Zero Sum Game (5 page)

Fifteen minutes later, the principal continued to talk. Hina heard a loud and familiar thump of something heavy and padded hitting the hardwood floor. Several teachers raced over to a male student, fanning him with file folders and their hands. They pulled him to his feet and shuffled him out of the gym. Thinking that he needed to hurry lest more students fainted, the principal sped through his speech. Everyone stood and bowed. After the principal left the podium, Mr. Seiki took his place.

"Everyone, we have a new teacher joining us this term. He will be replacing Eba-sensei, who has taken a medical leave. Ozaki-sensei will be teaching English as well as being the homeroom teacher for 2A." He took a step back from the podium. "Ozaki-sensei, please."

The butler-like man walked onstage and took his place behind the podium. He bowed first to his fellow teachers and then to the students, who bowed in return. "Good morning," he said, his voice sounded smooth but had a clipped delivery.

"Good morning," the students replied.

"My name is Ryuhei Ozaki. Like Seiki-sensei said, I'll be taking over for Eba-sensei. This is my first time being a full-time teacher. I'll be counting on your guidance in helping me to adjust to this new school. I look forward to working with you. Thank you." He bowed, and after the students did so in kind, walked off the stage and rejoined his colleagues.

A short while later, after the head teacher had finished his own brief speech, the student council asked for everyone to come to attention and bow. They were dismissed, and the students filed out to go to their respective homerooms.

Hina wasn't looking forward to sitting in the classroom. It was like a boiler, stifling no matter how many windows were open or how much she fanned herself. Like most public schools, there was no central heat and air conditioning.

As she passed the school office, Ota-san, the school office worker, called to her. "Takamachi-san, Takamachi-san." Ota grabbed her elbow and pulled her from the line. "Your father is on the phone."

She led Hina into the office. Ota picked up the handset, pressed the hold button, and held out the receiver to Hina. She closed the office door and stepped away from the phone, giving Hina a little bit of privacy.

Hina took the handset and brought it to her ear. "Dad?" He seldom called her at school. She hoped everything was okay.

"Hina," he said, "I'm sorry to call you at school."

"It's okay. The assembly is over. Is everything all right?"

His voice took on an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry but I can't go with you to the uniform store today."

"What? Why not?" she asked, her voice raised.

"I'm having to pull a double shift today. Tani-san, one of the night conductors, called in sick. I'm going to fill in for him."

"Are you coming home before your second shift starts?" She wasn't panicking, but the embarrassment of having to wear her gym clothes to school for a second day in a row might be too great for her. She knew kids were already talking about how she was the only one not in her uniform.

"I won't have any time. I'll take a nap on the Shinkansen between shifts and eat lunch at the station. I'm really sorry, honey. Do you think you can go to the shop by yourself, like you were going to?"

Hina asked, "Did you leave the money on the table?"

"Yes. I—" He stopped. The sound of hands hitting cloth, then the distinct tearing of Velcro as he opened his wallet. When he spoke again, his voice was lower and even more apologetic. "No, I didn't. It's still in my wallet."

"
Dad
," Hina said, the word sounding close to a scold. Most of the time she took his forgetfulness in stride, it was almost endearing, but not now. She knew her father wouldn't get back until after midnight, long after the uniform store had closed. Without any money of her own, she couldn't buy a uniform. Her eyes became wet. It wasn't something to cry about, a part of her mind told her, but it felt like the purse snatching day all over again. She wondered if this fiasco would ever end.

"Hina, dear. We need this."

It took her a moment to figure out what her father meant. Once she did, she felt guilty about acting so childish. With her mother gone, her father was the sole source of income. They couldn't live like they used to, when money had not been too much of a consideration. Her father was telling her, in a roundabout way, because he always hated being direct, that taking an extra shift was a way to bring in some extra money. He was doing it for her.

"Okay. I understand. Wake…wake me up when you get home. Okay?"

Although she couldn't see him, she could hear the smile in his tone. "Okay. I will. Thanks, Hina. You're such a big girl."

"Bye, Dad."

"Bye."

Hina hung up the phone. "Thank you, Ota-san," she said.

