Voices of the Present
Perspective: Part I

The Teacher

Tamao didn't know how long she had been sitting against the tree, looking out over the lake shimmering in the waning late autumn sun. Frankly, she didn't care. Intellectually, she knew she was in shock. Her sense of duty to her school- something sorely lacking by some today, respect for the new E'toile, and love for her friends had kept her celebrating with the others, but eventually it had become too much and she slipped away to think, quite the challenge with all of Chikaru's minions constantly hovering around her. I think she's afraid I might do something rash. She needn't worry- I'm hurting, but not that much.

To say the events of the morning had been traumatic was an understatement. She should have seen it coming, but instead she blithely assumed once the flowers and well wishes were conveyed and Shizuma had drifted off the stage that the door to doubt had closed and the waters were finally settled...at least for this one precious moment Shizuma of all people should have held sacred. She had blinded herself to the depths of Shizuma's selfishness...the former E'toile's need for a savior from whatever it is that darkens her soul. That and her need for the whole world to revel in her moment of self-realization...never mind the collateral damage she left in her massive wake. As always, she gets what she wants, with as much spectacle as humanly possible.

I understand she loves Nagisa, and the feelings are certainly mutual. I want Nagisa to be happy, and I can see the happiness in Nagisa's eyes when she looks at Shizuma...and in all fairness the happiness returned. But couldn't Shizuma have waited just a few more hours to do this? Maybe even a day? Does the woman have any discretion? Empathy? Decency? At least then the whole school, correction all THREE schools, wouldn't have been witness to...this. Its one thing to lose the E'toile election- Hikari-chan and Amane-senpai deserve it- but even the defeated pair usually have each other for support. I have nothing, and everyone knows it.

I feel used.

"In all the storied history of the E'toile, this must have been the biggest spectacle. Leave it to the queen of drama to yet again make it her own private little circus," she declared to the Universe in general.

"Actually, you might be surprised, Tamao," came a voice from behind her.

Startled, Tamao shifted to see her homeroom teacher and longtime writing coach, Oosaki-sensei, sitting maybe six feet away against an adjacent tree. "How long have you been sitting there," she said gruffly, annoyed. Tamao didn't bother with honorifics. I've had quite enough of highly placed people already today, and anyway, as much as I respect you, you're invading my space.

"Tamao, you're the romantic. This place is 100 years old. The E'toile system dates back to just after the War. If you'd pull out of your introspective reverie for a moment and engage that remarkable literary brain of yours, you'd recognise how many times the wheel has turned and how many times each variation on each theme must have come about. You are not the first girl left at the altar. Although I must admit that variation hasn't happened even in my rather storied time around here. Shizuma was certainly in impressive form, even for her."

"Hurrah for her," was all Tamao could think of as a response. "Go and get her a medal. Oh wait, I forgot, she already has one hanging from her arm right now." The tears started to well up again.

Oosaki-sensei looked at her with an indecipherable expression. "Tamao, there are some people I'd like you to meet, some stories you must hear. Minamoto-san is a poet too, you know, and I've heard her say Strawberry Hall has much to teach if you but listen to the echoes of the past that sound from the walls. She's right. I won't promise it'll make it any easier, and I certainly won't pretend anyone can make it all better, but perspective is something you are really hurting for right now. If nothing else, just think of all the poetic inspiration that'll come out of this whole thing, my star writer." Oosaki-sensei gave a little raised eyebrow/smirk/shrug that conveyed a sense of 'what do you have to lose?' and 'do you have anything better to do right now?'

Tamao wiped her eyes on the already damp right shoulder of her Miator winter uniform and looked at her teacher with a skeptical, less than enthused look.

"How about this, if you come you can stay at my place tonight and avoid having to go back to Strawberry Hall and face everyone in your current mood. I'll cover for you with Sister Hamasaka."

Oosaki-sensei was amazingly perceptive. Offering the one thing...other than Nagisa...or perhaps Shizuma's head on a pike...that would be appealing. "Alright, you've got me. Just don't expect my mood to improve at all."

"Fair enough. I'd be a fool to expect otherwise."

Tamao arose, shook off several hours worth of dust, and started walking quietly behind orange-red hair. What is it about today and me seeing the backside of redheads? She appreciated that Oosaki-sensei left her again to her thoughts and didn't attempt to make idle chatter. She had to admit her teacher was many things, but a fool wasn't one of them. Her history at Miator, at Strawberry Hall, was legendary, and like most legends, separating fact from myth was nigh impossible even shortly after the events which brought forth the legends.

Maybe that'll be my fate. The Legend of the Abandoned E'toile Candidate.

The idea of her being anything legendary actually brought a wry smirk to the right side of her mouth. The Legend out of all this will be Nagisa and Shizuma. Maybe someday I'll be able to make this all into a book.

