Episode Four: Nightmare, Once More ―December 2033―
Even if I lost contact with my teacher, I had my own life to live, and she had hers.
As I went about my ordinary days, the seasons turned, and before I knew it, half a year had passed since then.
I quit my part-time job, cut down on my smartphone time as much as possible, and threw myself into exam prep so intensely people said I was like a different person.
I finally understood, deep down, why the teacher had worried about my entrance exams. How many times had my spirit been broken by the unbridgeable gap between myself and the other students who’d been studying all along?
One Sunday evening in mid-December, Suzuka came over to my place and we ate dinner together. Of course, I’d studied all day, but a break like this was necessary.
“I’m so relieved I don’t have maths anymore. Why don’t you just focus on private university humanities, Meisa?”
“My first choice is a national university, so it’s essential. But it’s really tough. I got a D grade on the mock exam the other day, as usual.”
I let out a deep sigh. I was so mentally drained I couldn’t even taste the spiciness of the dan dan noodles I’d bought.
“You’ll be fine! Meisa, once you decide on something, you’ve got that drive to see it through to the end!”
“…And your basis for that?”
“Ugh, this is exhausting! Right, end of discussion! Fancy hearing about Kakei-san to cheer yourself up?”
“…I’ll pass today. In this state, if I heard about her, I’d probably go see her.”
Ever since declaring I’d keep my distance from the teacher, I haven’t attended a single after-school study session. I haven’t sent any messages either. I might spot her in the corridor, but we only exchange greetings – no real conversation.
Compared to me, with zero contact with the teacher, Suzuka attends the study sessions and even gets individual help with her target university prep. It’s an enviable situation, to say the least.
“Ahaha, well then you really must buckle down with your studies. Cheers for the meal, I’ll just check my phone a sec.”
“Ryoka, you’ve had loads of messages, haven’t you? Are you alright? Did something happen?”
Throughout the meal, Ryoka’s phone on the table had vibrated repeatedly. Though I’d meant it as a casual question, Ryoka’s expression changed noticeably the moment she looked at her phone.
“Eh… this might be bad… Hey, Meisa, is that a message from Kana⁉”
“What about it? …Ah, it’s not Kana, but I’ve got one.”
She opened the message that had just arrived.
‘Is this really you, Meisa?’
The moment she saw the single line and photo sent by her friend Nagisa, her heart skipped a beat.
It was the same photo Kō had shown me last year when he threatened me into a relationship – the one of me in the teacher’s car at night.
“…Why…?”
The problem was, how did Nagisa have this photo?
Had Kō leaked it? Was he deliberately trying to spread it? Why?
After that incident, Kō never showed anyone that photo he kept on her phone, nor did he spread rumours about me and the teacher.
—I thought Kō was secretly rooting for my love.
Ryōka shifted her gaze from her phone to me, looking worried. Trying to ease her anxiety even a little, I spoke as if it were nothing.
“I got it from Nagisa. If neither Nagisa nor Kana sent it to the group chat, they must be being considerate. Besides, it’s not like this photo shows us doing anything wrong, so it should be fine, right?”
I smiled and said I wasn’t upset, but my hands were trembling.
“…I know about this day from Meisa, and I know her pure feelings. But if everyone else, who doesn’t know the circumstances, sees this photo…”
Ryōka didn’t finish her sentence, but I could imagine the dreadful outcome.
It would be misinterpreted. Distorted. And absolutely… it would make the teacher look bad.
While I turned pale, my phone kept vibrating. Again and again. The messages arriving in succession all had different senders, but the content was identical.
But there was one that stood out.
‘This is bad. Sorry. Can we meet now?’
It was a message from Wataru. ‘Can we meet now?’ was a standard phrase he’d frequently sent, both when we were dating and when he was trying to get back together.
Back then, I’d only thought it was a nuisance, but now I couldn’t rest until I heard his excuse, as soon as possible.
‘Where are you?’
I sent the quickest reply I’d ever sent and left the house.
Wataru was sitting solemnly on a park bench near my house.
