Chapter 11

Tom Lehrer once wrote that the most important thing in education is understanding what you're doing rather than getting the right answer.

It was not a sentiment shared by the Ministry of Education.

Minako stared at her paper blankly. Her first homework assignment and she was in danger of failing. 'Fifty percent. Kami-sama, I don't care what Ami said. I am NOT ready for this.'

She flipped the page over. More marks in red ink greeted her, along with a big red smiley face. 'Oh how cute. Someone has a sense of humor.'

Worst of all, she had no idea how to face her mother. For a moment, Minako pondered crumpling up the sheet and tossing it over her shoulder.

Ami, sensing the destructive impulse, grabbed her hand quickly to stay the motion. "Don't even think about it."

Minako glared at her. "Then what am I supposed to think about?"

The blue haired senshi ripped the paper from the other's hands. "Perhaps about preventing this from happening again."

"You sound like my mother," Minako groused.

"Hey, it's just the first assignment. You're far from a terminal case."

Her face grew even longer. "Thanks for the oh so encouraging words. You make me sound like a cancer patient."

Ami shook her head. "You're the one always telling us to be optimistic."

"Yeah, but that's when bad things happen to other people."

She chuckled softly. "Okay, okay. Let's get to Glory. We can get our homework done there, together. Perhaps we can salvage some of your grades in the process."

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Kevin straightened his tie nervously and wondered again why he was working at a cram school teaching English.

Truth be told, he had nearly walked out on the job at the onset, when the administrator of the school had the gall to ask him whether or not he was actually American. Apparently, certain parents had complained about the use of non-Caucasian English teachers in the school, arguing that their children were not getting a world class education from "non-Americans."

Kevin had simply tossed his passport on the table in front of him, before immediately going into salary negotiations in his best King's English.

The administrator, educated at Oxford and Eton, had been sufficiently impressed that he had apprenticed him to his most famous cram school teacher and now Kevin simply waited for his class to trickle in. The teacher himself seemed like an upright enough fellow, ready for the job that he had undertaken.

He was dealing with a crop of new high school kids, teaching them the wonderful nuances of English to better prepare them for standardized tests. The school had even been so kind as to provide a syllabus and materials for him to follow. Stacks of worksheets and books covered the desk at the front of the room.

Somehow, it felt too arranged for his tastes. He passed it off as simple nervousness.

"Bin-kun!"

Kevin was shaken from his reverie by the joyous cry of his nickname. "Minako-chan!"

The blonde raced across the empty room and squeezing his breath out in a friendly hug. "Bin-kun, what are you doing here?"

He grinned and pointed to his tie and his jacket on the chair. "What does it look like?"

"No, you can't be teaching!" Minako's grin betrayed her joy.

"I think I would know whether or not I was. And unfortunately for you, I am." He mock glowered at her. "So you better watch yourself."

Minako giggled uncontrollably. The blue haired girl next to her rolled her eyes, then turned her cool gaze onto him. "So, you are the infamous American, Bin-kun."

"You have me at a disadvantage, I'm afraid."

Minako laughed. "Sorry guys, introductions! Kevin, meet Ami Mizuno, resident genius. Ami, the ever articulate Kevin Zhi, otherwise known as Bin-kun."

"Pleased to meet you finally." Kevin reached out to shake Ami's hand. "Minako has told me so much about you."

"Really?"

"Actually no, but it seemed like the right thing to say."

Ami shook her head. "Nice to meet you too. So, you're our English teacher?"

"A lesser one. A teaching assistant to help with the conversational aspects of American English."

"Sounds good." Ami patted down a wrinkle which had suddenly appeared in her skirt. Her blue eyes looked to the back of the room, seeing more students enter. "In that case, sensei, would it okay if we sat down?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not certain I like being called sensei. Makes me sound too old."

Minako smiled brightly. "No, I like it. It makes you sound sophisticated. Important. Sensei."

"Well...okay." Kevin grinned back. "Then you have my leave to sit. I will start class in five minutes."

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The teacher barked out his orders quickly, introducing himself as Tanaka-sensei. From the way his many students looked at him, he was a minor celebrity. Kevin had heard stories of cram school teachers and their cult followings, but had never believed them. He always supposed that it was simply a convenient advertising tool for the corporations which controlled the schools.

