Chapter 2 – One of Those Things

“What a weirdo!” flew from Shuoya’s mouth before he could stop it. It was his honest first impression of this new transfer student Nishimiya Shouko, a girl who couldn’t hear.

But he was louder than even he expected, and all eyes were suddenly on him.

Shouko watched the situation, throwing a questioning look at Takeuchi-sensei.

Takeuchi-sensei watched Shouya like he had just had an idea. “Well then, for your seat… Ishida, please move your desk back a bit.” Shouya shuffled back, and Takeuchi-sensei planted a new desk and chair into the space Shouya had created. “Please sit here,” Takeuchi-sensei said to Shouko, pointing.

Shouko individually addressed each student sitting around her desk, bowing politely.

“Nice to meet you!” Kawai said in response, now sitting directly in front of Shouko.

The last person Shouko bowed to was Shouya.

“Nng.” He had almost said “Nice to meet you,” but shut it down at the last second. She couldn’t hear anyway, so why bother saying anything?

Shouya glanced back up as Shouko took her seat, her spine shooting up in a straight line.

She can’t hear? Hmph… so what? Not like I care, Shouya thought to himself, smiling despite his claim. Maybe this could be pretty fun after all.

Shouya rolled his workbook into a tight tube, holding it right behind the unsuspecting Souko’s head.

“Wah!”

Everyone in class suddenly turned to look at Shouya, who ducked his head under his desk to avoid all the new attention.

All the sudden movement surprised Shouko, and she nervously turned around to see what everyone was staring at.

“Whaddaya think you’re doing, Ishida? This is class time!”

Shouya kept looking away, as if trying to hide from Takeuchi-sensei’s yelling behind Shouko’s back. Something about the whole situation was just so exciting, and Shouya snickered quietly.

“Nishimiya, can you answer this question?” Takeuchi-sensei pointed to the problem on the blackboard.

Kawai turned around, pointing at Nishimiya’s textbook. “It’s this one right here.”

Shouko hastily scribbled in her notebook with a permanent marker, flipping it back towards the front of class.

Dugout shelters.

“Correct. Let’s give her a round of applause!” The whole class took Takeuchi-sensei’s cue to erupt into applause.

Shouko blushed.

“What are you, stupid?” Hirose laughed, throwing a ball straight at Shouya the moment their teacher looked away during P.E. class.

Shouya laughed back. “I just wanted to see how bad her hearing really was!” Shouya was getting a surge of excitement unlike anything he’d felt in a long time. “There’s gotta be some way to find out…”

“How?”

Shouya wasn’t really sure how to answer Shimada. But at the very least, it seemed Nishimiya would be good for holding back a bit of boredom.

The next day during class, Shouya began testing.

“…wah,” he whispered in Shouko’s direction.

After getting no discernible reaction from Shouko, Shouya wrote a 2 in his notebook and circled it. It was crucial notation for Shouya’s self-devised experiment to test Nishimiya’s hearing. The higher the number, the louder the voice. He started with level two, which she failed.

“Wah.” After raising his voice slightly higher, there was still no reaction from Nishimiya. Level 3 failed.

“Having fun over there?” Ueno asked from the next seat over.

 Shouya was grinning from ear to ear, finally diverted from boredom for the first time in a long time.

In the following free period, Ueno ended up joining Shouya’s experiment.

They stood behind Shouko, who was reading, and Ueno let out a spirited, “Wah.”

But Nishimiya still didn’t react. An excellent continuation to the experiment!

“You’re still at that?” Shimada asked with apparent surprise as he joined the group. Though uninterested in the strength of Shouko’s hearing, Shouya was looking so excited that he figured there had to be some level of fun in tagging along. “How about… woof woof.”

That really got Shouya going. He slapped Hirose’s shoulder, who had come alongside Shimada. “C’mon, you go, too!”

“Huh?” Hirose shrunk down, and upon further urging from Shouya, reluctantly offered a weak, “waaa…”

Shouya gave him a little kick in the but, smiling wide. “C’mon, you chicken! You gotta do it like this!” Shouya jabbed, moving significantly closer to Shouko.