She left the office and climbed the stairs to the second floor. She arrived before homeroom began; everyone was talking and laughing and catching up on what they had done in the six weeks since summer vacation had started. Hina walked to her desk without talking to anybody and sat down. Ami appeared in front of her in an instant. She squatted down and crossed her arms on the desk.

"Are you buying one tonight?" she asked.

"I can't," Hina said. "Dad has to work a double shift, and he has the money with him."

"You could buy one at a cosplay shop," Ami said. Her smile widened and she grabbed Hina's forearm. "Or I could make you a uniform."

Hina leaned back in horror at the idea. "I'd rather wear my gym clothes. At least I know they were designed in this century."

Ami pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck out her tongue. Then she laughed, and Hina did too. For the first time, Hina laughed about the situation. In retrospect, it seemed like a comedy of errors; one bad thing after another. It felt good to let out the stress and tension of the last few days. Her laughter increased and so did Ami's.

Ami patted Hina's arm and stood up, walking off to talk to some other friends. Most of the students were in small groups or duos, talking in loud voices, laughing, and playing around. One boy smacked another across the back of the head and laughed, then ran around the room as the second boy chased him. Such was the atmosphere of a junior high school classroom.

A few moments later, Ozaki entered and the class's two student council members called for meditation. Hina sat with her back straight, head up and eyes closed, with her hands in her lap. It was a ritual they did at the beginning of every class period, they were supposed to clear their minds and get ready for the day's lesson. The classroom was quiet for sixty seconds.

"Let's begin," Ozaki said. "Open your eyes. Stand up."

Everyone rose to their feet.

"Bow," ordered a council member student.

They did and said, "We're ready," in unison. They sat down and paid attention to Ozaki.

The young man was quiet for a moment. "Good morning, everyone." He opened a small notebook. "Since this is the first day back and I'm new here, I thought we would take it easy today. I want to get to know you a little better. After all, I can't be a good homeroom teacher if I don't know anything about you. When I call your name, stand up, say 'here' and one thing about yourself."

Some students grumbled at this but the majority didn't seem to mind. "And you can't say the same thing as another classmate," Ozaki continued. "If someone says 'I like strawberries', then you can't say 'I like strawberries, too.'"

Now most of the students were grumbling and muttering, wondering what they would say. Ozaki held up a hand, palm out. "And to make it fair, each person can ask me one question. Almost anything is okay.
Almost
," he said, stressing the last word. "Does that sound fair?"

Most of the students agreed it did, and Ozaki started taking roll. The beginning was somewhat banal:

"Kiyoshi Aoyama-kun."

The boy stood. "Here. I'm a member of the baseball club. How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-four." As Kiyoshi took his seat, Ozaki called out, "Naoya Ito-kun."

Naoya stood. "Here. I'm from Hiroshima. Where are you from?"

"I'm from Saitama. I moved here last month. Next, Maaya Ueno-san," Ozaki continued as Naoya sat down.

Hina noticed the more students were called, the harder it became for them to tell something about themselves and ask their teacher a question that hadn't already been mentioned.

"Hina Takamachi-san," Ozaki said.

Hina stood up. "Here." She opened her mouth but nothing came out. What should she say? Looking at Ozaki's face, she said the first thing that came to mind: "I don't wear glasses."

Many of the students laughed. "That's somewhat obvious," answered Ozaki. "Is there something else?"

"You said we could say something about ourselves, right?" Hina said.

Ozaki sighed. "Yes, I did. But try to make it more personal, okay? Do you have a question for me?"

She thought for a moment. "What's your favorite color?"

"Navy blue," he said.

Hina sat down, glad he hadn't asked her why she wasn't wearing her school uniform. That would have been embarrassing.

The question-and-answer session continued until it came around to Manabu Yoshikawa. Hina knew he was on the baseball team, even when he talked in his normal voice his voice boomed. He was also the biggest boy in class. Maybe in the whole school, Hina thought. He wasn't the tallest (Doumoto-kun in 3B had that honor at 180 centimeters) but he was the broadest and most stocky.

"Are you strong?"

Ozaki's eyes widened a bit at Yoshikawa's question. Hina thought he hadn't been expecting
that
kind of question. "Umm, not too much so. Normal, I guess."

"Arm wrestle him," yelled out Sho Azuma, Yoshikawa's friend and fellow baseball club member. The boys liked the idea but Ozaki-sensei shook his head. They continued pressuring him.

