Chapter 97: Sensei
"Kaori, are you ready to go?"
"Yes, I'm ready!" I say as I dash down the stairs with my bag filled with music sheets.
"Be careful. What if you fall down the stairs? You could break an arm or foot, you know."
"Hehe. Sorry! Anyway, I have nothing to worry about. I'm sure you'll catch me when I fall." I say playfully.
Ai thinks for a while. "...Maybe."
"Eh?! How mean."
He chuckles.
*bark bark bark bark*
We were about to leave the house when Obi and Tabi suddenly came rushing towards us. Obi circles around my feet and then stands up on his hind legs, trying to reach for me; more like he's asking me to carry him up. Tabi on the other hand keeps jumping up to reach Ai's bag; he's picking on Ai again. Haha.
I pick up Obi and starts licking my cheek. "Obi! Stop! I have to go to work already. You be a good boy and guard the house, okay?" Obi snuggles a little and then behaves; that's his way of saying he understands. I put him down and he looks up at me with his smiling face.
Ai puts his bag down on the side table and picks up Tabi who looks at him with a smile upon being carried. "You be a good boy too, okay?" Tabi barks once at him. "It's good that we've come to an understanding." Tabi licks his face and starts wriggling in his arms. "Tabi, stop that." As usual, Tabi defies him and continues to do whatever he wants. Ai sighs. "When will you ever listen to me?"
I laugh at his defeated face.
He puts Tabi down who turns to me right after landing on the ground.
*bark bark*
I pick him up. "Good job on picking on Ai, Tabi. Good boy. Keep it up." I hug him for a while and put him down beside Obi.
"So you're the mastermind behind his troubling behavior." Ai says to me in a sulking voice.
"Hmmm...Nothing you can do about it though. Hehe."
He pinches my cheek before picking up his bag. "Let's go."
Tabi and Obi bark at us a little as we exit the door of our house.
A year has passed since Ai and I got married and I can say that a lot of things changed. First of all, we no longer live in the apartment. Instead, we built a two story house with our savings. We thought that it would be impractical to keep on paying rent for the rest of our lives so we decided to build a house; the rooms we have kind of remind me of the apartment though especially the work room. We also decided to get Obi and Tabi since they kept crying when I left Kyoto. Haha. Plus at least they'll be around as the guardians of the house when we're at work. Ai has become closer to them but Tabi has taken a liking to bullying him at times. Manager-san no longer brings me to work and back home due to his promotion in the agency; he is still my manager but he doesn't have a lot of time to always be with me like before. Because of Manager-san's promotion and Ai's concern for my safety when I ride in his car, Ai decided to get a driver's license and a car so now we go to work together just like today.
I get in our car and sit on the passenger's seat.
"Are you sure you didn't forget anything?" Ai asks as he buckles up and starts the car.
"Very sure! I can't afford to forget anything for the class I'll teach today. I have all the music sheets I need."
"You're not going to wear your glasses today? You were up late last night. Aren't your eyes tired or strained?"
"They're fine. Don't worry; my glasses are in my bag just in case."
"Okay. Try to rest your eyes when you have time or else your astigmatism will act up. Please wear your glasses when your eyes get tired. Your eyes won't be corrected if you don't wear your glasses from time to time."
"I will, dear. How about you, did you remember to bring an extra pair of clothes today? We have a performance class today."
"I brought extra clothes; I didn't forget this time."
He starts driving, going on our way to Saotome Academy.
Oh yeah that's right, Ai and I have become part-time teachers at Saotome Academy. We were kind of surprised when Saotome-sensei suddenly called us one day and asked us to teach at the academy. There was a shortage of teachers due to some of them taking a leave of absence due to having some big projects in the entertainment industry. We decided to take the job since we weren't heavy on projects at the time and we thought it would be a fun experience. Saotome-sensei assigned me to teach in the composer course while Ai would teach in the idol course. Then he made us teacher partners for a new subject they implemented in the academy—performance class. Basically, in performance class, the students do live performances in the practice rooms and our job as the teachers is to correct their mistakes and critique their dancing and singing. It's a tiring class because the teachers are very involved in the subject; we would dance and sing with the students to set as an example and teach them some techniques and moves for their performance to become better. I don't know for how long we'll be teaching at the academy since we don't know when the teachers would be able to come back. We'll just do our best until the end as usual.
The academy has changed too. Aside from the implementation of new subjects that help the students hone their talents, they now allow the students to debut as a group; this is probably due to the success of Starish and Quartet Night. One thing that hasn't changed though is the "no love" rule but I heard that Saotome-sensei has become a little lenient on this rule. Tsukimiya-sensei told me that Saotome-sensei would allow a relationship if the couple is able to pass a certain condition or test that he gives to them; it reminds me of our situation back then. If Ai didn't beat Saotome-sensei's record, we wouldn't have continued being together or maybe we would have by hiding it or perhaps we would have quit being idols just to be together; I wonder how our lives would have turned out.