Tamao's thoughts took a blessedly didactic turn for a while as she imagined turning the day's events into an epic novel, able to ponder her role in the third person. It'll be a long time before I'll be able to write this without trying to rewrite the ending, though.

Tamao's thoughts were interrupted as she realized Oosaki-sensei had stopped walking and, in fact, they were standing at the door of the Groundskeeper's cottage. She opened the door and beckoned Tamao inside with a gentle smile.

Tamao's reasoning faculties returned for the first time that day since Shizuma burst into the chapel. She remembered back to Oosaki-sensei's words, 'Stay at my place tonight.'

"Oosaki-sensei, you live here?" Tamao asked in mild bewilderment.

"Officially, this is the residence of Uchida Hisoka, the Groundskeeper and Facility Manager of Astraea Hill. But yes, it is my home as well. I just never speak of it, and since I leave the grounds each night and then double back, no student has ever made the connection." A slight shrug.

"You're right. I'm your star student and I never guessed."

Oosaki-san's smile increased at the nascent sign that Tamao's confidence was returning. "It's almost nightfall. Unless you wish to stand at our doorway until sunrise, would you like to join me inside for an evening of coffee, cake, and conversation? If you thought the Seven Wonders were fodder for your art, you'll have a mountain of material...and answers...if you'll just step inside."

Tamao looked up at Oosaki-sensei's face to look her straight in the eyes. There was no guile there, and Tamao was primed to sense ulterior motives right now. Tamao had known Oosaki Keiko for almost four years, ever since Tamao's writing talent had manifested spectacularly during her first year at Miator. The resident literary expert had taken her under the wing and she was easily her favorite teacher. If anyone would know the secrets of Miator past, other than maybe the Sisters, it would doubtless be her. She believes some of my answers lie there. If anyone in this mad place has my best interests at heart, it would certainly be her.

As if reading her thoughts, Oosaki-sensei added, "If nothing else, it will be distracting."

Tamao managed a weak smile and stepped past Oosaki-sensei and into the cottage. She heard footsteps follow behind her and the door softly close to keep out the evening chill.

***Author Comments***

This is a story that has been lingering in the back my mind since I watched Strawberry Panic the first time in Fall of 2009. My daughter is taking a hand at writing fanfics, so I thought I'd get this out of my system so we can share the experience. The story will be rather epic in nature, spanning 15 years of Strawberry Hall students. If I stick with it and can pull it off, there will be a number of separate sub-stories all in the same timeline which together will weave back and forth to make a whole. My wife thinks I'm crazy to try this given I'm not really a creative writer and am crazy busy in real life, but I've always felt if something's worth doing, it's worth doing all out. Anyway, like Tamao-chan, I can use the distraction.

This particular chapter was the toughest to place. The events happen the evening of the E'toile election, a Saturday. The final scene of SP eppy 26, where Tamao and Nagisa appear on opposite sides of their dormitory door, in my setting takes place on Sunday evening. Hiromi, Yaya, Chiyo, Tsubomi, and the kohai from Le Rim (in French, LuLim in romanji) share tea on Saturday evening in Tamao and Nagisa's room, wondering where they are and worried particularly for Tamao. Yes, it's a bit forced, but I need this first night for my nefarious purposes. Assume Shizuma and Nagisa end up back at Shizuma's beach cottage chastely (for the moment) making peace with Kaori's ghost, something I may actually write as a one-shot side story. They'll be discussing some of what Tamao is about to learn. Those two have a lot of talking and sharing to do if they're going to have something resembling a real, balanced relationship. Since Nagisa doesn't have her own clothes there (yet), Shizuma's would fit her like a tent, and she isn't willing to wear Kaori's clothes (morbid!), she'd have to wear the gown back to Strawberry Hall on Sunday.

I personally do not like main-character OCs, but since I am diving into Miator's past, I've had to develop many of them. No OC will be paired with a canon character from the manga or anime with one critical exception of a minor canon characterxOC that will be apparent very quickly in the Prologue. That said, canon includes anyone referenced in the anime or manga, even if off screen. Trust me, once I set up some world-building, there will be plenty of romance. This is Strawberry Panic after all! ;-)

Thank you xXListlessXx for the idea of Tamao at the lake after the E'toile election debacle. I borrowed the lake concept, but didn't even try and touch the beautiful page of prose you made of that. I am going in a very different direction, but it was a nice way to start things off. :-)

Finally, I will reference the manga and light novels as well as anime, but when there is conflict (and there is a lot of conflict between the different source material), the anime is considered the final arbiter. Nothing I create should ever conflict directly with the anime, but wonderfully the creators of SP left so much undefined that this doesn't really limit me much.

Happy reading! :-)