Seiji Matsumoto
Chapter 1
His long hair tickled my skin when he leaned over my shoulder. I felt his breath on my neck, his beating heart right behind my shoulder. What would happen next? Would his hands touch me? Would his slender fingers run through my hair and touch my lips?
“Would you like to share your thoughts with your class, Margret?” Seiji’s voice said next to my ear. The others giggled quietly and I blushed, “Sorry teacher!” Seiji Matsumoto was my teacher. He had dark, long hair, dark brown, Asian eyes, a straight nose and he was so tall and athletic!
I fell for him the first time I met him. Seiji was a serious man, always mysterious about his private life and family and past. I’ve never seen him smile. Maybe my teacher had a totally weird personality? Such trivial matters didn’t mean anything to me. All I wanted was to be close to him, so when I had heard he would be teaching math’s classes, I signed up for them immediately, although I was quite good!
“Next time you’ll stand in front of this class and tell everyone what exactly distracted you so much. We’ll let you go this time!” he said calm and looked at me with cold eyes.
On his way to the front, he said in his normal, strict voice, “Class dismissed.” I sighed in relieve and packed my stuff back in my bag.
“Margret, would you come here for a minute?” my teacher said calmly. I nodded and carried my bag to his desk. When everybody was gone, Seiji said, “Margret, I know it’s annoying to go to school and to have to study. But in my class, I want you to pay attention! Otherwise there is still the possibility to drop out of this class!” He sighed, “And if you think you don’t need to pay attention, than I would be wondering why you joined this class in the first place.”
I couldn’t tell him that he was the reason for me to join his class! “You don’t have to answer now, but think about it and if you want to stay in this class, you should better pay attention. Otherwise I might have to ask you to leave this class, so that the others have at least a chance to learn something useful.” he declared, looking at me coldly.
He was alone with me! My heart was beating wildly, and I couldn’t think of anything to respond, that wouldn’t end in an embarrassing scene for me. The only thing in my mind was Seiji’s hair on my skin, his fingers touching my body and his beautiful eyes examining me.
“If you show up in my class, please pay attention. You can go now.” Mr Matsumoto said coldly, sorting some documents on his desk. Why did I have to go? Couldn’t I just stay a little longer?
I wanted to tell him about my feelings, but after what he told me, he would probably throw me out of his class and get me suspended for sure! So I just turned around, walked towards the door and thought loud and clearly, covering my mouth, just to make sure I didn’t say it out loud by accident, “Mr Matsumoto, I love you!”
When I reached the door, I looked around one last time for today to see my mysterious teacher working at his desk. But what I saw was a bit frightening. Mr Matsumoto stared at me with wide eyes. Did I do something wrong? Did I say that out loud? No… My mouth hadn’t moved while I thought that.
“A… Are you all right, Mr Matsumoto?” I asked carefully. His normal, calm face had vanished. It looked more like a panicking person, like his worst nightmares just came true.
After a few moments of staring, he asked, trying to claim control over his emotions, “What did you just say?” “Are you all right?” I repeated confused. “No!” he said a tiny bit calmer, “The other thing, before that!” With a wave of his hand, the door behind me closed with a loud thud and a quiet clicking sound locked the door. We were locked up in a classroom. Together and all alone!
“Come here!” Seiji ordered and my legs moved without me wanting them to. I felt more like running away! How did he do that? “What did you say on your way out of the classroom?” he asked again, looking a little angry.
Was that scary guy really my Seiji? With that frightened, cross and horrified, but still a bit hopeful expression in his face, he looked totally sexy!
“I will only tell you, if you promise not to kick me out of class or get me suspended or anything!” I said, totally enchanted by his dark eyes. In my mind I prayed for him not to get cross because of that.
My teacher took a deep breath and nodded, still staring at me. “Promise!” I whispered, holding my hand towards his. Suspiciously he took my hand and said, “I promise, that this conversation will have no consequences for your education in this school!”
Relieved I said, “I didn’t say anything. I was thinking something.” I took a deep breath and said the three little words my heart was longing for since I met him.
“I love you!” I said looking into his eyes.
Carefully I tried to foresee his reaction, in his stone equal face. No emotion stirred up the plain, horrified mask that covered his face. Could I touch his face? Would it break the spell that made his face freeze? But how did he know what I was thinking? I was so sure I didn’t say anything out loud. How did he know?
Suddenly his phone started to ring and he woke up from his numbness and turned his eyes away from mine. I took my chance to get out of this situation, grabbed my bag and ran towards the door, which was still locked! I cursed quietly, dropped my bag and walked back to the desk and waited. He listened, but never changed the expression on his face. When he was done, he looked at me curiously, “Why do you think you love me?” “I don’t think so. I do.” I said a bit cranky and crossed my arms in front of my chest. “So why do you love me?” he repeated his question.
“You really look like a model, you have beautiful hair and your eyes are so intense, although you always look so strict and not happy. Nobody ever saw you work out or anything, but you really are athletic and strong.” I explained, when he said, “So you only like my looks?” I just overheard that comment, because I wasn’t done with my explanation, “You are really clever, you are a brilliant teacher and you can explain everything, so that everybody will understand. If somebody has problems, you try to help them as good as possible. You… you have a gentle expression in your eyes when you explain maths, so I know you really like maths.”
“I love the way you talk, or move, when you write on the blackboard. Every time you try to understand the way a student solved an exercise and they got it wrong, you seem really… passionate to find a way to explain the right answer.”
Carefully I risked a look into his face, and felt the curiosity in his eyes. I was instantly enchanted again, “And I love the way you look at me. Like right now. I feel like I’m the only one you’d give that look. And if it was different, I’d be really jealous to say the truth.”
“Jealous, you say.” Seiji looked at me, still very curious, “You get jealous if I looked at somebody else crossly? Like I can be mad only with you?” I was sure my face was as red as a tomato, when I nodded, “You’re always so calm, your face is always smooth and calm, but today, for the first time, you really looked annoyed. And just a minute ago your face had all kinds of emotions. Your façade was gone.” All of my confidence vanished just because he was looking at me with his intense, dark eyes.
Suddenly he looked down on his files, back in teacher mode and said, “I’ll think about what’s going to happen next.” I stared at him with wide eyes and gasped, “But… But you promised that I wouldn’t get suspended or anything!” I was ready to fall on my knees and plead that he wouldn’t say anything, when he smiled at me with glistening eyes, “Do you really have that less confidence in yourself? If I promise something, I will keep my promise!”
Relieved I sighed, “Does that mean I have a chance?” “I’ll consider your proposal, that’s all I can say right now.” Seiji smiled again and said, “You should hurry to your next class, it’ll start any minute.” “I’d be there already, if…” for a second I hesitated, looked to the door and back to my teacher, “If you wouldn’t have locked the door. How did you do that?”