“WAH!!”

Shouko’s back sprung up in surprise.

“Ishida!!” Takeuchi-sensei practically materialized behind Shouya, dragging him away into the staffroom.

Takeuchi-sensei sat down in his chair, looking Shouya in the eye. “I know you’ve never seen anyone like Nishimiya before, but you can’t use her disability as an excuse to make fun of her.”

“I was just seeing if she really couldn’t hear…”

“Then find a better way to do that. Just ask Nishimiya directly.”

Aw c’mon, but that’s so boooring… Shouya thought, nodding along anyway.

Shouya was never stellar at socialization. He was friends with Shimada, Hirose, and Ueno, but it had been like that forever, so it was just fun to have fun with them. The idea of walking up and talking to some random transfer student who couldn’t hear was really uncomfortable, not to mention annoying.

But he had to admit that Nishimiya’s mere presence was an excellent method of fighting away boredom. So if he was gonna “use” anything, he had to do a few more experiments first!

Shouya was setting up equipment for P.E. class when he finally had his first opportunity alone with Nishimiya. Finally, he could start investigating.

“H-… Hey, you…” Shouya stuttered. “Why’d you even bother coming here…?”

Shoko turned around, looking at Shouya intently.

Shouya’s heart thudded in his chest.

Shouko scribbled something on the communication notebook she always had on hand. She flipped the page over.

Did you say something?

“N-Never freakin’ mind!!” Shouya spat out, beating a hasty retreat.

Nishimiya Shouko, coming all the way from Planet Nishimiya, seems unable to grasp human language! Shouya noted mentally, beginning the official Nishimiya Investigation. However, Shouya was unsure how to best handle his subject of investigation.

One day during Japanese class, Takeuchi-sensei’s voice reverberated harshly.

“Louder, Ueno! How can you possibly expect to inflect any emotion like that?!”

“Yes, sir… damn four-eyes,” Ueno finished venomously, making sure Takeuchi-sensei couldn’t hear.

“…Tch. Next sentence, let’s see, it’s the 15th… so seat 15,” called their homeroom teacher. Seat 15 was where Shouko sat.

Shouko rose from her seat, frigid with nerves. Every movement of her mouth looked robotic.

“Anh doh… I gan’t, waid… noo see gr-gramba… agehn…”

A chill swept across the room. It was the first time anyone in class had heard her speak.

It gave Shouya an idea. Unfortunately, the idea was heavily reliant on good timing…

Showing no reaction, Takeuchi-sensei pushed his glasses up his nose. “Next, Ishida.”

Perfect!

Shouya stood up, hyping himself up. He held his textbook out stiffly, taking a deep breath.

“Uwoo, uweeeh, aaauueh, uuueh!”

Ueno sputtered next to him, desperately holding her laughter in. Chuckles rippled across the classroom.

He did it! He spoke Nishimiya-nese!!

Shouya personally felt like he had done well, but as soon as class was over, he got called to the staff room. Takeuchi-sensei sat in his chair, staring at Shouya with his arms crossed.

“Nishimiya talking strange doesn’t give you the right to mock her. Understood?”

“I don’t think there was anything strange about it. She was just talking in her native language.”

“Shut up and actually listen to me for once. I’m talking about morals here.”

“…Murals…?” Shouya tilted his head, entirely confused by the strange new word.

Takeuchi-sensei sighed. “You’re in your sixth year of elementary school, and you don’t know what morals are. Guess that explains a few things. What kind of mother raises an idiot like–”

Takeuchi-sensei swallowed the rest of his sentence. Ironically, it would have been a rather immoral thing to say.

Takeuchi-sensei got a little louder, as if trying to start over. “The point is, there are some things in life that you just have to deal with.”

“Deal… with them…?” The phrase rang inside Shouya’s head like a bell.

So what, were all these lectures that he had to sit through just something else he had to deal with?

During the class that followed, Shouko turned around in her seat, holding out her communication notebook towards Ueno.

Do you understand what Sensei just said? I would appreciate it if you could explain it to me.

After a quick read, Ueno held out her hand. “Gimme the notebook.”

