures everything, then reappears as quickly as she left, bag slung over her shoulder. As she gets closer, though, she hits a puddle wrong, slips, stumbles, then goes flying into the rest of us, like a bowling ball into a set of pins.
Fortunately, it's a short flight of stairs before the first landing. We all clear the stairs, so Misha, being the furthest in, gets the worst of it. I have a relatively soft landing crashing into her, followed by the other three crashing into me.
“Wahahahahahaha~! That was fun! Is everyone okay~?”
I want to respond, to move, but no luck.
My heart.
“Hicchan?”
I can't say for sure, but I think it was Shizune’s head. It hit me square in the chest.
“Hicchan~!”
I can see the terror in her eyes as she realises what's happening. In the same instant, she seems to become a different person.
“Shicchan, get the nurse!”
Shizune nods, picking herself up and quickly disappearing down the stairs.
“Emi, get the AED!”
“The what?”
“It's by the stairs on the second floor! It's a red box with a heart, a lightning bolt, and the letters ‘AED.’”
Emi hesitates for a moment, then shoots down the stairs in her trademark blur.
Misha lays me out on the landing while Rin watches. Hands on my chest, she starts pushing down. CPR. It's a nice gesture, but we both know the odds aren't in my favor.
I feel like I'm looking down over myself, like I'm not the person on the ground there dying. Emi comes with the red box, and Shizune comes back a little later with the nurse. All sorts of things are happening around me, but I don't care. I know I'm dying.
At least I'm not dying a virgin.
Act 3 Scene 7 Part 1 |
Act 3 Scene 8 Part 1
, and a belated Merry Christmas to you. I finally had the chance to read this all the way through a few months ago after our PM discussion, and intended to hold off on commenting on the story as a whole until a new chapter came out. However, given the timing of this release vis-a-vis events in the upcoming chapter of Developments, I will have to hold off on the re-read that will be necessary to do that. I will say that I generally enjoyed the story, although I had some issues with your portrayals of Emi and (especially) Rin.
.
I thought that weird long string ending abruptly was just happening to me since I'm reading it off my smartphone and not a PC monitor, so glad to hear it wasn't just me.