Chapter 3: Special
Disclaimer: I do not own RK
A small yawn broke out from Tomoe Yukishiro's face. She was still a bit sleepy because she had to wake up earlier than usual. Her brother had an urgent matter to attend to at work so her sleeping time was cut an hour less. Glancing at the door every now and then, she waited for her friends to arrive.
"Ohayo, Tomoe-chan!" A bubbling Suzume burst through the door. After putting her coat and school bag at their colorful red caddy, she headed for Tomoe's table. "What's up?"
"Um…" The little girl looked up. "The ceiling?" Her voice was not sure.
"See! That's what I answered to my big sister when she asked me that question." Suzume whined. "She told me that my answer was," she checked around if no one was listening. Narrowing her eyes at boy who was trying to eavesdrop on them, she whispered conspiratorially, "dumb."
Tomoe gave a quiet gasp. "She said the d word?" Her eyes were wide in astonishment.
"Yeah." Suzume nodded her head vigorously. Before Tomoe could comfort her friend, her favoritest and bestest teacher in the whole wide world finally arrived.
"Good morning, Teacher Kaoru!" the two girls greeted cheerfully.
"Hey kids!" Kaoru greeted them as she put down her bags on her desk. "Wow, you guys are earlier than I am." She looked at them curiously. "What brings you to school so early? When I was a kid, I wasn't too excited about school."
Suzume and Tomoe looked at their teacher in wonder. They couldn't imagine their favorite teacher not liking school.
"My sister had an early volleyball practice. She wasn't able to go with my dad so she had to come with us." Suzume explained.
"Oh, okay." Kaoru replied. "How about you?" She caressed Tomoe's soft hair. She was a cute little thing. Her face was like that of a porcelain doll, delicate and almost perfect.
"My brother had an emergency in the office, and he said it cannot wait, so he rushed me here." Tomoe replied.
"Well, my little early birds, how would you like to help me fix our arts and crafts for later?" She invited the girls over to the low red table at the back room. The toddlers expressed delight through a chorus of "Sure, Teacher Kaoru!"
Pretty soon students started to fill the classroom. it was good thing that the Tomoe and Suzume were pretty fast workers or they wouldn't have finished before the students arrived. Favoritism was a very sensitive subject among her students, so she was careful not to give too much attention to one student. Everyone got into their places as the bell rang to signal the start of class.
They say that time flies quickly when you are having fun. That was exactly what Kaoru felt. She loved her students so much that her job didn't seem like work. When she was teaching, she made her sure that her class wasn't boring, but was educating and fun at the same time. At recess, you could see her playing Duck, Duck, Goose and Simon Says under the oak trees that dotted the school field. She also made sure that no one was left out or ostracized.
As Kaoru was watching the kids play at the school's playground, an old man sat down next to her. For a few minutes they just sat at the shaded school bench and watched the kids play. They acknowledge each other without words. Comfortable silence filled the need for conversation. For an old man, he was still quite handsome. He had that grandpa-air around him which made him irresistible to kids. He was often seen with the kids, saying hello, asking them how they were, and secretly giving them candy.
Kaoru was told that Katsura was like this. He wasn't much of a conversationalist. He only spoke when he needed to. He was a respected man so people didn't really question his odd behavior. The two continued watching the kids when finally the old man broke the silence.
"Kamiya-san," Katsura began. "How have you been fairing this past few months"
"Very good, Katsura-san." Kaoru answered calmly but in the inside alarms were ringing inside her head. She began to mentally sift through the list of schools were she can apply to in case she got fired. "Thank you for asking."
"I am not here to fire you, Kamiya –san." His face was serious but the twinkle of humor was in his eyes.
"Thank you, Katsura-san." Kaoru mentally breathed a sigh of relief. "What brings you here?"
"I came to talk to you about one of your students." Katsura began gazing out into the playground. Kaoru followed his gaze and landed on Tomoe. She was on one of the swings with Suzume by her side. Tomoe began giggling at something Suzume said.
"Tomoe-chan?"
"Hai." Katsura gave a nod. "She's a special kid."
Kaoru turned to face Katsura. Her face alight with excitement. "I know. She's exceptionally bright. She can read and write better than most kids. Yesterday, she read Dr. Suess' Green Eggs and Ham all by herself!"
Katsura smiled at her excitement. "Yes, she is exceptionally bright."
"Do you plan to move her to a more advanced class?" Kaoru couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice. She was one of her sweetest and most thoughtful students.
"No." Katsura answered, still looking at Tomoe. "Tomoe is different from most kids." Kaoru just kept quiet and let her boss continue. She hoped that her student wasn't suffering from any fatal illness. "She doesn't have a normal home life."
The teacher creased her eyebrows in confusion. Who then was the guy she saw Tomoe with during the summer? A social worker?
"The man you met during the PTF party was her brother." Katsura answered as if reading her thoughts. "Her parents died in an airplane accident when she was just three."
