Panel Magic
★★★
Ding-dong, ding-dong...
The chime echoed through the school building on the first day of the new term. It marked the start of the third period. The opening ceremony had already wrapped up during the first and second periods, and class assignments had been announced.
For the record, the class I'll be homeroom teacher for from today is a humanities course in the second year of Tsukishima High School. This is my third year as a high school teacher, and it's my first time being a homeroom teacher.
While part of me felt anxious about whether I could do a good job, I slid open the classroom door and stepped into the lively room. The students began to scatter and find their seats.
Of course, they weren't about to start a deathmatch or get "locked on" after a "Stand, Bow!" command. Some of them had attended my classes in their first year, and I'd already introduced myself in the auditorium. Still, the nerves were there.
As the room fell silent, I stood in front of the teacher's desk, telling myself to stay calm, and started my introduction.
"Alright, some of you have had me in class before, and some of you are meeting me for the first time. Let me introduce myself. As mentioned in the auditorium earlier, I'll be the homeroom teacher for 2-B starting today—"
Speaking in front of a crowd was never my forte. Back during my student teaching days and even when I first started at this school, I was so nervous I often stumbled over my words. But after three years, you get used to it.
Turning my back to the students, I wrote my name on the whiteboard. Once done, I faced them again and said, "—Shugo Kizaki. I'll be counting on all of you for the next year."
Clap, clap, clap...
It seemed the introduction was off to a good start. The applause reassured me—briefly.
"Yes, yes!" A male student raised his hand, stood up uninvited, and asked, "Sir, do you have a girlfriend?"
That sparked a chain reaction.
"What are your hobbies?"
"Do you play any mobile games?"
"What's your favorite manga? Anime? Tell us!"
Yana once said marriage hunting was a battlefield, but school is undoubtedly a battlefield, too—only here, you're up against high schoolers.
Some of the male students were taller than my fairly average height of 170 cm, and some of the girls seemed more like women than schoolgirls. In terms of maturity, there were students who appeared more grown-up than me.
Honestly, being a mid-twenties guy, I wasn't much different from them mentally. That's what made dealing with them challenging.
Still, I knew how to handle it.
"I'm not an idol, so getting bombarded with personal questions like that is a bit much. You'll get to know me gradually, but for now, let’s hear a bit about you all. It’s self-introduction time."
Groans of discontent like "Ehh..." and playful boos filled the room, but I pushed forward and got the students to start introducing themselves.
There were just over 30 students in total. Some gave long introductions, while others were brief. Once everyone was done, I moved on to discussing the day's schedule. As I was wrapping up, the third-period chime rang out.
Next was fourth period, where we'd distribute textbooks, rearrange seats, and finish the day's plans.
Since class representatives hadn't been chosen yet, I assigned the role of greeting leader to the student sitting in the front row on the far-right side—Aizawa, who was first in the attendance list. She’d been in one of my classes last year and was part of the track team. With her energetic demeanor, I was confident she'd handle it well.
"Yes!" Aizawa stood up with a lively response befitting an athlete.
She continued with a crisp "Stand, Bow!" The students replied in unison with, "Thank you!" marking the end of the first session.
"Oh, right, one more thing. A quick announcement," I added, stopping them as they began to stir. "From Aizawa to the next student— Ayase— through the tenth person on the attendance list, head to the staff meeting room next to the faculty office just before the fourth-period bell. I'll need your help carrying textbooks."
Predictably, complaints like "Why us?" and "Why me?" arose, but I had anticipated this.
"I get that you might feel it's unfair, but there’s plenty to do over the year. Everyone will pitch in at some point. For now, I’m counting on you ten, alright?"
★★★
"Here, Kizaki-sensei, have some tea."
It happened when I left the classroom and returned to the staff room. As I sat down at my desk, Kirarazaka-sensei, a slightly senior and stunningly beautiful teacher with fluffy hair, brought me a cup of tea.
"Thank you very much. Sorry for the trouble."
"It's no trouble at all. The entrance ceremony is tomorrow, so I have some free time today."
"Oh, that's right..."
Kirarazaka-sensei was in charge of the first-year students starting tomorrow, so she had no classes today.
"So, how was your first time as a homeroom teacher?"
"I was definitely nervous. It reminded me of when I did my teaching practicum or the first time I came to this school and taught a class."
"That does sound about right for your first time as a homeroom teacher."
Kirarazaka-sensei chuckled softly, but at that moment, Kaito-sensei returned to the staff room, muttering, "Ah, my shoulders are so stiff," while cracking his neck from side to side.
"Good work, Kaito-sensei. I'll make some tea for you now."
"Oh, thank you, Kirarazaka-sensei."
As she prepared tea, Kirarazaka-sensei continued the conversation.
"We were just talking about how it's Kizaki-sensei's first time as a homeroom teacher. How about you, Kaito-sensei? How are your new students?"
"Eh... Well, haha, as expected, third-years are pretty tense. Probably because I mentioned the word 'exams.'"
"Ha-ha-ha!" Kaito-sensei laughed.
"Well, I am a PE teacher, after all. I think most people assume I'm not really involved with things like exams or career paths—and to be fair, that's mostly true..."
"True, being a homeroom teacher for third-years is more demanding than for other grades. There’s so much to think about. Here you go." Kirarazaka-sensei handed him the tea and added, "But at the same time, you get to share in their joys and send them off on new journeys. It's deeply moving. If you ever need help, feel free to ask me—your senior with experience as a third-year homeroom teacher."
"Yes, of course!" Kaito-sensei replied, his face turning bright red.
