There might be a reason a student receives detention. But
arguing in the female washroom for some reason, intimately tangled with a school beauty, meanwhile being caught by the new teacher who's apparently her sister.
Unfortunately, that happened to me and only me.
Even when no crime has been committed, the eyes can still be devastating.
Now, after school, I sat alone in an empty classroom with a worksheet in front of me.
"Reflective Essay: Appropriate Boundaries Inside School."
I just stared at the paper.
I know one thing: this wasn't for educational purposes. This was humiliation.
At the teacher's desk, Shizuka Kurotsuchi sat with one leg crossed over the other.
She was elegant in a very dangerous way.
She's the kind of woman who says "interesting" during an emotional situation.
Sadistic.
The classroom was still silent except for the occasional scratch of her pen checking student worksheets.
I tried to focus on the worksheet.
I wrote, "Students should avoid suspicious behavior in school..."
Then I stared at the sentence for ten seconds and added,
"Especially if saliva is involved."
That felt too specific. I scribbled that out.
Shizuka sensei spoke without looking at me.
"You're pressing your pen way too hard."
"After all, I am under pressure."
"That's fair."
I stared at her. She still doesn't look at me.
"How are you this calm?"
"Habit."
"Of what?"
"Family problems." She finally looked at me.
Somehow, the answer felt too honest.
I didn't like where this was going.
After another minute of faking writing the essay, I set down my pen.
"...So."
Shizuka sensei folded her hands.
"So."
We stared at each other. This felt more like interrogation than detention.
"You're Airi's sister."
"Yes."
"You didn't think to mention that before cornering me in the female washroom?"
"That wouldn't be informative."
"Informative for what?"
Her expression softened, though not in a comforting way. More like a cat preparing to attack its prey.
"You matter to her," she said.
That sentence was something I expected, but not from her mouth.
I looked away.
"This doesn't explain why you were watching us."
Shizuka smiled faintly. "You reacted exactly as I expected."
"That's not an explanation."
"It shouldn't be."
Fantastic. I was being psychologically profiled by a woman with perfect posture.
She stood from her chair and walked around the desk, stopping beside me.
Too close. Just too close. I straightened myself.
"What are you doing, sensei?"
"Observing you."
"That's not the answer."
She leaned down slightly. She had a faint perfume, the kind of scent made to make your brain completely forget everything.
I finally understood Airi's mysterious intensity did not appear out of nowhere. It was hereditary.
"You're nervous," she tilted her head.
"That's the correct reaction when a teacher is weirdly intimate with you."
"I'm not just a teacher."
"That somehow makes this worse."
She studied my face carefully. Her gaze intensified on my mouth.
My survival instinct activated finally. I leaned back in my chair.
"You are in my detention, and I have to punish you personally."