I am a teacher at a girls' school in Tokyo

then.

"come on."

He made a fist and gave a cheering gesture. It was kind of cute.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa was infected and started to smile.

"Yes, thank you Mr. Hisata in advance."

"You are welcome."

It turns out that sensible young female colleagues are easier to get along with than those problem students.

Although it is a bit inappropriate to make such a comparison from a teacher's perspective, this is the way it is.

-

The next day at noon, during the lunch break, Tetsufumi Hirakawa went to the classroom again, ready to talk to Amemiya in person.

As a result, after arriving at the classroom, just when he saw Amemiya Ye and was about to go forward, Shinohara Shiori came out from nowhere and stood in front of him.

"Teacher Hirakawa."

The girl called him, forcing him to stop.

"Shinohara-san, what's wrong?"

"Teacher, I thought about it seriously yesterday..." The girl lowered her head in front of him, feeling a little embarrassed, but after taking a deep breath, she still said, "Well... I'm deeply sorry for threatening Mr. Pingchuan before."

Then he bowed solemnly at a ninety-degree angle.

"Shiori is being rude."

"..."

So that was it. To be honest, if it weren't for Amamiya Ye's incident, he would have forgotten about it a long time ago.

After all, they were minors and his students, so if he stopped at verbal threats, this mistake would not be considered serious. Moreover, after understanding what happened afterwards, he could understand it to some extent.

It's just the hedgehog's way of protecting itself.

What I said after school yesterday was meant as a joke, not as a reproach.

and so……

"Don't worry, it's okay, Shinohara-san, get up."

After saying this, Shinohara Shiori finally stood up, but her face was still a little red.

"It's just... I don't know how to apologize to the teacher."

"It's okay, as long as you can recognize your mistakes."

"Well... then, Mr. Hirakawa... goodbye."

He nodded shyly, then walked away with his head down after he finished speaking.

Yes, that's it. The former problem girl realized her mistakes under his guidance. This kind of thing really gave him, as a teacher, great satisfaction.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked at Shiori Shinohara's back as she walked away, and felt relieved.

Then, let him deal with the matter of Amamiya Ye.

With such a successful example in front of him, Tetsufumi Hirakawa was filled with confidence.

Walking to Amemiya Ye's seat, this girl who looked quite well-behaved and quiet was sitting there writing something... probably a diary?

When he approached, she closed the notebook, looked up at him, stood up politely and bowed slightly.

"Teacher Pingchuan, are you looking for me?"

"..."

It's completely different from the way she threatened him before.

I had no idea what the student in front of me was thinking, so I just said, "Well, Amamiya-san, can you come with me to the office? The teacher wants to talk to you about something."

"Ok."

She immediately agreed. Then, she packed up the notebook on the table, and under the gaze of some classmates, she silently followed him out of the classroom and went to the office.

Hey, with such an obedient appearance, is it really the female student who threatened him before?Was it an illusion before?

Such doubts are inevitable.

Anyway, just ask clearly when you get to the office.

With this thought in mind, Tetsufumi Hirakawa led Amemiya all the way to the office.

After sitting down in the office, he looked at the girl standing in front of him. She stood straight with a well-behaved expression on her face, without any of the arrogance she had when threatening him before.

"Um...Amemiya-san." He tried to call out.

"Yes."

"Can you tell me why you have been late for the first few days of school?"

That’s what I asked last time, and I was threatened.

But this time...

"Teacher, I'm sorry."

I saw Amamiya Ye bowed and apologized very quickly, and there was no sign of perfunctoriness in his attitude.

"I have caused trouble to the teacher recently. I won't do that again in the future."

"..."

After such a reaction, Tetsufumi Hirakawa fell silent.

However, during his silence, the girl in front of him did not stand up. When he came to his senses, half a minute had passed, and she still maintained her meticulous bowing posture.

"Ah...I'm sorry, please get up, Amamiya-san."

He said quickly.

"Yes."

Then he got up.

"Then, teacher, is there anything else?"

"...No, it's alright. I'm glad you realized your mistake, Amamiya-san."

"Thank you, teacher."

"No, you're welcome."

