Am I jealous? Am I jealous of Zoe?
These words were completely unexpected, and my mind went blank. I thought it couldn't be like that, but facing my stunned expression, Zoe tilted her head slightly.
"Teacher is slow, but quite possessive."
"Ah?"
The sudden question made me involuntarily let out a silly sound.
"You hate it when he gets along well with others besides you, and you hate it when he smiles at someone who isn't you, right?"
"That's not true."
"Isn't it? It's not entirely untrue, right?"
I wanted to deny it, but hesitated. I did have some such feelings. When Blake showed expressions to others that I hadn't seen before, I would feel a bit depressed or annoyed. This was indeed something I had noticed before.
So, I didn't have this feeling towards Abel, but I had that sense of discomfort towards Zoe, which was jealousy? By the way, yesterday, Abel also seemed to say something about being jealous.
"Teacher is a normal person. It's normal to be jealous of a woman. But what Blake is worried about is men, men."
Listening to Zoe's emphatic words, I somewhat agreed for a moment, but then shook my head vigorously.
Just as Zoe said, I didn't care if Blake was friendly with other boys. But when I heard that he had dated girls, I would be shaken. Since this was my own feeling, there was nothing I could do about it. I felt like I kind of understood the reason for that sense of discomfort before.
But -.
"I've never had this feeling towards others before, so I don't really understand."
"Huh?"
Zoe widened her eyes instantly at my confused reply, and for some reason pressed her forehead and lowered her head.
"... Teacher, did you really love your previous girlfriends?"
"What are you talking about. I wouldn't have dated them if I didn't like them."
"But you never felt jealous?"
I didn't understand the reason for her surprise and looked at her puzzledly. Zoe let out a sigh and muttered softly.
"Oh, well, yeah. Teacher, you're not the type to date casually, right."
Zoe looked at me with a forced smile, and I couldn't help but frown. But she ignored me, muttering something to herself and sighing.
"Actually, a love idiot? No, come to think of it, why didn't you notice it even though you had that awareness."
"Zoe?"
"Nothing!"
"..."
She shook her head vigorously, give me a perfunctory smile, and I lost the desire to pursue the matter. I sighed helplessly, and for some reason she also sighed.
"Well, if you're not aware of it, then I'll have to make you aware."
"Wait a minute. Why are you being so forceful."
Zoe muttered in a matter-of-fact tone, and I couldn't help but deflate. Today, Zoe was more assertive than ever, not giving me a chance to stop her.
"... Teacher, just watch from here recently."
Zoe glanced at me, who had drooped my shoulders helplessly, and suddenly turned her gaze towards the window.
"What am I looking at?"
I didn't understand what Zoe meant, tilted my head, and she raised her arm and pointed.
"The school gate?"
"Yes, you're looking in the direction where Blake comes, right?"
"Ah?"
Hearing the unexpected words, I blinked, and then was muttered at for being so slow.
"I asked Blake why he smiled. He said it was because the teacher was looking at him and smiling."
"No, but that..."
Indeed, I sometimes looked at the students coming to school from here. And just as Zoe said, Blake somehow always looked up at me and smiled at this exact moment.
But - it was a bit far from the school gate to here, and he shouldn't be able to see that clearly.
"Because he knew you were looking at him, so he understood."
"How could that be..."
I reflexively raised my voice, and my face suddenly felt hot. Indeed, I could often see Blake and them. Since that day, I hadn't missed a single day. It was amazing that I always noticed them, and sometimes I would even watch Blake's back as he walked towards here after school.
But I didn't do it on purpose. I just happened to see them, and I didn't wait specifically.
"Unconsciously? I think it's quite serious."
"What's so serious about it."
"There's no way around it."
Zoe gave me a very helpless wry smile at my frowning expression.
"Stop being so noisy."
I knew I had been slow recently without her having to tell me.
"By the way, Blake wasn't here this morning, right?"
I suddenly remembered that I only saw Zoe and Abel this morning. Yesterday, he was almost late, and today he didn't show up at all.
"Could he be resting today?"
"Oh, if he was resting, I would have said so when you asked just now. Today, he's late."
"Late?"
Yesterday, he looked unwell, and today he's late again. I wonder if he's not feeling well.
"He said he couldn't sleep at night."
"Insomnia?"
"Well, I think he's overthinking and can't sleep. That guy is surprisingly sensitive. It would be good if Mr. Ben showed some concern for him. Maybe then he could sleep."
Zoe completely ignored my worried feelings and shrugged, looking at me and tilting her head.
"What, what are you looking at."
Zoe kept staring at me without shifting her gaze at all, and I felt uncomfortable and couldn't help but lower my head.
"Teacher is just afraid to admit that he likes him."
"Don't use leading questions."
My heart suddenly started beating faster, and I turned my gaze back to Zoe. She exaggeratedly shrank her shoulders and then dropped them forcefully.
"If I didn't do this, you wouldn't admit it. It would be too late when you realize it later."
"What do you mean by too late."
I was confused by Zoe's angry tone. I didn't know the reason for her anger.
"What if, by the time it's out of reach and you realize it, it's too late. Really, teacher is too slow. What if that guy goes bald!"
"Ha? How could that happen, hey Zoe."
Zoe pouted and suddenly grabbed someone's hair with both hands and messed it up. I grabbed her arms, but she exerted even more force.
"Wait, really wait."
Even though Zoe was small, I couldn't resist when she pressed her whole body against me. The chair backed into the table, and I had nowhere to escape. To avoid the reaching arms, I couldn't help but lean back.
Facing the triumphant Zoe, I could only give a wry smile.
"A perpetrator of inappropriate interaction between the opposite sexes."
"Ah?"
Along with the sound of the door being pulled open, a leisurely voice rang out. Hearing this voice, I hurriedly sat up straight.