Theme #2: Rainbows and Butterflies

Chapter 7: Good Luck, Sensei!

Monday morning came early in Kappabashi and before long; the daily flow of people moving in and out of the city could be seen as they headed towards their jobs. There seemed to be a somber mood in the air, mostly due to enjoying two days off and then having to face yet another daily grind of monotonous work. For Adam, the day couldn’t have come any faster. He was slightly embarrassed to find that he was actually excited to be back in the familiar grounds of Morimoto Elementary. He parked his motorbike beside Fujiwara sensei’s white Mazda, smiling softly to himself as he remembered that the portly man had mentioned something about going to Okinawa for the break. He wondered how Fujiwara looked now – probably baked and well tanned from his exposure to the sun.

“Adam sensei!” Someone greeted with much enthusiasm causing him to turn around in surprise. He blinked and then blinked again, wondering if he was seeing things.

“Sakura…” he began slowly, still staring at the all too noticeable bulge beneath her flower print dress. He got off his bike and bowed politely to the grinning woman, who in her mid-twenties looked radiant and very pregnant. He wasn’t even aware she had been that way before school let out two months ago.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said with a grin as she slid an arm around his to lead them towards the building. “I was pregnant back then but it wasn’t noticeable of course. I’m so happy. Kei and I are going to have to find a new house to move to. The apartment isn’t going to cut it anymore.”

Adam listened to her talk, not sure he would have had anything to say anyway. He was genuinely happy for the young teacher. She was still ‘new’ – having joined the staff only the last school year, but she was well loved and admired by her peers and students. She was fun loving and quite good at arithmetic – her subject of choice. It seemed to come naturally to her.

As they walked beneath the archway which led into the main school grounds, both had to smile at the large printed banner with a colorful rainbow and the words ‘Welcome Back, Students!’ blazoned across it. It seemed like Principal Hanada was still as creative as ever. He never ceased to amaze his staff and students with new and exciting ideas. This summer program was a part of it as well. He had fought tooth and nail to get the parents to agree to this. It was not going to be a cram school of sorts, but rather a way for enjoying studying again without the pressures of knowing that they were considered sub par during the tedious school year.

The familiar smell of chalk, freshly polished desks and lockers assailed Adam’s senses as they walked into the building. He had always loved being in school and couldn’t really see himself in any other profession. Well, besides still wanting to be a fighter jet pilot…

“I heard we’ve got three new substitute teachers for the term,” Sakura was saying.

“Any idea who they are?” he asked, holding open the door to the teacher’s lounge for her to walk through first.

“No, but I hear that they are some foreigners.” She laughed softly, waving at several teachers who hailed in greeting and then proceeded to gasp in surprise at her pregnant state.

Adam released himself from her grasp gently, managing a smile to the other teachers who greeted him as well. He walked to his desk and sat down heavily, a part of him still trying to dispel the slight worry churning in the pit of his stomach. It really was silly to be thinking like this. So yes, Sakura had said ‘foreigner’ but that didn’t mean it had to be that woman, did it? Aurora was definitely not the teaching type and he couldn’t for the life of him imagine her even in a classroom. She belonged to some fancy ballroom or draped around the arm of a rich man being his mistress, not a teacher to students in an elementary school out in the middle of nowhere.

“No…just my imagination,” he muttered only to wince as he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He lifted his gaze to meet the smiling dark eyes of Fujiwara-sensei.

“Good grief…Fujiwara-sensei! You’re…you’re…”

“Skinny?!” The man laughed again, earning several looks in his direction. “I told you I was going to come back a changed man. Look at me, Hayakawa-sensei!”

To prove his point, he flexed an arm, revealing well-toned muscles beneath the shirt he wore. He wasn’t particularly slender but considering how heavy he had been two months ago, the transformation was amazing. Adam could actually see someone behind Fujiwara now. It was literally impossible the last time. Not only had he lost weight, Fujiwara seemed to have spent most of his time in the sun as well. His once pale and almost pasty flesh had taken on a golden hue that looked quite good on him. His hair was just about the only thing that remained untouched. It was still as short and greasy as ever.

