A Field of Stars | Oshi no Ko x OC

Chapter 7

The house was tranquil inside, the walls shielding him from the summer heat. He sat at the cherry wood table, studying the polish and his reflection in it as footsteps approached from the white kitchen around the corner.

“Here’s the tea,” Tamaki Reina said, setting down a tray and pouring him a cup in a smooth, cream-colored ceramic cup. He gazed out the window at the spider plants hanging outside while he took a sip. Jasmine. His favorite. “So how is Yumena doing in her classes, Nakamura-sensei?”

Nakamura Kayaza straightened in his, looking at Reina directly for the first time since she answered the door. He had assumed that, due to Yumena’s intelligence, elegance, and beauty, her mother must be akin to that too. He was clearly wrong. Reina was an average-built woman in her mid fifties, older than most mothers he met, and she had black hair and brown eyes. When she spoke, she stumbled over her words, like she was trudging to the end of her sentences. He was beyond disappointed. He was hoping this home visit would alleviate some of his fascination with Yumena, and that it would transfer to her single mother instead, but clearly Yumena was a creature of self-design. “She was doing extremely well at the start of the year, all of her other teachers were telling me how impressed they were with her test scores and her writing ability, especially her command over English. But then her grades started slipping, little by little, so I wanted to check in on things at home since she started out so strongly,” Kayaza lied.

Reina gasped, nodding her head slowly, pressing a hand to her heart. “She’s been a little distracted with constant training to become an idol, especially since she joined Strawberry Productions and started to form a real idol group. I’ll tell her to remember to take time for her studies. She’s never had a problem in school before. At most, she struggled some in junior high with her math skills, but she was able to get through it with hard work.”

Kayaza shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. Sometimes, I find that students rebel when their parents put extra pressure on them. She’s still doing well, but I want to bite this in the bud before it gets worse. If possible, I would like to have her work with me after school in my office. I’ll let her do her studies, and if she has questions, I’ll be there to help her.”

Reina appeared relieved, which was what he had hoped for. “Thank you so much for taking the time to do that, you don’t have to-”

“I insist, my students are important to me,” Kayaza interrupted.

“Thank you, Nakamura. I couldn’t have asked for a better home room teacher for her. Your attentiveness means the world to me,” Reina told him, smiling warmly.

Kayaza shook a hand at her. “It’s no problem, I do this with my students all the time,” he fibbed, returning the smile before glancing at his watch. “Well, I should get going. Those papers won’t grade themselves.”

“Right, right, of course,” stammered Reina, “It was so great to meet you.”

“It was my pleasure,” Kayaza replied, lying yet again. When had he become such a liar? He stood up from his seat and passed the array of full wall-to-ceiling windows showing a view of the yard and the street, and he headed to the front door, where Reina followed him. “Thank you for having me, and thanks for the tea. It was excellent.” This was actually true.

“Of course.”

Kayaza smiled again and then stepped out the front door, shutting it behind him. Outside, the evening dying sun greeted him, and he sighed. What the hell was he doing? Manipulating a mother into letting her daughter spend time alone with him? What was wrong with him? He felt disgusted with himself, he wanted to throw up. And yet. And yet. And yet. His hands shook at his sides with excitement. Images of Yumena flickered through his mind, and his heart beat faster in his chest. He would have the opportunity to get to know her beyond regularly checking all of her assignments for all her classes, reading all of her papers, analyzing her thoughtful handwriting. He didn’t teach any of her classes, he was only her homeroom teacher, but he had access to all of her work given that he was a staff member at the school. He thought of her all the time now, and he didn’t know why. He had never admired someone so much before. Earlier, he had stood in her bedroom and glanced around for a journal or diary, but he saw none. Instead, he found a strand of her hair stuck to her pillow and slipped it into his pocket. He wasn’t sure why he did it, it had just felt like the right thing to do. He pulled the strand out from his pocket and wrapped it around his finger before leaving the front porch, heading to his car parked in the driveway.