The Art of Teaching
Chapter 3
"Hey, Hishida!" someone yelled in Kumiko's ear. She jumped and squealed.
"What?!" she asked her fellow employee once she had regained her composure.
"Pay attention, you've got costumers," she said. Kumiko sighed and her young friend looked at her curiously. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think that I might take tomorrow off," she told her.
"Good idea. I think I will too," her coworker responded.
"You have tomorrow off, don't you?" The teen laughed slightly and ran her hand through her long blonde hair.
"I meant take a day off from school," she clarified.
"Uotani!" The elder woman scolded.
"Alright, alright, I'll go," she conceded. Uotani knew Kumiko didn't like it when she ditched, and for whatever reason, she actually listened to what her friend had to say. The green-eyed woman nodded in approval and went to go take care of the waiting customers.
Before going to the table, she smoothed out her short skirt as much as possible and pulled it down slightly. Her blue-eyed friend laughed. It was an on going joke that the two of them had together, as they both hated the coffee shop uniforms. While Kumiko asked the couple at the table what they would like, Arisa wore a reminiscent smile.
"Look at them," she said, referring to the young couple, when she was back at the counter and readying the drinks.
"What about them?" Uotani asked.
"They're just…They're so cute!" The blonde let out an exasperated sigh. "I wish I had a boyfriend."
"Wait," she interjected, "you don't have one?" Kumiko shook her head. "Seriously?!"
"Is it so shocking?"
"Yes! I mean, I can understand why I don't have a boyfriend, but you?" She took a deep breath. "I guess it only shows how truly stupid the male species is."
Home again, home again… Kumiko thought as she pulled into her drive way. After unlocking her door and stepping out of her shoes, she tossed her keys onto the coffee table as usual. She flicked on the light in the kitchen and pressed the play button on her answering machine.
"You have one new message," the voice on the machine said. The beep sounded.
"Hey, Kumiko, it's Dad. Your mother and I just wanted to check up on you. Umm…Call us back, okay? Love you sweetie, bye."
"End of messages."
She smiled to herself as she picked up the phone and dialed her parents' number.
"Hello?" said the sweet voice of her mother.
"Hey, Mom," she replied. Kmiko could hear the smile in her voice.
"Is that my baby girl?"
"Yes." Here it comes… she thought. Her mother squealed joyfully.
"You called just in time! Your brother is here too. Here, I'll put you on speaker," she replied.
"Kumiko!" someone yelled into the phone.
No need for voice recognition on that one. "Nori!" she greeted excitedly.
"Oh, it's on speaker…No wonder your voice is so loud."
Yep, that's Nori. "How've you been?"
"Pretty good. You still don't have a boyfriend, do you?" The muscian frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a new voice.
"Nori, don't tease your sister," said her father.
"Hi Dad!"
"Hey, sweetie. So, do you have a boyfriend?" She sweat dropped. What was with these people, first Uotani now this? She sighed, knowing that her family (well, three out of four, anyway) was listening intently for the answer.
"No," she sighed. Kumiko felt like there was a studio audience was on the other end of the line as a loud 'Aw!' sounded.
"Well, there's no need to worry about it," her mom soothingly, reminding her of her teenaged days.
"I don't need a pep-talk Mom."
"It's probably for the best anyway, I might be tempted to break their legs," Nori said menacingly.
"You will not!"
"Hey, I'm your big brother; I'm just doing my job."
"Can we change the subject, please?" she begged.
"How's the job going?" her dad inquired.
"Which one?"
"The teaching one," he replied.
"It's good. I'm just glad that Yuki is so mature."
"I keep telling you we can help out with money. You don't have to do this to yourself," her mother stated as she walked to the fridge and opened it.
"And I keep telling you no way. I don't want to suck up your retirement money," she explained as she pulled out a carton of milk.
"Come on, your brothers let us help them," her father interjected.
"And therein lays the difference between us. I've got to go; I'll talk to you guys later. I love you."
"Love you too," the three said in unison.