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We arrive at the academy after a while. Every time we come here, it makes me recall the memories I made with everyone when we were still students of the academy; I can never forget this place that has changed my life forever. All the good and bad things that happened here helped shaped the "me" that exists today.
Sometimes I wonder what if Ai was a student too when I was still in the academy. Would we have met and become close or would we have been strangers to one another? Hmm, the only thing I can be sure of is that he would have looked good in the uniform. Haha.
Ai turns at a corner to enter the parking lot area.
"Kaori, I want a rematch later when we get home."
"Eh? You still can't get over the game?"
"I'll be honest, Ren and I were both surprised that we lost to you in the online tournament last night. Your level was lower than his and mine; it baffles us how you beat us."
"I guess I was just lucky?" I chuckle.
"Your luck then would have been above average for that to happen."
"I'll probably lose in a rematch."
"By the way, how are you feeling at the moment?"
"Thankfully, I feel alright."
"That's a relief. You've been feeling unwell in the morning lately. I was worrying that perhaps you were sick or maybe you ate something that was spoiled."
"I was a little worried too since I was feeling unwell for no definite reason but I've been feeling better for the past few days."
Ai parks at the faculty parking slot that was allotted for us. We then walk towards the campus building.
"See you later, Ai."
"Yes. Take care and don't push yourself too hard."
"You too."
"Don't let the students bully you too much, okay?"
"W-What?! They certainly do not bully me, Ai! They're all good students to me!"
"Really? Perhaps I should drop by some time and see."
"Don't! If you suddenly come to class, they'll all become uncontrollable! Spare me the trouble!"
He chuckles. "I'll see you later in the cafeteria for lunch."
"Yeah, see you."
He gives me a kiss before we part ways; his first class is at the other end of the building.
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I take a deep breath as I stand on front of the classroom door; I always feel nervous entering the classroom for some reason. I'm still not used to being a teacher. Haha.
I open the door and with the strength and happy vibes that I could muster up inside me, I greet my students with a genuine smile. "Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning, sensei!"
"Morning!"
"Sensei, you look pretty today as usual."
"Takeru-kun, stop hitting on Kisaragi-sensei! She's married for god's sake!"
"T-That wasn't my intention, Michiru!"
"Takeru-san is a pervert."
"Kaori-sensei, where did you get your dress? I want to buy one like that too!"
"Settle down, everyone! I have to take attendance first before we can start on our lesson for today."
Everyone is always so lively in the morning; I find it a bit difficult to match up to their energy at times. Seeing them work hard in class brings back so many memories. I can say though that a lot of them have potential to be great composers and based on Ai's stories about his class, the idols-to-be also have great potential. I certainly pray that they'll be able to shine as bright as or even brighter than us seniors one day.
Attendance taking finishes in a few minutes.
"So, did you guys do the homework I gave you last meeting?"
They all energetically say yes. I'm glad that they always accomplish the homework I give them; it shows that they are serious, determined, and interested in becoming a composer.
"Good! How about we listen to your work, Yamaguchi-san?"
"Yes, ma'am!" he stands up and goes over to the piano at the back of the classroom.
Checking their works always amazes me; they come up with such wonderful songs! Did Tsukimiya-sensei and Hyuuga-sensei feel like this when they were our teachers?
I tried showing them the old songs I composed back when I was still a student; I gave each one of them a music sheet. Seeing their reactions upon examining the notes and lyrics of my old songs was interesting. Some of them liked the songs, some of them felt that there were some parts that could have been done in a different way, and then there were some of them that didn't like some of the songs.
"I want to tell you guys something about composing. Composing music is not just putting notes together on a piece of paper. It is a form of art that lets you convey whatever is in here and here." I point at my head and then my heart as I speak. "You know how an artist puts a part of himself on the canvas or piece of paper that he or she is working? We composer do the exact same thing except we don't draw pictures or make sculptures; what we make is music out of notes. Thru music, we bring people to a different world where they will see and feel whatever it is that you're trying to say or to convey. Sure, you can just put notes that sound good together into one song if you want to but it will always lack something that you can just feel is missing once you hear it play in the air; it's going to have that little hole of emptiness inside and that's something we want to avoid at all costs. Music is supposed to be whole or complete. What covers the emptiness or that little hole in the song is the piece that comes from you; the heart of the song comes from you, the composer. How would one know if the song is sad, happy, reminiscent, or affectionate? That can only be shown by you."