“Don’t mind him,” Furada-sensei, the gym teacher, said from his desk. “He’s been showing off since he got here this morning. You’d think he has won the lottery.”

“And you’re just jealous,” Fujiwara said with a smirk as he eyed the well-built man behind the desk. Furada snorted and focused on his notes, knowing now that he had competition to deal with in the fitness department. He was sure he had even heard Fujiwara ask Hanada for a position as a coach. Hmph! Like that would ever happen.

“I’m really happy for you,” Adam said, really feeling that way for his colleague. Only he knew of just how much Fujiwara had suffered because of his weight issues. Several sixth years had made fun of him last year, hence his sudden decision to go to Okinawa. “You must have worked very hard.”

“You have no idea,” came the quiet reply. “I trained like a man possessed, I tell you. I had to let go of my favorite foods too. Quite a pain…speaking of which…look at you. You’re not too bad yourself.”

Adam chuckled and shook his head. He hated to tell Fujiwara that he only looked this way because of the countless hours spent working under the hot sun in his childhood home. He didn’t have enough money to hire professional landscapers and so had decided to work on it whenever he had the chance. It was backbreaking work but worth it in the end. The front lawns looked good enough now but the backyard would need some major renovating.

“Good morning everyone!” Hanada greeted in a booming voice as he walked into the room with two men in tow. They were definitely the new teachers since Adam had never seen them before. However, hadn’t Sakura said they were three of them? Where was the third person?

“Good morning,” came the simultaneous greeting from the staff as they gathered round to make a rough semi-circle around the Principal. Hanada grinned in pleasure, looking even more stout and shorter than Adam could remember. He noticed that Hanada’s bald spot was becoming more and more obvious these days and fought hard to stop a smile from coming to his visage.

“As I’m sure you all know, we’ve got three long months ahead of us, so let’s make this the best one yet, hmm? I told you we would be getting three new teachers to help us but it seems like only two are here…”

It was faint at first but Adam’s sharp hearing could make out the sound of running feet…in high heels. He felt a dull headache coming on and raised a hand to his temple to rub it gently. He didn’t know how or why his senses had heightened all of a sudden, but as she burst through the doors, breathing heavily and looking as if she had just run a marathon, Adam knew that his worst fears were confirmed.

“Sor…sorry…I’m…late…” she panted breathlessly as she straightened up and promptly gave a deep bow to the gaping teachers. “Stupid Yunta made me miss my bus. He told me the wrong time and then I ended up coming…” She stopped and lifted her head, blushing darkly as she realized she had been blubbering in English all this time.

Her gaze drifted through the curious faces all trained on her and she tightened her grip on her oversized black handbag. She had decided to wear her dark blue business suit, wondering if it was appropriate enough. But now the skirt felt too short and tight and she really wished she hadn’t worn these killer high heels. Looking at the other women, who were nicely dressed but rather drab (in her opinion) she felt even more embarrassed.

“Ah, Miss Freewill!” Hanada greeted with a wide grin. His command of the English language was quite good too and he immediately made her feel welcome. “I’m glad you were able to make it here. Come, come and I’ll begin the introductions.”

She smiled warmly as the other teachers nodded or greeted her but the smile froze on her lips as she met the cool blue eyes of that familiar face. She faltered in her step and blinked just to be sure she wasn’t seeing things. She had assumed he was a school teacher when she had met him the first time, but never would she have thought it was actually true! She felt her cheeks suffuse with even more color as she stood beside an overly tanned man, who was grinning unabashedly at her.

As Hanada talked, Aurora could feel Adam’s gaze boring holes into her back. She struggled not to look at him, wondering what he could be thinking. She hadn’t failed to notice the irritated look that had crossed his handsome features, nor did she want to care. So why the hell wouldn’t her heart stop beating so fast?

“…and this is Miss Freewill,” Hanada said, motioning for her to move closer to him. “She’ll be teaching English to the third year students. So let’s make her feel welcome, ne?”

The other teachers clapped politely and she bowed again in appreciation. “Thank you for having me,” she began slowly, hoping she didn’t mess up her words. “I’ll do my best.”

