Third Period: The Secret Contract Between Just Me and Char
Classes continued without incident, and soon it was after school.
“I’m home.”
I opened the living room door, and Mom came rushing over, her slippers flapping.
“Welcome home, Atsuto! Did you have fun at school?”
My mother, Honoka, asked a typical mom question.
She was a reliable mother who supported the Yamazaki family while Dad was on a solo assignment overseas.
...Though she did have a few air-headed moments.
“Yeah. Just normal.”
“Dinner’s ready, so eat up before you go!”
“Got it, thanks. That helps.”
I ate the curry Mom made while checking my shift schedule on my phone.
Daikatsu had basketball practice, and Benika had a magazine shoot, but I had a part-time job now.
I worked at a café near the station three times a week.
Suishō High’s school rules were pretty lax, but part-time jobs were officially prohibited since the school was founded.
However, my dad and mom, who also went to Suishō High, worked part-time when they were students.
Plus, the Yamazaki family rule was, ‘Earn your own spending money for fun,’ so my parents didn’t object.
As I scarfed down the curry in the short time before my shift,
“I can’t do it anymore! No more studying!”
My older sister, Akane, came clattering down the stairs.
She was a high school senior at an all-girls school, one year older than me.
She was studying hard for the university entrance exams for her target school, but she seemed to be under a lot of stress.
“Oh! Welcome back. What, you have work today?”
“Senpai asked me to trade shifts, so I switched. I have tomorrow off instead.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Akane mumbled, sounding completely uninterested despite asking, and headed for the sofa.
She flopped down on her back and started messing with her phone.
“Speaking of which, it’s the new semester, right? Are there any cute girls? Do you have a crush?”
Akane rolled over onto her stomach, grinning at me.
“Things don’t move that fast. I’m not interested in that stuff.”
“Ehh! No way, really? Big Sis is worried, you know. Aren’t you being proactive enough? I mean, romance is—”
“But Sis, you go to an all-girls school.”
I cut her off with a killer line just as she was about to launch into a lecture.
“You think I’m romantically challenged just ’cause I go to an all-girls school?! That’s all-girls-school discrimination! Big Sis didn’t raise her little brother to—”
“Oh, speaking of which, that limited-edition dessert you wanted was at the convenience store, so I bought it.”
At that, Akane let the air out of her puffed cheeks and looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Seriously?! Are you a god?! Oh, well, it pays to have a good little brother!”
“Your mood swings are incredible.”
I sighed at my sister, who was humming happily as she headed to the fridge, and sped up my pace on the curry.
My shift today went until 10:00 PM.
(Damn, that’s long...)
Cursing internally, I finished my meal and headed off to work.
＊＊＊＊＊
A few days after starting the second year.
It was April 7th, and I was finally starting to get used to the new class—when the incident happened.
I saw off Daikatsu, who was heading to club activities, and Benika, who was going to a magazine shoot, and I was alone and bored after school again.
The place I went to in these situations was always the same.
(Guess I’ll go to the arcade...)
I took off my indoor shoes at the shoe locker and reached for my shoe locker key.
“...Huh?”
The sensation I felt through my back pocket was nothing.
My key was gone... and not just the key. My whole wallet, which held the key, was gone.
—That wallet had my part-time job ID in it.
Part-time work was banned at Suishō High.
If a teacher picked it up and looked inside—
“R-Remember, Atsuto...!”
I ran all over the school, trying to recall where I last had the wallet.
But,
“Ugh... Where is it...”
I checked the cafeteria, the vending machine area, the school store—all the places I remembered taking out my wallet, but it was nowhere.
“Haah... I’m out of options... Ah.”
I remembered one place I hadn’t checked.
The lost and found box located at the entrance to the staff room on the first floor—the place I’d subconsciously avoided.
I headed to the staff room with a sliver of hope.
“Ah...” “Hmm?”
I ran right into Char, who was standing in front of the door.
In Char’s hand was my black leather wallet. And she was about to open it!
“A-Ah! My wallet! There it is!”
When I called out, Char flinched and asked, “This?”
“Y-Yes! This is this!”
I pointed at the wallet, and Char smiled softly, looking relieved.
“Oh, good. It was in the lost and found box, and I was worried someone might steal it! Though I don’t think we have any bad students like that.”
“You saved me. Hahaha...”
I managed to keep a smile on my face and reached out to take the wallet, when—
“Sorry!”
“Gah!”
