Sena Nagayama held onto the hope in her heart as they approached Class Four of the freshman year, wishing Furuhashi Fuyuno would give her a pleasant surprise.
Calmly arriving at the back door of the classroom, Sena Nagayama looked at Furuhashi Fuyuno. She was gawking at a food magazine and felt no fluctuations in her heart. Unlike the other three, Furuhashi Fuyuno was alert and had noticed Sena Nagayama's presence almost immediately. Excitement bloomed on her features, but shortly after, embarrassment flashed through her eyes.
Her aunt had just caught her looking at a food magazine in the middle of class…
Just as she was about to pretend to be thoroughly hardworking in class, she realized that she had not even taken out her textbook. She held her hands to her face, red peeking through. It was not after she saw her aunt leaving before she heaved out the breath she was holding.
The next moment, she pulled her textbook out of her bag and placed it on her desk. Then she stacked the food magazine on top of it, making a mental note to herself to not make the same mistake again in the future.
Sena Nagayama thought to herself that the four Furuhashi sisters were doomed and definitely needed a home tutor. Without them, seeing the situation at hand, they would surely be required to repeat the grade.
She also believed that without a tutor, it would be highly possible for the four girls not to be able to get into universities.
While she was deep in her thoughts, Sena Nagayama had followed Principal Endo to the second floor, which housed the sophomores.
With her steps halting at the back door of Class One, her eyes took in the scene before her. Surprised, she asked softly, "Why is a student on the teaching podium?"
What led her to believe he was a student was the fact that Kazuki was wearing his school uniform.
"The physics teacher of Class One left to the hospital for an appendectomy. Kazuki is filling in for him," Endo Etomi explained in a whisper, attempting not to disturb the students amid their lesson.
Kazuki? Kimura Kazuki?
A second later, Sena Nagayama finally registered the situation. The Kazuki that Principal Endo was talking about was the Kazuki.
She glanced over at Kazuki, who was perched on top of the podium. Although he dressed like everyone else, it only took him standing on the podium to attract others' attention.
This was a student who was average-looking but possessed extraordinary temperament. One glance at him and Sena Nagayama was sure she would remember him.
Sure enough… To discipline the delinquents of Sakura Kyu, establish the Sword Believers' Club, and to even persuade delinquents to study voluntarily, Kazuki was no ordinary person.
People who stand out always have that unique attractiveness to them.
But regarding Kazuki being a substitute teacher, she still had some doubts… Under normal circumstances, if a teacher is on leave, wouldn't other teachers be the ones to fill-in?
When faced with this question, Endo Etomi simply responded with a grin.
Sena Nagayama turned to observe carefully. Very soon, she realized that Class One of the sophomore year was different from other classes. Although reformed, Sakura Kyu was still a high school. She had spotted people who fooled around in class, whispering to one another or reading comics and magazines.
Of course, this sight was a norm for all schools.
But Class One of the sophomore year had overturned her belief. The entire class of over 30 students was seated with proper posture, all their attention directed at the test paper on their desk, eyes serious. They were all listening intently at Kazuki's lecture, no one got distracted or had little movements.
Not a single person reacted to the two's presence even though they have been there for quite a long time and had an occasional exchange of words.
This… Sena Nagayama stared up at the podium, at Kazuki, and found herself at a loss for words.
Kazuki had a large build, and his back was straight as he stood on the podium. His sharp, sparkling eyes were filled with spirit, and his eyes were occasionally scanning across the classroom. He immediately noticed when Sena Nagayama and Endo Etomi appeared at the back door.
But he was filling in for the class and was getting paid for it, so he naturally had to pour his heart into fulfilling his responsibilities.
No one paid attention to the two at the back door. At this moment, Kazuki stood atop the podium, a test paper in hand, and said, "Everyone, please look at the multiple-choice questions on your test paper. What is the correct answer to the first question?"
Following that, he waited for around 10 seconds for the students to finish reading the question. Without hesitation, he called out, "Nao Oda, please answer."
Hearing his name announced aloud, Nao Oda jumped in shock. He then stood from his seat, gripping the test paper and staring at the question, bitterness seeping from his eyes.
For an object moving linearly at a uniform speed, the displacement in time t is s. Suppose the instantaneous velocities at time t = ½t and s = ½s are v₁ and v₂ respectively, then ( ).
I've got no idea… Nao Oda knew he could not keep silent for long, so he decided to give it a wild guess. After hesitating for a few seconds, he stuttered, "I choose C."
Kazuki held no emotion in his eyes as he said, "Come up and stand here. The answer to this question is B and D. 'As object undergoes uniform acceleration, v₁ is lesser than v₂,' and 'As object undergoes uniform deceleration, v₁ is lesser than v₂.' This test paper was taken from the finals of the freshman year, and you are now in sophomore year. You got this question wrong in the exam, how could you still make the same mistake now?"
"I'm sorry!" Nao Oda scurried to the side of the blackboard to stand, apologizing with a long face.
Being at the front of the classroom now, Nao Oda immediately noticed the principal and a noble lady standing by the back door and his cheeks flushed a deep red. Holding the test paper in his hands, he lowered his head in shame and went over the contents of the paper. Using his pen, he wrote down the correct answer. At this moment, he had firmly imprinted the question at the back of his mind.
"Don't apologize to me," Kazuki dismissed with a wave of his hand. He turned toward the class and added softly but firmly, "I hope that in the future when you've done a question wrongly, you can get it right on the second try."
With that, he resumed his lecture.
Seeing Nao Oda standing by the blackboard, Sena Nagayama did not question Principal Endo anymore. She knew that this was Kazuki's method of teaching.
As opposed to her experience on the first floor, Sena Nagayama simply remained standing at the back door of Class One of the sophomore year. Endo Etomi also did nothing to try to get them to leave, so they stood for an entire period.
When the next bell rang, Kazuki did not drag the class. Only then did the students of Class One notice the principal and an unfamiliar but dignified lady by the back door.
After keeping his textbook neatly in his bag, Kazuki strode to the back door. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Endo Etomi interrupted him with a big grin, "Let's talk at the principal's office."
Now, after class, the students lining the corridor all looked at them with curiosity.
Soon, the three arrived at the principal's office. Enroute, Endo Etomi briefly introduced Sena Nagayama to Kazuki, letting him know that she was here for inspection in Director Furuhashi's place. At the same time, Sena Nagayama also revealed that she was, in fact, the aunt of Furuhashi Harunaka and the others.
Naturally, Kazuki wondered why it was not the Furuhashi sisters' mother who came for the inspection, but he kept his intrusive thoughts to himself.
In the principal's office, Endo Etomi smiled and said, "Do I need to excuse myself so you guys can talk?"
"Principal Endo, for you to ask this question, it means that you'd like to stay, am I not right?" Sena Nagayama swiftly exposed.
Endo Etomi threw his head back in laughter but did not deny. He had always held admiration for Kazuki and naturally wanted to stay to keep check, for example… How much he charged for home tutoring.
He was confident that Sena Nagayama was very satisfied with Kimura Kazuki.