After introducing the other two, Lin – who had just moved in from China and Souji-sensei, a veteran in the teaching business but just doing this for the extra money – Hanada released them with a ‘Ganbatte!’ and a promise that they would make this three month trial school session a success.

As the teachers dispersed, Sakura was quick to claim Aurora’s attention. She smiled warmly at the taller woman and pointed towards an empty desk, which Aurora was glad to see, was not too close to Adam’s.

“This is where you will sit,” Sakura said. It was shaped like a small cubicle with nothing more than a space for her books and a small sticker of a brightly-colored rainbow plastered against one side of the miniature wall. Sakura chuckled as she noticed Aurora’s puzzled look.

“Hanada sensei’s way of encouraging us,” she said. “I’m sitting next to you, so we’ll be good friends, ne?”

“Yes, I’d like that very much,” Aurora replied with a genuine smile as her gaze drifted towards the bulge beneath the dress. “How many months?”

“Four,” Sakura said proudly as she caressed the mound gently. “I know I won’t have long to teach here but I love it and I’ll keep doing it until the baby prevents me from doing so anymore.”

Aurora blushed faintly at the look of adoration and love on the other woman’s visage before shivering at the sudden jolt of awareness that seared down her spine. She turned around quickly, but could only see Adam talking to another female teacher with intense concentration. Unaware that she was gritting her teeth at the sight, while a part of her wondered why she should give a damn, she all but yelped as Fujiwara-sensei suddenly leaned close with a wide grin.

“Fujiwara Katou,” he said, showing off his pearly whites. “I teach Social Studies.”

“Ni…nice to meet you,” she managed to respond while wishing he wouldn’t stand too close. He seemed to sweat a lot and had a faint odor that was slightly unpleasant.

Perhaps seeing Aurora’s discomfort, Sakura reached for her hand. “Why don’t I show you to your classroom, hmm? Fujiwara-sensei, you should be busy with work too, you know.”

“Ah, you hurt me, Sakura-chan,” the man said with a mock wail, causing Sakura and even Aurora to chuckle at his antics.

“He’s not so bad,” Sakura explained as they made their way down the hallway and towards the classrooms. “He’s lost a lot of weight though and looks even better. But he keeps a stash of porn magazines in his drawer. He thinks no one has seen them but I have. Ecchi all the way.”

Aurora laughed softly. She was able to pick up on what Sakura was saying since she had the tendency to mix both Japanese and English when speaking to her.

“Here we go,” Sakura announced as she pushed the door open to Aurora’s second home. “So, what do you think?”

The brown-haired woman walked slowly into the room, her gaze drifting to the twenty empty desks and chairs, knowing that tomorrow they’d be filled with bright-eyed boys and girls hanging on to her every word. There was a faint but not too unpleasant smell of bleach, chalk and freshly polished wood. Large windows lined the right side of the room and Aurora had a good view of the front gate and the soccer field in the distance. There were several posters of important Japanese figures, a large clock and some pictures drawn by the past students of the room. Aurora felt her heartbeat quickening as she walked up to her desk. She caressed the clean top gently, a part of her now wondering if she could pull this off without making a fool of herself.

Her only experience in teaching had come from a volunteer job as a camp instructor for a group of 11 and 12 year-olds at an All Girls Camp while in her senior year in High School. But this was no camp and neither would she be dealing with hyperactive teenage girls. This was entirely different.

“Freewill sensei…” Sakura called out softly, noticing how pale the American looked. “Are you all right?”

Aurora opened her mouth to give some sort of answer, but her questing fingers, which had opened a drawer, found a large piece of paper within it. She lifted it slowly, feeling a warm sensation she couldn’t explain fill her chest as she stared at it.

“Good luck, sensei,” Sakura read slowly as she leaned close to see what had Aurora’s attention. “Aww, they are so nice. I think it was Hayakawa sensei who taught them last year. They’re a wonderful class.”

Aurora felt her cheeks darken even more at the information. She was going to be teaching a class that Adam had been in charge of once before. She felt her heartbeat quicken again and this time it just wasn’t because of the job ahead, but the knowledge that she now had yet another connection to the enigmatic man she just couldn’t stop thinking about.