Chapter 1: Chabashira Sae’s Soliloquy

Chapter 1: Chabashira Sae’s Soliloquy

Chapter 1:

Chabashira Sae’s Soliloquy

S INCE I’VE BECOME a teacher, I— …Well, actually, no, since before I became a teacher, I’ve carried this distressing anguish that I cannot share with anyone. A recurring nightmare. The events of a day that I can never, ever forget are repeated in my dreams. The nightmare unfolds in a different way every time. Sometimes I see it from my own point of view, and sometimes it’s from someone else’s. At times, the words said and the course of events differ. But there’s one thing that each iteration has in common, one thing which always stays the same.

No matter how many times I have this nightmare, the conclusion is always the same.

At that time, there was nothing that those of us in Class B feared. Our momentum overwhelmed the other classes, and we’d gotten so close to Class A that they were within our reach, if we just gave a little push. Of course, it wasn’t like getting there had been smooth sailing the whole way. By the time we became third-year students, six of our classmates were gone.

Nevertheless, no one had been expelled that year by that point in our third year, and we were steadily accumulating Class Points. I believed that we could graduate from Class A without losing anyone else. Until that day, that is. Until that very moment.

The end of the third semester. The time when our graduation examinations, our last chance to turn things around, were approaching. Our homeroom instructor appeared before us with a grim expression and told us about a new special exam. At first, we felt like there was nothing to fear whatsoever about it. The rules were plain and simple, and we had no doubt that we’d be able to pass without any difficulties. Looking straight ahead, we sincerely believed that.

We were in such high spirits until we were presented with a certain issue.

Then, the scene changes in the dream, and I’m screaming in class. Chie, my best friend, rushes toward me with an angry look on her face. She grabs me by the collar. Total pandemonium. Our class, which had been united, falls apart in an instant.

“It’s fine,” he mutters in resignation, a look of understanding on his face. But I can’t decide. There was no way I could’ve been prepared for this. He had been with me through three years of joys and sorrows, and his presence was by no means insignificant to me. An irreplaceable classmate, an irreplaceable friend.

An irreplaceable…special someone, of the opposite sex. He could get a little carried away too easily, but he was honest, kind, and more dependable than anyone else. He showed me an expression that he had never shown me before. That time when he reached out his hand to me under the evening sky, somewhat shyly. I said just one thing to him as I held back the tears that were about to start spilling.

“Thank you…”

Our relationship’s beginning and end came at the exact same time.