bookbashuk Page 61
Page 61
"But speaking of which, Saito-senpai is very rich; she often treats the club members to food," Goto Yu said.
“Indeed, don’t you think her hair is styled in a way that gives her an aristocratic air?” Nagasawa Miya said, glancing at Kirishima Mai.
Is she being asked to respond?
"Hmm...it's very well done," Kirishima Mai said.
"I wonder how much pocket money she gets each month."
"I overheard Saito-senpai say that there were a lot, 60,000."
"Sixty thousand? That's so little?!" A short while later, Kuno Tachibana returned.
"You're so rude..."
Nagasawa Miya watched as she took a plate of Arctic sockeye salmon, with fresh chunks of fish arranged on crushed ice.
"It's Mr. Kitahara's treat. My body is too thin for him to like. I can only repay him with my grades from now on."
"Don't say that." Kitahara Hakuba, the teacher, was sweating profusely.
Kuno Tachibana chuckled:
"But Saito is so rich, how come his monthly allowance is only 60,000 yen?"
“Otherwise?” Nagasawa Miyako said.
She said in a teasing tone:
"Shouldn't someone from a wealthy family like her carry a card with hundreds of millions in it, and have her family say things like, 'If it's not enough, just ask me for more'?"
Kitahara Hakuba smiled—
How many Tokyo-style light novels do you read in your spare time?
"Ha! Teacher, what are you laughing at?" Kuno Tachibana pouted slightly.
“I just think you’re pretty naive,” Kitahara Hakuba said.
"I can't experience the life of the rich, I can only imagine it!"
Kuno Tachibana picked up a piece of Hokkaido salmon and first placed it in Kitahara Hakuba's bowl, then picked up a piece for himself and put it in his mouth.
"Mmm~~ Mmmmm!! Mmm!"
"Swallow your words if you want to say them," said Miyako Nagasawa.
Kuno Tachibana's eyes lit up. He didn't say anything, but just poked at the Arctic sockeye salmon, gesturing for them to eat quickly.
Goto picked up a piece first; her fingers were long and beautiful, without any hangnails.
"Mmm, delicious, Meiya, have some."
"Then I'll have a bite too."
Kuno Tachibana swallowed the meat in his mouth and said with some puzzlement:
"I've wanted to ask you this for a long time: what is your relationship? Are you half-sisters?"
“Friend,” Nagasawa Miya said.
"Friends? You two might as well get married." Kuno Tachibana said without any hesitation, "You're always together, I've never seen you two separate."
Nagasawa Miya glared at her, as if to say, "This has nothing to do with you."
"Hey, I have to say, this is the brass band club, you know?" Kuno Tachibana shook his head, striking a wise pose.
"So what?" Nagasawa Miya asked, frowning.
"In the brass band, everyone is essentially a competitor! The audition is when everyone shows their true colors, and there's no room for friendship then."
“Yu and I will be together,” Miyako Nagasawa said.
"Oh~~ Hard to say~~" Kuno Tachibana shrugged, but was met with a fierce glare from her.
Kitahara Hakuba gave a wry smile. He could completely understand Kuno Tachibana's words. During auditions, because of the limited number of spots, it often happened that among close friends, one would get in while the other didn't.
However, there are always more slots for the clarinet than for other parts, so Misaki Nagasawa and Yu Goto are not without a chance.
However, the specific arrangement depends on the selected music, which determines the number of people in each vocal part.
"Teacher, will there be a new selection process for the Hakodate regional tournament this time?" Kirishima Mai stared intently at him.
Kitahara Hakuba nodded:
"Yes, this task is very demanding. We need to hold a plenary meeting and a cadre meeting within the department. I would like to hear everyone's opinions."
The four theme songs for the national competition were announced long ago, but the goal of the Shin-Asahi Brass Band was only to win the championship, which was not enough for Kitahara Hakuba.
Other top schools had already decided on their theme songs and freestyle pieces, and Shenxu's start was already late; it couldn't be delayed any longer.
"Nothing to fear, I am strong, stronger than anyone else!"
Kuno Tachibana said confidently, then held up a finger to Kitahara Hakuba's nose and said in a fawning manner,
"So teacher, since I'm so enthusiastic, could I buy another skewer of squid?"
“Let’s go, buy whatever you like, it’s on me,” Kitahara Hakuba said, standing up.
"I really wanted to try singing duets with couples in Asahikawa Park last night! Teacher~!"
"Kuno, although both the brain and the large intestine have folds, the brain still cannot help the large intestine hold things."
Chapter 69. Do adults these days play this high-stakes game?
In the afternoon, the Shin-hsu High School brass band finished their lunch at the hotel's cafeteria and prepared to board the bus back to school.
