While we were browsing the shopping district, Tamiya and I split up to buy clothes. After all, she was a girl, so she needed to buy underwear too. Even though Star Color looked like a girl, that didn't mean he could brazenly walk in and watch.
Star Color bought a cheap black windbreaker and some plain clothes, then stopped by the supermarket to pick up a few things. Once he was done, he realized Tamiya hadn't arrived at their meeting place yet. He stood outside, holding three bags and quietly waiting.
A few boys tried hitting on him along the way, but Star Color's innocent disguise fooled them into leaving.
"Haah..."
"What's wrong?"
Tamiya Emi appeared behind Star Color and heard him sigh.
"Nothing."
"Come on, let's go eat in the cafeteria."
"Sure."
At the cafeteria, Star Color tried the school's mountain vegetable set meal for the first time. It was bland and tasteless, but otherwise there was nothing wrong with it. The mountain vegetables were fresh, and it came with white rice. He pulled [Spicy★Miso★Paste] out of one of his bags.
Once they entered the real world, they'd realize how ridiculously expensive vegetables were. Having the freedom to eat healthy, fresh vegetables whenever they wanted was a rare luxury.
Tamiya also got a mountain vegetable set meal. Of course, given how much she'd eaten at lunch, that alone wouldn't be enough, so she naturally got a meat dish too.
"Huh? Is that all you're eating, Star Color?"
"The hamburger at lunch filled me up. I don't need much food anyway. I'm easy to take care of~"
Tamiya blushed a little.
"Honestly, don't say weird things like that."
"Sorry, sorry. I'm a little odd when I talk."
Tamiya tried the mountain vegetable set meal too. She found it bland as well.
"There's soy sauce~"
"Eh? Why did you buy all this stuff?"
"Well, I cook in my dorm~ It's a bit of a hassle, but it saves a lot of points. The dorm kitchen has a fridge, anyway. And you don't have to pay all those extra charges for electricity, water, and gas, so cooking for myself is the best value."
"Can I come to your place for meals sometime?"
"Of course, Tamiya. I'll just have to cook more rice and add more meat~"
Star Color beamed at Tamiya Emi. The two had put their differences behind them and become friends.
......
After dinner, they returned to their dorms and went their separate ways.
After putting the groceries in the fridge, Star Color picked up his Nokia phone and saw a reply.
The plan was set for nine o'clock. The students at this school spent even their summer and winter breaks on campus. He'd thoroughly studied the map in the admissions guide, and had conducted several high-altitude scouting runs with a small drone. He'd also gotten a good grasp of the security guards' patrol patterns. At last, he'd mapped out a perfect drone route, with an isolated, desolate landing spot that no one knew about.
Star Color wasn't planning to go to class tomorrow morning. The teachers would just introduce themselves and go over their teaching plans on the first day. There was nothing worth listening to, so he might as well do something useful to himself.
To get an absence approved at this school, students had to get a medical certificate from the infirmary. Then they had to take a picture of it with the phone the school had issued them and send it to their homeroom teacher, along with a written absence request. Once the teacher approved it, the absence was considered legitimate. What a troublesome policy. They could always skip class outright, since the admissions guide said the penalties were about the same as at an ordinary high school.
But skipping class would draw too much attention. Star Color thought it over and decided against it. He didn't want his classmates to label him a delinquent on the very first day.
After putting away the things he'd bought, Star Color left his dorm and headed for the infirmary.
Only one floor of the school building was still brightly lit. Were the teachers really working overtime? Star Color was curious. Since the school was closed off from the outside, places like the counseling room and infirmary probably had to stay open late. It was rough. Who liked working overtime, after all?
When he reached the infirmary, Star Color knocked politely out of habit.
"Come in."
He slid open the object known as a "sliding door."
Before him stood a woman with long, wavy chestnut hair and a figure that could only be called excellent. She had curves in all the right places, without the slightest hint of youthful skinniness. She radiated mature warmth and acceptance—at least, from her chest up...
Star Color shook his head. What was he even thinking?
The teacher in front of him seemed to be in a bad mood. She wore a mature smile, but the veins bulging on her forehead gave her the air of a demon.
"Do you know what time it is, Otonashi from Class 1-A? It's almost time for me to go home. I've already packed up and was looking forward to having a drink after work, and now you're bothering me at a time like this."
"?"
You're a teacher, and the school nurse, no less! How could they hire someone with that kind of attitude? Star Color was ranting to himself.
