āFirst of all, I would like to talk about the result of the recent examā¦ Well, I actually donāt have much to say. Your son managed not only to get to the top of the class, but also the top of the grade. If he keeps this up, he should be able to get into the university of his choice.ā
āOh my, thatās amazing. Good job, Maki, Iām proud of you.ā
āWellā¦ I didnāt join any club, so I have to focus on studying to make up for itā¦ā
Although my words implied that I didnāt think it was a big deal, inside, I was extremely happy. I managed to get the first rank in my class and even got to the top ten of the grade.
Everything was thanks to Umi, who had been keeping a watch on my studies. Yes, I spent most of my time teaching Amami-san and the others, but I didnāt neglect my studies at all. I asked Umi and other people who had better grades than me like Nakamura-san to help me study. And now, all those efforts bore fruit, the kindness of those people didnāt go to waste.
āAlso, personally, I see no problem with the career path form that he submitted. While his first choice, K University, is a national university and an overall difficult one to get into, he still has one whole year to prepare himselfā¦ Itās just, I believe the university is a little too far to commute from home, isnāt it? Can I have your opinion regarding this, Maehara-san?ā
āSeeing that he has a strong desire to go there, I can only respect his wishesā¦ Iāve put this child into a lot of hardships in the past, and I believe that heās free to use his money for whatever he likes.ā
My father left me enough money to pay for the university tuition, but I still needed to work to get by. Tuition wasnāt the only thing I should be concerned about, there were other necessities too, like textbooks and living expenses in general.
Also, my mom said that she had put me into a lot of hardships, but that wasnāt true at all. It was because of her that I was able to live without any inconveniences like this. That was why I had been thinking of lightening her burden in the future.
I had thought about getting a part-time job, but at this point, it was a little difficult to do that. That was why I decided to raise my grades as much as possible instead.
āBy the way, can I ask you what kind of job you want to do in the future, Maehara-kun? Your answer on the form was a vague one.ā
āWellā¦ I donāt have any clear thoughts about it yet, but I figured that I should think about it after I go to the university. I heard that K University graduates have good track records to land decent and stable jobs, and thatās due to the universityās strenuous efforts to help their students in that regardā¦ā
āOh my, youāre more talkative than usual, Maki. Have you thought of that answer in advance?ā
āā¦Mom, please.ā
In preparation for the interview itself, Iāve written down some safe answers. The only thing that mattered on that form was my first choice of university, since I planned to go there with Umi.
Aside from that, I really had no job or university that I wanted to go to.
As long as I could get some money and spend my days happily with Umi, I really couldnāt care less about what kind of job Iād get.
When you think about it, youād come to think that being a civil servant would suit me. But, from what Iāve seen with Hayato-san, Amami-sanās father, who was a civil servant, it seemed like the job was busier than youād imagineā¦ Well, I hadnāt asked Amami-san about the details of his fatherās job, I probably should do it when I got the chance.
āThat means itās still undecided for now. In any case, if at any point while youāre still in school, your view of the matter has changed, Maehara-kun, please feel free to consult with me. After all, there might be better universities that could help you land on the specific jobs you want.ā
āIf itās my son, I believe that he doesnāt mind with anything as long as he could spend the rest of his life with Umi-chan.ā
āM-Mom!ā
Relieved by Senseiās reassurance that there was nothing wrong with my career choice, my momās expression had considerably relaxed. She could even throw those kinds of unnecessary jokes now.
Yagisawa-sensei was our Homeroom Teacher last year, so she had a rough guess about my relationship with Umi. That was why she only let out a wry smile when she heard my momās words.
ā¦See, this was why I wasnāt looking forward to this interview. Canāt it be over already? Or at least, canāt I just run away?
After that, the topic of the conversation moved on towards my attitude at school. This session was a brief one. Amami-sanās interview took a long time, but mine barely even took half of the scheduled time. Even Yagisawa-sensei had a relieved look on her face when she looked at her watch.
ā¦By the way, she did leave me a note, saying that I should interact with other boys more. I was making progress in that part, mind you, but I didnāt say anything to her and just let out a wry smile.
Well, I understood where she was coming from. The school trip is coming up soon, so it would be better if I were to get some friends of the same gender as me. Other than Nozomu, who was in a different class, and Takizawa-kun, who was a year before me, I didnāt know anyone else. My classmates were too reserved around me, mostly because the people I normally interacted with; Amami-san, Arae-san and Nakamura-san, were such big shotsā¦ Well, whatever, Iāll cross that bridge when I get there.
āThen, it feels a bit rushed, but that should be the end of the interview. Maehara-san, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come all the way here.ā
āNo, no. I can see that even though youāre still young, you do take good care of your students, Yagisawa-sensei. Maki, donāt give her too much trouble, okay? And, stop playing around with girls too much.ā
āI get it, I get it. Also, it isnāt like Iām close with girls on purposeā¦ Well, Iāll do my best in that regard.ā
Until the time we left the classroom, the atmosphere was peaceful. Maybe it was because I had attained freedom, but the air outside felt fresher than usual.
Alright, now that I was done with my interview, all I needed to do was to wait for Umiās and go homeā¦ Or so I thought. For some reason, the atmosphere turned a little strange.
āAh, welcome back, Makiā¦ How did it go?ā
āNothing noteworthy happenedā¦ That aside, is something the matter?ā
When I left the classroom with my mom, the first thing that I saw was Sora-san and Eri-san running around in panic.
Then, there was Umi, who was waiting for me. But, there was one person missing from the group.
Amami-san.
āJeez, that girl, suddenly yelling like thatā¦ Sorry, Sora-san, itās almost time for Umi-chanās interview, yet you had to help me look for herā¦ā
āNo, itās fine, Iām worried about Yuu-chan tooā¦ Umi, how long is it until your interview starts?ā
āIf we follow the schedule, around five minutesā¦ Maki, sorry for asking you this out of sudden, but can you help look for Yuu? She was talking with Eri-Obaa-san, but she suddenly ran off somewhere.ā
Her bag was still here, so she most likely hadnāt left school yet.
While I didnāt know the details of what happened, I couldnāt just leave her on her own, I guess.
At that moment, the Homeroom Teacher of class 11 came out of the class and called out to Umi. It was time for Umiās interview to start.
āLetās go mom. Weāll leave everything to Maki and Nina for the time being. Please donāt make any complaints during the interview so that itāll end quicker.ā
āOkay, okay. Eri-san, Iām sorry, itās timeā¦ Maki-kun, weāll join you as soon as weāre done.ā
āUnderstood.ā
Since Nitta-san should be free by now, if we were to ask her help, it shouldnāt take long for us to find Amami-san.
āā¦Everyone is depending on you, huh, Maki?ā
āWell, Iām the only one who can move in our group and I canāt just not help Eri-san, can I? You also have to go back to work after this, Mom. So, donāt worry about this and do your best at work.ā
āOkay. But, Maki, donāt push yourself.ā
āI knowā¦ See you, Mom.ā
After parting ways with my mom, who had to go back to her work, I went to look for Amami-san. I told Eri-san to wait in front of the classroom and promised her that Nitta-san and I would bring Amami-san back after calming her down a little.
ā¦Well, I hadnāt told Nitta-san about this, but I doubt that sheād refuse to help in this kind of situation.
Anyway, time to look for Amami-san.