I am a teacher at a girls' school in Tokyo

"..."

Shinohara Shiori stared silently at Amamiya Yo in front of her.

What's wrong with her today?

Moreover, because Amemiya Ye was standing there strangely, it had attracted the attention of some classmates, and they all looked over there.

Perhaps in their eyes, Amamiya Ye and she were like companions having conflicts?

But the relationship between them is far more complicated than these people imagine.

Sometimes it’s not wrong to say that they are companions, but sometimes, well… rivals?

Because of this word that popped up in her mind, Shinohara Shiori suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly.

But it was quickly put away.

"Amamiya-san, please sit down."

After saying this calmly, Shinohara Shiori lowered her head and picked up the kaiko again.

What would Amamiya Ye ask?

In fact, I already had some guesses in my mind.

"Thank you."

She heard Amemiya Ye's happy voice, and then the girl sat in front of her, turned around and put the lunch box on her desk.

At the same time, some curious gazes not far away were retracted.

Amemiya Ye pretended to open the lunch box as if he was going to have lunch, but as soon as he picked up the quick, he couldn't wait and asked the question.

"Shinohara-san, do you know what's going on with Mr. Hirakawa recently?"

"I don't know." Shinohara Shiori answered casually.

“Don’t you know…?”

"I'm no longer paying attention, and it's no use asking me, Amamiya-san."

"..."

No longer paying attention...?

Amemiya Ye stared at Shinohara Shiori who was eating her lunch calmly.

Well, she wasn't naive enough to ask a question like "What happened during the summer vacation?"

It was obvious that Shinohara Shiori would not answer this kind of question.

So she continued to probe in an indirect way.

"Recently, I've been with Mr. Hirakawa because of the school festival."

"Ah."

"Also, due to some things, Mr. Hirakawa and I are filming a movie to be shown at the school festival."

"Movie?"

"Yes, it's a movie. The script was written by Mr. Hirakawa, and I'm the main character. Also, the filming and editing were all done by Mr. Hirakawa because of me."

Shinohara Shiori seemed to be interested and looked at Amamiya Yo.

Amemiya Ye blinked, waiting for Shinohara Shiori's reaction.

If it were in the past, this young lady would definitely be unwilling to accept this kind of thing.

She wrote the script herself and shot the movie herself, and most of the time, she was the only one in the camera.

Moreover, in order to fulfill their agreement, they have been together almost all the time in the past month.

We went out to shoot together, and we went back and forth for a shot together. From shooting to editing, it was always like this.

If it were in the past, Shinohara Shiori would definitely be staring at her unwillingly now.

however--

She saw a smile suddenly appear on Shinohara Shiori's mouth.

You were not mistaken. Shinohara Shiori's previously cold mouth did reveal a slight smile.

Ok……

how to say.

When Amemiya Ye proudly showed off these things to her, she naturally thought about those days.

Summer festival, at home, and on the rooftop.

That ridiculous, yet truly sweet time.

They were sticking together, hugging and kissing almost every moment.

In comparison, Amemiya Ye now looks like a childish child compared to what she is showing off.

If I tell her these things, how will she react?

but……

Suddenly, Shinohara Shiori stopped smiling and became cold again.

It had nothing to do with her anymore.

She didn't need to care about those memories or Amamiya Ye's bragging.

"Then, congratulations." Shinohara Shiori said this in an unusually calm tone.

"..."

Amemiya Ye fell silent because of Shinohara Shiori's reaction.

Hmm... this young lady doesn't care at all.

Things that I once absolutely cared about, I no longer care about at all.

What kind of blow made Shiori Shinohara become like this?

While mumbling this in his mind, Amamiya Ye continued to speak.

"But recently, when I was with Mr. Hirakawa, I discovered that something might have happened to Mr. Hirakawa."

"Yeah." Shinohara Shiori responded indifferently.

There was no other way. In order to attract attention, Amamiya Ye decided to do something a little bit sorry to her teacher Hirakawa.

She had a serious face, with a hint of sadness on it.

"Because Mr. Hirakawa always gives me a strange feeling."

"I always feel that Mr. Hirakawa's time is running out."

"..."

Shinohara Shiori's expression finally changed. The kaiko in her hand stopped, and then she stared at Amamiya Ye and frowned slightly.

"What did you say?"

……

After school in the afternoon, in order to find out the real reason why Shinohara Shiori wanted to quit the club, Hirakawa Tetsufumi found the girl again.

"Student Shinohara."

In the corridor filled with afternoon sunshine, Shiori Shinohara, who had just walked out of the classroom door, stopped and looked at the teacher who was standing quietly waiting for her not far away.

He had a gentle smile that expressed friendliness.

"Let's talk about this some more, okay?"

"..."

……

Walk out of the shoe closet and into the autumn sunshine.

The green bushes on both sides of the campus walkways also shine in the sun.

"Teacher Hirakawa, I think I have made it very clear that I am no longer interested in staying in the wind band."

Today is Wednesday, and this is the third time that Tetsufumi Hirakawa has visited her this week.

Shinohara Shiori withdrew her gaze from the green plants, and then stared straight ahead without shifting her gaze, not looking at him at all.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa also followed the young lady's gaze and looked towards the empty space ahead.

"That's true, but I don't really agree with Shinohara-san's reason for quitting."

“Does the reason for withdrawal also need to be recognized?”

"Although it's not necessary normally, I still want to understand the real reason why Shinohara-san quit."

"why?"

"Because, Shinohara-san is a soloist and is very important to the wind orchestra. In fact, Mr. Ogasa also asked me to persuade Shinohara-san to stay in the wind orchestra."

"……Yeah?"

"Ah."

"..."

"..."

There was silence for a few steps, and then -

"Is that all the reasons?"

"..."

Shinohara Shiori suddenly turned her head and stared at him.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa was stunned for a moment by this slightly abrupt change.

"Uh... that's all."

"Ok."

Shinohara Shiori nodded in understanding.

"So, Mr. Hirakawa, do you really want to know why I want to quit the wind band?"

"Ah."

"I clearly said that I was disappointed with the wind band. Since I couldn't win the gold medal, there was no need for me to stay."

"I don't agree with this reason. I always feel that the Shinohara-san I know is not someone who would give up for such a reason."

Shinohara Shiori smiled slightly, with a sarcastic tone.

"Teacher Hirakawa, you seem to know me very well."

"..."

This sentence is difficult to answer.

He avoided Shinohara Shiori's sight.

"Really? I guess I understand..."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked a little embarrassed when he was dealing with it.

Then, as he spoke with a guilty conscience, Shinohara Shiori, who was looking at him, seemed to lose all interest.

In the bright light of the afternoon before dusk, she spoke coldly.

"If Mr. Hirakawa insists on not agreeing with what I said about being disappointed with the wind orchestra."

"Then I'll just say it straight."

"The real reason I want to quit is—"

"..."

Silent footsteps followed.

"I am disappointed in you, Mr. Hirakawa."