Immediately his face hardened and he mumbled, “Damn! Why did I do that?” Confused I looked at him; couldn’t he just answer my question? Although, now, I was just as curious to hear the answer to both questions, why and how!
Why wouldn’t he let me run out of the classroom when his phone rung? “Come here after school!” he said in his teacher voice and I knew he had gained control over what ever emotion or thought he’d had.
Not sure what I should do, I left the room, this time, when I looked back, I saw exactly what I expected: My teacher looking through his files.
Quickly I rushed to my English lesson, but I was still late. “Hey, where have you been? I was waiting for you!” my best friend Linsey whispered as soon as the teacher turned to the blackboard. “Mr Matsumoto wanted to talk to me after class.” I whispered back.
“Your hot maths teacher? What did he want?” she asked curious. I made a face and quietly said, “I didn’t pay attention in class, so I got scolded.” Although she was my best friend, I couldn’t tell her the other thing I had said, the actual reason for being late.
Of cause I hoped he’d like me as well, but… I didn’t have enough confidence in myself to really think he could choose me. What would he want to say after school? Would he tell me, it was impossible for us to be together? Would he explain what had happened with the door? How he locked it without touching it? I wasn’t sure if I should really go. What if he was some perverted idiot? If he… would it really bother me if he did it?
After our English lesson we had lunch break, some others of our friends were sitting beside us at the table, friends and friends of friends. Linsey knew most of them better than me; we were best friends only since two years. Everybody was chatting away, while I thought about Seiji. It was bold of me to think of him only as Seiji instead of Mr Matsumoto, but I really liked him. In my imagination I had kissed him over and over, married him at least twenty times. All of that was so easy to dream of, especially because he was only six years ahead of me. I sighed and decided to go there, to go to my maths class after school and meet Seiji.
What could happen? He could rape me. I wouldn’t care, as long as it was him. He could tell me, he didn’t share my feelings. I could still like him. He could tell me I was crazy because I imagined things like, doors closing and locking themselves. I would agree.
But he could also tell me, that he did like me and if I wouldn’t go there, he could get pissed and change his mind. So I couldn’t loose too much if I went there!
“Finally, school’s over! For today,” Linsey said enthusiastically, “Hey, let’s go to that café and have some ice cream!” “Sorry, I can’t, Mr Matsumoto ordered me to come by his classroom after school. Maybe we can go tomorrow?” I said apologizing.
“You’re going to be alone with him in the whole school?” my friend asked worried. I nodded. “Mags! I can’t let that happen! What if he does something to you? I’m coming with you!” I sighed when we walked to the math’s room together.
It was weird to walk through an empty school. No more students were laughing, running or studying in the corridors. And the most frightening was probably the silence. It was so quiet, that our steps seemed to be even louder.
Carefully I knocked on the door, before we entered the room. Seiji didn’t even look up from his papers, “If you’re ready, we can start immediately, are you going to join her, Linsey?” How did he know her name? And join me doing what?
“Why not, Mr Matsumoto, what are you up to anyway?” she asked, smiling widely. The reason why I wouldn’t tell her what I had said was that she liked him as well. But she was prettier than me. Her hair was straight and blond; she had beautiful skin, brown eyes and a beautiful body. While my hair was brown and curly and always a bit out of place, my body was thin, but far from being sexy.
I was quite pretty, but only as long as Linsey was far away from me. And that he looked at her and knew her name, although she wasn’t in any of his classes, bothered me a lot. I was fighting against my instincts to scratch her face like a cat and pull her hair!
“I had a test prepared for Margret, because it seems she doesn’t have to pay attention in class. But I think she’s got potential, so I prepared this. Feel free to take the test as well. It’s only simple formulas!” my teacher explained.
A bit disappointed I sat down and looked at the test. That was really cheap! I had learned that stuff ages ago! “Math’s?” she asked, “Well, I’ll give it a go, you said it was easy.” He nodded, handed her another sheet and looked back on his own files.
That was not what I had hoped for. But without concentrating too much, I finished the sheet in no time. When I looked up, Linsey was observing Seiji and again I felt like hurting her. Quickly I took my sheet and gave it to my teacher. “I’m done.” I said coldly. He looked at me impressed, but his eyes looked amused, “Done already?” He took a quick look at the answers and said a bit confused, “You know, Margret, we were going to learn these formulas in about two weeks. Why are you in an advanced math’s class again, instead of having fun with your friends?”
“I like maths!” I said calm. I wouldn’t say the other thing in front of Linsey! Anyway, I really liked maths!
“That’s why I thought about suggesting you for a maths scholarship.” He said in his serious teacher voice, “I would be willing to help you with your studies; if that’s something you want!” A maths scholarship? I took a glance at the sheet and cursed myself for not paying attention to the test! But studying with Seiji would be really great!
“Do you tutor, Mr Matsumoto?” Linsey asked curious. “Well,” he said, my stomach turned around, imagining Seiji and Linsey in a room together, “I don’t really have enough time for tutoring right now, but if you’re really interested, I can ask some students or one of my colleagues if they had some time for you.” I sighed in relief, when Linsey suddenly said, “But you have time to tutor her!” “I’m going to teach her even more advanced mathematics in class, while the other students are busy.” Seiji explained calmly. He looked at me and said, “Now, I only have to see where I’ll have to start, I’ll prepare some more tests for tomorrow, so, come here again tomorrow, if you want that scholarship. I have to go now, and I think the two of you should get going now as well!”
“Thank you, Mr Matsumoto!” I said, “And sorry for earlier!” “Don’t be!” he said when he packed his stuff and followed us out of the room.
But it still bothered me, that he knew her name! Why did he know her name? “Nametag on her coat!” he whispered in my ear, when he held the door for us. I blushed, was it really that obvious? “Have a nice afternoon, girls!” he said polite when he walked to the teacher car park.
“He is so not a nice person!” Linsey protested on our way home, “He only likes students that are good in maths! But he really is hot, you should go for him, Mags! Put on some nerdy glasses and you’re probably totally his type!” I stopped and looked at her in shock, why did she say such things? I felt tears flood my eyes, when Lins turned around with a furious face, “Why can’t you be happy to be in his class?”
I started to run, when my tears dripped down my cheeks. “Mags!” Lins called, running after me, “Mags! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it! Please wait!” “Why did you say it, if you didn’t mean it?” I asked still crying and wiping the salty water out of my face. “I’m sorry, I’m just so jealous, that he’s nice to you! I’m sorry I said such awful things!” she said apologizing and put her arms around my neck. “I know you would never snatch a guy away from me, you’re way too nice for something like that!” she whispered in my ear.
