Episode 24 — “Listening to Bob Dylan” (Part 4)

Yasuhiro’s homeroom teacher was a woman named Takamori.

She taught Japanese, but her way of thinking was as logical and methodical as a mathematician’s.

Afterward, Yasuhiro was taken to the teachers’ room, while Tsukiyama and Watanabe were taken to the nurse’s office.

“If you weren’t a minor, you’d be going to prison.”

Someone called out those words as Yasuhiro walked down the hallway.

(This is bad. How did things turn into this?)

He felt as though he had learned firsthand how something that began with a momentary lapse of judgment could grow into something serious.

He even found himself thinking, in despair, that perhaps wars began from things just as trivial as this.

...

After receiving a brief scolding in the teachers’ room, Ms. Takamori told him to wait and went to the nurse’s office.

Left alone, Yasuhiro stood miserably beside her desk.

At the desk next to him, Mr. Yamagishi, the homeroom teacher of another class, was typing something intently into his computer.

Yamagishi was a social studies teacher in his thirties.

Every now and then he glanced at Yasuhiro, but perhaps sensing that something serious had happened, he said nothing unnecessary.

After a while, he suddenly got up, went to the corner of the teachers’ room, and brought back a folding chair.

“Ms. Takamori’s going to be a while. Sit down and wait.”

He unfolded the chair for Yasuhiro in a gruff voice.

“Sensei, if you take my side, you’re going to get dragged into this too.”

Yamagishi burst out laughing.

“Huh? What did you do? Don’t make me laugh.”

Then, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, he told him not to take things too seriously.

“So, did you sit down?”

The Master couldn’t help interrupting.

“No, I didn’t. You keep interrupting me.”

“Sorry. You were taking forever to get to the point, so I couldn't help myself.”

“Come on. It’s hard enough trying to put this story together. Stop interrupting me.”

Yasuhiro somehow managed to pull himself together again.

...

When Takamori returned, she had a complicated expression on her face.

She dropped heavily into her chair and told Yasuhiro to sit as well, turning the back of the folding chair toward herself.

“...Were you the one who hit them first?”

“...”

“Is that right?”

“Well... everyone says I was, so I guess I was.”

“I’m not asking what everyone says. What do you think?”

“I...”

Yasuhiro explained everything that had happened from beginning to end.

Beside him, even Yamagishi had stopped working and was listening intently.

When Yasuhiro finished, Takamori sighed slightly.

“It’s the same story I heard from the other two.”

“What?”

“Well, that’s good.”

Yamagishi suddenly spoke up.

“Mr. Yamagishi!”

Takamori turned toward him with a reproachful voice.

“Oh. Sorry.”

He turned his face back toward his computer.

“Watanabe and Tsukiyama told me more or less the same story.”

Takamori repeated herself.

“Neither of them blamed you.”

“Really...? That’s good.”

“No, it isn’t! Why did you hit them? No matter what the reason was, don’t you understand that violence is wrong?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Why are you saying that to me? Shouldn’t you be saying it to the person you hurt?”

“...”

“Yasuhiro... You’re especially big, which means you’re stronger than most people. You have to control your strength. You understand that, don’t you?”

“...Yes.”

“And there’s one more thing... This is something I really don’t want to tell you.”

Takamori let out a long sigh.

“There’s a large bruise on Tsukiyama’s face.”

“What?”

“You say you didn’t mean to do it, but it was bad enough that even I was shocked.”

“...”

A cold sensation ran down Yasuhiro’s spine.