I am a teacher at a girls' school in Tokyo

Page 274

The footsteps sounded and went away, but soon returned.

"Right... after thinking about it, I decided to make things clear in the end."

"Regarding what happened before, between me and Shinohara-san..."

"It is absolutely impossible for teachers and students to have conflicts. I will not change my mind."

"But there is no doubt that as an adult and a teacher, I failed to make the right choice in time and failed to successfully refuse. This is obviously my fault."

"That was especially true when he left without saying goodbye afterwards."

"Shinohara... No, Shiori, please allow me to call you that for the last time. I'm sorry. Although apologies are useless, the fault is definitely mine. I'm sorry."

"But, if there is anything you can't solve in the future, please feel free to come to me."

"I will do my best to help you solve it. This is my promise to you."

"That's all I wanted to say. Goodbye this time, Shinohara-san."

"Goodbye."

"..."

Under the autumn sky, in the dim light, the voice of a teacher named Tetsufumi Hirakawa, echoing in the autumn wind, lingered for a long time.

Only Shinohara Shiori was left standing alone at the door.

……

Shinohara Shiori had already forgotten how she returned to her room and how she arrived the next day.

After arriving at the school, Teacher Ogasa found her and happily welcomed her back to the wind orchestra.

Afterwards, in an atmosphere of both joy and farewell, the farewell party for the wind orchestra ended.

The third-year student retired from the wind orchestra.

And...Teacher Hirakawa.

It was not Hirakawa himself who informed them of Mr. Hirakawa's resignation, but Mr. Ogasa who relayed the news on his behalf.

As for the rest, Shinohara Shiori didn't have the energy to pay attention to other people's reactions.

She only remembered that after the farewell party, she walked out of the concert hall and returned to the classroom of Class 2-A.

Halfway through the journey, Amemiya Ye with red eyes found her.

She couldn't remember what she said, but she was pulled back to the classroom by Amamiya Ye.

When she stood at the door, she could feel the sad atmosphere of parting coming from the classroom.

Several sentimental girls have already burst into tears.

As for why...

You can see it as soon as you walk into the classroom.

On the blackboard that was decorated with various school festival decorations, there were two lines of small words in the empty space covered with various graffiti.

The Chinese teacher wrote in beautiful handwriting, stroke by stroke:

"I am very happy to be your teacher, but I am very sorry to inform you of this: I will be leaving my job for various reasons and will no longer be your teacher. I am sorry."

"——Pingchuan, who is afraid of saying goodbye in person, stay."

This was the last message left by Tetsufumi Hirakawa before he left.

Chapter 251 The End of a Teaching Career and the Beginning of Wakuta

Shinohara Shiori was wearing pajamas and sitting at the desk.

The autumn morning sunlight poured in through the window, passing through the thin pajamas, revealing the girl's body under the transparent pajamas.

However, in the bedroom where no one was around, this was not worth paying attention to. Shinohara Shiori focused her eyes on the book on the table.

She reached out, opened the book, flipped through several pages, and found the content.

What it says is:

[…On the day she went to Thomas’s house, she had a novel under her arm. At the beginning of the novel, Anna and Vronsky met in a very strange way. They met on a train platform, where a man had just been killed under a train. At the end of the novel, Anna was lying under a train.]

[This symmetrical layout, with the same plot at the beginning and the end, may seem very "novelistic". Yes, I admit it, but the only condition is that this novelistic feeling does not mean "fictional", "fabricated", or "not at all like life" to you. Because this is what life is made of. ]

【Life is like composing a piece of music. Under the guidance of aesthetics, people turn accidental events into a theme and then record it in the music of life. Just like a composer composing the main melody of a sonata, the theme of life also recurs, repeats, amends, and extends.】

Anna could have ended her life in any number of ways, but the unforgettable theme of the station, death, and the beginning of love combined to seduce her with its bleak beauty at the moment of her despair.

[People compose the music of life according to the laws of beauty until the moment of deep despair comes, but they know nothing about it.]

……

Tetsufumi Hirakawa closed the book.

He sat at his desk, which received and reflected the early autumn sunlight from the window. The sunlight reflected the title of the book on the brown cover into his eyes.

The unbearable lightness of being.

He stared at it without saying a word, and finally, he stood up silently and put the book aside.

In this light, perhaps his final visit to Shinohara Shiori's home was also guided by this sense of beauty from fate.

The beginning and the end, symmetrical distribution, the same thing happened. However, the reason for the action has secretly changed.

The process from "teaching students well is a teacher's duty" to "no longer suitable to be a teacher" is really...

It makes people feel emotional.

Wearing only a coat and pajamas, Tetsufumi Hirakawa walked out of the study and went downstairs.

Today is November 11th, Saturday, the first day of the end of my teaching career. I’m still a little uncomfortable with it.

It's obviously a day off. In the past, I should be lying in bed and relaxing.

However, today, after waking up and looking at the empty ceiling, I felt like something was missing.

But take it slow, you'll get used to it.

……

"Ding Dong."

After washing up and having breakfast, Tetsufumi Hirakawa, who was sitting on the sofa flipping through a book, felt empty and idle when he heard the doorbell.

"coming."

He put the book down, walked to the door and opened it.

As for who is coming...it can't be anyone else except Hisata.

"Good morning, Mr. Hirakawa."

A gentle greeting came with the bright sunshine as the door opened.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi looked at Hisada Masaki, and was infected by her smile and unconsciously smiled as well.

"Kusada-sensei...I'm not a teacher anymore."

Then, he stepped back to make room while correcting the other party's statement.

"Eh……"

Hisada Masuki, who walked in, looked a little confused and troubled for a moment because of his correction.

"This... I'm used to it."

"Well, it's time to change it."

"What to change it to?"

Hisada Moki changed into slippers and stood up, her fingers still tangled in her hair.

"Well, what do you think, Mr. Hisata?" asked Tetsufumi Hirakawa.

"Hirakawa-san?" Hisada Maki asked, tilting her head slightly.

"..."

"Still, Hirakawa-kun?"

"..."

"If not, Hirakawa-chan?"

"……OK OK."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked helplessly at the young female teacher who seemed to be smiling, and sighed.

He cunningly avoided the answer he wanted.

Considering the relationship between the two of them, and the agreement that they both knew, they should call each other by their names now.

"Teacher Hisata, you can't pretend you don't know."

"I'm not pretending not to know. Obviously, Mr. Pingchuan... obviously you didn't change it either."

"..."

"Right?" This time it was Hisada Masu who began to examine him.

"This..." Hirakawa Tetsufumi opened his mouth, but the name was stuck in his throat, making him look a little awkward.

"…It doesn't seem easy to change it all at once."

"exactly."

After all, I have been used to calling him "Kusada Teacher" and "Kusada Teacher" for so long. It would be a bit uncomfortable to change it to "Moshu".

but……

As a first step, this is a necessary change.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa made up his mind.

He looked at Hisada Masuki again. The young teacher was still responding to his gaze, waiting.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa opened his mouth.

In the quiet atmosphere filled with ambiguity, the name that represented the change in their relationship was slowly brewing in his throat.

Finally, a tiny, unclear syllable was uttered first, forming——

"——Teacher Hisada."

Such a name was uttered.

Hisada Masu suddenly burst out laughing.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi looked away awkwardly.

"This is indeed a little hard to change. I'm completely used to it."