I would never do that, because I knew, I had no chance against Linsey! Sometimes she seemed to enjoy snatching all the guys I’d liked since we knew.
Every time I told her, I liked a guy it took her only a few days till she was together with him and I had no chance to compete with my friend.
Chapter 2
The next day after school, Linsey asked again if I wanted to go and eat ice cream with her, but I refused, “I really want to try and get that scholarship.” That was not the only reason. “Fine, knock yourself out! I trust you, Mags!” she said sweetly and walked away.
Nervous and confused I entered the classroom, Mr Matsumoto sat at his desk as always. When he saw I had come alone, he smiled, “I kind of like the jealousy thing.”
I didn’t know what to reply to that, so I asked the other question in my mind. “Were you serious about that scholarship?” I asked nervous when I sat at a desk in front of him. “Of cause that is true, why should I say something like that if it wasn’t true?” he asked, still looking amused, “The only thing, that wasn’t true was, that I don’t have time for tutoring. My point is if somebody wants to learn maths, I have no problem teaching them. But your friend doesn’t want to learn, she didn’t even look at the test.”
“True.” I said, looking at his face, “She said she liked you, Mr Matsumoto.” Seiji laughed amused, “Does she? And I thought she was just jealous that somebody doesn’t pay attention to her as much as she wants. She was jealous of you. You have something she’ll never have. She can only be pretty, but you can be what ever you want. You’re clever, pretty, not like any other girl; you’re learning hard to reach your goals. But her only aim is to keep one thing from you. The only thing she can compete with you in her own eyes.”
With big eyes I stared at him, that couldn’t be true! Linsey would always get what she wished for! She had everything! Suddenly another test sheet dropped to the table in front of me, when I looked up, I looked straight into Seiji’s eyes and couldn’t hold back a sigh. Who cared about Linsey?
“If you’re not feeling good, you can take the tests home and you can finish them alone if you don’t feel like doing them here.” my teacher suggested confused. “No,” I protested, “No, no, I’m ok. I was just irritated.”
Quickly I lowered my eyes, to look at the test, but it was gone. “Looking for something?” Seiji asked amused, holding the sheets in his hands. “Hey!” I tried to catch it, but Seiji just had to lift his arm and the test was out of my reach.
Although I knew it was embarrassing to jump, to get the test, I really liked Seiji’s happy smiling and laughing face, so I jumped. It was actually pretty fun to mess around with him.
Then I jumped high enough to reach the test, I held onto it, pulled it down. But Seiji didn’t let go, so I pulled his arm down as well. My arm sank down, still holding on to the sheet, when Seiji came closer. I didn’t realise it was because both of us held the test sheets, and I pulled them down. When my arm was all the way straight down, his face was only a few millimetre apart from mine.
I felt his breath on my lips, smelled his seductive scent, saw his dark brown eyes from close up, curious and full of other emotions. I wasn’t sure if I was only imagining things again, he was so close!
Would he kiss me now? Would he touch my face? But then he asked, “If you’re ok, you can do the test now.” He cleared his throat a few times, let go of the sheets and went back to his desk. Still a bit disappointed, I sat down and looked at the tasks. Some of the exercises were really hard; but I managed to solve most of them completely and the rest at least parts of it.
I handed him the sheets as soon as I had checked them one last time, sat back on my chair and waited, looking at the piles of sheets next to him. Before I’d started with my own test, the desk had been empty.
“This is your test from yesterday. I don’t think you expected anything else, did you?” he handed me a sheet, without looking up from the new test in front of him. High score. 100%, just as always.
Why should I expect anything else? Those tasks had been as easy as pie. Bored I looked at Seiji, wondering what he was thinking about. “Can I help you?” I asked bored, not letting my eyes off of him. “Those are tests from my college exam classes that I tutor; you wouldn’t understand… what am I saying? Sure, if you want to?” he shook his head, looking back on his tests.
When we were finished with all of his tests, he looked at me and smiled. “Thanks for all your work!” he said, packing the last sheets back in his bag.
Chapter 3
At home he cursed badly and thought about why he had used his ability to read her mind! Why did he crave her company? Why couldn’t he help it?
He knew it was wrong, but why couldn’t he just treat her like every other human being? Why was she special?
With a resigning sigh he undressed and entered his shower. The cold water should really calm him down again; stop him from leaving his house to find the object of his desire.
Seiji still had lots of work to do, for school and for the college students he tutored, so he couldn’t get distracted by anything else!
*
Back at home I had a smile in my face up to my ears, probably looking really stupid and naïve. “Is that you Maggie?” the old lady called and slowly walked towards me. “Yes, granny, it’s me!” I called and took off my shoes, “I’m sorry I’m so late, but I had to stay a little longer in school today. Are you hungry? I brought some stuff for miso soup.” “You don’t have to cook for me child, your mommy will come home tonight; she called earlier.” Hisoka, my grandma said with a smile into my direction. “Yes grandma,” I said with a sigh and went into the kitchen to cook the miso soup for my grandma.
Hisoka slowly walked back into the sitting room to sit down and to continue to watch the evening news. It was kind of a tradition like a ritual for her to watch the news in the evening, although she was mostly blind and couldn’t even see the television with her glasses on.
With a fading smile I started to chop the vegetable and to put on some water. My Granny loved miso soup, so I tried to cook it at least once a week, but since she was really forgetful, every day she’d say that she hadn’t eaten miso soup for a long time. She’d also tell me every day that mom had called.
“Granny, soup is ready, please switch off the telly, the news are always the same anyway!” I called and set the table. After dinner I cleaned the dishes and went upstairs to do my homework and to study for school.
The next day in advanced mathematics, I brought all math’s instruments that I owned, just to be prepared in case I needed any of them. And I was glad I’d brought them, when Seiji explained how to do sine waves, how to work with them and how to use them.
The other students learned how to do the easiest form of probability, I had learned that when I was ten, sneaking into high school preparation classes over the summer months.
“How are you doing, Margret?” my teacher asked curious and looked at my sheet. “Good, it’s quite easy actually!” I said and looked at him. Seiji’s dark eyes looked over my calculations and graphics, his fine black hair was tied together on his back. His skin looked really nice and soft and I wished we could be alone right now, wished I had a serious chance of becoming his girlfriend.
“Really good, I’ll give you a few more exercises in a minute, good job!” Seiji said, suddenly scoffing and went back to his desk.
Was my most favourite teacher ok? Did he come down with a cold or something? Worried I observed him, while thinking about cooking some nice tea and soup for him, to make him feel better.
Remembering the embarrassment from my last time, day dreaming in class, I quickly pulled my attention back to the math’s exercises. Somehow Seiji seemed to be even more grim than usual. Maybe he felt a bit pressured because of my behaviour? He was a teacher and I had these kinds of thoughts about him, those feelings! What I was doing was rather selfish and couldn’t be considered real mature love! But I would change that! From now on I would behave like a mature person, being in love with someone I shouldn’t be!
