On their way back, Akamine-sensei insisted that she take Hajime home, however, Hajime countered that offer, telling her that he should be the one doing the drop-offs instead of her. The denial caused Akamine-sensei to return the offer which Hajime countered yet again, and the exchange continued until Akamine-sensei gave up. Now that he was on it, Hajime also offered to carry the 'groceries' she bought, reasoning out that it's the least he could do in exchange for the cupped noodles. She obliged.
"Are you all right?"
"What's with the condescending question um, sensei?" Hajime forced a chuckle as he slowed down his pace, matching it with sensei.
"You've been missing out on all your morning classes, that's why I asked," Akamine-sensei said in a slightly raised tone.
"Urk~" Hajime muttered to himself, not daring to say another word. Akamine-sensei found his weak spot, and he could tell that she was willing to utilize it. There was nothing he could do but keep silent unless he wanted to be reminded about the possibility of him repeating a year.
"You're a good kid, Hajime, but you're not doing something about that reputation of yours." A sigh followed Akamine-sensei's comment. "And also, you should reserve some time for your morning classes, at least attend twice a week or something so I could put something on record. Otherwise, you'd just have to accept repeating a year."
Hajime could tell that Akamine-sensei was extending her leniency even though she didn't have to do so. It's not like she was biased on Hajime alone, she just saw it as a waste that he'd repeat a year when he could've done something about it. Her concern for Hajime was her acting out her part as his homeroom teacher. As much as possible, he wanted everyone to finish high school. This was the last year for them after all, and it would be a waste if a number of them didn't graduate.
That's why Akamine-sensei wanted to do all she could, even going the extra mile so all her students would graduate. She dreaded the thought of one of them getting left behind by their peers because that's what she experienced in the past. Now that she could do something about it, she wanted to at least make them feel that she won't give up on any of them, especially when everybody else supposedly already did.
"I... I can't," Hajime's shoulders drooped as he responded downheartedly. He couldn't afford to miss a day in his construction work, not because it was a no-work-no-pay job, but because he had to do it in order to cover the monthly expenses. If he missed even a single day, he'd have to work even harder the next month in order to compensate for the previous month. he couldn't afford to do that, not when there was a life on the line.
"So... I see," Akamine sensei muttered. "May I ask the reason why?"
Who knows how many times Akamine-sensei had asked Hajime about this. And every single time, he'd either keep quiet, divert the question, or just pretend that Akamine-sensei didn't ask the question at all. This time, however, he decided to tell her the partial truth. "I... it's nothing special, sensei, just got a lot of things in my head."
"You sure?"
"Sure, absolutely sure."
Clearing his throat, Hajime increased his pace a tad bit, just so he could shorten the time of their conversation. It was only a few seconds but he didn't the topic to drag on. He feared that Akamine-sensei might find out about his secret. No way he's going to let that happen, not if he could help it.
By the end of the street, an apartment was located. It had the cliche appearance of your usual two-story building, and it was surprisingly clean despite the conspicuous fact that the apartment had been around for more than a decade. To anyone passing by, Akamine-sense would've looked like your usual high school student heading home from school, all thanks to the tracksuit she wore. Now she just hoped that no one would see her before she could get to her apartment door. If the neighbors were to see her though, they would immediately assume that she was bringing her lover home since they knew that she lived there alone. That didn't even occur in her mind though and she continued to let Hajime take her home despite the risks and the misunderstandings that would follow.
"I live on the second floor," Akamine-sensei informed Hajime even though he wasn't interested to know.
Regardless of what he thought, Hajime just nodded. "Do you live alone, sensei?"
"Yeah, why?" She casually responded, not even realizing where Hajime was going with the question.
"Then... wouldn't this like... look bad on your end?" Hajime brought the topic up. "I'll just head on my way,"
"No, please, you've come this far. The least I could do was give you some water or something before you leave." Akamine-sensei's hospitable attitude got in the way of her critical thinking.
"This is more than enough, sensei," Hajime answered, pointing at the plastic he was holding which was filled with cupped noodles. "Your neighbors might think of something else if I were to drop by in front of your apartment."
"I guess you're right," Akamine-sensei finally realized what Hajime was getting at. She lightly berated herself, wondering why she didn't think about that at all when it was so obvious from a third-person perspective. She shook her head, glad that she narrowly avoided a bunch of misunderstandings that were sure to follow if someone were to see her with a guy. And furthermore, she was even wearing a high schooler tracksuit. As a respectable member of society, it would be bad in more ways than one if someone else were to see her.
"Thank you for the cupped noodles, sensei," Hajime said in a relaxed tone, slightly bowing before Akamine-sensei before he turned around towards the direction of his place.
"I should be the one thanking you," Akamine-sensei said back, pointing at the cans of beer she was able to buy thanks to Hajime's assistance. "See you tomorrow, make sure you show up in your morning classes."
Hajime swallowed his saliva and no words came out of his mouth. He wasn't going to make a promise he won't be able to keep, no matter how small that promise is.