🐱 Long Homeroom
It was the sixth period and Shin-ichi's class was having a long homeroom. The homeroom teacher was a young, big-headed, passionate guy named Shimamura. He was said to be very cool and had many passionate fans, mostly female students. However, Shin-ichi, who always did things at his own pace, found his teacher's behavior, which seemed straight out of a teen drama, to be offensive and he couldn't stand it.
But that's not all. From the first day that Shimamura had become the class's homeroom teacher, he felt as if he had been looking at Shin-ichi strangely often. And it wasn't with his usual smiling face, but with a stern expression and furrowed brow... At first he thought he was imagining things, but now, a week later, he was sure it was something he was doing on purpose. It was common to hear of teachers favoring certain students, but he had never heard of teachers excluding certain students.
Fukuyama has a dialect called "odokusa." It seems to be used to mean cheeky, annoying, or clumsy, but Shin-ichi doesn't know what it really means. He doesn't know, but if he had to describe teacher Shimamura in one word, it would definitely be "odokusa."
"You have all been students in this class for a week now. While the class committees have not yet been decided, you should now have enough information to make that decision through the democratic process.
So today, we would like to select these committee members in a fair manner. It will not be the homeroom teacher myself, but will be the two students on duty to act as moderators. First, we will select the class representative and vice-class representatives. Once they are decided, those two will then act as moderators, and we will select the remaining twelve committee members one by one. This should give you all a valuable experience in self-governance. Is that okay?"
The classroom fell silent. Everyone was stunned by Shimamura's lofty speech.
"If anyone disagrees, please raise your hand."
Silence fell again. Shimamura gave a wry smile and called the two students on duty, a boy and a girl, to the podium.
"Now, let's choose the class representatives and vice-representatives. Nomination, recommendation, election --- any method is fine. I'll be in the back, so please feel free to ask me anything you don't understand."
One of the students on duty acted as the moderator, and the other took charge of writing on the board, but they just looked anxiously at their homeroom teacher, and the committee selection process progressed like a stranded shipwreck. As expected, no one volunteered. Without any choice, they followed their homeroom teacher's instructions, and the students nominated in the attendance register all nominated three boys and two girls. But things didn't move forward very quickly after that. It was decided that going any further would be a waste of time, so a vote was called.
Suddenly, one of the recommended students, Okada Shota, stood up and announced that he was declining the recommendation. He said that he wanted to be a member of the physical education committee, not a class representative, and was running for that position. The MC was at a loss, not knowing what to do. Once again, he asked Shimamura, but the teacher, who advocates democracy, said that such issues should be decided by everyone together. After a few minutes, it became clear that it was nothing more than a matter of majority vote, and the student on duty asked the students to show their hands, and Shota's opinion was overwhelmingly approved. It was a well-known fact that Shota was suited to be a member of the physical education committee.
Seeing this, Kozuki Haruka, who had also been recommended, said that she also wanted to be a library committee member, but her proposal was rejected by a majority vote. It seems that Haruka's love of books was not a well-known fact.
In the end, the class representatives for the boys were Tsuchida Takashi and the girls were Kozuki Haruka. Tsuchida was the son of a famous conglomerate, and it was rumored that he was driven to school every day in a luxury car with a driver.
Perhaps because of this, the election, led by Tsuchida, proceeded at lightning speed. Tsuchida, who dislikes hassle, made an immediate decision whenever a candidate ran. Even in the case of a recommendation, there was no voting; instead, he asked those in favor to raise their hands and made a decision immediately. His progress was far faster than that of the on-duty moderator. The committee members for physical education, library, cleaning, culture, lifestyle, and broadcasting were all decided with 20 minutes left until the end of the election. It might even be said that it was almost the same as a game of omikuji. If only he was good at getting things done, he might have been a good candidate to be class representative.
But, this did not seem like a lesson in the democratic process. Needless to say, Shimamura returned to his desk with a sour look on his face.
"It seems that you still don't fully understand what elections are. However, I believe that as you gain experience, you will gradually become accustomed to the concept of democracy. Today is just the first step, so perhaps that is unavoidable.
It took shorter than expected, and if we end it like this, it will be noisy and a nuisance to the other classes. Would you like me to listen to what I have to say for a while?"
When the teacher said this, the students all began booing, and the classroom became chaotic. The teacher raised his hand to stop them, then continued in an oddly low voice:
"After graduating from junior high school, you go to high school, and after high school, you go to university. And after that, whether you like it or not, you'll be swept up in the rough waves of society. However, something has started to change in Japan over the past few years. There's been a lot of talk about 'Japan as Number One' and turning universities into Disneylands, but a quieter society of inequality has begun, and if we're not careful, some students may fall behind and end up at the bottom, or even die in misery."
The classroom suddenly became quiet at the sudden seriousness of the teacher's words. Shimamura confirmed this and seemed to grin for a moment.
"This is a major issue that will determine your future, and astute intellectuals are beginning to realize it. But are you aware that an even more important issue is now emerging that is unknown to most people?"
The students were dumbfounded.
"Look, it's said that there is an etheric atmosphere surrounding the Earth. Last month the media covered this issue to some extent, but assuming the situation remains unchanged, there is no coverage of it this month.
But, the situation is by no means improving. On the contrary, the ether now covers not only Earth, but the entire solar system. In fact, this phenomenon is a major issue that affects not only the survival of the Japanese people, but of all humanity, and when you think about it that way, it is a problem thousands of times more important than the issue of inequality."
Saying this, Shimamura looked around the classroom with a piercing gaze at the students.
"What's the correct way to deal with this? I'm one of the few people who knows how. But I can't say it in a public place like school. That would create unfairness. If anyone wants to hear more, please come to Akashic Seminar, the cram school in front of the station. I'm a part-time lecturer there."
The students didn't know how to react to their teacher's sudden advertisement. It felt like an endless silence fell over them.
The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom. The student on duty gave the command, and class came to an abrupt end.
