Midori had been working at the cram school a lot longer than Toshihiko. She was a full-time employee, too, and she’d even earned the title of vice-principal. Logging into the internal system with her ID gave her access to a lot more information about the students. Standing behind Toshihiko, she leaned in close to the screen and began poking around. A deep furrow appeared in her brow.
“While you were in the hospital, her mother came here and said that she still wanted to keep Nakamura enrolled…but from the look of things, Nakamura hasn’t attended a single class since then. Odd.”
“Hmm…”
“Let’s try contacting her parents.”
Midori straightened up and stepped away from the screen. Her brow smoothed out again. Maybe she’d just been squinting hard because she didn’t have her glasses on.
“Yeah, that would probably be best.”
“If she’s off sick, then it counts as an absence rather than a withdrawal. There’s a different system in place to deal with it. I’d feel sorry for her parents if they were still paying tuition when she’s not coming.”
Remembering his own yearlong break from formal education to indulge his stalking habit, Toshihiko felt a twinge of shame. He tried not to let it show on his face.
“You’re right. If we have to set up a meeting with them in person, could you let me do it?”
“Why?”
Midori’s expression turned severe again.
“You’re not her homeroom teacher. Is there some reason you want to take charge?”
The AC ruffled her hair slightly. Her locks were pure black and looked like they had never been dyed. The sight called to mind his attacker’s hair, which had brushed his arm on the bridge. He looked away and noticed Midori wore a simple silver ring on her ring finger. He could have sworn she wasn’t married. When they were out drinking last month, hadn’t she draped herself over him and plied him with questions about his own love life? Had she really been as drunk as she appeared that night?
Midori was a considerate person, an earnest teacher, and a dependable friend. In spite of that, Toshihiko couldn’t help feeling suspicious of her. He took a breath and went on.
“It feels like my accident is what started all this. If it really is why Nakamura’s taking so much time off, wouldn’t it be good for her to see that I’m okay? It might help ease her mind.”
She fixed him with a piercing stare for a few moments but eventually relented.
“Perhaps you’re right. You do seem to be the teacher she’s most attached to. Just make sure you get approval from her homeroom teacher first.”
“Of course.”
In his mind, Toshihiko heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness that had worked out. Even if Midori was really the stalker, this wouldn’t have been the time to confront her. And now he’d almost certainly get to talk to Mirei again. He’d only glimpsed the attacker briefly from behind, but Mirei would have seen her head-on. In all honesty, he didn’t care how the girl was feeling one way or the other. He just wanted a chance to see if she knew anything.
After finishing up his paperwork for the day, he stepped into the entrance hall and found a girl standing next to the umbrella rack. She wore a messy ponytail with the ends turned up. For a moment, he thought it was Mirei. But when he took another look at her, he realized it was an entirely different girl, although their uniforms were the same.
This was Hirona Ushijima. She seemed to be on pretty good terms with Mirei, and Toshihiko had seen them chatting together before. Hirona sprang forward like a bullet from a gun and came running up to him.
“Mr. Katayama, do you have time to talk?”
It probably had something to do with Mirei. He didn’t want to take the bait too quickly and risk putting off Hirona, though.
“If there’s anything you didn’t understand in class, you should have asked then.”
“No, come on. I’m talking about Mirei, of course.”
She looked up at him beseechingly for a second. Then her face clouded over.
“I heard about…everything. Mirei was really serious about you. When she said she was gonna ask you out, I tried to talk her out of it, but…”
Toshihiko was secretly impressed. Unlike her friend, Hirona knew how to keep things in perspective. The girl went on haltingly, hesitantly.
“To be honest, when I heard you’d fallen down those stairs while you were with Mirei, I thought… I don’t know, maybe you got mad at her and tried to push her but ended up falling yourself? But I don’t think you’d do something like that. If you had, she wouldn’t be covering for you right now.”
“I see. Thanks for believing in me.”
“It’s not that I believe in you. I just don’t think Mirei would be that stupid.”
She sighed heavily.
“Anyway, I wanted to hear her side of the story, but she hasn’t been to school since the accident. She never pays much attention, and she ditches her classes here all the time, but she’s always been good about showing up every day.”
“How much school has she missed, exactly?”
“All of it. Ever since that day, she hasn’t shown up once.”
Toshihiko had been in the hospital for three days. After the surgery, he’d needed several follow-up appointments. Then two more weeks had passed before he was allowed to return to work today. Mirei had been absent from school that whole time?
“That does seem odd.”
Hirona nodded.
“Yeah, our teacher—the one at our school, not here—tried to stop me, but I went to her house to check on her, and…”
“Hold on a minute.”
Toshihiko glanced around them. He couldn’t feel that clingy gaze on him. But the stalker was bound to find him sooner or later. What if she attacked Hirona this time? He chose his next words carefully.
“If we talk here, there’s a chance the other teachers or some parents could overhear us and get the wrong idea. This is going to be a long story, right? Let’s call this a ‘consultation session’ and talk in one of the classrooms. Can you call your parents and let them know you’ll be home late?”
Hirona fell silent for a moment as she considered his proposal. Then after a quick phone call home, she followed Toshihiko into an empty classroom.