Shouko’s face lit up, and she handed it over with a smile and bow of gratitude.

Shouya watched it all happen, staring vacantly into the distance. Was that something else they had to just deal with?

Takeuchi-sensei’s words echoed in Shouya’s mind as the teacher stood up, English textbook in hand.

“Write this down, everyone. Pages 20 through 25, page 32, and Chapter 2: Practical Applications. After that…”

Everyone in class began frantically scribbling, and Shouko was overwhelmed. She turned back towards Ueno with an apologetic smile.

What is everyone writing now?

“Again?” Ueno scoffed, grabbing the notebook and hurriedly writing down Takeuchi-sensei’s instructions.

When recess rolled around, Ueno took the opportunity to vent to her good friend Kawai.

“So then I couldn’t even get everything that he was saying, either.”

“You can copy my notes later,” Kawai responded sympathetically.

Shouya happened to overhear their conversation. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was just one of those things they had to deal with, too.

One time in class, Shouko raised her hand, and she got called on, but it took her so long to write down her answer that the entire lesson froze to a standstill. Irritation began to spread throughout the classroom.

“Sorry to ask this, Ueno, but could you tell Nishimiya that she needs to write down her answer before raising her hand next time?”

Nishimiya was still writing as Sensei finished his request.

During the next break period, Ueno turned to her friends with another exasperated sigh. “Can’t she just keep her hand down? It’s like she doesn’t even know how much time she’s wasting.”

“Seriously, she just doesn’t get it.”

“I know, right?”

All the girls around Ueno heartily agreed.

Shouya listened to them all in the background. It seemed that Shouko’s presence came with a lot of things that everyone just had to deal with. At the very least, they’d never had these problems before she came around.

As far as Shouya could tell, everyone was getting annoyed, but they couldn’t say anything about it to her since it was all stuff they just had to deal with. But without any kind of outlet, the frustrations only mounted higher and higher.

Shouya figured he’d say something about it to Shouko when they were alone.

“C’mon already… if you keep this up, everyone’s gonna get fed up with you.”

It was a lot easier to talk to her than the first time around.

Shouko watched Shouta intently, then approached him with her notebook held out.

Could you write that down for me?

“Th-That’s such a pain in the butt!” Shouya yelled, waving his hands dismissively before scurrying off.

One of the many annual events that Suimon Elementary put the students through was the choir contest. It was a school-wide affair held off campus, and winning was generally considered a high honor for any class. Shouya didn’t really care, but all the girls sure got excited around that time every year. Even their normal music classes would be repurposed towards preparing for the contest.

Shouya prepared to do what he did every other year, pretending to sing while coasting through and trying not to yawn. But out of nowhere, a terrible sound assaulted him that had him questioning if something was wrong with his ears.

It turned out to be someone’s absolutely terrible singing voice. “Tone-deaf” didn’t even begin to describe the cacophony of noise.

Everyone else immediately stopped singing, and all eyes converged on the same spot. The source of that dreadful singing.

Shouko.

After a short while, she realized that she had become the center of attention, and anxiety etched into her face as she looked around the class.

A young female teacher who had been hanging around the corner of the room suddenly stepped up.

“Hello! I’m Kita from the Hearing Support Classroom!”

The “Hearing Support Classroom” was the name given to the resource room for students with hearing impairments. It was one of the reasons why Shouko was specifically at Suimon Elementary.

Kita-sensei beckoned Shouko over, kneeling down and facing the rest of the class. “Shouko-chan is a little tone-deaf because of her disability, and–”

Kita-sensei’s explanation went on, but it was somewhat drowned out by the ripple of murmurs going through the class.

They definitely couldn’t get a prize if Shouko sang. Nobody said it out loud, but it was the only obvious conclusion to draw.

Most likely because Shouko’s disability and tone deafness was just one of those things they all had to deal with.

“She’ll work just as hard as everyone else, so will you let her join the chorus, too? Everyone who thinks it’s a good idea, clap your hands!”

A half-hearted smattering of applause went around.

While cleaning up the classroom, Shouya furiously scribbled in Shouko’s communication notebook.