But he couldn't argue with the admiring looks that Tanaka-san got as he hurriedly went through the lesson plans of the day.

Kevin might have even found it amusing, had he not been so focused on being a helpful teacher's aide. He passed out English homework, engaged in mock conversations with Tanaka-sensei, and generally strove to look pretty at the front of the classroom.

Unlike most Japanese English teachers, Tanaka spoke a relatively understandable form of the language. Although there were definite Japanese inflections to the language itself, Tanaka's English was of a decidedly American bent.

It was comforting to Kevin, who responded to each of Tanaka's inquiries competently and listened as each of the students repeated the phrases spoken. Kevin singled out a student and corrected his pronunciation.

The teacher seemed surprised by the initiative, but smoothly moved to regain control of the situation by turning it into an impromptu diction section.

And so it continued.

Within fifteen minutes, Kevin was bored out of his mind. He wondered again how Artemis had managed to convince him to take the job.

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Minako stared at the American with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. To say the least, she was surprised to see him. If she had been a more paranoid person, she might have been convinced that he was stalking her. It just seemed a bit too coincidental for him to show up in her cram school, as a teacher no less.

But, as with most things, she took that revelation in stride. Teaching cram school was actually a reasonably profitable pastime, and there had been many American English teachers at Glory in past years. Most of them had been wayward college students, looking for something to do during the summer or recent graduates looking to see the world before settling down.

Yet, Kevin didn't seem to fit either of those molds. Intelligent, but understated. Driven, but modest. And his presence in Tokyo posed yet another part of the quandary.

A meter stick came down, whacking the desk in front of her. Tanaka-sensei glared down at her and Minako cringed slightly.

"No day dreaming in my class!"

"Sorry, Tanaka-sensei."

Kevin shot her a sympathetic look from the front of the classroom, before seamlessly continuing the lesson.

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"How long do you suppose she'll be in there?"

"A while. Tanaka-sensei has never liked Minako-chan very much." Ami tapped her foot on the concrete.

"Too bubbly for him? He seems like a dour sort of fellow."

"Something like that. Hates happy students."

Kevin snorted out a laugh. "I can tell. To tell the truth, I don't think he likes me very much either."

Ami giggled softly. "Tanaka-sensei has always been hard on his assistants. But you don't seem like the sort who likes playing sidekick."

He intoned dryly, "I suppose I wouldn't if I didn't speak English better than him. But that's life, ne?"

"Indeed, Bin-kun. Life isn't always idyllic, is it?"

"No, it most certainly isn't." Kevin turned his attention to the door again. "I hope she's not in too much trouble."

Ami smiled at him. "I wouldn't worry too much about Minako-chan. She's quite capable of taking care of herself."

"Oh I know that. It's just that we'll have to hear about it afterwards."

"That we will." The blue haired girl stared at the young American with a mix of predatory curiosity and trepidation. "You and Minako seemed to have hit it off rather well."

Kevin grinned slightly and spoke sarcastically. "Well you know, she can't resist my exotic good looks."

The girl giggled again. "Are you ever serious?"

"More often than I'd like to be. But Minako's a great girl. I'm honored to have her as a friend. How long have you known her?"

"A couple of years now. But it's seemed like forever."

"I know the feeling." The two lapsed into a comfortable silence until Minako stomped out of the door.

"I hate that man!" The blond furiously tossed her bookbag at the American.

Kevin caught it easily and shouldered it. "Minako-chan, you have some anger management problems."

Minako growled. "You would too, if you had to deal with Tanaka-sensei everyday." The American raised an eyebrow and she blushed slightly. "And you do. Sorry."

"No problem at all." Kevin sighed. "However, there are few problems so severe that they can't be solved with food. Might I treat you ladies to a soda or something?"

Minako beamed and grabbed at his arm. "I knew I liked you for a reason!"

She pulled him along quickly, outpacing a forgotten Ami on the way to the cafe. The blue haired girl made no effort to catch up, content with her slow pace along the sunny boardwalk, as she watched the couple make their way along.

He was a strange one, this American, and certainly not the usual run of Minako's victims. An understated, though obviously intelligent young man, who was not intimidated by her friend's formidable looks or overpowering personality. An unlikely combination.

What other surprises might this Kevin Zhi bring?

Ami smiled to herself as she did when faced with a quandary. 'Curiouser and curiouser.'