Chapter 10: The Student Counseling Room
It's Monday, and the start of the new week after my first date.
Morning classes are boring as usual, finishing without any incidents. This leads to lunch break.
“You should’ve seen everyone’s faces when they saw our picture today. It worked out super well!”
I’m sharing a bench with Touka as we eat in the courtyard.
“...Good to hear, I guess.”
Can’t really say I care much about it, to be honest.
“It’s a shame that I actually pasted it on the inside of my phone case's flap, 'cause everytime I open my phone with the lights off, I can’t help but get scared by your freaky embarrassed face," she says while waving her case in front of me so I can see the photo in question.
“Just take it off, then.”
“Nuh-uh. Actually, I think that it could be effective in warding off evil spirits, considering how scary it looks, so it’s staying on.”
“She can’t avoid being rude whenever she speaks, can she?” I think to myself as I eat my food.
We finish eating, and we're just about to head back to class when...
“Hey guys, do you have a moment?”
Whoever she is, she’s clearly talking to Touka and me. Who could it be? ...Oh, it’s Makiri-sensei.
“Sure,” I answer.
“Wait, what?” Touka whispers to me, followed by a curt, “What do you want?”
“I don’t think we should talk here. Come with me to the student counseling room.”
Oh, well. Looks like we’ll have to put off going back to class for now. Off to the counseling room we go.
☆
The student counseling room is in the administrative building on the first floor. It’s a room with a couple of sofas and a small, white coffee table in between. Touka and I sit on one side, and Makiri-sensei sits on the other side.
“I’ll just get straight to the point: you two are basically going out, right?” she asks with a serious look.
Her straight, black hair contrasts nicely against the white table—she’s outstandingly beautiful, and there are a lot of guys in the school who have a crush on her. Well, that's what I've heard from Ike, anyway.
She’s not someone the students speak openly with, however. Even though she has her own fanbase, she's still one of the toughest teachers around the school. Most of the people in school avoid her out of fear.
“Yep, we’re going out! We’re not doing anything naughty, though! Our relationship is very wholesome, so I don’t really know why you brought us all the way here just to ask,” Touka quickly answers, full of confidence.
Poor her. She clearly doesn’t know Makiri-sensei well enough yet to be answering like that.
Makiri-sensei looks at me after Touka answers. I’m not scared of her. Sure, she’s hard on people, but I know how honest she is with others. I appreciate that part of her, so much so that I can’t really bring myself to lie to her about anything.
“No, we’re not actually going out.”
“W-Wait, whaaat?! Wait a second, Senpai; what are you talking about? Aren’t we the best couple that’s ever blessed this planet? You scared me for a moment there! You know I don’t like those kinds of jokes☆! …Like, I really don’t,” Touka says. She’s smiling, but I can tell from a mile away that she wants to murder me right now.
“What do you mean by that, Tomoki-kun?”
Makiri-sensei presses the issue with that question.
“Well, as you can see, she’s got all the makings to be popular around here.”
“Yeah. Ike-san is quite beautiful, cheerful, and friendly, to boot. I wouldn’t be surprised if several of the boys around school were chasing after her,” she replies.
Touka stays silent as she listens to our conversation. She’s usually the kind of person that loves to be the center of attention and showered in praise, but now’s quite different. She’s trying very hard to not burst from anger and reveal how pissed she really is.
“So, basically, she doesn’t really want to go out with anyone. All the guys in school keep pestering her and telling her how crazy they are about her, so we both agreed to fake a relationship so they'd finally leave her alone.”
Makiri-sensei nods after I explain the situation.
“O-Oh my god, Senpai! You’re going to make me, like, super-duper sad if you keep lying like that!” Touka cries out while forcing out the weakest smile possible.
Flames of fury are almost audibly crackling in her eyes. If she's trying to make me feel bad about all this, she’s definitely not succeeding.
“I see. It's a good thing that this nice Senpai is helping you out, right, Ike-san?” she says while smiling at Touka. She continues, “If that’s how the situation is, then I don’t think there’s any reason for me to keep you guys here.”
“H-Hey, wait a sec! You believe him? Like, you didn’t think it's just some kind of convenient excuse or anything like that?!” Touka exclaims, confused.
“Not really. I’ve known Tomoki-kun since his first year here, and I know for a fact that he’d never lie to intentionally hurt a girl,” Makiri-sensei replies, giving Touka a serious look.
Well, I’m glad to know that she trusts me that much.
She’s so direct and blunt that Touka is left speechless and has absolutely no retort.
“Y-You'd better not tell anyone about this, Sensei. Please!”
"Of course, I understand. I do respect your feelings, and I don’t want Tomoki-kun’s efforts to go to waste either," Makiri-sensei replies with a gentle smile.
Touka growls briefly, as though unable to fully accept the situation.
“...Fine, then. I’m assuming we’re through now, yes?”
“Mhm. I’ll warn you right now, though: you two try not to stick out as much from now on. Do you hear me?"
“Yeah, yeah,” Touka answers flippantly, clearly wanting to leave as soon as possible.
I nod.
We leave the room and walk in silence until we return to the courtyard. The moment we reach the courtyard, she starts shouting at me.
“Why the hell would you tell her the truth?! I can’t believe you!”
“I told her because I knew that she was worried about you.”
“Huh? What d'you even mean by that?” she asks with a frown.
“The fact that you’re going out with the school’s 'criminal’ is obviously a red flag for the teachers. They'll start thinking of you as a problematic person, too. I assume Makiri-sensei heard about our relationship at some point and wanted to help us out, if possible.”
“...Yeah, right. I still don’t get it, dude.”
“Well, I do.”
I bet I'm right. I bet that the moment the teachers heard Touka was going out with me, they marked her as another problem child at school.
Back when I actually was a beacon for trouble, I remember Makiri-sensei and Ike doing everything they could to help me. She decided to ignore the rumors that were spreading around and actually help me. Like I've said before, she doesn’t care about outward appearances. She actually cares about how people really are on the inside, and she always does everything she can to help her students.
She’s a good teacher, and someone I can trust.
“Sigh. Well, I can’t change the past. There's nothing I can do at this point. Senpai, I’ll only say this once: this is the only time you ever tell someone else the truth.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You sure? Not even to my shit brother, not to the other teachers, not to anyone! If anyone else knows about our secret, then it’ll be over! You hear me?”
Now she looks really desperate. To be honest, if Ike really wanted me to tell him the truth, I’d do it. I can’t bring myself to lie to him, even if I did this just so he and his sister can get along better. I don’t like lying in general, but this time, I’ll have to lie to calm her down.
“Yeah, I won’t. Okay?”
“...Okay, good to know,” she says, her face still slightly puffed from anger.
“There's no need to be so tense about all of this. Chill. I wasn’t planning to back out on this, anyway.”
“Right. Can't let this golden opportunity go to waste, right? I mean, you get to be around the girl of your dreams," she replies. Her anger's dissipated, and now she's serious instead.
I swear, I’d pay just to know where she gets all that self-confidence.