"Come on. Do it."

"Please."

"There's no
way
you can beat Yoshikawa."

"You're too skinny to beat him, Ozaki-sensei."

The shouts and comments kept coming. One of the girls spoke back to the boy in the row next to hers. "Are you kidding? Ozaki-sensei is an adult. Of course he can beat Yoshikawa-kun."

The argument intensified. Soon, most of the girls were supporting their new teacher.

Hina thought they would back down until Yoshikawa walked up to the teacher's desk and put his left elbow on it.

"Come on, Ozaki-sensei. One time. We promise."

The students rose and crowded around the desk. "Sit back down," Ozaki said. He sighed. "Once, all right?"

The students cheered and retook their seats. Ozaki and Yoshikawa repositioned themselves so they faced each other, but also giving everyone else in class a clear view. Even the girls were excited, most of them cheering for their new teacher.

"Are you a lefty or righty?" Yoshikawa set both elbows on the table.

"I'm a righty. You?"

"I'm a lefty," said Yoshikawa. He began to switch hands.

"l'll take you on left-handed," Ozaki said. He put his own arm on the table and clasped Yoshikawa's hand. When he said this, the boys cheered, glad the teacher was using his weak arm, ensuring their champion's victory. Some of the girls were afraid this would cause him to lose.

"You have to hold the other's person's hand down for three seconds. Understand?" said Yoshikawa. Ozaki seemed surprised at this new rule but nodded in agreement.

Azuma strode to the desk and put his hand on top of Ozaki's and Yoshikawa's. "Ready," he said in a referee's voice. "One. Two. Three. Go," he shouted and stepped away.

Both combatants stalled, their arms locked against each other. The boys and girls began cheering for their victor: most of the boys for Yoshikawa, most of the girls for Ozaki. Hina was surprised, Ozaki looked smaller than Yoshikawa but he held his own. The baseball player gritted his teeth and pushed harder, moving his hand towards the desk, but Ozaki came back and soon had the boy's hand pinned underneath his.

Azuma counted, "One. Two…"

Before "three", Yoshikawa raised his hand back up a couple of centimeters, pushing against Ozaki. The teacher pushed harder and slammed Yoshikawa's hand against the desk. Azuma counted again, and at "Three!" the girls broke out in cheers while the boys patted Yoshikawa on the back even as they teased him for losing to the teacher's weak arm.

Before Ozaki could return to his place behind the desk, Ami shouted, "Hina. Hina. Arm wrestle Hina."

Many boys jeered but Ami wouldn't hear of it. Hina shook her head at her friend, waving her hand in front of her, as if trying to swat the idea away.

"No, no, it's impossible. Impossible."

Ami grabbed her arm and tried pulling her towards the front of the class. "She's strong, like, scary strong," Ami said to Ozaki. She looked back to Hina. "Come on, please. Do it."

Ozaki glanced away in embarrassment. He held up a hand to get everyone's attention. "If I do this, do you promise no more wrestling matches and we can get back to class?"

"Yes!" the students agreed in a loud chorus.

Resigned to the match, Hina walked up to the teacher's desk, taking Yoshikawa's spot. "I'm right-handed," she told her teacher.

Most of the students cheered for Ozaki. A few of Hina's friends cheered for her, Ami loudest of all.

Hina put her right arm on the desk, and Ozaki clasped her hand. Ozaki appeared embarrassed to be arm wrestling a girl. But Hina didn't want him to fake it and let her win to appease his class. "Don't hold back," she told him. She noticed his hand felt soft and nice. She pushed down her embarrassment, and her face grew serious.

Ozaki nodded once, seeming to understand this match was as serious as the one with Yoshikawa. Ami put her hand on top of theirs and matched Azuma's referee tone. "Same rules. Ready. One. Two. Three. Go." She lifted her hand and moved aside.

Ozaki surprised Hina, he may have been slim but he was strong. His face serious and his grip tight, he put in as much effort as he had against Yoshikawa. But it didn't matter. Hina pushed the young man's arm towards the desk and pinned him. Ozaki struggled to get his arm up but she held his hand firmly on the desk. There were cheers and jeers from everyone.