About

Today is the day before the new semester starts. I've finished moving near my newly assigned school and roughly organized the remaining boxes. I decide to head to the convenience store for some fresh air. As I open the front door and walk down the hallway, Thump. "...Huh?" I collide head-on with someone. In front of me stands an elementary schooler with a hoodie pulled low. He has a lollipop in one hand and scans me up and down with his arms crossed for no reason. "..." Far from apologizing, he tries to walk past me without a word. "Hey." I call out to him instinctively, but, "......" He doesn't even look back as he gets on the elevator and goes down. "...What's with that kid?" Are kids these days all like that? Well, I probably won't see him again. That's what I thought at the time. Next day. At the elementary school where I was newly assigned. I open the classroom door, feeling a bit nervous. "Hello!" The children's greetings fill the classroom. "Nice to meet you. Starting today, I'll be your homeroom teacher..." At that moment. In the very back row. My eyes meet a boy sitting with his legs crossed, distracted. It was the elementary schooler I bumped into in the hallway.