Episode Seven: Career Paths - November 2032 -
The school would likely want to boost its direct progression rate, so her form tutor, Mr Yabe, must be opposed…
“…Is further education not an option?”
“Going to university is fine. I don’t really have anything I want to do or any particular dream.”
“There’s also the idea of going to university to find what you want to do.”
It wasn’t about wanting to contribute to raising the school’s university admission rate. What stuck with me was how Uehara-san, who always looked me straight in the eye when she spoke, had averted her gaze when I mentioned “employment”.
Even if I wasn’t her homeroom teacher, it was only natural for a teacher to want students to choose the path they truly desired.
Uehara-san flashed a clearly forced smile.
“But Mum says… going to university when you don’t even know what you want to do is pointless. She says I should just start working straight away and contribute to the household. What if my parents oppose it? Then I’d be stuck, wouldn’t I?”
Ah, so that’s it.
It’s not good how that sense has completely faded for me now that I’m an adult. For high school students, the ones footing the bill are always their guardians.
“Are you truly content with that, Uehara-san?”
“You’re being rather proactive today, aren’t you, Sensei? It’s making me feel a bit shy.”
“Please don’t mock me. I exist precisely for moments like this, as your teacher.”
I looked at her earnestly. Uehara-san looked back at me.
“I will always be on your side, Uehara-san.”
Uehara-san opened her mouth haltingly.
“…………I do think university sounds interesting.”
Words squeezed out in a voice so faint it might vanish with the next breeze.
I surmise that very whisper, uttered as if to conceal a desire, is the voice of her heart.
“Would it be alright to rephrase that as ‘I’d like to go if possible’?”
“……Yeah, I suppose so. Well, it’s impossible, though.”
Seeing Uehara-san smile as she said this, my guess grew closer to certainty.
“I understand perfectly. So the choice to enter employment isn’t based on your own wishes, Uehara-san?”
“Hm? …Ah, yeah. That’s right?”
I lack confidence in reading people’s minds. That’s why I asked for confirmation, but I was glad Uehara-san actually said it out loud. As a teacher, I felt a flutter of excitement, thinking it might be proof she trusted me a little.
“Then, please tell me a day when your mother is at home. I’ll pay a home visit.”
“Eh⁉ Wh-why⁉”
“Why… well, to discuss your future path?”
I was merely suggesting the obvious, yet Uehara-san seemed flustered for some reason.
“No, no, no, why… I mean, you’re not even my homeroom teacher!”
“I may not be your form teacher, but I am a teacher. I believe I have the right to offer my opinion on a student’s future path.”
I don’t think it’s wrong for someone who isn’t the form teacher to speak up about a student’s family circumstances. Even if I’m told it’s none of my business, I believe I’m not doing anything wrong.
Uehara-san hesitated, but after a brief back-and-forth, she finally relented.
“…Alright. I’ll check my mum’s schedule, at least.”
“Yes. I’ll explain the situation to Yabe-san too.”
If Yabe-san tells me to “keep out of it,” then I’ll either ask him to go himself or accompany him.
If she hadn’t been considering university entrance exams, Uehara-san wouldn’t have done any exam preparation at all until now. To make it work, the home visit should ideally happen sooner rather than later… But as I pondered this, I belatedly noticed Uehara-san staring intently at me.
“What is it?”
“Nothing? Just reaffirmed how much I like you, that’s all.”
“I see.”
I tilted my head at her utterly unexpected remark.
Perhaps she was nervous about the home visit, I thought.