After finally sitting in front of the homeroom teacher, I remembered that the students were still in the middle of class.
It was purely a stroke of luck that I encountered the teacher as soon as I arrived at school.
Thinking of that gave me chills.
If things had gone wrong, I might have ended up waiting dazedly in the empty faculty room, holding my shoes in hand, waiting for my teacher to return.
Plus, I would have run into the kids who had come out to enjoy their break after class.
…I want to go home.
I don’t even know if I can call that place my home, but I want to go back and crawl into my blanket.
Even if I don’t have a blanket.
Damn.
“Uh… So, Kurosawa-san?”
“Yes.”
Suzuki-sensei, who had set me down in the now-empty chair next to her, turned to face me with a complex expression.
Since the moment I entered the faculty room, I could feel her glancing over at me.
…Now that I think about it, I came here without even fixing my hair. It felt like people were surprised every time I asked for directions.
“Um… It might be better to put your shoes down?”
I glanced at the floor.
It was a shiny, clean wooden floor.
“It’s okay.”
Is it really okay?
I cautiously placed my shoes on the floor.
Well, I hadn’t stepped on anything weird on the way here, so it shouldn’t get particularly dirty just because my shoes touched the floor.
“So, Kurosawa-san?”
Not knowing how to start, the teacher called my name again.
“Is it okay if I ask why you didn’t come to school last week?”
“….”
That’s a tough question right from the get-go.
I mean, it’s a perfectly reasonable question, though.
By the way, I’m not quite sure if this body has a previous owner… But anyway, it appears that this body hasn’t come to school a single time since the start of the term.
It wasn’t a matter of just missing a day and getting a phone call.
“If it’s hard to answer, you don’t have to.”
Thank goodness for such a kind and understanding teacher.
In reality, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to answer; I just had nothing to say.
“But, Kurosawa-san. Still, it would be good to come to school properly, right? Of course, your situation might be difficult, but how about asking the adults around you for help?”
“….”
Difficult situation.
It wasn’t great.
The fact that Tokyo’s public transportation is privatized was the most critical issue.
“…I’ll come to school properly starting tomorrow.”
But that didn’t mean I was unable to come due to transport costs.
If I got up early, walked to the station, and then took the subway from there, I could manage.
It would take about an hour and a half, but still.
“Uh, okay, great.”
Upon my response, it seemed she was left with nothing more to say.
“So…”
Suzuki-sensei looked around before speaking.
“Since you’re at school, how about attending the classes from today?”
“….”
Ah, that is a bit much.
If only I hadn’t come to school until yesterday and had just arrived this morning, I would have been able to sit quietly in a corner, even if it raised some eyebrows.
But now, it wasn’t even the start of the day, nor was it lunchtime.
You want me to arrive during break and sit down?
Isn’t that a little bit too high of a bar?
Perhaps my feelings showed on my face, as Suzuki-sensei quickly continued.
“All the kids in the class are nice. Especially the class president, who was really worried about your absence. I’m sure that when you enter, there won’t be any big problems.”
Class president?
Has the class president character from the first-year B class even appeared in the novel?
I didn’t recall anything specific, so even if they did, it must not have been a significant role.
More importantly, they were worried about me?
Could it be that Kurosawa Kotone had someone she knew?
Lost in thought, Suzuki-sensei raised her left hand and glanced at her wrist. She was wearing a small wristwatch.
It was an age before smartwatches existed.
In fact, the term ‘smart’ hadn’t even become popular yet. Technically speaking, this era could very well be referred to as the ‘digital’ age.
“Ah, class is almost ending. I’ll guide you to the classroom. Oh, and about your shoes…”
Suzuki-sensei smiled bitterly as she glanced back at the shoes I had placed down.
Then, standing up, she said, “Do you want to come? I’ll help you find your shoe locker.”
What a nice person.
She was exactly the kind of character commonly found as the wise teacher in these kinds of novels.
But unfortunately, not all students in this school were ideal. Neither was the teacher.
At least it was somewhat reassuring that this teacher and the protagonist’s homeroom teacher were both decent people.
Suzuki-sensei took me to the shoe locker, helped me find my cubby, and even handed me some indoor slippers that fit my feet decently from who knows where.
“Thank you.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. It’s only natural for a homeroom teacher.”
At my words, Suzuki-sensei’s shoulders slightly lifted.
Even though she hadn’t been at the school for long, somehow she had ended up becoming a homeroom teacher for the first year.
She must have really worried while I was absent. One could only wonder how it felt to have a problem child in her first assigned class.
