Seventh Period: Char’s Secret Notebook

The day after I hung out with Char.

As expected, something was wrong with my body.

“Ow...!”

The dull pain shot through my arm the moment I stretched after the morning classes—muscle soreness.

It was because I had played darts almost non-stop for three hours, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad...

“Hey, what’s up? Making all that noise.” Daikatsu noticed my groan and walked over with an exasperated look.

“Oh, just a bit of muscle soreness...”

“Muscle soreness? What, did you do some weight training?”

“W-Well, something like that.” I vaguely brushed him off, trying to force a smile.

—Pop!

A cheerful Line notification sound came from my phone on the desk.

“...Eh?!”

The sender was Char. And the message was—

“Help me! (crying emoji)”

There was an emoji!

...No, that’s not the point! What was happening to Char?!

“Gotta go! I’m checking something out!”

“Eh, where are you going?! What are you checking?!” I left Daikatsu, who was blinking in confusion, and went out into the hallway, but Char was nowhere to be seen.

I ran down the stairs to the first floor, feeling anxious.

“T-There she is!”

“A-Atsuto-kun...!” I found Char sitting on the floor in the hallway, in a seiza position.

She looked at me with teary, pleading eyes.

For some reason, countless colorful notebooks were scattered all around Char.

“What happened?!”

“They all scattered while I was carrying them! E-Everyone’s homework notebooks...!”

“I’ll help you pick them up right away!”

As I was gathering the notebooks, I heard voices from behind: “Hey!” “Atsuto!”

I turned around to see Daikatsu and Benika jogging toward me.

“Daikatsu, Benika! You came!”

“Whoa, notebooks everywhere?!”

“We’ll help, Sensei!”

—After a few minutes of everyone collecting the notebooks.

“Sensei, that’s all of them!” Daikatsu handed Char the pile of dozens of notebooks with a refreshing smile.

“Thank you, everyone... Ah, wait, English! Thank—”

“You don’t have to correct yourself, it’s not class time...” I casually interjected.

Char’s face flushed slightly, and she fanned her hot cheeks with her hand. “O-Oh, right!”

“Th-Thank you very much!” Char bowed repeatedly, and Daikatsu and Benika followed up with, “No problem at all!” and “Don’t worry about it!” It looked like a picture of parents encouraging their child.

“Well then, I’ll take them the rest of the way myself.” Char took the stack of notebooks from Daikatsu. ...But.

“Kuuuh...!” Char’s face twisted in pain, and she let out a strained sound.

“S-Sensei?! Are you okay?!” Daikatsu asked, and Char, her arms trembling—

“I’m sorry. My right arm is actually very sore...”

“Ah, I see! Muscle soreness! ............Hmm?” Daikatsu looked at me suspiciously, knitting his brows.

Damn it, Char had muscle soreness too!

“Atsuto, didn’t you say you had muscle soreness too?” Benika gave me a pointed look.

“How do you know that, Benika?!”

“I heard you, plain and simple.”

This was a bad development.

I didn’t think they could figure out my relationship with Char just from this, but...!

Please! At least Char, be calm!

“W-W-W-What a coincidence! A-Atsu... Ah, no! Y-Yamazaki-san also has m-m-m-muscle soreness, too!”

She was not calm at all!

Her face was pale, and her voice was shaking like crazy! And did she almost say ‘Atsuto’?!

“Both of you have muscle soreness in your right arm. The same part. This means...”

Char and I swallowed hard.

Looking at us, Daikatsu—

“That you both started weight training focused on your right arm, right?!” he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with delight.

“Y-Yes, that’s right!” “Y-Yeah, that’s what happened!” Char and I nodded repeatedly like bobbleheads.

“I knew it! I’ve been training my right arm lately too! Look at this!” Daikatsu flexed his right bicep with a grin.

Thank goodness for this muscle-brain.

“T-That’s right! I’ve been feeling my right arm getting weaker lately!”

“M-Me too!”

Daikatsu nodded contentedly at Char and me, who were sweating profusely.

“Well, Sensei is one thing, but for the exercise-hating Atsuto to start weight training! I’m happy for you!”

“Y-Yeah, you gotta exercise sometimes! H-Hahahaha!”

“Weight training is surprisingly fun! Heh, hehehe!”

Our forced laughter echoed in the empty hallway.

—And so, Char and I successfully escaped the predicament.

...Though Benika still looked unconvinced, tilting her head.

＊＊＊＊＊

In the end, I went with Char to carry the notebooks to the staff room.

There was a moment when Daikatsu and Benika almost offered to help, but I politely declined.

...I had a feeling Char would let something slip.

“Alright, that’s all of them.”

“Ugh, my arm is still shaking...” We both placed the stack of notebooks on the desk and sighed in unison.

“...That was a close call, wasn’t it?”