I take a look at some of my old music sheets and after looking at them for a while, I look back at my students. "The Other Side of the Snow, Ephemeral, I.L.Y., Shining Heart, those songs couldn't have been made or finished and become popular if I didn't put a part of myself in them. In all my works, I pour a part of my heart into them and that part is something that no one in this entire world could ever copy or take away from me. I pray that in the succeeding works that you all will create would be made not only from your mind but from your heart as well. I hope that you'll all be brave enough to put a part of yourself out there for the world to discover. Let music become the voice and wings you've always wished for."
"Sensei, what if we can't? What if we can't convey whatever it is that we want to express?"
"Then, don't give up and try again. Don't let your failures stop you. Failures are just part of the journey and not the end. If you continue to do your best then for sure sooner or later you'll be able to express whatever you want and need."
After answering a few more questions from them, I begin the new lesson for the day. Everyone was into the lesson and that made me feel relieved; I thought that they would find it boring. I then gave them an activity wherein they have to compose a song that shares a similar feeling with the music sheet they got from me. They will then have to play the song by the end of the class for evaluation and of course so that everyone could hear and give their thoughts about it. We were all having so much fun that we didn't realize that we went over time! I had to go with the students to their next class to apologize to their next class' teacher for making them late. Haha, how embarrassing! It's a good thing the teacher was a kind one. If it was a strict type of teacher, I'll surely get lectured for a while!
I look at my watch as I walk down the hallway. I've still got some free time before my next class. What should I do? I don't want to have some snacks since it would be lunch time after my next class.
I then notice that I'm in the hallway where the practice rooms are. They're all empty at the moment since the students have lectures for the morning. I decide to go inside one of the practice rooms and feel a sense of nostalgia as I take my time looking around it. The piano, as usual, is very well maintained.
I open the piano and press a key.
It's very well in tune.
"Reeeeeminiscing wonderrrrrrrrful memories, Mrs. Kisaragiiiii?"
The familiar voice echoes in the practice room as confetti starts to shower down from the ceiling.
Where on earth did the confetti come from?! Where does he hide all these things?! I just can't understand where he gets and hides all his props! I really want to ask him but I'm sure he's not going to reveal his secret.
Saotome-sensei then comes in from an open window. "Sssssshhhhinnnnnnninnnggggg!"
He strikes a pose where light shoots out from behind him. He hasn't changed. Never will.
"It's been a while, Saotome-sensei."
"Yes! It has been indeed!"
"How are you, sensei? Have you been busy lately?"
"Yeeessss! Aside from the affairs of the academy, the agency has been quite busy. Our idols and composer have been doing very well! The agency is being flooded by several requests and projects."
"Really? I'm glad that everyone is doing well but then that means you have a lot of work in your hands, right? Do take care of your health; have a break from time to time."
He laughs. "Not to worry, my dear little spark! I have a capable assistant who is diligently and efficiently helping me at all times!"
"...Manager-san?"
"Corrrect! Mr. Kumagai has been helping me all this time! He's a very good assistant!"
Why do I get the feeling that instead of Manager-san helping Saotome-sensei, it's more like he's doing all of the work for him...I pray for your soul, Manager-san. May Lady Luck smile upon you.
"Ms. Kaori, how are you and your hubby doing these days?"
"Hmm, just minor problems here and there but overall we're doing very well. Thank you for your concern."
"I'm happy to hear that. You two really are such precious gems. Watching you both grow and advance successfully makes my heart feel ever so delighted. I have no regrets from the two of you."
Saotome-sensei...
"By the way, the pastries you sent me the other day were delicious, Ms. Kaori. I'd like to have some more when you have the time to bake again."
"I'm glad you liked them, Saotome-sensei! I'll surely send some again the next time I bake at home."
"I look forward to it then! It was also entertaining to see Mr. Kumagai cry while eating them!"
"Eh? Manager-san cried?"
"Hahahahaha! Such a doting manager! If he gets married in the future, he'll surely be just as protective and doting!"
We both laugh as we imagine Manager-san having a family.
"Ms. Kaori, don't you have a class to teach soon?"
"Ah!" I frantically look at my watch and see that I have a few minutes left before my class starts. "Wha! I lost track of time! I'm sorry Saotome-sensei; I'll have to be on my way now. The classroom is a bit far from here."
"Hahaha! Go on ahead and preach of music!"
"It was nice to be able to talk with you."
"I feel the same way. Say hello to Mr. Ai for me when you see him."
"I will!"
Saotome-sensei became a father-like figure for both me and Ai ever since we got together. Though we don't really get to talk or see each other often, he has always been looking after us from behind the scenes and often times he would use Manager-san as his little messenger or agent. We're grateful that he never stopped supporting us both in career and in our personal lives. We should invite him over at the house some time to have lunch or dinner.