You’re tone deaf, so just pretend like you’re singing!

Shouya shoved the notebook into Shouko’s hands, walking away immediately.

“Oh, don’t pay any attention to him!” said Kita-sensei, who had come from out of nowhere to place her hand on Shouko’s shoulder.

Shouya could tell that the general class attitude towards Shouko was starting to shift. Just earlier that day, their class had been tending to the weeds on the school grounds, and everyone got called back inside– but Shouko had been left outside. She hadn’t heard the school bell, and just stayed behind weeding all by herself.

Ueno got chewed out by Takeuchi-sensei, since they were in the same group and she hadn’t made sure Shouko was informed. Shouya felt a twinge of sympathy for Ueno, but it was true she had been assigned to Shouko’s group, so she would have to look out for her. She had failed to do so, and getting lectured over it was just something she’d have to deal with.

…But why?

Shouya couldn’t help but question it.

Nishimiya would bring the entire class to a standstill just by raising her hand. Ueno had to go way out of her way to write a bunch of stuff down to help Shouko retain things about each lesson. They all had to listen along to her grating singing voice. Was that all really just stuff they would have to deal with?

“It’s just one of those things you have to deal with.”

One day, at the end of school, Kita-sensei came to visit Shouya’s class, proclaiming just that.

“That’s how it is when you can’t hear. So I have an idea for everyone. How about every day, for the last three minutes of homeroom, we all learn sign language for Shouko-chan!”

Kita-sensei threw her arms out wide, beaming an infectious smile. Shouko stood in front of her with her typical vague, gentle smile.

Shouya had never heard of “sign language” before.

“Kita-sensei, what is ‘sign language’?”

Kita-sensei seemed delighted by Shouya’s question, quickly writing “sign language” up on the blackboard. “Just like the name suggests, it’s a way to communicate with signs, using your hands. It’s like talking with your hands!”

Talking with my hands? …That sounds kinda fun. Shouya leaned forward ever so slightly.

“We’ll get started right away– today will be lesson one! Shouko-chan will be our teacher and help us get going!”

“Sensei!” Ueno raised her hand, standing up. “How does learning sign language help Nishimiya-san?”

“Just like how it helps an English person if you speak English, it helps to use sign language with someone who can’t hear. That’s obvious, right?”

“Can’t we just write things in her notebook?”

“But think about how much easier it is for Nishimiya-san to communicate through sign language. It’ll make it much easier for her feelings to get across.” Kita-sensei’s smile grew broader and brighter. She was explaining in really simplistic language.

But Ueno didn’t bite. “Well, I think it’s easier to communicate by writing in her notebook.”

“Really? Right now, we’re talking about making things a little easier on Nishimiya-san. Are you sure that you just don’t want to learn something new? Seems to me that you’re just trying to be difficult, Ueno-san.”

Ueno noticeably bristled, but Kita-sensei pushed on. “C-Come on everyone, isn’t it fun to try something new? Ta-Takeuchi-sensei and I will learn right alongside you!”

“Wait. Can I ask you something, Kita-sensei?” Takeuchi-sensei had been standing by silently, but finally interjected. “Do you mean to say that you don’t know sign language?”

“…No. Which makes today the perfect day to start.”

“Aren’t you embarrassed to push these students into something that you haven’t even learned yet?”

In an instant, the entire situation was reversed. All of Kita-sensei’s momentum screeched to a halt.

Kita-sensei broke into a sweat, fumbling for a response. “What… what’s wrong with that?”

“No wonder Ueno is so resistant. Nobody’s going to go along with this. Let’s just shelve this matter for now, Kita-sensei…” Takeuchi-sensei was calm, but firm.

Shouko could sense the tension, glancing towards Kita-sensei in concern.

Just then–

“Um… I’ll learn sign language.”

A single girl stood up.

Her name was Sahara Miyoko. Usually, she did everything she could to stay out of the limelight.

Kita-sensei responded, her voice shaky. “And you are…?”

“I’m Sahara. And if everyone was supposed to study for three minutes a day, then I’ll study an hour and a half so nobody else has to.”