Char popped my wallet open and pinpointed my part-time job ID among the cards, pulling it out.
“T-This is...”
Char’s eyes widened as she compared the ID card to me.
Ah, I’m finished. There was no denying it once she saw the actual evidence.
At this point, all I could do was plead for leniency—
“Yep! It definitely belongs to Atsuto-kun!” Char placed the wallet, with the ID put back inside, in my palm.
Huh? Did she let me off the hook...?
I didn’t know if Char was simply unaware of the school rule or if she was letting it slide. Either way, the best thing to do was leave quickly.
“Th-Thank you very much! Well then!”
“You’re welcome! Try not to lose it again! Bye-b—... Mmm?!”
Just as I turned to leave, Char grabbed my shoulder firmly.
“Can I see your wallet again?”
“N-No, I don’t think so!”
“...What is that!?”
“Huh? Oh!”
I was tricked by Char, who pointed in a random direction, and she snatched the wallet in the distraction. To fall for such an old trick...
“Wait! Isn’t part-time work banned at Suishō High?!”
“N-No, this is just a membership card!”
“It says ‘Employee ID,’ though!”
I tried to resist, but I was exposed instantly.
“Let’s talk in that room over there!”
“Umm, I have somewhere to be right now!”
“It’s fine! Five minutes! It’ll only take five minutes!”
＊＊＊＊＊
Char led me to the Student Guidance Room.
The room was stark, with just two chairs separated by a table and a bookshelf filled with exam prep books. It definitely had the atmosphere of a room ‘only for lecturing bad students.’
Across the table, Char sat with her back straight, her cheeks puffed out. Due to her small size, she had absolutely no intimidating presence.
Still, the situation was serious. It might be better to apologize cleanly rather than try to make excuses.
“Sensei. About—”
“Atsuto-kun, why are you working part-time?”
“Ugh...”
Just as I was about to apologize, Char gave me a pointed look, her cheeks still puffed out.
Honestly, the cuteness factor was overwhelmingly greater than the scary factor, and I almost cracked a smile... No, I was being scolded, I had to be serious.
“Come on, tell me! I won’t get angry, okay? Let’s try!”
Char let the air out of her cheeks with a pffft and smiled.
But this kind of setup usually ended with a serious scolding...
“Well... I thought I needed to save up money for my future, you know...”
“Hoh, I see. Preparing for the future...”
“R-Right! Especially in this day and age, I think it’s important to save up your own money!”
“Hmm? But you went out to play the other day...”
“W-Well, a little break is necessary, and besides, my coworkers invited me!”
Char hummed and fell silent. After a moment, she cleared her throat and looked at me with clear, blue eyes.
“...Let’s put that aside for now.”
“Huh? You’re just going to put it aside?”
I was prepared for a thorough dressing-down, so I was surprised she backed off so easily.
Char muttered, “Yeah,” then, for some reason, her cheeks flushed red, and she looked away from me.
“You know, Atsuto-kun.”
“Yes.”
“I have just one favor to ask you—”
I wondered what she could possibly ask for in this situation and let out a bewildered “Huh?” Just then,
“I’m so sorry! Please, please, please overlook what happened the other day—!!”
Char’s near-scream of an apology echoed in the small room.
“Wha—?!”
I let out a clumsy sound as Char tightly gripped my hands and repeatedly slammed her bronze-haired head against the table.
“I’m sorry for offering you alcohol when you’re underage! I’m sorry for suddenly kissing you! I regret going to such a scary place alone! So please forgive me!”
“Huh! What?!”
“Don’t tell anyone!”
Char looked up at me, her blue eyes glistening with tears.
...Wait, what is this turn of events?!
I came here fully expecting to be yelled at, so why was I the one being apologized to?!
“F-First, please lift your head!”
Char, who had been bobbing her head like a red cow, stopped and let out a small groan.
“I-I wasn’t going to tell anyone about the net cafe, anyway...”
“R-Really...?”
“I mean... the k-kiss was definitely a shock. But, uh, that’s normal over there, right? Like a cultural thing, just a greeting?”
“No, that was just me getting carried away because I was drunk...”
“Oh, I see...”
I tried to cover for her, but the awkward atmosphere returned.
“And I should apologize too... Umm, about your ch-chest... I’m sorry.”
Perhaps reacting to the word chest, Char’s face turned bright red.
“W-Well, that was an accident! Y-Yeah! No harm, no foul!”
“R-Right! Exactly! That was an accident! A stroke of bad luck!”
