A Place Where Someone Is

It might be rude to say it was "like washing taro roots," but
the scene unfolding before my eyes was exactly like that.
There were so many students in the not-so-spacious middle school library.
That familiar sight
was a little different from the
"typical library" I had imagined.

A library.
It is
a place where people come seeking books,
to read, borrow, or research.

However, some people come without any connection to books at all.
About half of them were like that.
They seemed to think the books on the shelves were just interior decor,
and half of the people who came were just there.

Everyone would dutifully take off their indoor shoes in the hallway in front of the library,
and say things like "Good morning"
or "I'm home~",
or "Listen to this, listen to this~," and
enter with a familiar air.

Twenty years ago.
It was my third year working as a middle school librarian.
One day went like this.

◆ 1st Period
2nd-year social studies class.
It's research time. After the teacher's explanation, they are spreading out newspapers and encyclopedias to look things up. I introduce a few books that might be useful for their research. Since it started raining, I go around closing all the windows I had just opened.
◆ 2nd Period
1st-year Japanese language class.


After explaining "how to use the library," everyone quietly reads or borrows their favorite books.
◆ 3rd Period
I was relieved because there was no class scheduled, but when I went to tidy up the bookshelves, a teacher with a free period came to hang out. We chatted while I tidied up. I listened to their complaints. We ended up eating the chocolate I had secretly planned to eat alone during my break.


◆ 4th Period
Student A, who is truant, comes in.
He came to the library because he couldn't enter his classroom.


As I was listening to him and working, another person arrived.
This was Student B, who wasn't "unable to enter the classroom" but rather "not allowed in the classroom."
I was entrusted with Student B, who arrived with shaved eyebrows, piercings, and an embroidered school uniform, by his homeroom teacher who said, "I'll come pick him up before lunch, so please look after him for an hour."
Student A, who can't enter the classroom, and Student B, who isn't allowed in.
They were glancing at each other, keeping their distance.
Surely, if they were in the same class, they would be the type to never get along, but this is the library.

Perhaps feeling a sense of kinship, they sat facing each other despite there being plenty of seats, which made me laugh.
I had no choice but to stop my work and sit next to them.
Both of them looked unsure of themselves, even though they had gone to the trouble of coming.
I told them, "It's great that you came to school even though it's raining. If it were me, I would definitely have stayed home. I hate getting wet."
Before long,

"I wonder what's for lunch today"
or "Why is it hard to enter the classroom"
or "That way of shaving your eyebrows is a failure no matter how you look at it"
we were chatting, and it started to feel funny. When I laughed, Student B was drawn into it and laughed shyly. Student A also laughed reservedly.

I got to take a good look at the embroidered school uniform.
Student A and I got excited, saying, "I've never seen anything like this before!"
It was a long uniform, the kind no one wore even back then. It must have been passed down among students of that particular path.
When I asked, "Where do you buy that?"
he answered proudly, "My senior gave it to me!"

I had the two of them help me put returned books back on the shelves.
They helped me very diligently.
I felt happy and explained the book classification numbers to them.
"1 is philosophy, 2 is history. 9 is literature. For example, this book has a sticker that says 913, right? This 9 is literature, the middle 1 refers to Japan, and 3 is novels. Things like that are decided by the 'Nippon Decimal Classification.' So, if you want to find Japanese novels in the library, you should go to the 9 shelf."
The two of them listened to me seriously.
When returning books to the shelves, they properly looked at the classification numbers and headed to the correct shelf.

While doing that, the 4th period ended.
A while after the chime rang, Student B's homeroom teacher came to pick him up.

"Teacher! I helped Mimi-sensei! What's 913? Do you know, Teacher? I know!"
The homeroom teacher laughed, gave me a polite nod, and took Student B away.
I saw Student B and Student A waving small goodbyes to each other.
They seemed to have become friends.
Then, Student A's homeroom teacher also came to pick him up.
Student A reported to his teacher, "I studied in the library today." He had a slightly more confident expression.

◆ Lunch Break
I hurried to eat lunch and hurried back to the library.
That's because tons of students come to the library during lunch break.
Usually, 50 to 60 people come.
On rainy days, it exceeds 100.
Looking at the rain outside the window that showed no signs of stopping, I braced myself a little to prepare to welcome everyone.
The library committee students came early to do their committee work and stood by at the counter.
After all, when 100 people come at once, it's hard to lend books, receive returned books, and answer questions.
The air was stuffy. It was hot.
Still, only about half of the students came for book-related reasons.
The other half were just "there."
They come, talk, and go home.

