Episode 24 — “Listening to Bob Dylan” (Part 2)

Yasuhiro finished everything in no time and leaned back in his chair, looking satisfied.

“Hey, Yasuhiro. Coffee-shop chairs are built to be sturdy, but they’re also designed with care. I’d like to think you can see that just by looking at them. Every coffee shop is the same. The owner puts a lot of thought into these things. Understand?”

“I understand.”

“No, you don’t. Someone as big as you just casually leaning back like that could break it.”

“Oh. I see.”

“You see... You’ve got to think about things, you know. Understand?”

“I understand.”

(No, you don’t.)

The Master watched the restless boy and thought that perhaps he needed to start with teaching the kid a few manners before worrying about anything else.

“Now that you’ve eaten, go home. Your mother’s worried about you.”

“She’s not. I told her I was coming here.”

“You said you had a fight with your mother and left home.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh?”

(I don’t like the phrase “kids these days”... but still...)

With a wry smile, the Master poured Yasuhiro a cup of coffee.

“Drink that and go home.”

Yasuhiro suddenly looked unusually serious. He took a sip of coffee and said,

“Master, can I tell you something?”

“What’s with that serious face? It really doesn’t suit you.”

“Don’t make fun of me, Master!”

“I’m not making fun of you.”

“Today...”

What Yasuhiro told him next somehow struck the Master deep in the chest.

“It happened a little while ago...”

Yasuhiro began speaking with a solemn expression that seemed strangely out of place on him.

...

About three months earlier, one day, I went to school as usual.

It was my turn to clean the classroom, so after the final homeroom I was sweeping the floor with a broom.

Then my good friend Watanabe started fooling around with me.

“Hey, cut it out.”

At first, we were just messing around, laughing and poking each other with our brooms.

Normally, I would have gone all out fooling around with Watanabe, but this time I also felt like I should tell him to stop.

“Hey, seriously, cut it out.”

I think I said something like that.

...

I don’t think he did it on purpose, but the broom Watanabe swung hit Yasuhiro hard right on the top of the head.

People say you see sparks when you get hit in the head.

For a split second, Yasuhiro actually thought, So that’s what they mean.

“Hey, Yasuhiro. You really are an idiot. You okay?”

“Master, don’t interrupt me.”

“I don’t know. Your story is kind of stupid.”

“...Hmm.”

Yasuhiro took another sip of coffee, made a bitter face, and continued.