Middle School Diary

I'm thinking of writing a story called 'What Was That Story About'.
I haven't written a single line yet.
The deadline is getting close, and
I'm starting to panic because I'm running out of time.

And yet~
Why~
Fa-fa-fan-fa-ha-ha-fun-fun~
Are you going away~
Even to that extent~

It was fine to start singing, but
I didn't know the lyrics in the middle,
so I hummed.

I wonder what that story was about.

It's a story from when I was in middle school.

I wonder if it was my second year.
There was a friend of mine from elementary school named N in the same class.
He's a boy.
He was always fun, had interesting ideas, and was the center of the class.

One day, N said to everyone in the class,
'Let's all move forward 3 centimeters while the teacher is facing the blackboard in the next class!'

The class started.
When the teacher turned to the front to write on the board,
shhh-shhh-shhh
everyone slid their desks and chairs.
The teacher turned around,
but didn't notice the 3-centimeter change and started talking.

After a while, when the teacher started writing on the board again,
shhh-shhh-shhh
everyone slid their desks and chairs.
The teacher turned around,
but didn't notice.

Even after that, every time the teacher wrote on the board, everyone silently
kept going shhh-shhh-shhh,
and we moved forward so much it was unbelievable.
Giggles leaked out involuntarily, but the teacher looked puzzled and suspicious,
saying things like,
'Huh, what? Is something wrong?'

Teacher, are you sane?
No matter how you look at it, the back is clearly empty.
Don't you notice?

'Nothing at all~'
he said, and went back to writing on the board.

Finally, the boy in the front row turned around and waved his hands big.

(Captain!! We can't move forward any further!!!)
If you looked, the desks were right up against the teacher's podium.
Everyone looked at N with an expression that said, 'Captain, what should we do?!'
With a single nod, N gestured,
(From now on, we will move back 3 centimeters at a time!!!)
Everyone nodded.

They started moving back
shhh-shhh-shhh.
The teacher turned around, but didn't notice.

After that, every time the teacher wrote on the board, everyone kept moving backward,
and by the time we bowed at the end, the front half of the classroom was empty.

The teacher was suspicious the whole time, but in the end, he left without getting angry.

There are cheerful kids, and there are kids who aren't. It wasn't a small class where everyone was best friends.
And yet, why were we so united?

Was it N's personality, the way they interacted with everyone openly and without prejudice, or was it the work of a natural-born mood maker?

It remains a mystery to this day.

I intended to write a 'What are you talking about house' piece, but I ended up writing a regular 'What are you talking about' piece.

It is a mystery.

Konishi Kinoko-san.
Please collect this.

#WhatAreYouTalkingAbout