◆ 5th Period
After the chaotic lunch break, I went back to organizing books.
I checked the books returned during lunch and put them back on their original shelves.
Then, a parent arrived.
They said they stopped by because they were at school for PTA activities.
It was embarrassing to be seen with a library that wasn't tidy yet, but there was no point in worrying about that, so I welcomed them in, saying "Please, come in," and gave them some chocolate. The parent gave me some candy in return.
The parent started talking about their child's entrance exams and family matters.

Then, Student B came by again.
"I'm going home for the day, so I thought I'd say bye to you, Teacher."
He has no eyebrows, but he's dutiful.

Student B left, and Student C arrived in his place.
She looked pale and anxious.
She said she tried to go to the counseling room, but it was closed.
When I beckoned her, saying "Come here, come here,"
she entered while nodding to the parent.
She looked around the library, picked up a magazine, and started reading.

Then the vice principal appeared.
He entered, saying he wanted to read the newspaper.
The newspaper subscribed to by the school office and
the one subscribed to by the library were from different publishers, so the vice principal would occasionally come to read the library's newspaper like this.

The extension phone rang.
"Yes, this is the library."
"Good work. Is anyone in the library right now?"
It was a 3rd-year teacher.
When I answered honestly, "There is a 3rd-year parent, a 3rd-year student named C, and the vice principal here,"
"Ugh! I was thinking of coming to hang out, but if there are that many guests, I'll come another time~" they said and hung up the extension.

◆ 6th Period
Integrated studies time.
Students came in all at once for research learning again.

Just then, new books arrived from the bookstore.
While I was in the middle of accepting two boxes of new books, an elderly person from the neighborhood entered with paper bags in both hands.
How did they come in this rain with all this luggage?
"I thought I'd let the middle schoolers use the dictionaries and hobby books I have at home. I don't have much time left, after all. Look, this book is rare, isn't it?"
The elderly person sat down next to a student doing research and took the books they had brought out of the paper bag.

New books and old books arrived at the same time.
A middle schooler and an elderly person were sitting at the same table.
It's strange, but
here, this is also a common sight.

◆ After School
Students who finished their homeroom meetings came by.
The library committee children seemed to think that gathering in the library after school was a "club activity,"
and they would gather for no particular reason.

Students who said, "I want to rest for a little bit until cram school starts," also came to the room.
They enjoyed looking at sports magazines.
Before I knew it, some students were tired and sleeping.

Furthermore, graduates who had graduated in March
came by, saying, "We came to show you our high school uniforms."
"Oh my! Aren't you cute! That uniform!"
The children dressed in high school uniforms suddenly looked more mature.

Even if not everyone was reading,
even if they were visiting for unrelated reasons,
they never disturbed each other.
They don't have to be friends.
There are no seniors or juniors.
There is no gender.
Of course, they can talk or not talk.

It's a library, but
it's a place that is more than just a library.


Everyone comes as they like,
talks, reads, lounges around, and
leaves saying, "See you later."

When I quickly tidied up the empty library,
turned off the lights, and locked the door,
I thought every time,
"Did I do anything librarian-like today?"

There were days when I did librarian-like things,
and days when I mostly just talked.
Because people were always coming by,
I was meeting people.

If I was there,
someone would come in,
so the time I spent doing librarian work alone wasn't lonely.

Even when I felt lonely or troubled, if I was talking in a place where someone was, somehow, just somehow, my heart felt lighter.

—I'm tired.
The end of my shift had long passed.
I dragged my heavy body and hurried through the staff room.
I returned the key, greeted the teachers who were there with "Good work," and...

instead of going straight home,
I often headed to the infirmary.

The infirmary after school.
The school nurse
would welcome me with a grin, saying,
"I've been waiting for you."
While helping out a little in the infirmary, I would talk about what happened that day.
The teacher would quietly brew coffee, serve it with chocolate, and listen, saying "Uh-huh, uh-huh."
I would just talk, grumble, and laugh.
Then, I felt like I could do my best again tomorrow.

I wish every school in the country had a "place where someone is."
There are no difficult rules.
It would be nice if there were places where people are, where you can just enter.


(I guess this is what they mean by 'like washing taro roots') I often think back to my days as a school librarian, thinking such rude things while I worked.
Back when I was in a place where someone was,


back when I was "someone."