All Adults Are Clueless! [Short Short #26]

"Tell me, Ritsu, why don't you want to go?"
Ms. Yayama asked me this in front of everyone, her voice gentle yet persistent, like she was strangling my neck with cotton candy.

I was the only one in the class who didn't want to go on the field trip; everyone else was looking forward to it. Even so, I gathered all my courage and raised my hand to say I didn't want to go.

Ms. Yayama didn't praise my courage. Instead, it felt to me like she saw me as a "troublesome child" who was disrupting the group.

"Why do I have to explain my reasons just because I'm different from everyone else?"
Frustrated and a little worked up, I found myself saying something I wouldn't normally say, my voice trembling.

"I'm not blaming you, Ritsu."
Ms. Yayama's face twitched for a second, but she immediately returned to her usual fake smile and said something generic.
Even though she was a teacher, she hadn't answered my question. I wondered if maybe she was bad at Japanese, so I asked again.

"Why do I have to explain my reasons just because I'm different from everyone else? You didn't ask anyone who said they wanted to go."
I thought she would understand now, but Ms. Yayama didn't. No, maybe all adults are like this.

"Why are you talking back and making things difficult for everyone! I'm only asking because I'm thinking of you, Ritsu!"

I couldn't understand what Ms. Yayama was saying, and I felt like I couldn't breathe.
From deep, deep inside, a mix of fear and frustration welled up, and I felt like I was going to cry. I'm sure my eyes were bright red.

I wasn't talking back, it was the teacher who was making things difficult for everyone, not me, and she wasn't thinking of me at all. Why do all adults tell these lies so easily?

"Ritsu, the field trip was decided by the whole class. Now, let's all get along. Alright everyone! I'm going to explain what to bring and what to wear on the day of the trip, so listen carefully!"

I screamed in my heart, "Ms. Yayama is clueless!"

When I first learned the word "clueless" in a manga, I thought it was a funny word. Today, I understood for the first time, through personal experience, what it really meant.

Ms. Yayama is clueless. All adults are clueless.

On the day of the field trip, I skipped school and ate my lunch alone on the top landing of the stairs at a nearby apartment complex.

I am not clueless.