"Bye." Kumiko pressed end, and put the phone back on the charger. After pouring herself a glass of milk she walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch. She turned on the television and took a sip of her drink. A romantic comedy was playing out on the screen.
"Just my luck," she sighed to herself. As much as she wanted to change the channel, she couldn't. It was a painful reminder of what she didn't have, and she longed to be the girl on the television.
Kumiko suddenly felt inspired by her loneliness, and snatched her notebook and pen off of the coffee table. As she began to write, a series of notes began to play out in her head.
After a while she looked up at the clock. Oops… she thought, while rubbing the back of her head. It was 1:45 AM. Now I'm definitely taking tomorrow off.
Kumiko took a deep breath of the fresh morning air as she walked through town, the warm sunlight bathing her skin.
"Good morning, Miss Hishida," an old man called from behind his small fruit stand.
"Oh, good morning, Mr. Yamamoto," she replied politely. "Where's your grandson?"
"I'm right here!" a little boy around the age of four said, emerging from behind a stack of wooden crates. His big brown eyes lit up and he quickly attached himself to the pianist's leg with a tight hug.
"Hey, there you are Yoshi!" she greeted him excitedly, ruffling his mahogany hair.
"Hi, Miss Hishida," he replied. "How come you're not at school?" he asked curiously. He let go of her leg and she bent down so that he was at eye-level.
"That's because, in college, students don't have classes everyday. Speaking of school, how's your reading coming?" The little boy scowled.
"Bad. I can hardly read anything," he said sadly, hanging his head. She looked over at Mr. Yamamoto, who shrugged.
"Hey, chin up. You're only four years old, after all. Just keep at it, you'll get it soon," she said encouragingly.
"Promise?" he asked skeptically.
"I promise. Listen, I've got to get my shopping done, but I'll see you later, okay?"
"Alright, see you later," he said, as she stood up.
"Bye, Mr. Yamamoto," she called as she started walking away.
"Goodbye."
Kumiko sighed to herself as she wandered down the isles of the grocery store. "Let's see…I still need…leeks." The young woman winced slightly when she saw the price. She was worried about having enough money in her account, though she were fairly sure that she could make it through the month.
She pushed the thought from her mind and reached for the first bundle of the vegetables she thought was satisfactory. A hand made contact with her own and they both pulled back quickly.
"Sorry," a familiar voice said. Kumiko's dark green eyes traveled up from the leeks to meet those of Hatori Sohma.
"Hatori?"
"Hm? Oh, Miss Hishida," he said, his voice sounded distant, but she ignored it.
"It's good to see you again. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine," he replied quickly, as though he were trying to keep something hidden from her. "What about you?"
"I can't complain. Have you seen Yuki lately?"
"Not since his last lesson."
This conversation is not going well, the young woman thought. His answers were short and he seemed rather distracted. This bothered her, he usually at least pretended to be interested in a conversation. She may not have been a psychologist, but she was perceptive. He'd probably rather be somewhere else, but before I let him go, I just want to ask him one thing… "Hey…Are you okay?" she asked him suddenly.
"I thought I had answered that already. I'm fine," he repeated with a slightly annoyed tone. "I'm perfectly healthy."
"That's not what I mean. I mean are you okay here?" she questioned him quietly, timidly putting a finger to his heart. He stared down at her for a moment, completely at a loss for what to say.
"I…I don't…" he stammered, trying to come up with a good answer. "I don't think you know me well enough to make that assumption." Kumiko let her hand drop back to her side, a small smile gracing her lips.
"You're right, it wasn't my place," she replied sweetly. "But, if you're ever not okay, will you do me a favor? Will you talk to somebody about it?" Hatori stared at her, confused. After a moment he gave a dazed nod, making her grin wider. "I appreciate that. Goodbye now, Hatori," she said, grabbing a bundle of leeks, quickly shoving them into a plastic bag, and turning on her heel to purchase her groceries.
A\N: Hooray for slice of life chapters! Haha! Reveiws and constructive critism are always very welcome. Flamers shall be hosed down by their local fire departments. Bye!
-Camie