Mister Inokori

IV: Incarceration

Yoshitaka sighed a breath of relief as the final bell rang. The English teacher wasn't only relieved of his teaching duties for the day, but he was also relieved that he didn't have to hear Inokori anymore.

Every time the bell rang, he would dread what he would hear through the wall. His classroom mirrored E-2 so Inokori's desk was on the right while Yoshitaka's was on the left if someone was looking in through the entrance. He could hear Inokori if he listened, and it seemed that most of his students had gotten into the habit of being quiet five minutes after the bell rang which was when Inokori's ritual took place. He bet even his own students could hear the now dreaded words of Inokori if they desired to—though Yoshitaka doubted anyone would want to hear them.

As the final bell rang, all of Mister Yoshitaka's students stood up and walked out of the classroom. The school was quick to be desert and return to almost break condition.

Yoshitaka waved as his last few students walked out of his room. "Finally, peace and quiet." It wasn't that he didn't love Inokori anymore—well, maybe he didn't like his teaching style which was one of the reasons he had first fallen in love with the man—but it was just that the school day took a lot out of him because it was his first official first day of teaching fully by himself. That should be important, right?

Yoshitaka began to pack up the week's teaching plans and his laptop into his messenger bag as he heard "Welcome to Detention, you all may now take a seat."

He had forgotten all about Inokori's detentions, but that gave him an idea. Maybe it was stupid or just plain mad, but he wanted to scope out Inokori's room and he didn't have any time during the school day. Lunch would maybe work, but he was also interested in Inokori's detention, plus what if his old English teacher recognized him? What would happen then? If he just walked up to him all alone would that work? What if Inokori killed him? No witnesses!

Sora Yoshitaka shook his head. His mind was blessed and cursed with a great imagination, it made him dream of unachievable things and lose touch with reality a tad.

He pounded a fist into his open palm. It was decided. Yoshi take took off his lanyard and packed it with the rest of his things inside the messages bag. Then he was off to room E-2.

Though the stroll was only a few steps—ten at most—it felt much longer like someone was trekking their way through a hot desert. Am I really doing this? But he was already pushing the door so there was no backing out now.

Everyone had their eyes on him, including Inokori. It felt like earlier in the teacher's lounge, but this time Miss Phonic was not inside to save him from the embarrassment.

"You're late" were the words that came out of Inokori's thin lips. The man's once comforting black eyes that were once full of love and understanding were back to the void like they were the day that he asked Sora to stay after school for help. It was just a façade though back then, these seemed to be genuine if not flipped. Now he pulled the façade of kindness over his empty, black truth.

"Take a seat."

Yoshitaka quickly found a seat in the back which was a little difficult because the class was almost completely full of students. It's the first day of school, can you not be a little more lenient?

Sora looked around; all the students were sitting and facing forward. No one moved: not their hands, not their mouths, nothing. The only things that moved were the trees and vegetation outside as they swayed in the breeze. The clock also moved with its second hand counting down the time with each little click.

Wait a minute, when does detention end?

***

Sora's body began to ache when something interesting eventually happened: Inokori and Yoshitaka finally made eye contact.

Did the clock stop ticking? Sora couldn't hear it anymore. It reminded him a lot about that day. The one day that he was scared of Inokori as a student. He felt as small as his young 17-year-old self, which wasn't all that different than how small he was as a teacher.

Inokori's greyish-black orbs watched Yoshitaka's olive-green ones. Sora didn't see any recognition inside the abyss, but then again it was an endless hole full of many things seen and unseen. He could be hiding it.

Blink.

With a wink of an eye, Mr. Detention looked elsewhere at a different student.

Yoshitaka looked at the clock, his eyes gazing over the five wooden plaques underneath the clock slowly collecting dust. It had been fifty-seven minutes since school has ended.

Sora Yoshitaka took the last three minutes of the hour to take a few (quiet) deep breaths.

He couldn't tell if the other students were watching the clock like it was their freedom as Yoshitaka was, but when the clock turned to the 4 and the 12, Mister Inokori stood up. Everyone followed suit and Yoshitaka scrambled to follow their lead.

"I hope you all learned your lesson."

And with that, the students bowed their heads and silently exited through the door after bowing their heads again at Inokori at the door and saying, "My knowledge has been renewed" when they were in the standing position.

They walked in a single filed line with the front row going first. Yoshitaka was the last one in the line and went it was his turn to bow his head, Inokori stopped him.

"You were not on my list—why were you here?" Mr. Detention leered at Sora, a potent frown on his face.

"I...uh." Half of him expected Inokori to recognize him, while the other half was glad he didn't. Should he tell him the truth? "I wanted to see..." He looked to the right where the hallway and freedom lay then glanced up at Inokori. "...you(?)"

"Me?" He raised a thin, black eyebrow.

"Yeah..." Sora fiddled with his fingers. "Do you not...remember me?"

"You do look familiar and there are not a lot of blond students that attend New Hope. Your skin doesn't look quite Asian either." Inokori lightly grabbed Sora's medium wrist and examined his arm and hand, flipping it over once or twice. "Probably a foreigner—American perhaps." He let go of Sora's wrist and Yoshitaka let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Roses kissed Sora Yoshitaka's cheeks, pins and needles pricked his arm, and someone made his heart dance the tango in 4/4 time.

"You look older, like one of my students. Most likely a senior—if not a year over the norm."

He could only beam a dopey yet semi-confident smile across his face. "Yoshitaka. I am Sora Yoshitaka, the new English teacher in room E-3."