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Riko set the last crayon down on the last desk, perfectly parallel to the clean sheets of paper next to it. Riko looked around the room, breathing a happy sigh. She had painted works of art that some considered masterpieces, she had studied art history and theory for years...and yet, watching the round, innocent faces of her pupils scribbling on paper with their stubby little hands brought her more joy than anything. The very simplicity of the room filled her heart. Sure, there was the odd paint stain or scratch from safety scissors, but overall, the room was heaven for her.
She heard the march of her students coming from the outside doors. Her afternoon class came right after gym, so they were a little bit tuckered out, which was good for her purposes. Even the ones that were still active easily settled down when they set to working on their piece. Riko went to the front door, expecting to see sweaty, grinning faces, saying “good afternoon, Sakurauchi-sensei” in their cute little voices...
Instead, she was met with a flood of students, eagerly dashing into the classroom squealing and giggling.
Riko watched in horror as they climbed into the desks, but even when they were seated, they were still absolutely obnoxious. Riko wasn’t sure what had happened, but she didn’t mind. Of course, they were kids. She was sure she could just calm them down. Just as she was about to walk into the room and take control, she saw three of her students walking down the hallway: Kanan Matsuura, who was holding her elbow and crying; Mari Ohara, who was holding a lollipop and also crying; and Dia Kurosawa, who seemed a little fed-up with everything. Riko hadn’t even noticed their absence, with the gaggle of students who had overwhelmed her. Behind them was Yoshiko Tsushima, the gym teacher. Riko had never really spoken with her, but perhaps she would have an explanation for the kids’ behavior.
Then again, Riko definitely had a reason for not talking to her. Any time she went into the teachers’ lounge, she was always calling herself “Yohane” and making some grand speech (and blocking the coffee machine, Riko might add begrudgingly). Everybody else seemed entertained by it, especially her students, but Riko steered clear.
Taking a deep breath, Riko greeted, “Good afternoon, Tsushima-san! Wh-what happened to these three?”
Yoshiko opened her mouth, but Dia, known as the resident tattletale, said, “Tsushima-sensei gave us candy, but Kanan got the one that Mari wanted, so Mari pushed her and Kanan fell and scraped her elbow and dropped her candy, and Kanan started crying and Mari started crying because she didn’t want to get in trouble, so Tsushima-sensei just gave them both new ones.”
“It was an accident,” Mari added. Kanan was still nursing her arm, sniffling.
“I...see.” Riko had pretty much tuned out after hearing “candy”, looking up at Yoshiko with a burning glare. Yoshiko snickered.
“Well, my little demons had done a good job today, so I figured they deserved a little treat, and I’ve got a lot of sweets in my desk, so...why not?”
Riko tried to keep her face neutral, especially after Mari told her one day that she looked like an angry turtle, but Yoshiko was making it difficult. Riko peeped into the classroom. The kids were staying in their seats, at least, but the sound would be a problem if she didn’t provide instruction immediately. “Tsushima-san, I think in the future, perhaps-”
“Sakurauchi-sensei, look,” Kanan said, holding up her elbow. It had a band-aid on it with some character that had become popular among the kids recently. Yoshiko smiled smugly, as if aware that she was quickly becoming the cool teacher. Candy, cool band-aids...what next?! All Riko had was crayons and paper turkeys...
“Very cool! You’re so brave,” Riko said, and Kanan grinned. Riko noticed that she had lost a tooth. She’ll lose a lot more if that Tsushima-san keeps giving out candy...! “Please go take your seats, you three.”
All tears dried, Yoshiko sighed, scratching the back of her head, watching the three kids run to their desks. “You look pissed.”
“Please don’t say ‘pissed’ within earshot of the students,” Riko said, lowering her voice when she repeated the offending word.
“They’re yelling too loud to hear, anyhow.” Yoshiko was right. They were still hollering at each other. Riko looked in and saw that some students had started to draw a little bit on their own...mostly Dia, though.
“Whose fault is that?!” Riko snapped. Yoshiko’s eyes widened, and Riko took a deep breath. Teacher voice, teacher voice, she told herself. “Like I was saying...in the future, you should take care not to give the students so much candy. It’s very inconsiderate to me, and possibly the instructor they have after me, for them to be so-”
Yoshiko chuckled lowly, and Riko stopped in her tracks. A chill ran down her spine. Yoshiko shoved her hands in the pockets of her tracksuit. “How adorable. You’re speaking to me like you would to one of our students? Sorry to say, but the great Yohane does not get scolded...not even by pretty little art teachers.”
Riko inwardly screamed at herself for blushing so hard. Whether it was out of fury or flattery was unknown to even her. “W-well, I’m scolding you, so...d-don’t give out anymore candy, okay?!”
“Not even to you?” Riko narrowed her eyes. Yoshiko was just screwing with her, she thought. Surprisingly, though, she wasn’t. Yoshiko cleared her throat and dug into her pocket, then pulled out a handful of mini-sized chocolates and a couple of lollipops. “Take one of these and calm down, little demon.”
“Don’t call me that...or the students, for that ma-”
“Come on,” Yoshiko said, shaking her hand and jostling the candy enticingly. Riko looked up at her face for a second before looking away. Crap, she’s too pretty. I can’t even say no. “Besides, it’ll help you loosen up. Y’know, Ohara-kun says you look like an angry turtle all of the time. A little sweetness’ll cancel out all that sour.”
Riko didn’t appreciate the insults, but...boy, did that milk chocolate look tasty. Riko took it, then glanced up at Yoshiko again. Her face was...expectant. Riko cleared her throat, then unwrapped the little candy square and popped it into her mouth...and wow, it just melted. She even moaned a little bit. It was so delectable! Yoshiko laughed, and Riko immediately chewed and swallowed, averting her eyes. “See? That’s all it takes, little demon. That cute face of yours is softening already! Yohane always has your back. Stop by my office any time. There’s more where that came from.”
Yoshiko gave a wink and chuckled again, turning tail and walking away. Riko groaned and bit her lip, trying to stop the blush as she walked back into her classroom with the taste of chocolate still on her tongue.