I went to the teacher's office and gave my assignment to Kyouko. She took it and looked at it. She nodded and looked at me. She says,
"Norl-Kun, grab a chair over there. I have something to say about your grades."
I nodded. I pulled the chair and sat on it.
Kyouko took a piece of paper and showed it to me. My grades are below average. Kyouko says,
"I really don't want to scold you. You have been through a rough time and since I'm your homeroom teacher, it's my responsibility of my student's grades."
Kyouko took another piece of paper and showed it to me. She says,
"Your first-year grades were great and I know that you're a smart student by just looking at the report. It's not just I have the responsibility of my student's grades but also their health, mentally and physically. Do you understand what I mean, Norl-Kun?"
I reply,
"Yeah, I understand, Sensei."
Kyouko nodded and grabbed the paper in my hands. She then looked at me and asks,
"Even though I'm an English teacher, I graduated with a dual degree. My dream was to become a psychiatrist, but after I became a teacher, I can do both teaching and helping people. So, do you have something you want to talk about that with me? Maybe I can help."
I leaned on the chair and replies,
"I do, but I don't think I'm ready to talk about it to anyone at the moment. I really appreciate it, Sensei."
Kyouko nodded and says,
"I see. Someday, if you need someone to talk to, you can come to me whenever you want. Remember that."
I nodded. Then she says,
"Alright, you can go now and enjoy your lunch break."
I nodded and left the teacher's office. Kyouko watched me leave the office and pulled out her phone.
I went to the cafeteria and ordered lunch. I sat on the empty chair and ate my food. Then Erii came and sat beside me. She put her face on the table and yawned. I stroke her hair and she turned her head. She smiled and closed her eyes.
My phone is ringing. I'm looking at my phone to see who's calling me. Erii lifts her head to see the screen of my phone. It's my aunt. I answer the phone,
"Yes, aunt Lisa?"
Lisa says,
"Good morning, Aze-Kun. Are you having your lunch break?"
I reply,
"I just finished. What's wrong?"
Lisa says,
"Ohh then that's good. The reason why I'm calling you is that we are going to come over to your house tonight and stay there for a few weeks. Is it okay?"
I reply,
"Ohh? Yeah sure, it's not a problem. You guys can stay here as long as you want. But why so sudden?"
Lisa says,
"Ahh... it's because uncle Hiro is going to investigate a case in Osaka. They ordered him to take the case and it will be at least a few weeks. So he wants us to stay with you in the time being."
I reply,
"Ohh... I see. Then I'll prepare the room for you as soon as I get home."
Lisa says,
"Thank you, Aze-Kun! We will see you tonight then. Bye-bye!"
She hung up the phone. Erii looked at me with curiosity. She asks,
"Aunt Lisa is coming over?"
I nodded and replies,
"Yeah, she's going to stay for a few weeks because uncle Hiro has to take care of a case in Osaka."
Erii says,
"I see, then can I come over tonight to meet aunt Lisa? I want to see Himawari-chan~."
Erii's face is so cute because she's thinking about Himawari. Himawari is aunt Lisa's daughter. She's so cute and chubby. I reply,
"Sure, you can even stay overnight at my house with aunt Lisa."
Erii says,
"Will do! I will help you prepare the room for them."
I nodded and thanked her. Then the bell rang. We immediately went to the class. I told Ryo that aunt Lisa will stay at my house for a few weeks. He said that he will stay overnight as well after he helped me in the restaurant tonight.
As soon as the last class ended and the bell rang, Erii and I went to my home. Ryo also went to his house to grab a few clothes for staying overnight in my house.
We arrived at my house and we immediately cleaned the room and prepare a few things for aunt Lisa and Himawari in their room, like a table and chairs and a few storage cabinets to put their stuff. After we are done with that, we took a break in the living room while eating ice cream. Then, aunt Lisa called again, I took my phone and answer,
"Yes, aunt Lisa?"
Lisa replies,
"We are on our way there. Are you going to the restaurant right now?"
I say,
"Yeah, I'm about to go there. What's wrong?"
Lisa replies,
"We don't have a spare key to your house. Should we drop by to the restaurant?"
