Trust
Takayanagi-sensei bowed deeply and stayed that way for over a minute.
I felt really bad.
“Sensei, please raise your head. I mean, I didn’t consult with you before, either. Instead, It’s amazing that you noticed the problem so quickly….”
I hurried to speak to him, and he finally raised his head and said, “Thank you.” Then he looked at me with sincere eyes.
“Aono, I know that you are going through a difficult time. I heard about your problem from Imai yesterday. So I was waiting for you to calm down. But now, I want to hear it directly from you, it’s okay if you say it slowly. Would you like to tell me your story?”
Normally, I don’t like the idea of Sensei listening to me talk about my lost love. Besides, my childhood sweetheart, whom I trusted, called me a “stalker and domestic violence guy” and broke up with me. I don’t want to tell anyone.
Because of this, my classmates and club members have isolated and bullied me. It is so pathetic to think about.
But maybe I could talk to Sensei.
If only I had the courage to take another step….
But I was still afraid that if I talked to Sensei, I would be bullied again. They might hate me for “snitching” and the bullying might get worse….
Maybe it’s because he could see that I was in pain.
“I’m sorry, Aono. I’m rushing too much, aren’t I? You don’t have to force yourself. You don’t have to talk to me today. Maybe you need more time to calm down.”
“I’m sorry….”
“Don’t apologize. Aren’t you thirsty? Today is special. I’ll buy you a can of juice. Do you want something to drink?”
Sensei offered me a drink as she stood up.
“Okay, I’ll have a Coke, please.”
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
“But, Sensei, are you going to be okay with the first period? Isn’t it almost time?”
“Yes, it’s okay. The vice principal is teaching the first-period world history class for me. He used to be a geography teacher. But the school’s top priority right now is to be there for Aono, who must be having the hardest time right now. So it’s okay. “
It seems that the teachers are worried about me as well. The same thing happened to Iwai-sensei earlier. I am so grateful that I can’t help but feel ashamed that I can’t speak properly.
“Thank you.”
The words came out of my mouth.
“Hey, hey, I haven’t even bought you a Coke yet. You can thank me then.”
I was happy to see him come back with some of his usual lightheartedness.
“Here, drink it.”
Takayanagi-sensei returns with a cold Coke he just bought from the vending machine.
He holds two red cans in his hand.
“Thank you.”
“It’s so hot, I’ll break my sugar limit and drink it too.”
Sensei laughs and opens the Coke; he acts more like a brother than a teacher.
“Why do you believe me, Sensei? Even though no one listens to me.”
“Well, there are two reasons.”
“Two reasons?”
“First, I can see that most students are easily influenced by irresponsible rumors now, and it’s like a mass panic. We’re a little more mature than you, so we can look at this panic more objectively. You see this a lot with things that go viral on the Internet. The person being vilified is really bad in the eyes of the online masses, no matter what the situation is. They think they’re right, and they go on a terrible rant.”
“Yes.”
That’s exactly my position.
“But often the source of the fire is unclear. If you take advantage of rumors at such a time and hurt others easily, you may end up losing everything. Maybe you don’t know it. But the people involved in harassing you are just such people.”
“…But what if I am who they say I am?”
“That’s not possible. There’s a second reason related to this. No matter how much trouble you’re in, you don’t look like the kind of person who would be violent to anyone. When something bad happens to you, you don’t look like the kind of person who blames others; you look like the kind of person who blames yourself. At least you don’t look like the kind of student who should be bullied. For lack of a better word, this could be called ‘teacher’s intuition’.”
Sensei pours a Coke into his mouth to cover it up.
I know that Takayanagi-sensei is a very quick thinker. So I thought “teacher’s intuition” was a bit of an oxymoron.
Maybe he’s just being nice to me. Normally, a teacher would just say, “I trust you,” and students would immediately believe it. But I’m in a weak position right now, so I feel pressured when he says that to me. Maybe it’s another way of saying, “So tell me quickly.” So I thought he was expressing his trust in me in a roundabout way.
If he is a teacher who is willing to do a lot for me. Maybe….
I was ready.
I looked directly into Sensei’s eyes. Perhaps my determination had been conveyed, Sensei nodded his head gently.
“Takayanagi-sensei. I have a consultation I would like you to hear.”