Stealing Spree

At the moment, this particular room couldn’t be considered a proper office yet. There’s still at least one fourth of the room occupied by boxes and things they stored in here. Although not as suffocating as before, it’s still not that presentable.

I don’t even have a proper table and chair to receive guests. Perhaps only if I spend a whole day organizing everything will this room become slightly decent enough to be called an office.

Because the rain was still drizzling outside, the temperature in the room was colder than normal. Nonetheless, thanks to Shizu’s tea, I still feel warm on the inside.

When Eguchi-sensei arrived, I noticed that her shoulders and part of her hair were wet. Perhaps, even her backside. She didn’t bring an umbrella with her. She probably ran from the Administration Building to this building.

That’s a little intriguing since there should be umbrellas there. And even if she didn’t find any, she could at least use a raincoat.

It’s making me wonder if she’s truly alright.

In any case, I held myself back from prying on it.

Before leaving, Shizu served our leftover tea for Eguchi-sensei. It’s still warm so she should be fine. Also, she ran back to the Student Council Room, fetching a towel that Eguchi-sensei could use.

Once she deemed it fine. The thoughtful girl excused herself, “Well then, I’ll go back to my duties, Ruki, Eguchi-sensei.”

We both thanked her and I even walked her to the next door.

Well, Eguchi-sensei had to take off her jacket to properly dry herself with the towel. It would be a little awkward if I remained there.

“I’ll continue my work here. Look after Eguchi-sensei and also… learn about your duties. You can ask me later if you have questions.”

“Alright. Ms. President.” I jokingly teased.

Not liking the way I addressed her, Shizu’s cheeks bloated as she closed our distance again. She then reached for my cheeks and said, “You’re not allowed to call me that. Stick to calling me Shizu or if you want, think of endearment for both of us.”

Soon after that, our lips met once more, sharing another wonderful memory before we returned to our work.

Although my speech was a little disastrous, it’s my turn to prove that she picked the right person for the job. I’m going to silence those who doubted her choice.

After being encouraged more times than I can count by Shizu and the other girls, I could now feel myself fully accepting this role. It might be proven a hard task but knowing that this could potentially give me an edge to keep my girls out of trouble, I decided to do my best.

When I returned to my ‘office’, Eguchi-sensei had already finished drying up. Her worn-out expression earlier also slightly eased up.

I smiled at her and walked over before sitting down across from her.

“This is new. Now, I’m the one going to your office. Our roles got reversed, Onoda-kun.” Eguchi-sensei smilingly pointed out.

Hearing her clear voice and seeing the natural smile on her lips, I guess I was worrying too much earlier. She’s the same Eguchi-sensei or perhaps, she’s just trying to appear normal in front of me.

I mean, among her students, I’m the only one who saw her in various states. And each one of those, if known by the others, would make her reputation dip.

At this moment, she probably didn't want me worrying about her again. And so, I should respect her wishes.

I humbly answered, “You don’t say… My status is still a student. In essence, sensei and the other Guidance Counselors are still my bosses. I’m only a helper.”

“Sure. If you say so. You have my full confidence. If you’re troubled with something, I will be there to help you.”

“That’s extremely reassuring, sensei. Thank you.”

We shared a laugh and a few idle talks before sensei went to the main topic.

“Here, you should read this first.” Eguchi-sensei handed me the folder that she brought with her.

On the front, I read ‘Case Files’ like some kind of police record. However, that’s probably not it. Upon opening it, the first thing that registered in my eyes was a picture of a student stapled on the top right.

And looking at the entry, it’s like a detailed profile.

I could read a name, year level, and class number as well as the date the student was enrolled.

From the date, I instantly understood that the student already graduated. It’s only a record left behind by the Guidance Counselor who handled the student’s case.

Reading further, the student was a delinquent who sent his classmate hospitalized after a fight. He was punished with a one-month suspension. And when he returned, the Guidance Counselor stuck to him, to try and correct his behavior.

Based on the postscript at the very bottom of the page, although the student graduated from the school, the Guidance Counselor failed to rehabilitate him. In fact, he became worse.

They found out that he stopped getting into a fight on school grounds but outside, he became part of a gang. Furthermore, he didn’t go to college and just continued being a gang member.

The record stopped there.

I raised my head a bit to look at Eguchi-sensei. She’s observing me closely. Perhaps, she’s trying to find out how I will react to what I read.

“Sensei, this case files… Am I really allowed to view them?”

Well, normally, this should be kept hidden… And I couldn’t find the reason for showing me past cases.

“Will I bring that here if you’re not allowed to view it? Of course, we decided to show it to you. Or at least, I convinced the other two. It’s to give you an idea of our work.”

“But sensei, I’m only a Disciplinary Officer.”

“Yes, you are. But not a traditional one. Asakura carefully crafted your role into what it is. You’re more or less a lone police force that can assist us with these troublesome students. You won’t always deal with violent ones, of course. But if need be, we can authorize you to do so…”

“Wait… Isn’t that dangerous? For the school, I mean.”

“It is. That’s why if the problem student requires you to get physical, it will be off the records. You have your way with words so… Moreover, you have your way with words. If it’s you, you can talk to them and get to the bottom of their problem. You see, there’s the belief that ‘adults’ like us are liars. So, if it’s a fellow student, they’ll be able to put their trust in you.”

Uh… I get what she’s trying to explain to me. However, isn’t this too much?

I thought this was going to be an easy job where I will only deal with problems brought to my desk. But as it turns out, they’re going to use me for problem students as well…

“Are you not confident, Onoda-kun?”

I shook my head. “I think it’s not about being confident or not, sensei. I’ve only read the first one but I’m guessing everything here is a record of a problem student.”

“Yes. You should finish reading everything first. You’ll see that it won’t be that troublesome for you. And like I said, I or we will be behind you.”

“I understand.” I nodded and went back to reading.

The most common students that I saw there are the bullied ones. Especially those who suddenly chose to not come to school. Then the next one is obviously bullies. Delinquents are actually few and only the first entry went down like that.

In any case, I still feel like this is a little excessive for a Disciplinary Officer… Uh… Where did my enthusiasm go?