The ferry director emphasized that students were not allowed to get off the bus midway, even if they passed by their own homes.
"Teacher Kitahara, it seems you have no intention of staying." At the door, Haruka Shinomiya stood beside him, staring at the notebook bag he was carrying in his left hand.
She wore a light blue, fluffy long dress that covered her long, shapely legs. Because she was wearing silver-white sandals, Kitahara Hakuba could clearly see the fine blue veins on the instep of her feet.
"...I'm quite busy, but I'll definitely take you to play during the summer vacation." Kitahara Hakuba remembered that the two of them had previously said that they would spend a few days together in Sapporo.
"Sigh, I actually expected this to happen."
Shinomiya Haruka, resembling a sheltered young woman, charmingly played with the strands of hair on her chest as she spoke.
"After all, in your heart, the pretty JK is more important than me. Well, I'm a bad woman who only knows how to seduce you. How can I compare to a pure and cute underage girl?"
"Wait, I never said you were a bad woman."
Upon hearing such an impressive word, Kitahara Hakuba hurriedly retorted, though he had never uttered it aloud.
Thankfully, no one heard it.
"Right--"
Shinomiya Haruka brushed a strand of hair from her shoulder, like a wife left alone after her husband went to work, her desires unfulfilled.
"But don't worry, I'm not the kind of girl who doesn't consider people. You haven't chosen a theme song yet, right? I know you're busy."
Kitahara Hakuba was silent for a while, but then he felt something was off.
Wait a minute, isn't he Haruka Shinomiya's boyfriend?
Wait a minute, that doesn't make sense either. What happened last night doesn't seem like something ordinary friends would do.
As Kitahara Hakuba delved deeper into his thoughts, he felt increasingly uneasy.
He seems to be gradually becoming addicted to this constructed ambiguous relationship, the root of which is the ambiguous relationship of being more than friends but less than lovers.
And Haruka Shinomiya seems to enjoy this too? After all, they're all adults.
Thinking of this, he clenched his fist.
Just as Kitahara Hakuba was caught in a murky relationship, Yukawa Sakurako walked out carrying her schoolbag:
"Teacher Kitahara, everyone's all ready!"
"Well, let's go then."
Just as Kitahara Hakuba finished speaking, he saw Saito Harukori walk out of the inn with a sullen expression.
The moment their eyes met, she simply smiled and nodded before getting into the bus.
For more than four hours on the way from Sapporo to Hakodate, Kitahara Hakuba listened to the theme song of the National Tournament on his headphones the whole time.
From the Hakodate Regional Conference to the National Conference, and then to the National Conference, the theme song remained the same.
Compared to the theme songs of the junior high school, which are characterized by beautiful melodies and clear rhythms, the theme songs of the senior high school have higher technical requirements and more complicated harmonic arrangements.
Time slipped away in Kitahara Hakuba's ears, and dusk, shrouded in the smoke of a folk song, drifted over the other side of Hakodate Bay.
Kitahara Hakuba lost count of how many times he listened to the four theme songs, his hands typing on the keyboard about their characteristics, difficulties, details, performance suggestions, possible arrangements of voice parts, and so on.
Until he caught a glimpse of his neighbor's members starting to get up, he looked around and spotted the school's cherry blossom tree, its petals all gone.
I closed my laptop, grabbed my bag, and got off the bus first, stretching involuntarily.
However, due to his status as a teacher, he was too embarrassed to bend down directly, so he took a deep breath, expanded his chest to the maximum, and then exhaled in one breath.
Comfortable.
As usual, roll call was taken before Kitahara Hakuba dismissed everyone.
"I'm going home to catch up on my sleep. I'm really happy to be able to go out this time."
As Shinomiya Haruka smiled, she said that as she combed her hair with her fingers, a faint berry-like fragrance wafted out.
Kitahara Hakuba thought she was mocking him for breaking his promise again, so he could only smile wryly:
"Actually, I didn't do anything."
Shinomiya Haruka's eyelashes fluttered as she handed a shopping bag to Kitahara Hakuba, her voice sounding like a child's. A blush crept onto her relaxed cheeks.
"I'm already very happy just being with you."
Kitahara Hakuba was taken aback, finding her eyes incredibly beautiful, as if he could see the fiery clouds swirling and surging on the horizon.
I felt that even ramblings about a "better future" paled in comparison to her.
"Okay, bye-bye~~" Her smile was pure, unlike before when it was full of devilish teasing and provocation.
"Bye-bye." Kitahara Hakuba stood there watching her leave, and after a while, he looked down at the bag in his hand.
Is it an outfit?