"Oh my…" Kaoru couldn't imagine what Mr. Yukishiro was going on through right now. He had the responsibility of a dad and a mom. She looked at Tomoe who was now happily playing tag. Kaoru had the urge to her up in her arms and hug her tightly. No one deserves to grow up without parents.
"My heart goes out to the Yukishiro siblings." The old principal said quietly. "I don't know if they have relatives but from what Mr. Yukishiro tells me, it's only the two of them right now. I felt that you should know being her teacher. You're the closest thing she has right now to a mother figure."
"Thank you for telling me this, Katsura-san." Kaoru's even, quiet, and laced with determination. "I understand."
"I knew you would." Katsura gave her an endearing smile. "I ask that you be discreet with this information I gave you." Kaoru nodded in response. "Now, I must be going." He stood up quietly.
"Good day to you, Katsura-san." Kaoru called out as he began walking away through the shady tree-lined path leading to the double door entrance of the school.
"You too, Kamiya-san." His voice replied loud and clear.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
That lunchtime, Kaoru's class had lunch under the huge oak tree. It was a nice and balmy afternoon. Kaoru decided to take advantage of it since the sunny weather was almost over and the fast approaching of rain showers will pretty much keep them inside the classroom. She got out some of the blankets for them to sit on and have lunch at. The huge oak had branches spread all over the place that it looked like a mushroom. It provided shade and cover for everyone. All the kids were enjoying it immensely, especially Tomoe. She loved picnics.
Yuri Kogoro, the grandson of the pre-school's principal looked curiously at Tomoe and asked loudly, "Tomoe-chan, why do you live with your brother? How come you don't have a proper mommy and daddy like everyone else?"
Tomoe looked around nervously. She also wondered why she didn't have parents like normal kids do. But strange to say, she never asked. She never thought about it that much, until now. It was not that she didn't like her older brother; in fact, she loved her brother very much. She looked around hopefully for her teacher, because she knew that Teacher Kaoru would help her. But Kaoru had gone to the classroom to get paper towels because Shinta had accidentally spilled his orange juice all over his shirt. All the other kids were looking at her and she needed to think of an answer quickly.
"Because I don't" she replied flatly. The poor little girl was trying to end the subject immediately.
"But why not?" he insisted. "Everybody has a mommy and daddy. Somebody must have borned you?" Yuri was ogling her with his huge eyes which size was magnified even more with his glasses. Tomoe felt her eyes welling up with tears. She looked around for Suzume if she was back from the bathroom. She bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears.
"P'raps their dead!" A red haired girl with big bright green eyes named Karen quipped cheerfully. Tomoe bowed her head to hide her quivering lip.
"Or p'raps they ran away and left you," breathed Janie, who read quite grown-up storybooks.
"Or p'raps they're divorthed," broke in Van, who knew all about it. By this time Tomoe was about ready to burst into sobs. She looked around and breathed a sigh of relief, for Kaoru was back with a handful of paper towels, asking Shinta to hold still and Suzume was trailing behind them. Everyone's attention was diverted and Tomoe sidled up to Kaoru and slid her small hand into hers, feeling safe.
"Teacher Kaoru, why does Tomoe-chan live with her brother? How come she doesn't have a proper Mom and Dad---- " Yuri squeaked.
Kaoru's clear voice cut across his question. "If I had a brother like Mr. Yukishiro, I wouldn't care if I didn't have a mom or a dad. He's as good as a mother and a father rolled into one. I have an older brother too, you know. And I love him very much." Kaoru wondered where he heard about Tomoe's parentless state. "Anyway, listen up everybody, since its already three-o-clock, "she paused dramatically."You can already go home!"
The kids cheered for joy and started running towards the classroom. "Don't forget your stuff and your homework!" Kaoru yelled, jogging behind the rowdy group. She helped the kids in gathering their things to make sure that the kids didn't forget anything. Kaoru stayed in her homeroom for a few minutes to clean. After gathering her bag and coat, she locked up and took her time walking amongst the school grounds. She loved how the way the sun hit the trees during this time.
As she entered the parking lot, she spotted Tomoe. Her backpack was open and her pencils were precariously perched on the edge. Kaoru ran over to her student and zipped up her backpack for her.
"Arigato, Teacher Kaoru." Tomoe beamed up at her.
Returning her smile, Kaoru gave her kiss on the forehead and ruffled her hair playfully. "You're special. Always remember that," she whispered.
Tomoe gave her teacher a hug and waved good-bye as she ran towards a black RAV4. Kaoru looked around to see if anyone was watching. The last thing she wanted was complaints from parents for having favorites among the class, but unfortunately, somebody was watching. The spectator's eyes followed Kaoru as she climbed into her car. Enishi Yukishiro looked up at the car door opening and felt his small smile grow wider as his sister gave him a hug.