Being forced to pretend I didn’t care about him and watch him become a happy husband and father with a different woman. After that I’d be forced to move away to mend my shattered heart and forget about him, only to meet him again in the streets or in a shop. And all that, only to find out that he broke up with his ex-girlfriend because he couldn’t be happy with her, because he realised that I had been his true love the entire time!
With a sigh I pulled my thoughts out of the cheesy drama I had created about my life with Seiji and back to maths. Just when I finished the last exercise, the bell announced the end of today’s lesson and the week. “Well done, class, please copy the homework from the blackboard and have a nice weekend!” Seiji said calm and came over to my desk, “Here is your homework, if you don’t understand something you can ask me on Monday in the next lesson, but try and give it your best concentration, enjoy your weekend.” “Thanks,” I said with a smile, “You too, Mr. Matsumoto, enjoy your weekend.” Quickly I packed my stuff and left for my part time job.
My job in the gigantic hotel was easy enough; at least after you get used to it. Cleaning and tidying the rooms and serving and cleaning the tables in the bar and restaurant, the room service part of my job was mostly for the weekend, while I worked as the hotel’s waitress almost every day.
The school probably wasn’t too happy about students taking jobs after school, but it was not against the schools regulations, yet. As soon as I was there, I changed into my working clothes and went to work. The hotel paid quite well for all the things I did, the waitressing, the cleaning and all the other things.
On Fridays I worked in the restaurant, but on Saturday and Sunday morning I would clean and tidy the rooms. It was hard sometimes, carrying all those dishes and all, but it also kept me distracted from Seiji. It helped me keep my mind busy.
“Is that you Maggie?” Hisoka called from the sitting room, and walked towards me. “Yes, granny, it’s me!” I said and put my things down on the old arm chair beside the door, “Just home from work.” “Did you have a good time at work?” she asked and followed me into the kitchen. “Yes, granny, work was good, how was your day?” I asked and prepared some food.
“Your mother called, she’s coming home tonight. I think we should keep some dinner for her; she’ll be hungry when she returns!” granny said and sat down on one of the chairs around our table, “The people on the television are doing interesting things, dear, they are getting aeroplanes that fly safely over the ocean! Did you know that? Last I heard they were planning on building those machines but now they look so different from the original plans! Your grandpa would be horrified by what those people did to the plans he’d been working on!” “Granny, the plans he’d been working on were used but modified and improved with time. They can fly everywhere now.” I said, stirring the vegetable and chicken pieces in the pan.
“But your grandpa’s team only handed them in last year; they can’t just change his plans as soon as he is gone!” Hisoka protested angrily. “Granny, it’s been ten years since grandpa died!” I said with a sigh, “And well, technology has to move on, otherwise we’ll be stuck in the past for ever.”
Hisoka didn’t understand the fact that time had moved on, that everything moved on, since she was still stuck in the time when her husband was still alive. That was also the reason why she thought my mom had called and that she would come back home.
With another sigh I put the food on two plates and before she could protest said, “Mom send me a text message on my way home, she won’t make it tonight and we shouldn’t wait up for her!”
“Your mother is really unreliable lately! She has a daughter and she is just heading off on a business trip for a week!” Hisoka complained, “She should not leave you alone in your age! You’ll get interested in boys! And what should I do? I am old and don’t know what the kids in your age do!” “Grandma!” I protested, boys were something I was not mad about talking to my grams, “We don’t have to talk about this! I’ll… I’ll talk to mom when she’s back!” “That is my good girl!” she said, “Just stay away from those want to be men! They are monster and they all just want one thing! Are you listening, child? Stay away from them!” “Yes, grandma,” I said relieved and started to eat.
Chapter 4
On Sunday evening I sat down to look at my maths homework. I had the other stuff done after work on Friday, but I didn’t have time for my special maths homework. It was not too hard, the sine waves were easy to understand and to solve, so I managed to do it quickly and I was able to go to bed in time.
*
Was it even possible to teach that girl anything? She solved those sine waves without any mistakes at all! She really was gifted! But how could he concentrate like this? It had been like this every time in class, for a while now!
Her thoughts drifted off as soon as she finished her tasks, and by drifting off he didn’t think about typical girl stuff. No, Margret thought about different things! She imagined a life with him, truly cheesy and really mature.
It was fascinating to hear what she wanted, but this was impossible; impossible to accomplish, impossible to support and impossible to accept for him as well. He was cursed and damned to stay in this world. No way out and no way around this stupid curse. Seiji shook his head and looked at the black board again, this was ridiculous, he had to teach and concentrate on the other students as well, they were expecting him to teach them advanced mathematics and instead he listened to a girl’s fantasy!
After school on Monday he went straight home… he really needed a drink. Margret’s thoughts were just too much for any man to deal with! Pouring a glass of bourbon, he sat down and stared at the blue sky outside his apartment.
Margret. What would she do after school? Would she go and study to be so good, to know so much about what seemed to be her most favourite subject?
It was a stupid idea, but he could just check it out, he was a teacher and he had the possibility to return to school and check out her file to find out more about her situation, about her parents, her siblings, her family. “Ok,” he thought with a frustrated sigh and stood up again, “All I want to know is about HER, I don’t give a shit about her family!”
Why was it like that? Why couldn’t he just leaver her alone and treat her like any other student! He shouldn’t get close to her, not now and most definitely not if the way he started to think about her changed even more from before! She was his student for crying out loud!
Before he could stop himself, he stood up and walked back to school to find out more about his most favourite student.
*
I got the feeling that Seiji wasn’t quite himself during the lesson on Monday; he seemed distracted and not quite… there. At some point he stared at the blackboard for about two minutes, not doing anything!
Slowly I got really worried about him. Being distracted was nothing he would usually do. With a sigh I went to my part time job and got changed, maybe he was coming down with something or maybe something had happened in his family or with his friends.
Work was over fairly quickly, which was good, since I was worried about my grandma. I went shopping on my way and went straight home as soon as I got everything that I needed for the week.
“Is that you, Maggie?” Hisoka called from the sitting room. “Yes, it’s me!” I said, hung up my coat and walked into the sitting room to find my grams on the couch. She didn’t look too good; maybe I should call the doctor before cooking.
“How are you feeling, grandma?” I asked worried and sat down on the floor in front of her. “I think I’m getting old my dear.” Hisoka sighed and looked at me with tired eyes, “You must be really annoyed taking care of an old hag as me!”
“No! I love you, granny, I wouldn’t want to exchange you for any other grandma in the whole world! You’re not a burden or anything to me! Don’t say such silly things again, please!” I said and a tear fought its way out of my eyes.