After completing the above conversation with an indescribable conflicted feeling, and bidding farewell to Amamiya Yoru, Hirakawa Tetsufumi sat in his office and began to doubt himself deeply.

Was it an illusion before, or is it an illusion now?

However, since she has said that she will not do it again, it should be okay, right?

perhaps?

perhaps.

Chapter 16: Going to that kind of place... to bury Mr. Yamamoto’s body?

As it turned out, Tetsufumi Hirakawa was too naive.

I thought Amemiya Ye had already promised not to make the same mistake again, and she looked very sincere when she apologized. Although I still don't understand why she threatened him inexplicably before, it's okay to forgive her if she sincerely admits her mistake.

In the end, it's just wishful thinking.

The day after Amamiya Ye made a promise to him, yes, the day after, Amamiya Ye was late again.

"Teacher Hirakawa...um, Amamiya-san still didn't come to the first class today."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa, who was relaxing in the office, suddenly heard this news from Mr. Hisata.

"Not coming?"

I immediately confirmed with Mr. Hisada, who had just returned from class, with an incredulous tone in his voice.

Hisada Masuki took the books and lesson plans, sat back at her desk, and said with a troubled look on her face.

“Yeah…yeah.”

"..."

Hirakawa Tetsufumi didn't know what to say. He apologized so sincerely yesterday, but is this the result? He felt cheated.

Now even if you want to let it go, you can't. You've already been given a chance. If you continue with this, tolerance will become indulgence.

At noon, he must have a good talk with her, absolutely. That was his plan.

However, by noon, Hirakawa Tetsufumi's expression had become very serious.

Amemiya Ye still hasn't arrived at school.

"Haven't you arrived at school yet?"

"Ah."

There was no time to visit Mr. Hisada, so Hirakawa Tetsufumi pulled out the home-school contact book from the file rack on his desk. He opened it and found Amamiya Ye's home phone number.

I thought it was just a normal lateness, after all, it was the same for the past few days, and my inertia of thinking had not stopped. However, just at noon, when I was about to go to the class to find Amamiya Ye, I realized that she had not come all morning.

The matter is very serious. It is no longer just ordinary lateness, and it is also a dereliction of duty as a teacher.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa dialed Amemiya Yoru's home phone number in a very serious tone. Shortly after the phone rang, the call was connected and the young lady's voice came through.

"Hello, this is the Amamiya family."

After hearing the other party speak, Tetsufumi Hirakawa spoke up, his tone unusually serious.

"Hello, are you the parent of classmate Amamiya Ye? I am her homeroom teacher, Tetsufumi Hirakawa."

After he introduced himself, there was an immediate surprised inquiry from the other end of the phone.

"Teacher Pingchuan? Um, I'm Xiaoye's mother. You're calling because...did something happen to Xiaoye at school?"

"..."

Something must have happened. Listening to what Mrs. Amamiya said, Hirakawa Tetsufumi's heart sank.

"Amamiya-san didn't come to school this morning."

"..."

"..."

"...Um, teacher, could you please say it again?"

Just seconds after hearing the news, Mrs. Amemiya's voice was filled with panic.

"Amemiya-san did not show up at school this morning," Hirakawa Tetsufumi repeated.

"How could it be?" He said in a tone of disbelief, or more accurately, unwillingness to believe.

"..."

If a child or a student just disappeared like that, as a parent or a teacher, one would definitely be anxious, but Tetsufumi Hirakawa tried his best to stay calm.

"Mrs. Amamiya, can I ask what time did Amamiya Ye go out today?"

"… Just like usual, it was almost 8 o'clock."

"Before you went out, or in the past few days, was there anything unusual?"

"No, not at all. Xiaoye is very well behaved."

"Do you know that Amamiya-san has been late for the past few days?"

"This... I have no idea."

"Then, can you still contact Amamiya Ye-san now?"

As soon as I asked this question, I heard a hurried voice from the other side, "Sorry, teacher, please wait a moment." Then there was a "bang", which should be the microphone being put on the table.

What followed was a quiet, anxious period of waiting.

After a while, the microphone finally heard the faint sound of footsteps, getting closer and closer, followed by Mrs. Amemiya's voice.