“Amnesia, Avelia.”
A woman laid out two entry forms for the interview and called each of our names, then said, “As I’m sure you understand, I find it’s best to thoroughly evaluate potential teachers before accepting their instruction.”
When you travel, sometimes it happens that you run low on funds.
My older sister and I had recently arrived at a new city, and, drawn in by a suspicious flier that read, EASY WORK - ANYONE CAN MAKE MONEY! we went to an interview.
The venue for the interview was a fairly luxurious single-family home.
My sister and I were taken through to one of the rooms, obviously the private bedroom of a teenage girl, and met Crechill, obviously the teenage girl in question, face-to-face.
We were told to have a seat in some very old chairs that must have been brought in just for the interview and Crechill, who was wearing a very serious face that she must have put on just for the interview, told us the substance of this job.
“Are you ready for this, you two? I’ve already been betrayed by my own teacher twice—”
Apparently, she was searching for a teacher so that she could defeat her rival, another girl named Nadona. It sounded like neither of the teachers she’d had so far were very good individuals, and she was still losing against this rival of hers.
“Sigh…I can’t believe I lost twice in a row… Actually, strictly speaking, I didn’t lose yesterday, but…”
Crechill told us about her memories of losing as if they were in the distant past. I was genuinely curious, so I raised my hand and asked, “By the way, what is your record so far?”
“Well then, could you please tell me about your reasons for applying?”
Wah, she ignored me.
“We chose this position because the flier said that anyone could do it. We didn’t have any particularly deep reason.”
My sister answered the question. She was honest to a fault.
What are you saying? She’s going to think there’s something wrong with you.
“Heh-heh-heh…I see. Amnesia, it would seem you have the makings of a genius.”
Crechill, what are you saying?
“What’s this girl talking about?”
My big sister was just as confused as me.
“Geniuses are always damaged in some way,” said Crechill.
“What should we do, Avelia? I can’t understand what this girl is saying.”
“That’s probably because this person here is a genius, don’t you think?”
“Heh-heh-heh.” Crechill reacted alertly to the word genius. “You really get it, don’t you, Avelia? You pass.”
I don’t really understand what’s going on, but I guess I passed.
Wait, wait, but I don’t think it’s necessarily true that the people they call geniuses are always damaged in some way or that all damaged people are geniuses.
It seemed like it would upset her if I made this astute criticism, so I gave up on that retort. If you want to know why, it’s because, at the time, I was in an interview.
“But, Crechill, why do you want to defeat that rival of yours?”
“I’ve been losing, so I want to win. I don’t think I have any other reason for it.”
“Hmm…” I nodded with a thoughtful look on my face.
I honestly didn’t understand. According to what I’d heard, her opponent, this girl Nadona, was known to be a genius. Even if Crechill fought and lost against a girl like that, surely she could console herself to a certain degree by saying she’d chosen the wrong opponent.
That’s what I thought, but still I held my tongue. If you want to know why, it’s because I was in an interview.
“That’s an awfully vague reason. Do you really want to win?”
And yet my sister, who could never read a room, asked that question, honest to a fault.
That’s the second time.
“Big Sister, what are you talking about?”
“I thought if I said something strange, I would pass, too.”
“Seriously, what are you talking about?”
“Heh, heh-heh-heh-heh…my reasoning is vague, huh? Heh-heh-heh-heh…”
Laughing to herself, Crechill hung her head. She must have sensed something, too. “I suppose it is…” I clearly heard her muttering quietly.
My big sister, of course, took no notice of it.
“We’ve heard your story so far, but how do I put this? I can’t sense any fighting spirit in you, Crechill, any serious desire to win. It’s almost like you keep challenging your rival to matches so that you can continue spending time with her.”
Why are you finding fault with the interviewer?
“Sob.”
And it’s having quite an effect on her, too.
“So in actual fact, what’s going on?”
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