Hisoka smiled slightly and wiped the tear away with her fingers, “I’m sorry Margret.” For a while we just looked at each other in silence, and I got the feeling that she was back to normal and aware of the change of times.
“Why are you crying, dear?” she asked suddenly, patting my shoulder, “It’s only been a few days that your mother has left, she’ll be back tonight, don’t you worry!” Another tear rolled down over my cheek and I quickly wiped them away, while I stood up. “It’s nothing, grandma,” I said and sighed, “I love you, grandma!” “I love you too, dear.” She said and looked back at the television.
In the kitchen I took out my phone and quickly dialled the number of Hisoka’s doctor. “Doctor Mason, hello?” she said and I sighed relieved, “Hi, Doctor Mason, it’s Margret.” “Hi Margret, are you ok?” she asked worried. “I… I’m fine… it’s about my grandma… When I just came back from work… I think she had a clear moment… I think she knew that time had passed, that my mom was dead and grandpa too. But then she went right back to where she was! And I’m not sure, but she seems to come down with something lately!”
“Calm down, Margret, ok?” the doctor said and sighed, “Do you want me to come over and have a look at Hisoka? I’m just done with work, so I can come over on my way back.” “Really?” I asked and felt the tears roll down over my cheeks, “Thank you so much and I’m sorry to trouble you with this, especially when you’re done working!”
“Don’t worry, dear, that’s the least I can do for you!” she said and I heard paper rustling, “I’ll be there in a few minutes, ok?” “Thank you so much, Dr. Mason!” I said and took a deep breath.
While waiting I prepared some food, also trying to distract myself from the fact that my grandma was not feeling the best. After all, she was the last family I had! Quickly wiping away my tears, I tried to concentrate on the cooking.
What should I do if my grandma really did die? I would be all alone! Losing her would not only leave me alone, it would also take away everything I had left! She had to be ok; she had to get better again soon! I wouldn’t know what to do without my grandmother!
As soon as I heard the car pull into the driveway, I jumped to the door and waited for Dr. Mason to come to the door. “Margret, how is she doing?” she asked and hung her coat next to the door. “I don’t know!” I said and took a deep breath, “I don’t know what to do, I just know that something is up!” “It’s ok, I’ll make sure Hisoka is ok!” she said.
“Would you wait in the kitchen for a bit, I’ll have a look at your grandma, ok?” Dr. Mason continued and gave me a brief hug before she walked past me and into the sitting room.
I didn’t want to loose my grandma! My body was shaking lightly and my knees were like jelly. I wouldn’t know what to do without Hisoka! Silently I cried, in the kitchen, trying to pull myself together again.
“Margret?” I heard a voice behind me and jumped up. “I’m sorry, I must have startled you! Your grandma is ok, it can happen from time to time that her mind clears up, you know, there is no need to worry, it is completely normal.” Dr. Mason said and put her hand on my shoulder, “As for her health, she show’s signs of a cold, so I’ll give you some medicine that she should take for about a week, just to make sure.”
“Thank you,” I said and wiped my face, “Thank you so much, Dr. Mason!” “Don’t worry, dear, I’ll drop by after work in a couple of days again!” she said pulled me close, “I know you’re worried, Margret, and it’s a good thing that you called me, don’t worry about my free time!”
For a while she just held me, with her arm around my shoulders, then she sighed, “I’m sorry, darling, but I have to get going. You have my number, in case anything happens, right? Call me, even if it is in the middle of the night! Otherwise, I’ll drop by again the day after tomorrow, ok?”
“Thank you!” I said again and sighed, “I’m sorry to keep you from your family.” “Don’t worry, you know I’ll always be there for you!” she said and smiled. “I know, thank you again!” I said and led her back to the door. My mothers friend took her coat and looked at me again, “If you need anything, give me a call, ok?”
Slowly nodding, I opened the door, “I know, and I’m really grateful for that as well, but we’re ok, as long as Hisoka is here I’m ok.” Dr. Mason smiled and pat my shoulder again, “I’m sure you’ll be ok, but I want you to know that you can count on me too. Your mother was a close friend of mine and I really want to make sure you’re ok. Right… I’ll see you the day after tomorrow, Margret.”
My mothers’ friend did come over, two days after that visit and my grandmas state didn’t change and she didn’t remember anything anymore after that day. But my mind still wasn’t at ease; something bothered me about the fact that Hisoka had been clear for a bit.
*
Starting from Tuesday, Margret seemed distracted, not as in not prepared or anything, but her flow of thoughts did not run around maths and him as usual. She seemed really confused and worried but he couldn’t figure out a reason for it. Not even after reading through the files in school.
There was just no explanation to her confusion. She lived with her grandma and her father, the mother had passed away a couple of years ago and they had a house. Other than that there were no other relatives as far as the school records were up to date.
Maybe he should ask her what was wrong… In that moment Seiji would like to kick himself! He should NOT get her involved with him! He should not talk to her too much! He should not let her get too close…
Then again… what the hell! After all, he was her teacher and had the duty of protecting his students and making sure they were ok! So he waited until the end of class and called Margret to his desk.
“You seem distracted.” Seiji looked at her closely, trying to figure out what had happened to her. “Really?” she asked and smiled, but Seiji knew, that she knew what he meant. But since she didn’t seem to want to talk about it, he wouldn’t make her do it.
“All right,” he said and sighed, “If you wanna talk, you know where to find me!” Seiji knew that was stupid, but he wrote down his phone number and handed it to her. A little confused she took the note and looked at it for a while before she shoved it into her school uniforms skirt. “Thank you, Mr. Matsumoto!” she said, turned around and left.
For a second he felt like pulling her back, he wanted to give her a hug until she felt better again. But he knew there was no way in hell he could ruin that innocent girls’ life!
*
It was really nice to see a worried expression on Seiji’s face, but I just couldn’t tell him about my grandma. If I did, what would happen to us afterwards? They would probably shove me into foster care or so and Hisoka into a prison they called nursing home! No. I could most definitely not tell anyone about what was going on.
The following week nothing changed in Hisoka’s behaviour and the bad feeling I’d had slowly disappeared again. Everything went back to normal and I returned to my normal self. I was glad that my grandma was ok.
Chapter 5
About two weeks after I had called Dr. Mason, I returned home after work. “Margret? Is that you?” I heard my grandma’s voice from the sitting room. “Yes, grandma, it’s me!” I called and hung my coat up behind the door.
“How was your day, dear?” she asked and turned to me. “Just like every other day,” I said and smiled. Our new ritual after work was that I’d sit down with her on the couch for a bit, just to chat for a bit and appreciate our time together.
