"I guess schools are all pretty much the same on the inside," Yumiko said, sounding slightly disappointed.
"That's what I told you before we came in."
We'd walked through every corner we could find—gymnasiums, sports fields, even areas we probably weren't supposed to enter. After realizing that the differences were minimal, Yumiko didn't hesitate to voice her disappointment.
"I was expecting something more…"
"Like what?"
What exactly had Yumiko hoped to see at Sobu High?
"Mmm, I don't know," she replied in a playful tone.
I wanted to complain and point out that this whole tour had been completely pointless, but there was no point. She'd just fire back with Why did you follow me then?
So instead, I sighed—mostly at myself for going along with her antics in the first place.
"If you're not interested in seeing anything else, there's nothing more for us to do here."
"Maybe you're right."
"I am right!"
"Don't be so grumpy. Besides, you're the one who decided to follow me."
"And I regret it. Anyway, let's go—it's a miracle no teacher has seen us."
"You're way too paranoid. Besides, you'll bring bad luck saying things like that."
Before I could argue back, we turned a corner near the exit and came face to face with a teacher.
Well… I think she was one.
She had black hair and wore what looked like typical office attire, topped with a white lab coat, with several papers tucked under her arm.
It might sound like I say this a lot, but she looked familiar. Then again, black-haired women aren't exactly rare, so I stopped overthinking it.
"Excuse me," I spoke up first.
"Oh, of course. Go ahead," she said, stepping aside to let us pass.
We walked past her and continued on our way.
Thank goodness. For a moment, I thought she might notice that our uniforms didn't belong here—or that two students wandering around during class hours was suspicious in itself.
"Wait a moment!"
Just as I was about to savor our escape, her voice rang out again, making both of us freeze.
"Yes, Sensei?" Yumiko replied this time.
"Your uniforms…"
"They got dirty, so as responsible students, we changed into our previous school uniforms to attend class," I answered without hesitation.
"I see…"
"If that's all, we still have things to take care of," Yumiko added, her performance flawless.
"…Of course. I won't keep you any longer." The teacher turned and continued on her way.
"She's pretty absent-minded," I muttered once she was out of earshot.
"Maybe just a bit dumb," Yumiko said bluntly.
With no more interruptions, we resumed heading for the exit... until hurried footsteps approached from behind us.
"Hey! You two, stop right there!"
…Maybe not dumb. Just slow.
I glanced at Yumiko, silently asking if we should make a run for it. She didn't catch on fast enough, though, and the teacher quickly closed the distance between us.
"Yes, Sensei? Is something wrong?" Yumiko asked calmly, as if this were completely normal.
"What class are you from? I don't recall seeing you before."
Her narrowed eyes suggested she already knew we were from another school and simply wanted to see how far we'd take this act.
"Raiden, which class are you from?"
Her casual tone made it sound like she was deliberately passing the responsibility onto me.
"Uh… well, I hit my head recently, and… I have temporary amnesia. So honestly, I can't remember which class I'm in."
I scratched the back of my neck, pretending to rack my brain.
Yumiko barely managed to hold back her laughter, clearly entertained by my pathetic excuse. Meanwhile, the teacher looked at me with a mix of disbelief and patience—like she was wondering how anyone could expect that story to work.
"Try at least to come up with a believable excuse," the teacher sighed.
"An excuse? What excuse?" I shot back. "You were there that day too, weren't you, Yumiko?"
"You mean the day you clumsily tripped and fell headfirst, suffering severe and irreversible brain damage—which is why you're so stupid now?"
Hey, don't use this as an excuse to get back at me for calling you an idiot…
"That sounds more serious than it actually is," the teacher said, looking somewhat concerned.
"I can live with that." I nodded.
"Raiden has already given up on trying to recover his memories, which is why he's now as dumb as a cauliflower. I apologize on his behalf." She waved her hands as if stating an undeniable fact.
I'll get my revenge for this later. For now, though, the situation is amusing enough that I decide to play along.
What? I can enjoy this kind of verbal sparring too, you know?
"Hey, a cauliflower can be very intelligent in the world of vegetables! Maybe I'm about to become the king of salads—who knows?" I replied with a sarcastic smile.
