Chapter 10 Family Home and Countermeasure Meeting

Family Home and Countermeasure Meeting

Mom hurriedly cleaned the breakroom and greeted us.

Even though it’s called a breakroom, it has a decent size.

It’s a tatami room with a big table and a TV. These days, there is also free wifi for guests, so you can watch movies on your phone.

Since my mom loves new things, this place is very friendly because it accepts electronic money, plays background music on Alaxa, and lets you watch Natflix and YouTabe on the TV in the breakroom.

Someone once asked, “Why a Japanese-style room? This is a Western-style restaurant, so why not a Western-style room?” Well, because resting on tatami is more comfortable and sleeping is easier.

I thought this room was a little unromantic because it was a little noisy, but this room was the only private room in the restaurant, so it was easy to talk to Ichijo-san. Honestly, I might say things I don’t want my mom or brother to hear.

“Just relax, Ai-chan.”

I’m a little surprised to see mom casually calling Ichijo-san by her first name, but I’m relieved when she quickly returns to her work.

We were left alone with the menu and cold drinks.

“Just looking at the hamburgers and omelet rice makes me happy. Senpai, do you have any recommendations?”

“Oh, then this special lunch would be great. The main course is my recommended omelet rice, and it comes with a mini hamburger and a bite of napolitan.”

This is a special lunch that my dad made. It’s an all-star menu with three of his most popular dishes. The omelet and hamburger steak with a special demi-glace sauce that was left overnight. The original napolitan with more tomato sauce and sausage. Both are served with salad and soup, which is basically what customers order for lunch.

“Wow!’’

I felt a slight sense of relief as I saw Ichijo-san’s eyes light up. This girl just didn’t look like a high school girl, or rather, I didn’t see her as appropriate for her age.

I ordered from my mother and returned to my seat. I felt a little dizzy being left alone with the beautiful girl in front of me, so I made up an excuse by ordering.

“I’m sorry. It seems too much to invite a high school girl.”

“No, it’s actually refreshing. Neither my parents’ house nor my apartment has a Japanese-style room. It’s kinda nice to sit in a tatami room.”

She’s a young lady, really.

“I’m glad to hear that. This is my mother’s and my brother’s breakroom, where they rest for two hours after lunch before the evening hours.”

“That’s why it’s so warm. I’ve never had the experience of visiting someone’s home, so it’s refreshing.”

“It’s kinda embarrassing for me, though. Because there are too many colors in this house, like my brother’s cookbooks and the TV, which is only used to watch my mother’s favorite foreign dramas.”

“It was a blessing. I’m jealous that the colors of your family are reflected in this home.”

From what she said, Ichijo-san seems to have a complicated family background. The term “home” is not often used by high school students. Maybe she lives alone, away from her parents. If you go to a private school with a lot of club activities, it’s normal to live in a dormitory away from your parents, but our school is a public school. There must be a reason. But I didn’t dare to ask.

Because she didn’t try to get to know me very well. There were many opportunities for her to ask me questions during our walk from school to here. But she acted as if she didn’t care.

I have to be a gentleman who’s nice to her and doesn’t ask each other things that we don’t want to ask each other.

After ten minutes of chatting, the food was brought out. Since this was the most popular item on the menu, it was served immediately.

“Here you go, a special lunch for Ai-chan. Since Ai-chan is a special customer, we offer tea or coffee after lunch, so choose what Ai-chan likes.”

Today’s soup was pork soup. The soups change daily, including corn potage, consommé, and egg soup. She was so lucky because pork soup is a popular soup.

“I’d like some tea, please.”

Most customers usually choose coffee. But….

“Oh, Ai-chan. You’re a tea person. I’m glad. Actually, I’m too.”

My mom is a tea person. So when a customer chooses tea, her mood immediately improves. It’s so obvious.

Mom casually and carelessly left B’s lunch that I had ordered without a word. That’s a pretty big gap. By the way, B’s lunch is a set of beef curry and croquettes with a special stuffing inside. The secret ingredient in the curry, of course, is demi-glace sauce.

“Then take your time. I’ll bring you some tea when you’re finished.”

When mom returned to work, Ichijo-san looked at me. I could tell by the way she looked at me. She says she can’t wait to eat.

I nodded as if to give her a signal. She happily said “Itadakimasu” before starting to eat. …

As she took a bite of the omelet, the word “delicious” involuntarily slipped out. She looked so happy that it was hard to believe that she was the girl who had just tried to die.

Her face looks like a goddess. I was a little grateful to fate that I had met her.

Takayanagi’s PoV

It was suddenly decided to hold a meeting to discuss Aono’s case, and the three of us, myself, the dean of students, and Mitsui-sensei gathered in the conference room. The principal and vice-principal arrived later.

“Sorry, I’m a little late.”

The principal takes his seat and swings his huge body. Since the vice-principal next to him is quite thin, his size stands out even more. I had once heard that he was a famous rugby player in his school days, which strangely convinced me of the principal’s outfit. The vice-principal had already given the information to the dean of students and the principal, so the basic information was shared among these members of the group.

The principal opened his mouth as soon as he sat down.

“First of all, Takayanagi-sensei. Thank you for contacting me so quickly. A situation like this is dangerous and could get worse if we don’t deal with it quickly. And nothing is more important than dealing with the negative information that has already spread.”

The principal bowed his head, out of breath, but with sincerity.

“No, I think I might have a problem developing my class.”

To be honest, all I had to do was reflect on it. Maybe I should have created an environment where students like Aono-kun could seek advice more easily. I should have taken the risk of getting into trouble during the summer vacation into account and followed up more seriously.

“As a teacher, you probably have a lot to reflect on. But I think Takayanagi-sensei did everything he could. At least other teachers would not have been able to share information so quickly. Usually, people are so concerned about their reputation that they try to solve problems on their own or cover them up.”

Iwai-sensei, the dean of students, was very protective of me. I am very grateful.

“Iwai-sensei is right. For now, let’s worry more about the present and the future than the past. Do you know anything about Aono-kun who left school early? Did he come home safely?”

The principal asked me. Mitsui-sensei replied for me.

“Takayanagi-sensei interviewed several students about the situation, and I called Aono-kun’s parents.”

Mitsui-sensei called Aono-kun’s parents. This support was really helpful. So I could concentrate on interviewing the students for the rest of the day.

“So?”

“Yes. In cases like this, most students don’t want their parents to know about the bullying, so I asked if Aono-kun was okay even though he went home early because he wasn’t feeling well. His mother answered the phone and said that he was fine and had gone home.”

When the principal and vice-principal heard this, they looked a little relieved. Because we have to think about what to do if something goes wrong.

“That’s good to know. Now, I will tell you the basic policy for the future that I discussed with the vice-principal. First of all, let’s think about Aono-kun. The problem will not be solved if he decides not to go to school or drops out. We must always be there for him!”