“You know that I love you, don’t you?” Hisoka asked, when I sat in front of her on the floor. “I know, grandma, I love you too!” I said and leaned my head against her knee.
“You’ve grown into a responsible young lady, do you know that?” she asked and put her hand on my head, “Your mother must be very proud of you.” Breathing heavily she leaned back in the couch and sighed, “At least I know that you’ll be all right when I’m not here anymore.”
“Grandma?” I asked and looked up at her, “What are you saying? I need you!” “Oh, dear,” she said and took my hand, “You don’t need me; I’m nothing but a burden to you. But… I want you to know, that I’ll always love you!”
I felt tears roll down my cheeks, but I didn’t dare to look up at her. Especially since her hand stopped petting mine and the other slipped from my head. Silently I cried into her skirt, telling myself she might just have fallen asleep!
“Grandma?” I asked, blinking away the tears to see properly. No reaction. “Hisoka!” I tried again and again, but still no reaction. With shaking hands I pulled out my phone and called Dr. Masons number. “Dr. Mason, hello?” she asked as she picked up her phone.
“She’s dead!” I cried and didn’t know what to do. “I’ll be there in a minute!” was all she said before she hung up. I dropped the phone and held on to my grandma, until warm arms gently pulled me away. “It’s ok, I’m here!” Dr. Mason said and pulled me close to her.
*
Margret had been back to normal, her thoughts and her behaviour, until she disappeared. It had been about two weeks since she had started to act weird, but even when checking her records again, she had never missed a single day of school, so why now? Why did she not come to school?
Maybe she was sick or something. That would be totally normal, since everybody would get sick sometimes. He shouldn’t be too worried about it, one or two days and she’d probably be back! So that was nothing to worry about.
But to his despair, Margret didn’t show for the following two weeks. Slowly but surely he got really worried, maybe something was wrong, maybe he should go and make sure everything was alright! It was his duty as a teacher!
On Friday after school, Seiji went straight to his car and drove to the address in the school files. Worried he parked the car in front of a terrace house with a small driveway in front of it. It was on the far left of the row, its walls were bright blue with painted, white frames around doors and windows.
The curtains were all closed.
A cold shiver ran down Seiji’s spine and he new something was definitely wrong! Margret’s personality alone wouldn’t allow her to live in a house with all the curtains closed shut! As he approached the door he felt the urge to walk faster and get the girl out of this dark and gloomy house. He pressed on the button of the doorbell and waited impatiently, but nothing happened. Seiji tried a few more times, but eventually decided to try and call the number he had written down on a note in his car, as another car pulled over and an attractive woman approached the house.
“Can I help you?” she asked and pulled out a key. “Well… It doesn’t seem so,” Seiji said confused, “I was looking for one of my students, but it seems I got the wrong address.” “Oh shit!” she said and threw her head back, “You’re Margret’s teacher, right?”
Suspicious he looked at the woman in front of him and nodded, “Yes. I’m looking for her since she didn’t come to school for a while now.” “I’m Dr. Mason, a friend of her mother,” she said and held out her hand. “I’m Seiji Matsumoto, her maths teacher.” Seiji introduced himself and followed the woman back to the door.
“I’m sorry about this; I should have called after all. Margret promised me she’d call herself!” she went on and let him enter the house, “She’s not quite in a state to attend school at the moment. Just sit down for a minute, I’ll make some tea and explain.” Seiji followed her directions into a sitting room and looked at the dark room, the dark feeling the room gave off.
Normally the room must have been rather bright and cheerful with light, creamy coloured walls, bright coloured furniture and probably a glass front to a back garden. But with the curtains all closed the room seemed to be gloomy, even though the light was on. Dr. Mason walked past him and pulled open the curtains, revealing French doors and as suspected, a back garden, “Sorry about this, but she seems to close them again as soon as I’m gone. Sit, please.” This time he followed and sat down on the couch, facing a television screen on a broad shelf.
Dr. Mason returned with two cups and sat on the small couch facing his. “So what’s going on with Margret? Why isn’t she in the state to attend school?” he asked and looked at the blond woman. People would surely consider her a beauty with her long legs, her blue eyes and her long blond wavy hair, framing her petit and smooth face. “Her grandma died two weeks ago.” Dr. Mason said and took a sip of her tea.
“Ok,” he said and nodded, “Why is that such a big deal? She still has her father living here with her, right?” Slowly he got the feeling that something else was wrong here as well. As the woman started to laugh, his suspicion got stronger and Dr. Mason confirmed, “She doesn’t even know her father, Mr. Matsumoto! That bastard left her mother as soon as he learnt that she was pregnant! Telling the school that she lived with her father must have been her way of protecting herself from having to leave her grandma and ending up in foster care! I honestly didn’t know that the school thought she lived with her father, but I can assure that Margret had been safe all these years. I dropped by as often as I could after work, I also checked up on Hisoka, her grandma, every now and then.”
Dr. Mason put her cup on the table and placed her face in her palms, “I should have noticed the signs, I was there about two weeks before Hisoka passed away! Margret had called me because of her grandma, but everything was normal, blood pressure, breathing, behaviour, everything! I even took some blood to check it out in the laboratory in the hospital, but nothing indicated a change of health and Margret had finally settled again!”
Seiji didn’t know what to do, he didn’t really care about this woman’s conscience, but he could hardly be so rude to ignore this! After all, no matter how Margret was, he needed to make sure she was ok, and that would only go though this woman! “It’s not your fault,” he finally said, “People get old and die. I doubt you could have done anything. Sure, you could have pulled her out of here and put her on permanent treatment, but that would be almost equal to death, since it would pull her out of her routine and away from Margret. I believe it was right to leave the two together.”
She sniffed a bit and wiped the tears out of her face, “I’m sorry… You came here to see Margret and I’m whinging on about what I should have done. I’m sorry! I’ll go up and try to get her to come down for a bit!” “Thank you, Dr. Mason!” he said and sighed. It must have been hard to stand by Margret’s side, while her grandmother had passed, trying to tell her that life would go on, that she was not alone or any crap like that. The worst part was, that Margret must really be alone since her entire family was now gone, except for Dr. Mason who seemed to be a close friend of her mother, to take care of her and her grandmother over all these years.
But all Seiji could really think of was the girl, that was somewhere upstairs, probably cuddled up in blankets, trying to forget about the rest of the world; her loneliness and despair, her pain and fear.
A few minutes elapsed before Dr. Mason returned, “She won’t come down. She refuses to see anyone. As a doctor I have to say, that she needs someone to pull her up on her feet again, since I just can’t do it, you can give it a try. Margret told me a about you, she respects you a lot. Her room is upstairs, the left door. All I can say is, give it a try.”