Noticing my footsteps as I approached, Wataru lifted her face and hips, then bowed deeply.
“Sorry, Meisa.”
“Did you do it, Wataru?”
We both understood what the problem was. I asked only what I needed to know, keeping it brief.
“…A friend who saw my phone noticed the photo of Meisa and Kakei. They sent it to everyone we were hanging out with at the time… and from there, it exploded.”
Wataru explained the cause, looking more apologetic than I’d ever seen him.
Apparently, they’d been hanging out that day – Kō, who’d already secured university through comprehensive selection, and everyone else whose future plans were settled. The sense of liberation after exams had led someone to get carried away, and by the time Kō realised, it was too late to undo.
“Why did you let your friends touch your phone without permission?”
“Well, Meisa’s quite strict about that sort of thing, but… Me and my mates just normally look at photos or play social games on each other’s phones…”
“Then why didn’t you delete the photos of me and the teacher? I trusted you, Kō!”
“…Sorry…”
The anger I’d been trying to suppress to speak calmly was unbearable. No good. Only words of blame came out. I needed to calm down first.
I took a deep breath, forcing oxygen into my brain and body.
“You did delete the photos, right?”
“Ah, yeah! Of course!”
“Even so, if it’s spread this far, it’s probably pointless for just you to delete them. But there’s nothing to hide between me and the teacher. I intend to be open about it. If I get called in, you’ll have to come along to defend me, right?”
“I’ll do whatever I can. But… I have a feeling that alone won’t be enough.”
I’d expected an immediate yes, but Kō’s reply was hesitant.
“Why?”
“Because you’re… ‘Uehara Meisa’.”
“Eh? I don’t get it.”
Staring intently at me, her brow surely furrowed, Kō said seriously.
“It means you’re someone who attracts attention. Whatever you do, or even if you do nothing, anything Meisa does becomes a talking point. That’s why I think this rumour will blow up bigger than you realise.”
I’d thought it the second time we parted too, but Wataru has a tendency to overestimate me.
“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re exaggerating. I’m not exactly a big deal…”
“Are you really unaware? I think you must have some inkling, even if it’s just a little.”
Asked that, I swallowed the words I’d been about to say. What Wataru meant by “some inkling” flashed through my mind.
Junior girls I didn’t even know calling out to me excitedly.
When the study session with the teacher got noisy, my single remark calming the whole classroom.
When I said I couldn’t make the cultural festival after-party because of my part-time job, they changed it to another day.
Most were trivial things, and I’d tried not to notice, thinking I was just being overly self-conscious. But if those things were combined with the concern Kō mentioned, I could imagine the worst possible outcome.
“Sorry for saying something that made you anxious. But I think I have some influence too, maybe not as much as Meisa, but still. I’ll protect Meisa as much as I can.”
After I said I didn’t like it, Kō stopped calling me “you” altogether.
Unless he’s so caught up in love he can’t listen, Kō is basically a smart bloke. It was irritating he said that after leaking the photos, but I guess I have to rely on whatever I can now – I can’t manage this alone.
“…Can I trust you?”
“Yeah. Leave it to me.”
Had Kō and I still been dating, things might not have come to this.
Even so, if I could go back and start over, I’d still choose to like the teacher.
That’s why I have no choice but to fight. Against appearances, against everyone’s prying eyes.
From that night on, Kō spread the rumour: “Apparently Meisa bumped into Kakei on her way home from work. She took her home because it was dangerous. The photo was just me messing about, trying to make it look like a tabloid shot. I was there too, and from the conversation, they didn’t seem particularly close.”
At the same time, I worked hard to deny it, acting as if I didn’t care at all: “The teacher was just worried about me walking home alone at night and offered to drive me. Anyway, we’re both girls, so what’s the big deal?”
We SNS generation know rumours spread in an instant and die down just as quickly.
I’d have to brace myself for a while of being subjected to curious stares, but if I kept denying it while letting things slide, they’d probably get bored of treating me and the teacher like toys.
This fuss was still within the expected range; no problem.
That’s what I thought… but from the very next day, my life changed completely.