“You were too flustered, Sensei.”

“Ugh, I’ll try to do better...” Char slumped in her chair.

But immediately, her blue eyes sparkled, and she giggled.

“It was kinda fun, like it was our own secret, wasn’t it?!”

She recovered quickly. Seriously, this person...

“More heart-pounding than fun, if you ask me.”

“Ehh? It was fun, though?” Char pouted, apparently not liking my answer.

—Even so.

“Your desk is incredibly neat, Sensei.”

While other teachers’ desks were piled high with papers and books, Char’s desk was perfectly organized.

“Oh? Ah, yeah! My sister always tells me, ‘Keep your surroundings tidy!’” Char said sheepishly, mimicking her sister’s voice.

Unlike my sister, she probably had a very responsible older sister.

Just as I was thinking that.

—Rustle.

“Hmm? Something fell.”

“Ah, t-that’s...!”

A notebook on the edge of the desk fell to the floor, and the air conditioning flipped a page open.

The first thing I saw was a long list of students’ names. Underneath were detailed notes written in small letters. It was in English, so I couldn’t understand the specifics, but—

“I-Is this... everyone’s characteristics?” I asked, suspecting what it was. Char paused, then nodded, her cheeks flushed.

...But it was Char’s personal property, so I shouldn’t stare.

“Here you go.” I closed the notebook and handed it back.

Char looked at me apologetically. “S-Sorry! It doesn’t feel good to see something like this, does it...”

“No, I was surprised, but...” More than surprised—

“I’m genuinely impressed.”

“............Eh?” Char’s eyes widened, and she let out a bewildered sound, surprised by my words.

It was impressive, though.

She could probably teach the class just fine without making something like this.

The fact that she made it meant Char was interested in each student and was trying to connect with them.

“There are still a lot of blank spaces, though.” Char mumbled shyly, her cheeks still red.

I suddenly remembered Char’s words from yesterday.

“There are still so many things I don’t know, but I want to become a respectable teacher that everyone can rely on!”

I still had a lot to learn about Char, too.

But I felt like I had just glimpsed a small piece of Char’s effort.

“You really care about your students, Sensei.”

“E-Ehehe... D-Do you think so?” Char scratched her cheek, looking shy but modest.

But there was one thing I was curious about.

“By the way, what did you write about me?”

“Ehh?! A-About Atsuto-kun?!” Char shouted, nearly falling off her chair.

What was with that reaction? What could she possibly have written...?

“D-Did you write something I shouldn’t see...?”

“No, I didn’t! But it’s not really something to show, either...” Char glanced at me, trying to gauge my reaction.

After a moment, Char groaned, “Ugh...” and then,

“...Well, do you want to take a quick look?” she asked, her eyes clearly hoping I would refuse.

“...Yes, I’m curious.”

When I finally said it, Char let out a long sigh, “Phew—,” then—

—Slam! Thud.

“Huh?”

“Y-Yes, we’re finished! All done!”

Char clamped the notebook tightly between both hands, determined not to show it again. The page had been open for maybe a fraction of a second.

“Heh-heh-heh. You didn’t see a thing, did you?” Char puffed out her chest for some reason, looking triumphant... But I totally saw it.

“U-Uh, actually, I did.”

“Fweh?!” Char let out a yelp, startled by the unexpected answer. “W-What did you see...?” Her face crept closer to mine, asking cautiously.

“I only saw it for a second, but it said, attractive—”

“NOOOO! Don’t read it out loud!”

Char jumped up the moment I spoke the word I’d seen. Was it something too embarrassing to be read aloud?!

“No, let’s forget this! I-I’m going to rewrite it!” Char opened the notebook and reached for an eraser on the edge of the desk.

“Sensei!” I instinctively grabbed her hand.

A silence fell as if time had stopped.

“I don’t know what the word means, exactly... but I’m happy you wrote it, so leave it as it is.”

The moment I said it cautiously, Char’s face instantly flushed bright red.

“Auh, Atsuto-kun, umm, well!”

“A-Actually, forget I said that! Forget it!”

A wave of embarrassment suddenly washed over me. I regretted saying anything, but then the chime for five minutes before class rang out in the staff room.

“I-I have my next class, so I’ll see you later!”

“Ah, Sensei?!” I tried to stop her, but Char shot out of the staff room at incredible speed.

“...Excuse me.” I gave a quick, apologetic bow to the teachers who were staring at me oddly, and left the staff room.

...Now that I thought about it, what did that word mean? I was pretty sure it said—

“Hmm?” I typed ‘active’ into a translation site and scratched my head at the Japanese meaning: Energetic, huh? I didn’t think I was a particularly energetic type. Plus, I felt like the word was a little longer than that...

I tried to recall the word in the notebook for a while after that, but it remained a mystery all day.