Incidentally, Kirarazaka-sensei had just sent off her first batch of third-years last year, meaning she was their homeroom teacher before.
As the three of us chatted— despite all being homeroom teachers for the humanities course—about the differences between the humanities and science courses, the bell rang, signaling the start of the fourth period, the last class of the day.
"Oh, is it that time already?" Kaito-sensei said as he stood up from his chair with a stretch.
"The students are already here," he said, gesturing toward the entrance of the staff room. Sure enough, a few students were milling about.
"Is this for the textbook distribution? I’ll help too," Kirarazaka-sensei offered.
"Really? Thank you so much!" Kaito-sensei responded, looking genuinely delighted.
After promising to help Kirarazaka-sensei with her class's textbook distribution tomorrow, Kaito-sensei and I joined her in heading out through the back door of the staff room to the staff meeting room, where the textbooks were stored.
When we arrived, the hallway outside the meeting room was already bustling with students. Some teachers had started distributing textbooks ahead of us. As we got our distribution station set up, students from Kaito-sensei's class approached us first.
As we handed out textbooks together, my own students arrived. The first to speak were two boys from the baseball team.
"Kizaki, hurry up with the textbooks!"
"Don't go calling your homeroom teacher by name like that," I grumbled, handing one of them his textbooks.
As I did, Kirarazaka-sensei, standing beside me, handed the other baseball player his books with a gentle smile. "Here you go. Be careful not to drop them."
Her hair swayed lightly as she moved, and a sweet, almost intoxicating scent brushed past my nose.
"Th-thank you so much!" The boys, grinning ear to ear, were clearly smitten.
It wasn’t just them. My other students could be heard whispering things like, "Kirarazaka-sensei is so pretty!" "I heard she’s fluent in English because she’s an English teacher." "Man, I wish she were our homeroom teacher." "Me too!"
Honestly, I couldn’t disagree. If I were in their shoes, I’d probably prefer Kirarazaka-sensei as my homeroom teacher too. And of course, getting a textbook from her instead of me would be far more exciting.
That said, as their actual homeroom teacher, I couldn’t just stand idly by.
"Alright, you lot, stop chatting and take your textbooks already. And Kaito-sensei—Kaito-sensei!"
"Huh?! Oh, yes!" Kaito-sensei snapped back to attention, clearly lost in his own thoughts.
"What are you spacing out for?"
"Huh? Ah... sorry, sorry!"
It was obvious that Kaito-sensei had been entranced by Kirarazaka-sensei.
"Here you go, Kaito-sensei."
"Thank you so much, Kirarazaka-sensei!" he stammered, completely smitten.
We continued handing out textbooks together, and by the eighth student, the distribution was complete. However, I had called for ten students to help, so I decided to have the remaining two girls carry some additional handouts back to the classroom.
As we made our way back with the handouts, one of the girls spoke up with a sly grin.
"Sensei, can I ask you something?"
It was Reina Uzaki, one of my students, clutching a stack of handouts. She had long, beautifully dyed blonde hair and a stylishly casual uniform—an unmistakable gyaru.
"What is it..." I asked cautiously, already wary. Uzaki was the type of student who teased others without concern for their status, and I wasn’t particularly good at handling her type.
She leaned in close to my ear, her lips nearly brushing it, and said with a loud enough voice, "Hey, earlier, wasn’t Kaito-sensei totally head over heels for Kirarazaka-sensei? Do you think he might actually like her?"
"Wha—"
She hit the nail on the head.
Luckily, Kaito-sensei wasn’t nearby to overhear.
"Don’t you agree, Sakucchi? You thought so too, right?" Uzaki said, turning to the other girl walking with us.
"Sakucchi" was Uzaki’s nickname for Sakura Ayase, the quieter of the two girls. Ayase had neat black pigtails and glasses, embodying the image of a reserved, refined bookworm. She was the polar opposite of Uzaki.
"Uh, well... I guess I kind of thought so..." Ayase replied hesitantly.
"See? Even Sakucchi thought so!" Uzaki chimed in with a triumphant smile.
Despite their contrasting personalities, the two seemed surprisingly close. Uzaki turned her mischievous attention back to me.
"So, what do you think, Kizaki-sensei? Do you know anything?"
"Know anything about what?"
"About Kaito-sensei and what he thinks of Kirarazaka-sensei, of course! Oh, wait... don’t tell me you’re interested in Kirarazaka-sensei too? I mean, she’s insanely beautiful. Even some of the boys in class are totally head-over-heels for her."
"No, that's—"
"Haha, Sensei, you're totally blushing! Are you shy when it comes to things like that? Are you a virgin or something? Kaito-sensei kind of gives off the same vibe."
"Hey, stop with the virgin jokes. Those are the kinds of words high school girls shouldn't just throw around. And I’m sure Ayase-san's uncomfortable with it too."
When I glanced at Ayase-san, she was giving a small, awkward smile.
"Well, compared to Kaito-sensei, I think it’d be easier for you, Kizaki-sensei, to get a girlfriend. You're actually pretty cute when you look closely. Maybe you should try one of those dating apps. You could probably get a girlfriend right away!"
"Eh..."
"Haha, Sensei, you're so flustered! That's adorable~♡"
"You..."
Still, I couldn’t help but think—
(Kaito-sensei... everything is being exposed. And I’m just as guilty...)
I could only laugh bitterly inside. I never expected the word "dating app" to come up in this conversation.
Even though they’re high school students, these gyaru are terrifying.
I truly thought that from the bottom of my heart.