Zoe slowly raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a mischievous smile, and my face couldn't help but twitch. At the same time, I felt cold sweat breaking out on my back.
"What's with this reaction? It's very suspicious. Do you care about Blake?"
"Ah? Well, there are various reasons."
"Hmm. So, what do you mean by various reasons?"
I backed away in my chair while avoiding the approaching Zoe, who shrugged, finding it boring.
"Did something happen between Mr. Ben and Blake?"
"Ah? No, well... I just want to know what kind of kid he is."
I gently touched Abel's head, who was tilting his head, and involuntarily tilted my head as well.
"Abel, tell the teacher, will you? You're in the same class as him, right?"
"Hey, Zoe, how long have you been looking! Don't look at it casually."
Zoe picked up the blue file on the table while looking at Abel, who was still squatting, and carefully read the contents inside.
I hurriedly took the file back, and Zoe narrowed her eyes, pouting her small mouth.
Her actions were cute, but when she did this, it always felt like there was some deeper meaning, and I couldn't help but break out in cold sweat.
"So, what does the teacher want to know about Blake?"
"Ask me anything you can answer! I'll do my best to help!"
As a result, I took the opportunity to ask Abel about Blake, and Zoe and Abel sat on the two chairs surrounding me.
In an instant, the small space became even more crowded.
"This room is really small. Can we get a bigger preparation room?"
Zoe seemed to read my mind, looked around, and frowned.
Half of this room was occupied by steel bookshelves, and the area where I currently used the desk and behind it, up to the door, was only about five square meters in size.
"Well, it is indeed small, but since I'm the only one using it, there's nothing I can do."
"This room used to be a book storage room, and I'm already grateful to be able to use it. I can't ask for more."
"You feel happy surrounded by books. You're really gloomy."
Her softly muttered words had a sting to them. Was I the only one who thought she was a devil in a cute lamb's skin?
I knew she wasn't a bad kid, but I still broke out in annoying cold sweat.
"Really? I think it has a classic teacher's style."
Abel said with a smile, as if to comfort me who was feeling down.
I really admired how well these two coordinated with each other.
"Oh, right, speaking of Blake."
"Um, ah."
Abel seemed to remember something and began to talk about Blake, and I couldn't help but startle, making a silly sound.
Hearing this name now, in every sense, my heart couldn't take it.
Being asked to think about it made me care too much.
"He's smart, but not arrogant at all. He doesn't talk much, but he's easy-going, so he has many friends. Blake is a good person.
Ah, he's also very popular among girls, and there seem to be quite a few rumors like that."
Abel said with a smile on his face, so he must really be a good person.
It seemed to be not much different from my first impression before.
"Hmm, he's really popular, as expected."
"That guy looks like a prince at first glance, but the teacher had better not be deceived by his appearance."
Hearing my low mutter, Zoe grinned again, narrowing her eyes.
She covered her mouth with her hand and laughed, her eyes sparkling with a gleam of pleasure.
"What, what do you mean?"
Her meaningful smile made me very concerned.
Zoe had a keen intuition, but she shouldn't know about Blake's confession to me, right?
But even though I thought so, I couldn't figure out the meaning behind her smile at all.
"You'll find out later? Ah, but the teacher seems rather slow. By the time you realize it, you might already have fallen into a trap."
"Hey, stop being so noisy! Who said I was slow. Don't make random predictions."
Seeing Zoe still covering her mouth to suppress her laughter, my spine went cold.
How much did she see through? For some reason, my heart beat faster and faster.
"By the way, not only Abel, but Zoe also knows Blake well?"
"Ah, yes. We are neighbors. Although my friendship with him is not as long as mine with Abel, it's still quite a long time."
"Ah? Are you three childhood friends?"
Hearing Abel's words, I couldn't help but be surprised and stunned.
Blake, who had a proper demeanor, and the two with a strong impression of mischievousness, seemed不协调 no matter how I looked at them.
"Surprised, right?"
"Ah, a bit shocked."
"Yes, everyone says that."
Seeing my honest answer, Abel smiled and shrugged.
I heard that most people who didn't know would be surprised, and I felt relieved.
"Hey, teacher. If you want to know about Blake, I can tell you anytime. But isn't it better to communicate with the person himself face to face than to ask others?"
Zoe, who had been staring at me, tilted her head slightly.
Her words hit the nail on the head, and I couldn't help but be at a loss for words.
"... Face to face communication, what to do, and how to do it well."
"What? It's just communication."
"Ah? Communication, you say it so simply."
Since it was someone I just met, communication was of course a matter of course.
But I didn't know how to solve this problem.
This was my current worry, but Zoe ignored me, who was confused, stood up, and smiled.
"You want to know him, right? Then you have to take the initiative to approach him, right."
Saying that, Zoe tilted her head cutely and closed one eye cutely.
"Ah, Abel, let's go back. Tonight's dinner is omelette rice."
Zoe completely ignored me, who was stunned, gently pulled Abel's sleeve.
Abel looked at his watch and hurriedly stood up. I involuntarily looked up at the tall Abel.
"Yes! Auntie's omelette rice. I have to go buy eggs! Goodbye, Mr. Ben! If you want to know about Blake, you can ask me anytime."
"Ah? Ah."
I followed the backs of the two who left like a storm with my eyes, raised one hand in a daze, and blinked my eyes continuously.
Their entrances and exits were always so sudden.
However, when I stared at the tightly closed door for a while, the door suddenly opened again.
"...?"
I turned my head in confusion, and Zoe suddenly poked her head out.
Then she silently walked up to me, took my hand, and placed a thin object on it.
"Well, Mr. Ben, good luck!"
She completely ignored my wide-eyed surprise, said this sentence, and disappeared on the other side of the door.
"What kind of luck?"
Left behind by the storm, I suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion for some reason and sighed deeply.
Then I looked down at the object left on my palm and tilted my head again.
"Business card?"
There was a business card on my palm for some reason.
"What does this have to do with Blake?"
I was confused by Zoe's incomprehensible behavior and always felt a bad premonition from her words.
"Does she know about our long friendship?"
No, no, I shook my head, trying to get rid of this bad premonition, and then took a deep breath and turned to the desk.
Anyway, let's focus on work first. I looked at the stack of printed documents on the desk and let out a deep breath.
I decided to work overtime today.