Interlude 2 - Nene Part 1
"Isn't that new teacher really handsome!?"
Inside the 3-A classroom where Nene was, this conversation happened during break time after Arata's first day at Amagamine High School.
"Yeah, yeah, totally! He's tall, wears glasses, handsome, and being a teacher is amazing!"
"He’s definitely going to be super popular."
The girls gathered around the table, enjoying lunch while chatting. Naturally, the topic of discussion was the new math teacher, Ichinose Arata.
"I wonder if Ichinose-sensei is married?"
"I didn’t see him wearing a ring, so I think he’s not."
"You’re so quick to check, but does he have a girlfriend?"
"Well, with a face like that, it’s no surprise if he has one or two girlfriends."
"One or two? Ah, that’s too mature!"
The girls continued to fantasize cheerfully. But it wasn’t just the girls talking about Arata in class.
"Someone like him would definitely win."
"Totally agree."
"What kind of match are you talking about?"
"A match as men. He clearly looks cool..."
As they said that, the boys gazed at the sky with regretful expressions.
"Do you think he’s going to steal Kohinata-sensei away?"
"Huh? Are you interested in Kohinata-sensei?"
"No, I don’t mean interested, but I just hope there won't be any guys around her forever. Like an idol."
"I get it. But he’s a teacher in the same field, so maybe they’ll become close."
"That might be true. And tonight, they might go to a bar or something."
"A bar? Cool! That’s too grown-up, we can’t compete with him at all."
With their limited knowledge of adults, the boys seemed to be losing out. Amid the lively atmosphere of the classroom during break, three girls were speaking in hushed tones, leaning in toward each other.
Normally, their presence would make the classroom lively, but today, their influence seemed to be fading.
"Nene, the new teacher who came today..."
"Nene-chi, don’t tell me..."
Himari and Miu exchanged glances without speaking a word until the very end.
Just by saying that, Nene understood what her two friends were about to say, and she nodded slightly, but firmly.
"I knew it! It’s definitely true, right!"
"This is bad!!"
"You two, your voices are too loud."
Ssshh, ssshh, Nene placed her finger on her lips to quiet her excited friends.
Though their enthusiasm had slightly dimmed, Himari continued to speak softly.
"Everyone’s saying that Arata-san is handsome."
"Hmmph."
One of Nene’s cheeks puffed out in displeasure.
"They say Arata-san and Kohinata-sensei would make a good match."
"Hmmph, hmmph."
Miu joined in teasing Nene with Himari, and eventually, Nene puffed out both her cheeks in frustration. Seeing Nene like this made the two of them think she was really cute, and they hugged her immediately.
After a moment, Himari began speaking again.
"By the way, Nene, when did you find out he was coming?"
"Yeah, you should’ve told us earlier."
"Y-Yeah, Nene didn’t know either..."
Nene said those words with a bittersweet smile. A dark shadow seemed to cover her beautiful face.
Then she continued, her lips trembling.
"Once again, he didn’t tell me anything."
"That means..."
"It’s no doubt..."
Himari and Miu looked at each other and nodded, as if feeling certain.
"Isn't that a surprise!!"
"Yeah, because Nene is still a kid, so he doesn’t believe me... huh?"
The unexpected words from the two of them surprised Nene.
"Huh? What? A surprise?"
"Yeah," Himari replied while brushing her hair, then she put on a pair of glasses that seemed to come from nowhere, and slightly lifted Nene's little chin.
"I didn’t tell you because I wanted to see your surprised face, Nene-chan..."
"Kyah!"
Himari spoke in a softer voice than usual, dramatically pronouncing the words. Seeing this, Miu’s excitement grew.
It was Nene who gave Arata the chance to watch anime, but if you trace it back, Nene’s knowledge of anime came from Himari.
With her wavy blonde hair and striking face, as well as her cheerful personality that was friendly to everyone, there was no doubt that Himari was a gyaru. However, she had been greatly influenced by her older brother and had been familiar with otaku culture, such as anime, manga, and the internet, since she was little.
On her days off, she often did cosplay, not just as female characters but also male ones, and she was very skilled at it. This time, that side of her appeared.
"S-So, that’s what you mean...?"
"Of course, Nene-chi! Right, Himari-chi?"
Himari hung the glasses she was wearing around her neck and nodded.
"Although that’s not really the case, I don’t think Arata-san had any bad intentions."
"Exactly, it’s just Nene-chi’s bad habit of always overthinking things when it comes to Arata-san."
"Yeah, that part is cute though," Miu said, resting her hands on her cheeks and squinting at Nene.
"Himari... Miu... Can I say something to you both?"
"What’s going on all of a sudden?"
"Hmm~ what? What~?"
Himari and Miu listened as Nene spoke, looking slightly embarrassed.
"It’s not Arata-san, but Ichinose-sensei, okay?"
"Ugh!"
"Hyau!"
Nene smiled coldly. Both of them could feel the atmosphere around them getting colder.
"S-Sorry, Nene! Because you always call him that."
"Yeah, right! We got carried away. Sorry."
Nene couldn’t help but smile when she saw them hurriedly explaining in a panic.
"I was just joking. Thank you so much, you’re always there for me. I like you both."
"Ah, Nene..."
"Uhh, Nene-chi..."
Himari and Miu immediately hugged Nene with relief and happiness after hearing that. Nene gently patted their heads.
Seeing that scene, the boys in the class felt a beauty and holiness like a god loving a goddess.
However, despite the sacred atmosphere, Himari and Miu didn’t know that the two of them silently promised in their hearts not to call him that name again.
After a while, the three girls looked at each other and began speaking softly.
"By the way, in a situation like this, we can’t just let it pass, right?"
"I agree, Miu feels the same."
"We can’t let it slip away, so what should we do?"
"Of course, it’s about the school romance story."
"Ro-Romance!?"
"Y-Your voice is too loud, Nene-chi."
"S-Sorry... But isn’t this just going to cause trouble for him?"
"It’s okay, we’ll do it in a way that doesn’t disturb him."
"Having someone you like as a teacher at school, it’s like a shoujo manga dream every girl has, right?"
"...A dream every girl has."
"Nene-chi, chances like this are really rare. After graduating high school, this situation will end, so you could say this is a limited opportunity."
"...A limited opportunity."
The conclusion Nene reached after processing their words was...
"Nene will give it a try."
She was finally influenced by the two of them.
Nene clenched her fist and gently raised it. Following her lead, Himari and Miu also raised their fists in unison.
——.