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Holy gods, that class was so lively...too lively...I feel like my life force has been sucked out of me...I was definitely not prepared for their balls of energy! They made wonderful music in class though! That class has a lot of potential to produce great composers; I should hint Saotome-sensei about them. I'll have to make that class' homework harder next time. Pushing them a little will definitely help them hone their skills but of course I won't push them to a level where they'll struggle too much; I don't want them to kill themselves over too much pressure.
*ding dong ding dong*
Ah, the glorious sound of the afternoon bell. The magnificent sign that it's lunch time—the second best part of a school day next to dismissal time. Haha.
I do my best to make it to the canteen with only the delicious smell of food in the air guiding and motivating me to continue on.
*ring ring ring*
Hm? Who would be calling me at this time? I hope it's not one of the other teachers who'll ask me to assist them. Please let me enjoy lunch time! Pleaseee!
I take out my phone from my bag and see that the caller I.D. saying "Ai". I answer the call.
"Hello, Ai?"
"Kaori, I'm at a table near the left end of the cafeteria and I've already bought your food since the line was getting long."
"Oh! Thank you, Ai! I'll head over right away. I'm really hungry!"
He chuckles. "Okay."
As soon as I end the call, I start looking for him in the cafeteria.
"Ai!"
I rush over to him immediately after spotting him.
"Thank you for buying my food! You're a life saver!"
"I figured you'd be hungry by the time your class ends; you teach three classes in a row before the break."
"Yeah. How were your classes?"
"They were alright. They still need some more polishing on their singing but their current state is good enough."
We pray over our food before we start eating.
"Were they complaining about how strict you were again?"
"Yes, as usual."
"Haha. If only they knew that you were stricter in the past."
"They would not have lasted a month with me."
"Hehe. It's tough love from Ai-sensei. If you were my teacher when I was a student, I think I would have repeated your class."
"Why?"
"I wouldn't have been able to keep up with your lessons and strictness. I would have been definitely unprepared most of the time for your class. I'm also pretty sure that I would have gotten lectured by you a lot."
"I see. If you were my teacher, I think I would have repeated your class as well."
"Eh? No way. That's hard to believe. You would have probably been one of the best in class; a star student. As a teacher, I would have felt that you didn't really need me to teach you things."
"I think otherwise."
"Why's that?"
"I would have failed your class from losing focus. Instead of paying attention and studying, I would have been distracted by you. I could have gotten myself suspended or expelled for falling in love with my teacher and for courting her. All of my songs would have been all about you and nothing else; Saotome would definitely pick up my trail."
A-Ai...! That's kind of reckless of you! Hmm, maybe I would have been like that too if he was my teacher; he would have been a good looking teacher for sure. It's kind of embarrassing to imagine—me a student, he my teacher, and then we end up loving one another...that sounds like a story you'd find in a drama series or a book; a love between a teacher and a student.
"Kaori, now that I have a good look at your face, you look a little pale."
"I do? I'm probably just hungry."
Ai thinks for a while. "We'll just go home after work, okay?"
"Weren't we supposed to go to the grocery today?"
"I'll just go by myself in the evening."
"But I want to go with you." I become a little sad.
"Sigh. How about we go together after work but you can't carry anything heavy so that you won't tire yourself."
"Okay!" A smile returns on my face.
"You're unfair when you make that face, Kaori."
"You're unfair too every time you give me your sulking expression! You definitely know that I can't say no to that so this makes us even! Oh yeah, speaking of Saotome-sensei, I met him a while ago. He says hello."
"He's in the campus? Isn't he supposed to be taking care of the business back at the agency? I heard it's been flooding with projects."
"Ha...ha...about that, it seems that his assistant is doing most of the work."
"Assistant? Do you mean Manager-san?"
"The one and only."
"That's typical of Saotome." he says as he eats a spoonful of pudding.
"Hey! That's my pudding!"
"You let your defense down and created a tempting opening for the opposing force."
"Then I'll have to retaliate!"
I swiftly take a piece of his meat.
"That's not fair. I took just a spoonful of your pudding while you took one whole piece of my meat. You should have attacked my dessert."
"In war, nothing is fair!"
"I guess you're right." He then quickly takes the strawberry on top of my cake slice.
In shock, I just sat there as I watch him eat it. That was...cruel...
We continue to talk and laugh as we enjoy our lunch together; the food stealing didn't stop until the end though. While thinking about the things that Ai has observed about me, a little thought enters my mind. What if I'm actually...
...
It certainly is a possibility but I think I'll give it another week before checking. It could just be the weather or something affecting me but if these things continue to show next week, I think I should stop by the drug store and see if my hunch is right.