Exposed

The sight of his mom walking toward the center table with a bowl of rice suddenly filled Hajime's vision. Then there was his dad, casually reading the newspaper and then glancing towards the television from time to time. Every five seconds or so, he adjusted his glasses. The glasses didn't really need any adjusting, it's just that it became his habit to adjust them so.

His sister was also sitting on the opposite side of the table, chewing on oranges. Her eyes were glued to the television screen while she made small talks with their mom. After a few seconds, her eyes darted to the side, and finally, she noticed Hajime walking inside.

"Oh, you're ho— "

Her sister's voice trailed off before he could even respond. Slowly and as if to play with his emotions, everyone slowly disappeared, their lingering presence dissipating into thin empty air. The once clean room turned into a mess, chaotic even. Even the television, which was supposed to be on one end of the room, was gone. 'Why did I even think about that scene, I sold the television a few months ago. Of course, it won't be here.' Hajime said to himself.

No word left his mouth as he slowly dragged his feet to the room on the side. He was tired for the day and the nostalgic scene he just witnessed didn't help at all. With a sigh, he collapsed on the bed, wondering when everything will ever end.

....

The next day flew by pretty much like yesterday. Hajime was able to receive his monthly salary from his construction work and once again, he missed the morning classes. Akamine-sensei gave him another earful but she didn't violently react to his absence. In fact, she was so calm that Hajime wondered if something was up...

"So, what did you do this morning?" Akamine-sensei asked for the second time. It had only been yesterday since she called Hajime to her office and now it's happening again, giving her an odd sense of deja vu.

"I'm sorry sensei I— I can't tell— " Hajime twiddled his thumbs. He didn't have any excuse but he couldn't say it outright to Akamine-sensei either. However, he was interrupted before he could even finish his sentence

"You mean, you can't tell me about your construction work?" Akamine-sensei smiled.

'Gasp. But how did she find out? Was she watching me this whole time? If she did, how did she handle the morning classes? Did she assign one of the teachers to swap with her? No, that's impossible!' Hajime said inwardly in his mind.

"H-how did you... how did you know?" Hajime stammered in disbelief. He had been trying so hard to hide it and he was successful. And right at that moment when Akamine-sensei became curious, she managed to find out! How could that happen?

In response, Akamine-sensei smiled a satisfied smile and leaned back on her chair. "I just happened to pass by where you work and I noticed... isn't he too young to be a construction worker? Alas, who would've thought it was you. It was by pure luck that I saw you on my way to school."

After her explanation, Akamine-sensei then changed her pose and leaned forward, her hand clasped and placed on top of her desk. "Now, why were you working as a construction worker instead of going to school and attending your morning classes?"

Gulp! Hajime nervously swallowed his saliva.

"T-that... I can't tell you sensei." Hajime had no words to say except try to hide as many details as possible. He didn't want his teacher to take pity on him. And furthermore, he didn't want her assistance. He could tell that his teacher would fully support him if he told him the reason behind his part-time job. He shook his head. 'No, I won't say any more than this. She doesn't have to know. I don't want anyone to know. I can do this by myself.' He thought to himself.

"So, you can't tell, huh," Akamine-sensei muttered. "Well then, Hajime, I would like you to bring your parents to school tomorrow. I think we have to talk about your current behavior and put a stop to it. If you don't bring your parents to school, then I would come directly to your address and converse with both you and your parents, do you understand?"

'Parents? Aren't I self-enrolled? What does she mean by parents?' Dumbfounded, Hajime wondered if Akamine-sensei was actually slow in understanding. 'Or maybe she just assumed I have parents... why though? She's never seen them for the past year.'

'Now that I think about it... this brings back memories, huh.' Hajime trailed off in his head as a distant memory resurfaced.

...

"Dear, what did you do this time?" Hajime's mom concernedly asked as she showed him a text that she received from his teacher. "Did you cause any trouble? Again?"

"No, mom," He then replied defensively. "Everyone's parents were given the same mail. I think it's got something to do with my dream job. They do it every year, mom."

Hajime's mom sighed in relief as she sat beside him. He could feel the bed curving downward as his mom sat since it was ridiculously soft.

'Mom was really happy back then, huh.' Hajime sighed.

"Oh, so it's that time of year already, huh." She said while looking at the ceiling. "Well, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

'I can't remember what I said back then. Maybe I said something about becoming a construction worker? Did I say that I want to become a driver? Or maybe I said something about going to the army? Or is it something about being a businessman? I can't remember all the details since this memory was so hazy. It seems like this happened a long time ago. I can't even remember my mom's face...nor my dad's when he entered my room after overhearing our conversation.' Hajime continued his trail of thoughts, totally forgetting that he was still talking to Akamine-sensei.

"So you want to be just like dad, huh." Hajime's dad enthusiastically replied as he grabbed a chair and sat in front of him. "Want me to come tomorrow, son? I think you would be a little more confident when I'm there."

"But hon, don't you have a very important meeting with your clients tomorrow?" His mom asked.

"Oh, right! I forgot!" He said, then he smiled. "My assistant's pretty reliable so I'll let him take care of it. My son's future is more important than my meeting."

'My future huh...'

'... Is it really that important? My future?' Hajime's gaze went upwards towards the single light bulb that lit Akamine-sensei's office. That memory replayed itself a second time, detaching him from reality.