"No sane person would say something like that, don't you think, Sensei?"
"I… well… I think…"
She clearly hadn't expected us to take such a ridiculous excuse this far.
"I am a perfectly sane person," I said, staring blankly at the wall.
"Raiden, it's time to go back. You need to take your medication."
"I'm tired of taking that stuff," I replied irritably.
Yumiko grabbed my hand and started dragging me away. Before leaving, we gave the teacher a small bow, as if formally announcing our exit.
I didn't think that would work.
But…
My left hand was suddenly grabbed, stopping our escape.
It really was too good to be true…
"Your act was so unpredictable that I didn't know how to react…" She shook her head. "I'll give you that—you were creative. Now, back to the real issue: what are a pair of middle school students doing walking around here?"
Once caught, Yumiko stopped trying to pull me along. Noticing this, the teacher released my hand as well.
"What do you mean, Sensei?" Yumiko asked, still feigning innocence.
"Don't make this worse for yourselves. Tell me why you're wandering around the halls of Sobu High."
There was no point in making excuses anymore—but that didn't mean I was ready to give up.
I didn't like the way she phrased that. It sounded as if she were implying that our attempts to mess with her had completely failed. That alone was reason enough to push back. After all, if we were going to get punished, it might as well be for a good reason.
An unreasonable decision? Maybe. But I'm still a teenager. I'd be an idiot if I didn't try to enjoy the day to its fullest.
I briefly glanced at Yumiko before answering.
"I think you just answered your own question. What were we doing walking around Sobu High? Well… walking." I said calmly, confidently—like I'd just delivered an irrefutable argument.
The teacher stared at me in disbelief for a few seconds.
"That's not what I mean. I'm asking why you're walking around this campus." She shook her head.
"Because we can walk. I don't think that's a crime, is it, Raiden?"
"That's correct. Japanese law allows citizens to move freely, and restricting that right would be a violation of our constitutional freedoms," I said with confidence.
"I didn't know you were knowledgeable about the law."
"You just have to say something that sounds logical, mention rights, and deliver it confidently. That's what politicians do."
"That makes sense. I suppose you learn something new every day." Yumiko nodded thoughtfully.
During our short exchange, we completely forgot about the teacher.
"You two are really…" She brought a hand to her temple, as if talking to us was giving her a headache.
"Is something wrong, Sensei?" I asked innocently.
"Never mind. Let's go to the teachers' office. You can explain there why two middle school students are wandering around a school that isn't theirs."
"Isn't that an abuse of power, don't you think, Raiden?" Yumiko muttered—quietly, but still loud enough for the teacher to hear.
She's really troublesome. Still, I can't deny she's entertaining.
"Technically, yes. Since she can't refute our arguments, she's choosing to move us somewhere else to regain the upper hand," I said, mimicking Yumiko's tone.
"That's pretty low. I mean, the fact that she can't counter our arguments says a lot about her as an adult."
"Say it more quietly, or she might hear us criticizing her performance as an adult."
"You're right. We shouldn't tell her that her behavior is rather questionable. Besides… why is she even wearing a lab coat?"
"I think it's some kind of fashion trend among adults who have a few issues in life."
"So Sobu High doesn't pay her enough, I see…"
Before Yumiko could continue ranting about how poorly the teachers were paid here, the teacher cut her off.
"That's enough of your nonsense!" she snapped, irritation clear in her voice.
Her expression left no room for doubt. Her brows were furrowed in displeasure, and veins stood out on her forehead.
At that, both of us fell silent.
"I don't know what you were trying to accomplish, but I won't let you off so easily." She was furious. "Follow me."
With no way out, we started walking behind the teacher toward the faculty office, where we were almost certainly about to get scolded.
"Sensei, this was all Raiden's fault. He was the one who convinced me to come here," Yumiko said, shooting me a glance.
"I see your words are carried away by the wind."
I had a feeling her promise to take full responsibility would only last until things actually got serious.
"I don't remember saying anything like that. I think I'm suffering from temporary amnesia."
Honestly… using my own excuse against me—at least it was clever.
"You two, stop talking. You can give me all your excuses once we arrive."
While I was trying to figure out what to do, Yumiko lightly elbowed me, as if urging me to come up with a solution.