…
“But, what about the textbook…”
“…Huh?”
When I belatedly realized that I didn’t have a textbook and asked, Suzuki-sensei quickly wore a bewildered expression.
*
“…And so, starting today, Kurosawa-san will be joining all of you. Please be friendly with each other.”
Ah, I really want to die.
Being introduced like a transfer student when I’m not even one.
Especially during break time.
The time I arrived at school was incredibly ambiguous, right in the middle of the 3rd period.
It seemed Suzuki-sensei wanted to introduce me to the class while all the students were present before they headed out for break, as she brought me to the front of the classroom a few minutes before the class ended.
So even before I entered, a curious child was already peering at me through the window.
The structure had windows on the corridor side, and for some reason, it was left open, which made things even worse.
I thought the school uniform, being a dull-colored sailor uniform, would mean the kids had dull expressions, but they seemed surprisingly bright, probably since they were all just becoming high school students.
And once again, I realized that this school was indeed one with high standards and expensive tuition.
They must all come from wealthy families, for sure.
“Okay, Kurosawa-san, your seat is over there.”
The seat the teacher guided me to was… in the front row.
And it was right in the middle, attached to the teacher’s desk.
Well, that made sense. That kind of spot likely wouldn’t be popular at all. Perhaps students had chosen their seats based on who arrived early on the first day.
Holding my embarrassment tightly down, I sat in that seat. I hung my bag beside my desk.
The power of 2004 was surprisingly strong.
When thinking about it based on 2024, one might wonder, ‘What has even changed in 20 years?’ but if you scrutinized each detail, there had indeed been many changes over the years.
Excluding the visible technological advancements like smartphones, one notable difference was the ‘birthrate.’
Yes. In the 2000s, the number of high school students was much greater than in the 2020s.
This class was also packed with students.
I could feel the gazes on the back of my head. Of course, no one’s eyes were literally shooting lasers, so I was just thinking that, but honestly, it couldn’t be too different from reality.
“Okay, I’ll introduce you again during the homeroom period.”
Suzuki-sensei lightly placed her hand on my shoulder, winked at me, and then turned to leave the classroom.
“…..”
Brief silence lingered in the classroom before the murmurs began to rise.
I guess you could say it was a co-ed school after all.
The simultaneous sounds of male and female students felt somewhat unique.
…It was something I had wished for when I was younger. That too in a light novel.
So why does this feel so unfulfilling?
I just wanted time to pass quickly until it’s class time, but someone poked me in the back.
“….”
I slowly turned around to look.
The girl, propping her chin with one hand, had neat shoulder-length hair and wore slightly thick glasses.
Her school uniform was a sailor uniform, giving her a somewhat retro vibe.
…Wait, is it retro because it’s 2004?
“Hey.”
The girl greeted me cheerfully, and her face was one I didn’t recognize from my memories.
“Did you say your name was Kurosawa-san? Can I call you that?”
“…. Just Kurosawa is fine.”
I had only sampled Japanese culture through manga, so I didn’t really know how naming conventions worked.
Still, I understood that asking someone to call me by my name right after meeting them was a bit awkward.
“Oh, really? Then, I’ll call you Kurosawa.”
The girl said with a smile on her face.
“I’m Miura Mako. I’m the class president of this class.”
Though she was the class president, I wondered if she didn’t want to sit in the seat I occupied.
But for sure, her self-introduction gave off a sense of reliability. You could call it a typical class president vibe.
And—
“Miura, huh?”
“You can just call me Miura.”
“…. Miura.”
“Yeah. Nice to meet you.”
“…. Nice to meet you.”
Not knowing what else to say, I simply echoed her back.
In the first place, I had never really spoken to a high school girl before.
I had no idea how to continue the conversation.
Moreover—
Miura.
There was something off there.
I’m not sure exactly what it is.
Countless characters with the name Miura have appeared in various works.
“….”
Most importantly, even when trying my best to recall parts from works from 20 years ago, no character named Miura comes to mind.
Or could it be related to Mako?
This part, I could clearly say it’s definitely not a match.
At least, among the characters the protagonist calls by name, there was no one named Mako.
“Next class.”
“Huh?”
“Do you know what the next class is?”
“Uh, no.”
“The next class is—”
The class president of Class B was surprisingly kind.
And that only made me more curious.
She was kind, pleasant, and had a look that wouldn’t be out of place as a major character.
And if I felt something was off just from her name, then it certainly was unlikely that she wouldn’t show up in the novel.
Ultimately, I couldn’t come up with the reason until the bell signaling the start of the next period rang.
