Chapter 289: Miyagi is next to me today — 289
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
Miyagi and I watch movies and read manga in our room.
These few days of the holiday weekend were consumed by such trivial but important things for me.
And today.
Across to me is not Miyagi, but Hanamaki Kikyō-chan.
I don’t intend to miss my part-time job, and I have no complaints about working part-time.
I think the act of teaching learning is for me and I enjoy it.
But I also want to go home.
Because Miyagi acted in a way that put me in a good mood.
I know it’s probably not true. I know that Miyagi would never get me in a good mood, but the fact that she acted like she did makes me want to get back to my normal, uneventful life with Miyagi, even though I am still working part-time.
Students are important and should not be treated carelessly, but there is a part of me that wants to give up everything and stay by Miyagi’s side.
——These things are not good.
I look at Kikyō-chan, squeezing her painted nails, the color Miyagi said would look good on her. Being a good student, she is doing exactly what I told her to do.
She never fails to do the homeworks I assign her, and she never tries to skip class while I’m teaching her. She’s not slacking off just because it is the holidays, and she’s sitting in front of me diligently.
This is not the same Miyagi where I imitated the tutor.
Well, Miyagi is different from everyone else.
I answered some of Kikyō-chan’s questions and asked some new ones. Time passed as it had in the past during Golden Week, and before I knew it, the end of the allotted time was approaching.
「I’m about to wrap this up, do you have any questions?」
When I asked Kikyō-chan, who was running a pen in her notebook, she thought for a moment before opening her mouth.
「Do you have any plans for the holidays?」
「My schedule, huh? I guess only teaching.」
I smiled and replied that I had other “tutoring plans”.
「Other than that.」
「Other than teaching, I just stay home and don’t really have any plans.」
I have plans to go see the penguins, but I won’t bother to tell my student, so I’ll keep quiet.
「Your roommate, …don’t you and Miyagi-san go out and have fun?」
Kikyō-chan puts down her pen and stares at me.
She has been saying the word “roommate” a lot since she met Miyagi. Or maybe even before we met.
「I don’t know if I plan on going.」
I smiled and uttered a lie.
It’s painful, but I have a feeling that telling the truth will get me into trouble.
「Even though it’s your day off. Are you fighting with Miyagi-san?」
「We’re not, we’re not. We’re getting along well.」
「Miyagi-san said she doesn’t have a part-time job, but maybe you have a part-time job and are busy?」
「Well, something like that.」
I don’t feel so good about lying about Miyagi, but I figure it’s better than telling the truth. In a situation like this, it is better to pass it off as a safe reason.
That’s what I’ve been doing all my life and I’m used to it.
But it’s also something I haven’t done much of lately, and I’m starting to feel guilty about it.
「Being a college student sounds like a lot of work.」
Kikyō-chan says sincerely.
「Fair enough.」
「If I had a roommate, I would love to hang out with them on my days off!」
「Then I hope you can be roommates with someone like that.」
Does she have a yearning for a roommate?
Or is it for another reason, I don’t know, but I can only speak in bland terms.
「Right.」
Kikyō-chan said in a voice that did not really mean it, and added,「Sensei, it’s time.」I looked at my watch and sure enough, the allotted time had passed.
「Well, that’s all for today.」
「Okay.」
After hearing Kikyō-chan’s reply, I put away the reference books and pen case on the table. As I leave the room with my bag, Kikyō-chan walks me to the entrance as usual.
「See you again.」
In my voice, Kikyō-chan bowed her head and said, “Thank you very much.”
As soon as I stepped out the front door, I immediately thought of Miyagi.
I can’t wait to go home.
The steps I take become bigger to reflect our feelings. The scenery flows faster than when I arrived here. I walk and ride the train as if running through the city at night.
Miyagi is home today.
She said we were all working part-time and won’t be going anywhere during the holidays. So she will be home tomorrow and the day after.
When I was in high school, my place was Miyagi’s room, but now that house where I share a room with Miyagi is my place and also Miyagi’s place.
Eternity is not something I believe in, but if I could, I would like to be a college student who could live in that house as Miyagi’s roommate forever.
Thus, I work part-time, take the train, and go back to the house where Miyagi is.
I want to repeat those days.
I turn away from the reality that I can’t keep repeating and think about what I can’t do, and then the station I need to get off at arrives and I get off at the platform.
After leaving the ticket gate, I walk down the street where I often meet Mike-chan. But Mike-chan doesn’t often show her face at night, so I reach home without seeing her.
I unlocked the door and went inside to find Miyagi’s shoes in place. When I entered the common space, I saw Miyagi struggling with a frying pan and called out to her.
「I’m home.」
「Welcome home.」
Without looking at me, Miyagi says,「Do you want some food?」
「I’ll eat… is this mapo tofu?」
Anticipate the dinner menu from the aromas wafting through the common space.
「Yeah, maybe.」
「Maybe?」
The voice I heard sounded so unsure that I moved closer to her. Then I looked at the frying pan and there was what looked like bean curd without any trace of tofu.
「It’s the same when it’s in your stomach.」
Miyagi says it like an excuse.
「Looks good, doesn’t it? I’ll leave my bag. Wait for me.」
The tofu should not be so crumbly that it makes the bean curd less tasty. And even if it is not good, I would not complain about what Miyagi has made.
I go back to my room and put my bag down.
I quickly return to the common area and help prepare dinner.
I prepare rice and bean-curd soup on the table.
Spoon to plate.
Chopsticks become chopstick rests for cats.
And Miyagi is on the opposite side.
Everything is in place and I sit in my chair.
「Itadakimasu.」
Our voices come together and we both bring the bean-curd soup to our mouths.
I can’t wait to sit next to her.
With this thought in mind, I took a bite of the bean curd, which looked like tofu playing hide-and-seek.
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