Chapter 29: Introducing the Next Heroine

Introducing the Next Heroine

April marks the start of a new school year, and we've overcome a turbulent year.

My position as homeroom teacher for Year 1 Class 2 has been abolished, and my new title has been updated to Homeroom Year 2 Class 2.

Last year, my class was in a state of chaos, and it's hard to call it smooth, but that's all in the past. The class reorganization will be carried out with the change of school year.

"...Why?"

But those hopes are now in the past.

When I opened the list, the class reorganization was mostly unchanged. I guess they'll just keep it as it was, with only a few students traded with others. And the exchanges were only with quiet, non-problematic kids in the class.

Yes, that's right.

Class 2-2, which I'll be teaching this year, has become a class for so-called problem children.

Taking last year's unruly Class 2 as a model, they've shoved problem children into the class from the outside and pulled out the well-behaved ones from the inside. That's how the new Class 2-2 was created.

I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing. In fact, if you consider the inconvenience it causes to students who are studying hard at school, creating a class full of kids who have no interest in listening in class would be one option.

Even a young teacher like me understands that it's not realistic to say, "Make all those kids serious!"

High school isn't compulsory education, after all, so it's up to students whether they want an education or not, and that's the reality. I'd probably be criticized for being cold-hearted if I said this to the public.

But while I understand the idea of ​​creating a class like this, I can't accept the idea of ​​making me the homeroom teacher there. 

Finally, I am responsible for the disgraceful behavior of Class 2. I believe that the students looked down on me because of my appearance and behavior, which caused the entire class to head in a bad direction.

If that's the case, then it would make sense to remove me as homeroom teacher, and that would be more appropriate in terms of class leadership. If it was caused by the students looking down on me, then perhaps we should ask a more intimidating male teacher.

"Well, I guess there's no point in saying anything now."

I sigh.

My power is not strong enough to change something that's already been decided. It would be more accurate to say I have no power at all, I'm such a weakling that I can't be flexible.

As an adult, it's pathetic to keep dragging on about something that's already been decided and you can't escape it.

But still, it's true that I feel a little more at ease than last year.

I owe it all to that girl, Tachibana Yuri.

"I guess the only positive thing is that Tachibana-san is still in my class."

Even though she's not usually in charge, she always smiles and helps out with tasks like collecting notebooks. She also readily agrees when I ask her to help with tedious tasks like setting up the venue and preparing the day before. She even solved the problem of Hanabi Kagari, one of the three biggest problem children that constantly gave me headaches.

Hanabi-san not coming to school was one of my biggest worries, but Tachibana-san managed to solve that and brought her to school.

Nowadays, I often see the two of them chatting together, looking like they're good friends. She never opened up to me, but with Tachibana-san, she smiles happily and seems attached to her like a real mother and daughter.

The fact that she's still in my class is one of the few good news stories I have. 

"But it's not good to rely on Tachibana-san too much. The incident with Hanabi-san was clearly not something I should have asked Tachibana-san for."

At the time, it was an urgent matter that affected her promotion to the next grade, so I asked without thinking too much about it, but normally, it's not something I should ask of a regular student.

Of course, I thanked her over spring break, but I can't say that was enough.

In high school, moving up a grade means the college entrance exams are approaching.

Her grades are excellent, but even so, I still shouldn't burden Tachibana-san.

This year, I need to be more vigilant and not rely too much on her.

This time's new heroine won't be explored in depth due to the direction of the story, so I'll wrap it up quickly.

New Character Overview: Rindou Kazaha

A delinquent girl who often misses school. She seems to have a sufficient number of attendance days. She's not particularly muscular, but she's tall and uses her long limbs to achieve success.

She's one of the top two problem students, which is a source of worry for Sumire-sensei. Once a week, she receives complaints, big or small, about her, causing Sumire-sensei to have to work overtime.

She doesn't really mind quitting high school right away, but her parents are nagging her, so she's reluctantly going along with it.