Hahaha. Our loud, cheerful laughter echoed in the small room.
—But.
“It was more than an accident!” “It was definitely more than an accident...”
We both muttered the self-correction simultaneously and slumped over the table. It was impossible to laugh this off.
...Though, there was one thing I was curious about.
“Umm, Sensei?” I cautiously called out.
Char flinched and straightened her back. “Y-Yes!”
“But if you thought the net cafe was a scary place, why were you there alone? And it’s not really a scary place, anyway.”
I asked out of genuine curiosity, and Char put her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest proudly.
“That’s... for studying!”
“S-Studying?”
Char nodded once at my confused expression.
“Where do all the students hang out after school?”
“Huh? Well... around here, karaoke or bowling, maybe?”
The conversation was drifting in a different direction again.
Char nodded a few times, saying, “I see! I see.”
“I only threw darts for the first time that day! In fact, to be more precise... that was the first time I’d ever gone out at night.”
Huh? Did she just say first time?
“Sorry, this might be rude, but Sensei, you’ve never gone out to play? With friends or anything...”
“I was too busy studying... Plus, I had to help out at my family’s orange farm...”
So she never had time to play. She’d lived a completely opposite student life from mine...
“But, I gave up playtime, studied hard, and passed the ALT exam! Yeah!”
“Oh! That’s great!”
I clapped for Char, who was doing a little dance, but she got mad.
She was an emotional roller coaster...
“I can teach everyone academics, sure. But I realized something. I—I can’t teach them anything outside of academics.”
Char clenched her fists tightly.
“The teachers I admire in America, they didn’t just know about schoolwork; they knew all about different kinds of fun! That’s how they earned the students’ respect!”
She looked straight at me with eyes full of strong resolve—
“I want to be an amazing teacher—one who can support students both in and out of the classroom, one who can inspire them to chase their dreams!”
Char, talking about her dream without any shame, was dazzling, like a ball of light.
It made my chest ache, as someone who was just idly drifting through life without any goals.
“R-Right...”
I didn’t know how to respond and fell silent. Char’s cheeks slowly turned red after a moment.
The sound of the clock’s second hand ticking on the edge of the table filled the silence.
“Umm, Sensei, it’s getting late...” I cautiously began.
Char flinched and held up my wallet. “This?”
I nodded, and Char made a pained expression.
“Hmm, I don’t want to just let you go. But you must have a reason for working part-time and saving money, even though it breaks the rules. Oh! Do you have something you want to start or buy with the money?!”
Ugh, why is she looking at me with such pure eyes...?
Honestly, I was just working part-time because I had no particular goal...
“W-Well, something like that, I guess.” Unable to deny it, I nodded.
Char groaned in thought for a while.
“Okay! I got it! I’ll let you off the hook!”
“Huh, really?!”
“Yeah. You helped me with the pickup attempt, and... A-And besides...”
Char’s cheeks flushed pink again, and she glanced at me.
“The kiss, and all that...”
The memory from last week came rushing back, and my body grew hot.
I was trying to forget it, but the scene had just been vividly resurrected in my mind...
—At any rate, the continuation of my peaceful high school life was secured.
I thought it was touch and go for a moment, but I survived.
Just as I was feeling relieved,
“Oh, but can I ask for one condition?”
“A condition?”
Char tightened her grip on my hand and said casually,
“To help me become a great teacher, will you take me out to play after school?!”
I see. Char and I would hang out together... Wait, hang out?!
“You mean, we’ll hang out together?!”
“Yeah! To become a good teacher who can support students both in and out of the classroom, I need to study playtime too!”
That’s not the kind of condition you just mention as an afterthought!
And hang out as a teacher and student? What kind of boundaries am I supposed to have?!
“Is that... a no...?”
“Ugh.”
Those puppy-dog eyes, like a child begging their parent for a snack.
I recognized that look! It was the same wistful face she gave me when we were saying goodbye at the net cafe.
Besides, what was I supposed to do, hanging out with my school teacher?
But I owed her for keeping my part-time job a secret—
“...Only for a little bit, then.”
“Really?! Yay! Thank you!”
In the end, I agreed to the condition, as I was between a rock and a hard place.
Char, in contrast to my confusion, threw her hands up and her eyes sparkled.
“Let’s have fun together, Atsuto-kun!”
“...Right.”
—In exchange for keeping my part-time job a secret, I would teach Char how to play.
And so, that strange contract was sealed between us.
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