Shouya was stunned. Not only did she insert herself in the middle of all that tension, which was admirable enough, but she offered to study for the entire class. That took some guts.

And she kept going. “And also, I’ll stay with her all day. For class, for room changes… anything. If we’re just trying to help Nishimiya-san, then I should be enough on my own…”

“Sa…Sahara-sa… why would you…” Kita-sensei clasped her hands, her voice thick with emotion.

Sahara smiled like it was no big deal. “Oh, it’s nothing, I just… always wanted to do something like this.”

Kita-sensei closed her eyes, holding a hand against her heart while savoring a moment of deep emotion. “Takeuchi-sensei… Class 6-2 really is wonderful isn’t it? Let’s all give Sahara-san a round of applause for her bravery!”

Applause sounded from every end of the room. Only Shouya noticed Ueno staying perfectly still, looking utterly displeased.

During free times, Sahara would go over to Shouko’s desk, and the two would have conversations in Shouko’s notebook. Shouko began smiling more often.

“NIce work racking up those brownie points, suck-up,” Ueno said as she brushed past.

Sahara’s smile froze.

“Like she’s going to prove anything. What an idiot,” Ueno continued with the girl she was closest to, making sure she was loud enough for Sahara to hear.

“I know, and with those lame clothes?”

“Tell me about it.”

Ueno and her friend snickered behind Sahara’s back, watching her every move.

What’s wrong?

Shouko noticed something off about Sahara, and wrote a question in her notebook.

Sahara stared at Shouko blankly for a while before suddenly snapping back into reality. “Oh, uh, sorry. I’m just…. I’m sorry.”

Sahara left the classroom, her face contorted painfully.

Shouya came in class just as Sahara left. He saw Shoko watching where Sahara had gone anxiously, and Ueno and her friends laughing nearby. He knew something was up.

In that moment, the reality of who Nishimiya was became clear.

She was more than just an alien from another planet. She was an intruder. Someone who was set on harming the class.

The choir competition was a disaster because she couldn’t just read the room and keep her mouth shut. Class after class fell behind schedule every single day to accommodate her. Sahara never came back to school following her run-in with Ueno.

It had all become more than something that they should just have to deal with. It was directly harmful to them, and it was all her fault. Did she even realize that as she kept hiding behind her troubled little smile?

One day after school, Shouya grabbed a piece of chalk. It was time for Nishimiya to face the suffering that she’d inflicted upon everyone.

As Shouya ran the chalk across the blackboard, a small crowd of onlookers gathered.

“This is really stupid, Shouya.”

“Looks like fun!”

“When you get in trouble, I don’t know anything!”

Everyone had their own comments to offer as the blackboard filled up.

Shouko was the first to arrive at school the next day. She froze as she saw what was on the blackboard.

Congrats on the choir contest! ♪ Thanks to YOU, we lost it all!

Just quiet down, Miss Tone Deaf!

We all deserve your apologies!!

The entire blackboard was filled up with that and more.

She didn’t know how long she stood there. When she came to, Kawai was right beside her.

“That is just so horrible…”

Just then, Shouya, Shimada, Hirose, and Ueno came in from the back entrance.

Shouya looked at the blackboard and gave his best exaggerated gasp. “Woah, what’s up with the blackboard?! That’s some messed-up stuff. Right, Shima?”

“We better erase that,” Shimada said with a chuckle, picking up an eraser.

Shouya and the gang worked on wiping away all the chalk. Then, it was gone, as if it had never been there.

Shouya chucked the eraser aside. “See? Clean as a whistle.”

Shouko opened up her communication notebook, approaching Shouya and his friends.

Thank you, everyone.

Everyone froze as they read the words she’d written.

What was her deal? Shouya found himself staring at her in shock. That wasn’t the reaction he’d expected at all.

Wasn’t she supposed to cry, or get pissed, or start demanding to know who did it? She wasn’t normal at all…

How interesting.

What would happen to Nishimiya if things kept escalating? Shouya’s heart pounded in anticipation.

If he had Nishimiya at his disposal, then he’d never lose the battle against boredom!