*Gulping sound*

“Okay, um… Please everyone, pick a seat and settle down.”

The remaining students timidly enter the classroom, some of them even wondering if they are in the wrong building.

As a teacher, failing to introduce yourself to your class on the first day of school is not the best way to start the year.

“Onigawara-san, behave yourself.”

“Excuse me Fujisaki-sensei, it was not my intention to make a scene like that, I got carried away on my first day as a high school teacher.”

“Teacher Trainee. You are not officially a real teacher yet, please take this into account.”

“Yes…”

“It’s a harsh treatment, isn’t it Fujisaki-sensei?”

“Thank you for your concern Ooshima-kun but if I don’t supervise Onigawara-san here well, he is very likely to go off in all directions.”

The poor trainee teacher drops his tear and looks at Fujisaki-sensei like a puppy.

“I’m getting berated in front of my future students by my former homeroom teacher…”

*Sigh*

“Well I get it, I’ll try to be more accommodating in the future. Come on, now get your head together and introduce yourself to the class.”

He raises his head and looks around to see if everyone is settled. Everyone looks at him with a dumbfounded look, waiting for him to introduce himself properly.

“Um, so let me start again as I should, I’m Onigawara Seiichi, currently a student at Kumiai University and for these next six months, your substitute homeroom teacher. Nice to meet you.”

Small shy applause but still present.

“Good, much better than the first time.”

“Thank you.”

“As for me, some of you already know me and some of you don’t, but let’s do it right. I am Fujisaki Junko. I will be your homeroom teacher for this year. I will be the one teaching you Japanese.”

More sustained and dynamic applause, we can feel a small ounce of discreet pride from this dear teacher. Perhaps she is trying to impress her trainee by showing him that she has more authority and success than he does?

Vanity is an ugly flaw Fujisaki-sensei, karma will come for you.

“As said before, Onigawara-san will be your social studies teacher for the next six months so try to follow his lessons well and give him as much feedback as possible on his teaching methods. He is also there to learn, so don’t be soft on him, okay?”

“Okay.” x30

One wonders if he will be able to teach high school students if he crashes so easily in front of his students and Fujisaki-sensei. Was his entrance in the 80’s thug mode just a diversion to gain confidence?

“Very well, we will begin slowly with a presentation of the course of the year, Onigawara-sensei…”

“Oh, this is the first time she’s called me sensei.”

The aspiring teacher’s beaming face lights up as if he had just won a raffle.

He grabs the remote control of the classroom projector to display the roadmap for the upcoming school year and with a cheerful look he says.

“Haha, as you already know, our school system is different from the traditional Japanese system, with different class periods and holidays. As our school year starts in early September, new Japanese students at Kumiai may be confused at first by this new rhythm but you will soon get used to it.”

A hand goes up in the classroom, a young girl with glasses with a very serious look intervenes.

“Does it have anything to do with the fact that the island is not native to Japan? I never understood why at the Kumiai campus we didn’t follow the same school periods as the rest of the country.”

“Very good question Niigata-san. Indeed, Kumiai was created by Europeans on Japanese territory, so they decided to completely revise the management of the school system to adapt it to the population and students of the island who come from all over the world.

“It’s still a very atypical decision, especially on Japanese soil.”

“They took a gamble to go in this direction, for now the island and the campus have managed to climb the ladder of excellence and popularity. But I agree with you, it’s still an accomplishment to have been able to bring this project to fruition and get to this point.”

Onigawara-sensei is rather melancholic when he thinks back to his middle and high school years.

“I was in your shoes a few years ago and I’d just tell you that as a traditional Japanese high school student, the transition to a hybrid education system that mixes Europe and Japan was quite overwhelming.”

The timeline of school and holiday periods is revealed. It’s sure to confuse a lot of people, and those who aren’t used to having so many holidays may quickly become lazy…

I’m just saying that… At least I am.

“If you’re interested, I could give you a little lecture on the origin of school holidays in the European school system in one of my social studies classes.”

“It’s an interesting idea but we’ll see about that for later, just remember that even though you theoretically have more holidays than in traditional schools in Japan, it will be used differently.”

A young boy raises his hand to interrupt Fujisaki-sensei.

“What do you mean by that sensei?”

“Um, you are one of the new students, Griffin-kun if I’m not mistaken?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“To answer your question quickly, apart from the winter and summer holidays which are similar to those in the rest of the country, all other holiday periods will be dedicated to life on Kumiai and on campus.”

“So we still have to come to class during these holidays?”

“You’ll have to come to campus in uniform but you won’t be in class. A few years ago, Kumiai’s leadership decreed that fall and spring holidays will allow for club activities as well as special events such as the cultural festival or the sports festival.”

“Every year there is a lot to do on campus and rather than disrupting class periods, they preferred to devote these extra vacations from the European school system to extracurricular events and activities.”

“That’s exactly what I just said Onigawara-sensei… Are you even listening to what I’m saying from earlier?”

“Sorry, I’m nervous…”

Some small discreet laughs come to punctuate this casualness.

“I see, so at the end of the day everyone gets something out of it and other than the start date of the year, we’re pretty much at a similar pace to other schools around the country.”

“Absolutely, anyway don’t worry I sent you this document with all the details on your personal email linked to your student card, feel free to check.”

I’ll spare you the rest of the introduction of the two teachers so as not to spoil the surprise for the rest of our adventure… and also because it’s a pain (in the a**).

…

Rina on her side managed not to fall asleep during the presentation, here is what is astonishing and besides Ooshima-kun does not deprive himself to make him the remark.

“What’s with the focused face? I thought you would have fallen asleep like during my presentation this morning.”

“They tell us about the holidays and the cool stuff that happens at school when there’s no class, so glad I’m not sleeping…”

“And ?”

“And also because if I have the misfortune to fall asleep during a Fujisaki-sensei class, I’m risking a lot-very much.”

“Like what?”

“Just like that…”

*Hissing sound*

*BAM !* x2

Two brand new pieces of chalk left Fujisaki-sensei’s hands at supersonic speed and hit the foreheads of the two chatters.

“OUCH!”

“Oof, between the eyes? Without warning?”

“No chit-chat when a teacher explains something to the class, you know it and yet you persist.”

“Sorry.” x2