She took a few deep breaths and grabbed her bag, “Listen, I have to go. Since Maggie seems to trust you, I’ll leave you at it, but if you do something to hurt her, I’ll come and find you! I promised her mother to take care of her and I have, and I will! There is a spare key on the wall behind the door, when you leave, take it, lock the door from the outside and toss it though the gap for the mail in the door! I’ll be back here tomorrow morning, if you can, make her eat something! I put food in the fridge!” She walked to the door, leaving the flabbergasted teacher standing there and said, before she left the house, “There is a bathroom here and upstairs, the middle door, if something’s wrong with her, my number is pinned to the fridge. Good luck!”
What a strange woman... leaving a perfect stranger with the girl she’s supposed to look after. He could be a murderer, or a robber, a prepared one of course, knowing some random teachers name in the school of one of the people living in that house. Seiji sighed and took the first few steps of the stairs. Should he really go upstairs? She didn’t want to see anyone and he didn’t know anything about her situation! Nothing at all! He shouldn’t even be there in the first place! He should be off somewhere else, staying away from that girl, keeping her out of his life!
Suddenly Seiji realised that the darkness and gloominess had nothing to do with the light, but with Margret! It was her mind, her thoughts that filled the entire house with such a dark aura! Nothing else was needed to make his body almost run up the stairs, hesitating in front of the left door and finally knocking.
Again, no reaction. “Margret? I’m coming in… I hope you are decent!” he said and slowly opened the door, peeking into a pitch black room. No wonder she didn’t feel good in this kind of room, in that darkness! Leaving the door open, he made his way over to the window and opened the curtains, allowing the sunset to lighten up the room a little. A rustle and a moan made him turn around, where a pile of blanket was slowly moving on a bed. Carefully he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked out of the window. “You know you can’t stay under that blanket forever!” he said and tried to find a way to get her to come out herself, “Is that woman always like that? Leaving strangers in your house and disappearing, leaving them with a girl and the keys?”
No reaction, other than the breathing under the blanket. Seiji sighed, “You know, I’ve missed you in class. Maybe I’ll have to replace my maths genius and favourite student with another one… Maybe I’ll even have to put up with that friend of yours? She seemed to be so eager to join my class.” “No!” the voice under the blanket sounded hoarse and teary. “So come out and tell me what I should do with that empty desk in my classroom!” Seiji said, trying to sound very desperate, “Since I’ll have to fill that spot, and if my favourite student doesn’t want to come… Somebody else might end up taking it without my approval.”
Another rustling of textile and I saw something red coming out of the flower-patterned duvet, “I don’t want to!” A smiled appeared on Seiji’s face, “Well, if you came back or at least tell me that you would come back soon, I might be able to hold that seat open for a bit longer!” Slowly Seiji turned towards her and gently put his hand onto her head, “Listen, you don’t have to come now, well… it’s Friday after noon anyway, but I just want to know if you’re going to be ok. I want you to know that there are a lot of people asking for you in school and there is that crazy lady that let me in, Dr. Mason, that is looking after you, there is this old lady that I heard about who is looking over you, together with your mother and there is me. As you can see; there are a whole lot of people that are worried about you.”
When Seiji heard the sound of Margret crying, he couldn’t help but pull her out of the blanket and into his arms, holding her tight and letting her cry, letting her morn about the loss of her grandmother. Soon the darkness of her thoughts slowly faded and made space for actual thoughts. Thoughts about her grandmother.
*
I couldn’t believe what happened! I had no idea how much time had passed since I had lost my conscience, but the first thing I remember after the pain and loneliness was Seiji Matsumoto, holding me in his arms while I cried. I vaguely remembered Dr. Mason being there, trying to talk to me, trying to get me to eat, and I remembered her telling me that there was a visitor for me, but I didn’t respond. Although I remembered all of that, it was all only vague, while the moment when Seiji held me in his arms was really clear and sharp.
Just by crying and by Seiji’s arms wrapped around me, I felt the pain lessen a bit, like an enormous weight had been lifted off my shoulders. So I kept crying into his shoulder, his chest, until I kind of dozed off again, pleading him not to leave.
When I woke up again, it was starting to get bright again, so it must be morning or so… I felt horrible, but then again better than before! Seiji was sitting on the floor, his hand up on my bed, locked in my hands. Should I let go or was it ok to hold on to it?
For a while I tried to stay calm and quiet, but soon enough Seiji opened his eyes and looked at me. It was like a dream come true, waking up next to the guy I liked and have him looking at me. For a short moment I believed that everything was back to normal, that it was just a normal dream like the ones I used to have until recently, back in a time, when my dreams were all about Seiji.
But all too soon I remembered and the pain returned. Not as bad as it was before, but still all too clear. Just as if he had known, he rose up and sat on my bed, pulling me into his arms. "It's ok, cry all you want." Seiji said and sighed, "I understand that you're hurt right now, but life has to go on, everyone in school and everywhere has been asking about you! They all miss you!"
"Really?" I asked, while trying to stop crying. After all, I was already sixteen and I was crying like a baby! I’d been on my own for so long, taking care of Hisoka and myself, how could I behave like a baby now? Wait. Seiji was here. Seiji had been talking to my mothers’ best friend. Did he know about my father not being here?
“I’m serious, there are lots of people asking for you and even your friend came by my classroom annoyingly often, trying to find you there!” Seiji said and made me look at him, “What’s wrong? Why are you afraid?” I looked at him with big eyes, how could he know? Just when the fear, that he might hate me now, had started to fill my mind! Was it that obvious?
“I… I was just… my dad…” I stuttered, trying to find a way to make him understand that I had no idea who he was and that I didn’t want to move and I didn’t want my father to come here now. “I know… It’s ok, you’ve done well, and I won’t tell anyone!” he said and looked at me with his dark eyes. A sigh came over my lips and I could just fall into his embrace, just like in those dreams… Seiji put his hand on my cheek, slowly wiping away some tears.
“Is that all it takes to get you to come back?” he asked with a small smile on his lips, without letting go of me. I blushed and tried to look away, tried to get out of his arms to think straight again, but I couldn’t. “No…” I protested, but Seiji’s face came closer and closer, until his forehead and his nose touched mine. “Relax!” he whispered and all my resistance disappeared.
Seiji could do anything to me, without me caring about it! “Don’t worry!” he said and gently put me down onto my bed again, “I’ll take care of you! I won’t let anyone take you away from here!” Carefully he pulled his arms out and stood up, “Dr. Mason said she had some food for you in the kitchen, you should eat something. If you’re not down in five minutes, I’ll come up and carry you down!”
When he was gone, I felt the heat in my cheeks, the danger of the situation I had been in and probably still was! He was a man after all and there I was, wearing nothing but my pyjama, crying like a baby and giving up all my defences while throwing my self at him! Quickly I jumped out of my bed, grabbing some clothes from my wardrobe and running into the bathroom to take a shower and get back to being normal again.
