...
Saiki glanced over. Shiina Mahiru was sitting right next to him with her face buried in a Doraemon pillow. Even though she had her face completely buried, he could still see that her ears were bright red.
Saiki calmly took a sip of tea.
[Shiina-san, can you even breathe like that? Look, your face is all flushed.]
Shiina Mahiru slowly pulled the pillow away just enough to reveal her eyes. When she saw Saiki looking at her, she quickly buried her face again.
"I... I'm fine."
Shiina Mahiru was still a bit nervous. She had just blurted out a whole bunch of stuff earlier [My face is red not because I can't breathe with my face buried in the plushie... okay, maybe a little.]
(Of course I know. I'm just worried you'll pass out from lack of air.)
(These people really love jumping to conclusions, huh? I've figured it out. Explaining only makes them imagine even more. Better not to explain at all and just let them keep speculating on their own.)
"Ding!!"
Saiki's phone vibrated. Someone had sent him a message.
Saiki opened it. It was from Doma Umaru:
"Saiki-sensei, it's such a shame we couldn't play properly today. You said you'd make it up to me next time, so let's decide on tomorrow! I'll come find you after school tomorrow. Don't run away, okay!"
Saiki scratched his head.
(Yare yare daze. Looks like things on Umaru's side are sorted out too. Tomorrow works, I guess!)
Saiki typed with one hand and sent the reply in 0.2 seconds:
"Oh."
"Ding!!"
A message came back right away, complete with kaomoji:
"ʘᴗʘ Okay, it's a deal then! So what kind of games do you like? I have shooting games, action games, co-op games, puzzle games..."
...
Saiki skimmed through Umaru's long list of game recommendations, picked a few at random, then closed his phone.
He looked at Shiina Mahiru, who was still in the same position with her face buried in the plushie. He reached over and patted the pillow.
[Shiina-san, you haven't passed out, have you? You okay? It's getting really late now.]
"Mm~"
Shiina Mahiru poked her head out. Her voice sounded a little drowsy [I almost fell asleep.]
Shiina Mahiru glanced at the time—it was almost ten—and quickly stood up: "It's so late. I'll head back now, Saiki-kun."
[Oh, sure. Good night.]
"Good night!"
...
The next day, Saiki was sitting in the classroom, stretching lazily.
(Yare yare daze. For some reason, stretching in the classroom feels the best when no one's bothering you.)
Hiratsuka Shizuka knocked on the doorframe from the hallway and called into the classroom: "Saiki-kun, come with me to the office for a moment."
Hiratsuka Shizuka's picture →
Saiki: ...
Yoshii Akihisa walked over, pinching his chin, and asked:
"What's up, Saiki? Hiratsuka-sensei suddenly calling you to the office? Did you do something bad? Don't tell me..."
[No. I don't know what you're imagining, but it's definitely not anything good.]
Sakamoto Yuuji put his feet up on the desk and crossed his legs: "Akihisa! If Saiki's being called to the office, what else could it be? It's obviously something school-related."
Tsuchiya Kouta suddenly poked his head up slowly from in front of Saiki's desk, holding a camera: "Could it be that Saiki has some kind of dirt on him that got found out?"
[Don't just pop up from places like that. What kind of dirt could I possibly have?]
Yoshii Akihisa seemed to realize something. He clenched his fist and said: "I get it now, Saiki. You're just like me. You brought some adult toy to play with during class and got caught, right? I totally understand. I got busted by the Iron Maiden once too."
[Don't go analyzing me on your own.]
The class erupted into murmurs. All sorts of voices started overlapping.
"Did Saiki do something bad?"
"Hiratsuka-sensei called Saiki to the office. Could it be that she wants Saiki to..."
"What are you even thinking? Sure, Hiratsuka-sensei doesn't have a boyfriend, but she's not that desperate."
"Ah, I wasn't thinking anything like that! I thought maybe she wanted Saiki to help grade papers. What were you thinking?"
"Oh... hahaha, right. I thought you were about to say Hiratsuka-sensei wants everyone to help her grade papers or something."
(Yare yare daze. All she did was suddenly call me to the office. Why is it causing this big of a commotion?)
...Five minutes later, Saiki was sitting in the office, his fingers flying across the pages as he corrected homework.
"…"
[You actually called me here just to help you grade homework.]
Hiratsuka Shizuka sat calmly beside him, smoking a cigarette: "You knew from the start, didn't you, kid?"
Saiki smelled the smoke.
[Isn't smoking not allowed here?]
Hiratsuka Shizuka raised an eyebrow: "What, you trying to tell me how to do my job now?"
(What kind of teacher is this?)
The other teachers around them watched the scene completely unfazed. Some glanced over briefly and went back to work, others sipped tea, looking like they were just enjoying the show. This seemed to be completely normal for them.
Saiki glanced at Hiratsuka Shizuka.
(That's exactly why she can't get married.)
Hiratsuka Shizuka caught his look and suddenly raised her voice: "What did you just say, you little punk?"
Saiki startled.
[I didn't say anything.]
Hiratsuka Shizuka put a hand on her shoulder and snorted coldly: "Even if you didn't say it out loud, I bet you were thinking in your head that the reason I can't get a boyfriend and stay single is because of stuff like this, right?"
(Can you actually read my mind?)
"Let me make this clear upfront: I can't hear what's in your head. I can just tell from that look on your face."
Saiki stopped talking and put down his pen.
"Hey, what are you doing? Keep grading!"
Saiki said calmly:
[I'm done. Can I go back now?]
"No way, seriously?!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka picked up one stack of homework, then another, flipping through them: "Oh, you really are finished. You're a genius, kid!"
[So can I leave now?]
Hiratsuka Shizuka waved him over: "Hold on, come here, come here. Let's chat with your teacher for a bit."
[What is there to chat about? Don't tell me there's something else you want me to do.]
Saiki still walked over and sat down in the chair next to her.
Hiratsuka Shizuka took out a teapot, poured a cup for Saiki, then poured one for herself.
"Ahem. I just wanted to talk about how you're doing at school. You've been here for over a month now. I was thinking if you still weren't used to things, your teacher could give you some guidance. But it looks like you've got plenty of girls around you already..."
Saiki took a sip of tea.
[I don't know what you're talking about.]
"Bam!!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka slammed both hands on the desk: "Don't play dumb! Whether it's Shikimori-san or Kubo-san, you get along great with them. And that so-called neighbor of yours, Shiina-san—I even called her and talked to her. You seem to treat her pretty well too. You're living the dream, kid."
[We're just normal friends and classmates.]
"Tch, I don't buy it. Even though your parents asked me to look after you at school, it seems like I don't need to at all anymore..."
Saiki pursed his lips.
(You never looked after me in the first place.)
"What did you say!!"
Saiki jumped.
[Are you an esper too, Hiratsuka-sensei?]
Hiratsuka Shizuka chuckled: "That little expression of yours. You're definitely thinking something rude again."
Saiki: ...