He noticed two beer cans beneath the infirmary bed and the corner of his mouth twitched.
This woman had avoided the infirmary cameras to drink on the job. Was she even a teacher? She was responsible for the students' health!
"What about it... Were you drinking during work hours, sensei?"
"So what if I was drinking? Teachers are under a lot of pressure! We have to prepare health classes, teach lessons, sometimes conduct tests and checkups, manage the school infirmary, and take care of every student's health! Teaching and guiding students is hard work. What's wrong with having a drink?"
Just as Star Color was about to speak, she pressed a finger to his lips. Star Color jumped back in fright like a startled fawn.
"My surname is Hoshinomiya, and my given name is Chie. I'm in charge of the infirmary and health classes, and I'm also the homeroom teacher for Class B."
"I noticed you when I was looking through the new students' checkup forms. Cute boys get full marks from me. It's not every day you come across a pretty-boy type, after all. I've been keeping an eye on a few kids who fit my tastes."
"Wait... Hoshinomiya-sensei, are you what they call a pervert?"
Star Color blushed and crossed his hands over his chest, turning slightly to the side.
"Careful, or I'll report you for harassment."
Hoshinomiya flicked Star Color on the head. Then, as if that weren't enough, she added something even more shocking.
"Once you graduate from high school, I might consider making a move on you."
Star Color clutched his head after the critical hit and retorted.
"You really have no shame, do you? Ow, ow, ow."
"Did you just come to say hello? So, what do you need?"
Finally, she was getting to the point. Rubbing his head, Star Color thought to himself.
"I'd like to get a medical certificate."
"Oh?"
Hoshinomiya-sensei stood up from her chair and looked Star Color over carefully.
"You're so cute... Ah, no, you don't look sick, little Star Color."
"Don't just start calling people by their names. And what's 'little Star Color' supposed to mean?"
"Star Color is such a mouthful. Isn't 'little Star Color' a cute nickname?"
"Not at all."
"Oh, are you shy? So, do you have a fever or a cold?"
"Neither."
Star Color shook his head.
"Huh? Then what's wrong with you?"
"Well, does a headache count?"
"No. Should I prescribe you something? I won't issue a certificate unless it's something serious."
"Then how many points would it take for you to issue me one?"
Star Color just stared at her with a vacant expression.
"Eh? Hahaha, you're really something, little Star Color. You're actually trying to bribe me with points."
"Didn't they say you could buy anything with points?"
"That's right. You can buy absolutely anything. You're the first student to try buying a medical certificate from me, though."
She bent down and whispered in Star Color's ear.
"This is my first time, you know~"
Her warm breath brushed his ear, and Star Color instinctively turned his head away.
Hoshinomiya was quite displeased by Star Color's reflexive reaction.
"What's that supposed to mean? The boys love me! A lot of them can't handle Hoshinomiya-sensei whispering in their ears. It's like a reward from heaven. If you weren't so cute, I wouldn't have done it for you."
"Am I supposed to thank you?"
Star Color covered his ears, the corner of his mouth twitching wildly.
"So, how many points would it take for you to issue me one?"
"Ten thousand points!"
"Huh?"
"Ten thousand points. No haggling."
"..."
After paying ten thousand points, Star Color quickly got his medical certificate.
"Well, come visit again sometime, little Star Color."
"You... Sigh."
Star Color slammed the door shut.
That stupid teacher had demanded an exorbitant ten thousand points from him, and he'd stupidly handed them over.
Star Color regretted it terribly, but there was no such thing as a cure for regret.
"Whatever. I'll just win more tomorrow."
He checked the time. It was about time.
He slowly made his way toward a less crowded area, then crossed the lawn and pushed through the waist-high grass. He also had to watch out for the cold-blooded creatures stirring to life in spring.
He couldn't help recalling a poem from Akutagawa Ryunosuke's Kappa.
[Among coconut blossoms and green bamboo, the Buddha has fallen asleep.]
[Alongside withered fruits by the roadside, bereft of blossoms.]
[God is dead, and we would like to rest.]
[Even if it is right in front of the theater curtain.]
He arrived at a desolate place with no lights, just grass. Beyond the tall wall lay the sea. The ocean stretched beyond sight, like his own life: empty of everything.
Star Color laughed. It was nothing like the meek, fragile air he put on when pretending to be well-behaved.
His laughter was utterly unhinged. The sound of a drone slicing through the night sky rang out overhead.
The drone making an emergency landing and the madman beneath it intertwined in the darkness, weaving an unforeseeable future.
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