After the self-introductions, the opening ceremony began as scheduled.
To Onizuka Tsukasa's surprise, nothing unexpected happened during the ceremony. A few outstanding alumni were invited to give speeches, and then it ended without a hitch.
Sometimes, when there were too many things out of the ordinary, even the normal started to seem abnormal.
Thankfully, the school hadn't gone so far as to pull something during the opening ceremony. Otherwise, who knew? He might have started taking precautions even in his sleep.
After the ceremony ended, the students in the classroom gradually dispersed, their chatter rising and falling. Groups of girls made plans to go shopping, while groups of boys arranged to meet up and play video games.
Of course, the biggest group by far was the crowd of nobodies heading back to their dorms alone. My front-row neighbor was naturally one of them.
Ayanokoji: Thanks. Don't bring me into this...
But what should he do next?
Whatever he wanted to do, sooner was better than later. Ideally, he should start taking action right away.
Onizuka Tsukasa understood that at this school, no student could know more about how it worked than a teacher. Whether he could get answers, though, depended on whether a teacher was willing to share them.
So he decided to be direct and go straight to his homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira, to get some of his questions answered.
He hurried down the hallway and soon found Chabashira-sensei's office.
Her office was in a corner of the school building. A simple sign hung beside the door, and through the window he could see shelves lined neatly with textbooks and files.
That part wasn't any different from other schools. All the teachers shared one office, divided by simple partitions.
Onizuka Tsukasa had thought that, as the best school in all of Japan, it might give every teacher a private office.
"Chabashira-sensei, do you have time to talk?"
Chabashira-sensei, who had been meditating (sleeping) in the office, opened her eyes and looked at Onizuka Tsukasa standing nearby. Her tone was full of impatience.
"What is it? Coming to see your teacher on the first day of school isn't a good habit."
"It's just a 'small' question. I don't think any teacher would refuse a student's reasonable request."
"Hmm, that's true. What a bother." Chabashira-sensei shook her head helplessly, as if she felt powerless against her job.
She led Onizuka Tsukasa up to the school building's rooftop. Sunlight spilled warmly through the stairwell, and the noise from the sports field gradually faded, replaced by the quiet rustle of the breeze.
When they reached the rooftop, Chabashira-sensei closed the door, then turned to Onizuka Tsukasa, impatience showing in her eyes.
"All right, mysterious boy. What did you want to ask?"
"My name is Onizuka Tsukasa. You can call me Onizuka, sensei. I want to know how much you can tell me-or, given the current circumstances, how much your authority allows you to tell me."
Sae Chabashira widened her eyes and asked in disbelief, "What... do you mean?"
He smiled. "I think you understand what I mean, sensei. There's no need for me to repeat myself, is there?"
Sae Chabashira slowly took a cigarette from her pocket and drew a deep breath.
"On the first day? You're quite perceptive." Her voice sounded relaxed, but Onizuka Tsukasa could feel the pressure behind it.
Onizuka Tsukasa bowed slightly, as if in thanks.
"You flatter me, sensei. Can we get to the point?"
"Yes, I suppose we can get to the 'point.'" Chabashira-sensei exhaled a puff of smoke, her expression seemingly complicated.
"But unfortunately, there's nothing I can 'voluntarily' tell you."
Onizuka Tsukasa considered this for a moment, then lifted his head and glanced at the surveillance camera on the rooftop, one of the many scattered throughout the school. The corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smile.
"In that case, I'll ask the questions."
"How many points would it cost to buy the right to make sure you absolutely won't lie during our conversation?" His tone held a hint of playfulness, but his seriousness was impossible to ignore.
Chabashira-sensei raised an eyebrow, as if she'd just heard something incredible.
"That's... interesting. Let me think. Let's say one point."
"All right, sensei. I've transferred it. Could you confirm whether you received it?" Onizuka Tsukasa looked her straight in the eye.
"What a bother... Fine, I've confirmed that I received it." Her voice carried a hint of helplessness, though complex emotions flickered in her eyes.
At last, a smile appeared on Onizuka Tsukasa's face.
"Second question: does the school support students earning points by any means?"
"Hm? I already explained that in class... Never mind. The school supports any means of earning points except intimidation and bullying. If [that is proven], the punishment will be severe."
Onizuka Tsukasa lowered his head slightly and apologized to Chabashira-sensei.
"Sorry, Chabashira-sensei. I was distracted thinking about something during class. My last question: I want to know whether everyone is entitled to the benefits rumored about outside the school."
Chabashira-sensei pressed her lips together, then slowly began to speak.
"No... Only Class A gets to enjoy the treatment you've heard about, but Class D isn't-"
Onizuka Tsukasa immediately cut her off, raising his voice.
"Thank you for answering my questions today, sensei. I have something to do, so I'll be going. Excuse me."
With that, Onizuka Tsukasa pulled open the rooftop door and hurried out.
Left alone on the rooftop, Chabashira-sensei stood staring blankly at the distant sky, her thoughts drifting for a long while. She only suddenly came back to herself when the cigarette burned her fingers.
"If it's him... them, perhaps they really can get to the 'point.'" She murmured to herself, a complicated glint in her eyes.
She dropped the cigarette butt on the ground and ground it underfoot. Just as she was about to turn and leave, she seemed to remember something. She bent down, picked up the butt, and put it in the nearby trash can.
Then she hurried down from the rooftop, her expression serious, as though she had found new energy. She looked completely different from the listless woman she had been before.
At that moment, a breeze swept gently across the empty rooftop. The cigarette ash, the only witness to their conversation, drifted away and vanished into the air, as if the secret of their conversation had been carried away with it.