Being Next to You

Chapter 33: being a kid

"'The best way to live a full life is to be a child, no matter what your age,'  by Sorachi Hideaki." Said Mr. Pederson, giving his quotes like every before his lessons.

"Mr. Peder," Julian raised his hand, "this quote is not from your usual books. It's an anime quote from Gintama, isn't it?" He asked.

"It is." He smiled, "I'm surprised that you know Gintama, Julian. That is my favorite anime when I'm passing my time if I am not reading books."

"My brother watches it," Julian answered, placidly.

"Then your brother has one interesting taste. Furthermore, this is related to our lesson for today." The teacher discussed in his playful way.

"Anime? Why relate something childish to literature?" Scuffed my classmate out loud, making fun of the atmosphere.

"You're either correct or incorrect, but you almost got our topic for today." Played Mr. Peder with his mellow character. "How about you, Irina?"

"Childhood?" I answered what popped up.

The teacher smiled and said "correct" as he begins with his lesson.

"Now, you are senior high schoolers, you think about serious things like college, grades, a job and more that concerns your future. Just like Mr. Shaine over there." He jested, as everyone laugh with the flow.

Shaine smiled but the one you are expecting, "Is that bad, Sir?"

"It's not. Thinking about your future first is worth praising for. However, this is the beginning of wanting to be an adult." He said as he continues, "The idea of growing up, being strict to oneself and abandoning the things that you like that you think makes you a child." He said.

"Well...being childish is childish. Being an adult makes people grow up, and you can't be childish when working." Pointed one classmate.

"Perhaps." Making confusion, "But earlier, most of you thought that anime is something very childish, yet I like anime so that makes me a child?" He asked us a question. "I have a normal job and I am teaching my students despite liking something you think is childish. Am I still a child or an adult?"

Mr. Pederson stirred the classroom, everyone was silent. He closed the book he was holding, "Anyways, I'll leave that answer to you. Let's go to the main topic, and that's childhood." As he wrote it down on the board. "What is your childhood? Everyone has a different childhood background, there might be similarities but still, they are different. What do you remember about the things you liked? Are they painful or not? What childhood memory made you, you? Now, that's an assignment." Mr. Peder smiled, "I want you to find a picture of your childhood, and explain that photo is all about in two paragraphs, and it's an individual work."

"More or less, a diary, Sir?" Asked France.

"I don't think so, Ms. Flaws," he unsurely smiled.

Yet, this gets me thinking about my own past.

Always at home, staring at the window, or maybe, holing myself inside my dad's room filled with books as I read every single one of them to make time runs fast.

My parents weren't fond of music, that maybe one of the reasons why I don't a tasty flavor.

Our house is always quiet, and time was always slow. When I read, every turning of the pages was my music to my ears. I never thought of humming or watching TV alone.

I found it boring without my big brother.

He was not always here. He goes to school and play, and I needed to wait like every obedient kid.

'I hated waiting.'

I hated how I need to get used of waiting, and waiting for almost nothing. That's why when I was a little girl, I've always wanted time to go faster.

Yet if I'm going to ask my younger self right now when she sees the 'current' me, will she be asking that same old thing?

I mean, it was funny to think that I wanted that, because, personally, I just want it to go slower than normal.

I am being irrational.

My childhood wasn't normal, even Mr. Pederson said that "Everyone has a different childhood background. No ones normal."

I wasn't convinced.