It Always Works

“And that’s why you should approve our club!”

“...Miss Kusumoto, you have to talk with the student council for that.”

“Right, right. Sorry, backing up,” she made a rolling motion with her hands, as though rewinding time itself, then sprung forward. “And that’s why you should be our club advisor!” now switching to a whisper, “Which is basically the same thing as saying that you’ve approved our club.”

The atmosphere of the Teacher’s Room was relatively relaxed this afternoon. Not that I’d been here often enough to really compare. Nakamura Sensei had been going over some papers and making casual small talk with a neighboring teacher when we came in. Atop her desk, documents peeped out of folders, while a no-nonsense day calendar graciously accompanied a well-worn coffee mug. Black, with a white floral trim.

Kusumoto-san was a whirlwind.

Sensei took a sip of coffee, “So is this all of your prospective members?”

“Yep!”

We proceeded down the line.

“Ayano Fujiwara.”

“Evi.”

“R-rin Miyashita.”

“And I... am Kira,” cackled Kusumoto-san dramatically.

Nakamura Sensei raised an eyebrow.

“Akira Kusumoto. My name is Akira Kusumoto… but does nobody here get that reference?” She crossed her arms. “First order of club business once we’re official: we have got to do a movie night.”

“I get the reference,” Evi replied, slightly annoyed. “I just don’t see how it’s relevant here.”

“Should I have yelled Tetsuo instead?”

“That still wouldn’t mean anything.”

“Kaneda?”

“This is all very compelling Miss Kusumoto, but could you please calm down.” You could hear the eye roll in Sensei’s voice. She turned to Evi and I, “So the two of you also want to join this club?”

“Y-yeah. I’m interested.”

“Yeah.”

She put her palms together, “This certainly is a surprising development, but it does have positive potential. That said there is still more to consider.”

Fujiwara-san raised a hand.

“Sensei, I’ve already talked with a friend on the student council so approval shouldn’t be an issue. Furthermore, even after the council approves a club you still require a teacher to give the final confirmation. We simply decided to start here first because all of us want you to be our advisor.

To address more of the fine details: We essentially don’t need a budget, there are multiple classrooms in the school that are currently not in use as clubrooms, including yours, and the need for hands-on administration of our club activities would be negligible at most. This would provide all four of us here with a chance to form new bonds and connect more deeply on an interpersonal level, as well as further develop our skills in domain specific research and the separation of fact from fiction. Thank you.”

“It is true that our classroom isn’t currently in use...” She tapped a finger on her desk. “I’m surprised you didn’t ask Mr. Takahara to join you.”

Fujiwara-san twirled a lock of hair between her fingers, “Oh! Well… I would, but he’s too busy right now. The baseball club takes up a lot of time. He’s a first year so he doesn’t get to play much, but training is still important!”

“Ah. Yes, I forgot.”

“Aw, who needs him anyway,” Kusumoto-san beamed, “Four’s good enough!”

“Miss Kusumoto is correct that you do only need four students to form a club. And Miss Fujiwara, you’ve made some rather compelling arguments.” She glanced at Evi, then back to the group as a whole. “I am willing to be your advisor. However, all of you will still need to fill out the proper paperwork and submit that to the student council. It remains important to follow proper procedure.”

Kusumoto-san was practically bursting with joy.

“Nepotism always works!”

“Please don’t say things like that Miss Kusumoto.”

“...Am I wrong?”

“...You still shouldn’t say it.”