I say,
"Ah, you don't have to. Erii is here with me right now. She can wait here until you arrive. Right, Erii?"
Erii gets closer to the phone speaker and says,
"Yes, aunt Lisa. I'll be waiting here!"
Lisa chuckles and then says,
"Okay then. We will be there in 45 minutes or less."
I reply,
"Okay. Drive safely, aunt Lisa."
Lisa says,
"Of course. I'll see you soon. Bye-bye."
Lisa hung up the phone. Then I went to take a shower.
I'm ready to leave the house and Erii is waiting for aunt Lisa in the living room. I say,
"Ittekimasu! (I'm going)."
Erii nods and smiles. She replies,
"Itterasshai! (Have a safe trip)."
I arrived at the restaurant and unlocked the door. Ryo came not long after that. He helped me prepared the restaurant and then we are open for business.
As soon as we are open, so many people came and ordered their food. Most of them are our regulars while the rest of them are new faces. Even though we open at 6 p.m. and close at 11.30 p.m., we got a lot of customers. I'm very grateful for my regular customers because they all understand that it's not possible to open the restaurant all day since I still have to go to school. Some of them even offered me their help to run the restaurant but I refused since at the moment I still want to run this restaurant by myself.
The sound of a familiar car's engine parked in front of my restaurant. I could see Ritsu get off of her car from the windows. She entered the restaurant and says,
"Ojamashimashu!"
I reply,
"Hai-dozo! (Yes, go ahead)."
She smiles and sits on the counter as always. I ask,
"What's your today's order, Miyazaki-San? The usual?"
Ritsu smiles and nods. She replies,
"Yes please, with extra spicy!"
I nodded and left to cook the ramen. I glanced at her every few minutes and I saw her talking with the other regulars. Most of them are middle-aged and they're very kind to me and Ritsu. They always bragged about how beautiful Ritsu is and how lucky they are to be able to meet her almost every day. Ritsu really loved to talk with them and listened to their days. It always puts a smile on my face whenever they're here.
I put the bowl of ramen in front of Ritsu and she grabbed the chopsticks. She says,
"Ittadakimasu! (Bon appetit)."
She immediately slurped the ramen and ascended to her own world. Then I cleaned the tables and Ryo welcomed the customers.
I noticed that Ritsu is done with her ramen. I approached her and took the bowel. She says,
"Gochisosama deshita! (It was quite a feast)."
I cleaned her table and she grabbed something out from her purse. She gave it to me and I looked at it. It was her business card. She says,
"I just realized that I haven't given you my contact. You can contact me if you need something from me."
I reply,
"Oh, thank you very much, Miyazaki-San. I'll treasure this."
Ritsu nodded and then she looked around. She asks,
"Are you free at the moment?"
I looked around and replies,
"I think so, yeah. What is it, Miyazaki-San?"
She patted the seat beside her and says,
"Come and sit here, I have some questions."
I sat beside her and she says,
"So I heard that Inoue-Kun already knows the situation. How is he?"
I explained everything to her and she nodded with understanding. She says,
"You really have a good friend, Norl-Kun."
I scoffed and reply jokingly,
"I know... so what is the warning you're going to say this time?"
Ritsu chuckles and rubs my hair. She says,
"There's none. I know you know what is the consequence. Am I right?"
I nodded and reply,
"Yeah. If things going south, I'll push them away from me."
Ritsu is resting her head on her hand. She's staring at me while smiling. She says,
"I really really hope nothing is going to happen to you and them. But I want you to be prepared for anything."
I nodded and reply,
"Yes, Miyazaki-San. Thank you for your help."
Miyazaki-San nodded and then she stood up. She put the money on the table and says,
"Thank you for the food as always. I will see you tomorrow."
I nodded and watched her leave. I grabbed the money and went back to the counter.
It's midnight. We are closed and we both cleaned the restaurant before we leave the restaurant. Ryo asked me what were we talking about back then and I told him that if something bad happened, I will push him and Erii away from me. He didn't reply and only nodded with understanding. Then we both left the restaurant and went to my house.