It was more than five minutes until I was downstairs, but a gorgeous smell welcomed me on the stairs and only then did I realise how hungry I was. “I think food is ready…” he said as he saw me, dressed in normal jeans and long sleeve t-shirt, my hair still wet from the shower. A slight smile hushed over my face and I quickly helped him with the plates and cups for dinner. It was only eight in the morning, but so what, he had come here right after school and hadn’t eaten since then and I didn’t even remember the last time I had eaten something. So dinner at eight in the morning was fine!
“You didn’t have to do that…” I said quietly as we finished eating, “Stay… and… make food… and… everything…” “I didn’t do it because I thought I had to, but because I was worried about you. I didn’t cook… I just heated it up a bit!” he said and I blushed immediately, thinking about how close he had been upstairs. “Thank you… Mr. Matsumoto…” I said, pushing my self to not say his first name, the name I wasn’t even supposed to know.
“As long as it’s just you and me,” Seiji said, looking at me with intense eyes, “You may as well call me by my first name!” I blushed even more, since that was exactly what I wanted since I first met him! “Bu… but I… don’t know… your first name… anyway… I couldn’t!” I stuttered nervously. “Fine… I guess that means that I can go now, you’ll be fine on your own, right?” he said and stood up, looking at me with a slightly wicked grin, “I might stay if you really wanted me to…”
What was he trying to do to me? I tried to make sounds, but I was too embarrassed to say his name, to admit that I knew it and that I wanted him to stay! But then again, whom could I fool? He knew that I liked him anyway; he probably guessed that I knew his name and he could probably tell that I was not ok alone!
“Please, don’t leave me all alone quite yet…” I blushed and mumbled, “Seiji!” “What was that?” he asked and walked around the table, “What did you just say?” “Please don’t leave me all alone, Seiji!” I said and looked at him with big eyes… I had really said it! I had just called him by his first name! He came even closer and whispered, “See, that wasn’t too hard, now, was it?”
All I could do was shake my head and stare at him, totally forgetting about the rest of the world, about Dr. Mason who wanted to come over later today, about him being my teacher and me being his student and everything about Hisoka.
Slowly he pulled my head closer to his, until I was standing in front of him. His intense, dark eyes had pulled me closer into his spell, I knew that this was not only a silly high school crush, but love and I knew that I had to fight for it with all my might! Getting together all my bravery, I pushed myself up on my tippy toes and overcame the little distance between us. Quickly, I put my arms around his neck and kissed him!
First his eyes stared at me with a hint of shock, than he put his arms around me and pulled me close, while pressing his lips on mine in a passionate kiss. In that moment I was incredibly happy and I thought nothing could ruin this moment, this special moment when I believed Seiji could possibly like me as well!
But there was something that could ruin it and it did happen. The moment passed and Seiji jumped back in shock and quickly grabbed my plate and his and brought them into the kitchen, while I fell back into my chair. Overwhelmed from his kiss and shocked about the expression in his face, I didn’t hear the key in the lock and the opening door.
“Margret!” Dr. Mason called out in surprise and closed the door behind her, “I’m so glad to see you down here!” “What?” I asked and stared at her, my face still bright red from the realisation of what I had done. “The curtains are opened and you’re down here!” she said happily, “I’m so glad I asked your teacher to stay!”
“Ehm… Dr. Mason?” I stuttered and finally looked at her, “He is still here… he’s in the kitchen…” “Did he do something to you?” she whispered into my ear and I quickly shook my head. “Good, otherwise I’d have to do something to him! Why did he stay over anyway?”
“I was crying and we kind of fell asleep…” I said quietly and stood up to bring the rest of our stuff into the kitchen. “Oh…” she said and followed me, “Hi there Mr. Matsumoto, I’m so glad I asked you to look after Margret!” Seiji coughed slightly and smiled, “No problem… Just don’t do that with every stranger that say’s he is Maggie’s teacher!” “I would never do that!” she said and smiled at the charm of my favourite teacher and male being in this world. Luckily Dr. Juliet Mason was married and I knew that she loved her husband very much, and not only because of their children. But still, Seiji smiling at her was something I didn’t like…
“I guess I should get going… I’m glad that Maggie is alright again…” he said and smiled, this time at me and left for the door. “I’ll quick bring him to his car!” I said quickly and followed him, leaving Juliet Mason alone in my house. “You didn’t have to bring me to the car, I just parked over here…” he said and I saw a cheeky smile appear on his face.
“I know…” I said and blushed again, “Will you come again?” I had to know… I didn’t want that kiss to be a one time only thing… I wanted to find out what he thought about me, why he had kissed me and why he had been worried about me. And all that was something I didn’t want to ask in front of Dr. Mason!
“Maybe…” he said indefinite and unlocked his car. A really cool sports car, I had to admit… and it really did suit him! It was dark and sporty and looked really fast. And I probably had to admit, that I really wanted to ride in it some day!
“You have my number anyway, so you can give me a call anytime anyway!” he said and opened the door. He glanced over my shoulder back to the house, leaned over to me and slightly kissed my cheek before he sat down in his car and closed the door. He left me standing there, without anything else and drove off.
Right… his phone number… I blushed, just thinking about calling him myself! What should I do? Should I really call him? Maybe I could text him… that was less embarrassing! Maybe I should text him as soon as Dr. Mason was gone! I wanted to slap myself for being such a klutz when it came down to Seiji.
When I returned into the kitchen, Dr. Mason sat at the table, a cup of coffee in her hands. “Anything you wanna tell me?” she asked excited and looked at me with sparkling eyes, “Like about your teacher?” “What is there to know that I didn’t tell you yet?” I asked and blushed, wondering about what they had talked about, before Seiji had come upstairs to my room.
“Well, for example how come he dropped by? Or how come he got you to come down here AND eat something AND you’re chatting! What did he do to you?” she asked, a mixture of suspicion and happiness in her expression. It was probably better not to tell her about the kiss… so I said, “He threatened to fill my seat in advanced mathematics with someone else if I didn’t come out from under the duvet!”
“And that worked?” she asked surprised, “I hated maths when I was your age!” “I love maths… Mr. Matsumoto is teaching that class,” I explained, “He wanted me to apply for a maths scholarship for college!” “Wow!” she said and looked really amazed, “I didn’t know you were that good! But you should definitely go for it! Like that you can cut back on your part time job as well, so you have more time for your friends. They must be worried too!” I nodded indefinite and sat down on the couch.
I doubted that Linsey was actually worried, she was probably just worried about her status and about the fact that the others were probably talking about me, about their theories as of why I was missing or such things.