She drags us into trouble and then expects me to get us out of it—typical of her.
"By the way, Sensei, this will be my last question. Could you tell us a bit about Sobu High?" I said. "I mean, as a professional in education—and a fully grown adult—you must know a lot about it, right?"
"I suppose I can."
She smiled, full of confidence and pride, before launching into an explanation about the school's history, the principal, and everything related to her workplace.
At that moment, I stretched out my arm, signaling Yumiko to stop, as the teacher turned a corner and kept talking to herself.
"And that's how Sobu High remains an educational institution of..."
Gradually, the sound of her voice faded away until it disappeared completely.
"Alright, time to go." I turned around and started walking toward the exit.
"I have to admit, that was pretty clever. I couldn't even imagine what was going through your head when you asked her that."
"It pays to observe people carefully. It makes it easier to see where they're weak."
By framing her as an unreliable adult, we'd gained an advantage we could later turn against her.
"Isn't that basically being a stalker?"
"I don't think so… hmm, maybe."
I tilted my head as I considered it.
Yumiko might actually have a point.
We walked at an unhurried pace until the main entrance of Sobu High came into view.
Once we were safely out of danger, Yumiko stretched her arms.
"That was fun!"
"We almost got into serious trouble, you know."
"But we didn't, so I'm not thinking about it." She lightly patted my back.
"You're such a headache…"
"Are you really going to deny that you had fun?"
"No objections."
"That's what I thought, hahaha."
She's complicated and simple at the same time—both entertaining and annoying.
"Oh, by the way, Raiden, I'm still waiting for that taiyaki you said you'd buy me."
"I have temporary amnesia. I don't remember saying that."
A simple spell, yet unbreakable.
"Fine, fine, I'll buy you one. I owe you for getting us out of that scolding," she said cheerfully.
"I remember where the nearest stand is."
If she was paying, I suppose it was worth going through all that.
So we took a detour from our usual route and stopped by a taiyaki stand, where—just as she said—Yumiko paid for mine.
"By the way, if you had won our bet, what would you have asked for?" she asked, tilting her head as she took a bite of her dessert.
We stopped at a nearby park to eat, and Yumiko took the opportunity to ask.
"Hmm, I hadn't really thought about it…"
Maybe she'd stop being so annoying—or stop causing me trouble? Yeah, as if that were possible.
"Something erotic, perhaps?" she said, a playful glint in her eyes.
"I'm one hundred percent sure it's way more erotic than you can imagine," I replied proudly.
I'm a teenage boy; my hormones and imagination are impossible to control.
Yumiko burst into laughter.
"You'll never get a girlfriend if you're that honest."
"I'm not desperate to get one."
"It's not like you could, anyway."
"Mm, who knows."
It's hard to tell when I've never even tried—though honestly, I don't really want to.
"Don't worry. Until you find that unfortunate girl, I'll stay by your side," she said with a friendly, almost sincere tone.
"You're supposed to encourage me, not discourage me," I sighed.
"How rude!" Yumiko pouted and turned her face away.
After finishing my food, I stood up from the bench and stretched a little.
It had been a troublesome yet fun day, and since everything turned out fine, there was nothing to worry about. Still, I could only hope the teacher would forget our faces—otherwise, we'd be in trouble when classes started next week.
"Raiden." Yumiko held out her hand, clearly expecting me to help her up.
"Aren't you big enough to stand up on your own?"
"It's normal to help a girl instead of questioning her," she replied with a smile, as if she'd already predicted my answer.
"Ah, sorry. I'm not normal," I said teasingly.
Even so, I took her hand and helped her to her feet.
"If you were more gentlemanly, you'd be more popular with girls."
"I'd rather not be. With my luck, I'd probably just attract troublesome women."
"Was that a jab at me?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Who knows."
I started walking, and a few seconds later, Yumiko naturally fell into step beside me.
"It'd be interesting if we ended up in the same class," she said with a smile.
"I'd rather not answer that," I sighed inwardly.
The last thing I want is to have Yumiko around me all day. If that happened, I'd have no escape.
Lost in thoughts about my uncertain future, we kept chatting about random things as we headed toward the school.