take a chance with me | ushijima wakatoshi

chapter nineteen - silver lining but with no silver

Class 1-4, Economics class

Sana's POV

This teacher has been nothing but a bully to me since I got here. I had no trouble with my other classes except for hers and I had no idea why. It was getting more frustrating as I tried to ignore her insults.

The lesson went on as usual and Kuragari sensei was teaching normally until she said something directly at me.

"Let's take an example, your father was a national volleyball player and your mother was an entertainer. Those tickets to those events must have been expensive, Yoshida?"

"Sure, they were." I answered shortly, trying to calm myself after being constantly antagonized by her.

"I wonder what is going on with this country? Paying hundreds of thousands of yen to these famous people, ruining our youth instead of paying noble jobs like mine the pay that we deserve."

"I agree with you completely sensei. I mean it's not like sports and music generated the highest income for our country, right?" I replied.

"It's rare for someone like you to agree."

"I mean if we tried to sell tickets for these seats to tune in your class, how much do you think they would pay for them? Let's say 500 yen per seat and maybe the target is 1,000 people. Do you think the people would actually pay that much to sit in your class and listen to your lecture?"

"Pardon me?"

"I'm talking about supply and demand here, sensei. The supply is these seats of your interesting, eye-opening class and the demand is I think, joy. Joy is also important for the people, don't you agree? Do you think your class can bring people joy like sports and music do?" I answered while staring into her eyes, even I was shocked that I actually talked to my own teacher that way.

"Excuse me, are you talking back to me?" she looked in disbelief and defeated as her face started reddening in anger.

"Isn't that how a conversation works? Or you need someone else to teach you what it means?" I argued again.

"Oh, that's it! You're going to the principal's office!" she yelled at me while pointing out to the door, demanding me to get out of the class.

I packed up my bag and walked to the front of the class while the rest of the class staring at me. I was not sure if they were either impressed or weirded out by me but I was glad that I finally spoke up against her.

"By the way, Kuragari sensei, you should have never started an argument that you would never win. If you have a problem with my dead parents, then I suggest you grow up and get over it." I talked one last time before closing the door.

The principal's office

Sana's POV

"You raised your voice against your teacher, why?" the principal asked me calmly.

"You should ask her what happened, she had been nothing but a bully to me since I started here. The moment I fought back, I got in trouble? How is this fair?" I told him blatantly, expressing MY dissatisfaction with the treatment I faced from her.

"You should have talked to her nicely. Let's wait for your guardian and Kuragari sensei to discuss this further."

This principal seemed shady but I didn't want to cause anymore problem and just wanted to get this over with.

"Sana, what happened? Did you get hurt?" a steady old man who looked foreigned with full white hair, my maternal grandfather checked up on me while trying to look for any injury on me.

"It's not that grandpa. I'm fine." I was already having a bad day and I didn't need someone keep invading my personal space.

"You got into a fight with someone from what I heard on the phone, I thought you got injured but thank goodness that you're okay." he calmed down as he kneeled in front of me, looking up at me who was sitting on the chair outside of the principal's office.

"No, it was not a fight. It was umm, a misunderstanding like an argument with a teacher." I waited for his reaction.

"Alright, that's fine. We can settle this, you just need to apologize and..."

I immediately interrupted him because it was supposed to be the other way around. This teacher has been insulting me and I was fine with it until she kept bringing up my mum and my dad.

"No, I refused! She's the one who's supposed to apologize! I will not apologize for standing up for myself!"

My grandpa asked me to tell him the whole situation and he finally understood and agreed with me.

"Okay, but you still need to apologize first for raising your voice at your teacher. You promise?" my grandpa rubbed my head gently to comfort me and encourage me. I just nodded as a reply.

We walked inside together and both the principal and Kuragari sensei were already waiting for us.

My grandpa nodded at me as a sign for me to start speaking first.

"Kuragari sensei, I'm sorry for raising my voice at you. I was just heated at that moment and it won't happen again." I bowed a little even though I didn't mean a single thing I said to her.

"Can you at least have the decency to apologize sincerely?"

"My granddaughter already apologized to you, what more do you want? You're the one who owes her an apology for insulting her parents!" my grandpa started to raise her voice as the teacher was still trying to argue with me.

"You need to calm down, Haiba-san. What do you think you're doing, yelling in my office?" the principal voiced out.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down after finding out that your teacher here has been bullying my granddaughter and insulting my dead daughter and son-in-law?" my grandpa yelled again. So much for staying calm I guess.

"I remember you! You used to be friends with my late daughter, I fed you, I let you sleep over at my home when your folks were fighting. This is how you repay her? By treating your old friend's daughter like shit?" my grandpa turned and yelled at Kuragari sensei. Granpa recognized her?

"Then, you want me to coddle her because of my shared history with her dead mother? We were no longer friends by the way! I hate her!" she screamed back.

"Is this what this is about? You hate my daughter and now you're taking it out on my granddaughter? You wanted revenge, is that it? I can't believe that you would stoop that low, Kuragari!"

"Not as low as your daughter. You have no idea how evil your daughter was!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" the principal shouted to get everyone's attention.

"Haiba-san, you have crossed the line by shouting at my teacher like that. You need to apologize right now!" the principal continued again.

Was he being for real? Did he even listen to anything my grandpa said? It was obvious that she hated my guts over some petty old teenage drama with my mother.

"Excuse me, you want me to apologize to the person who mistreated my granddaughter over some petty revenge? No! I'd rather pull her out of this school than do that!"

"Granpa, what? No! I want to stay!" this took an unexpected turn.

I was finally settling down and having friends who care about me and now this happens?

"Sana, you're too good for this school. If your educators don't have your side, even Harvard is bad for you. Don't let other people like them disrespect you." grandpa's voice softened as I understood his reasoning of wanting to pull me out of Shiratorizawa.

Just because I have great teammates and friends would not guarantee the best experience of high school especially when I needed it the most.

"I'll move to another school then, grandpa." I answered him with a low voice, saddened with the fact that I had to leave.

'So long, Shiratorizawa.'