Tomo’s dad rose to his feet; the edges of his suit were so crisp you could probably slice kamaboko loaf with them. He looked agitated and kept checking his watch; I wondered what meeting he was missing for this. If Tomo’s mom was alive, his dad wouldn’t even have to be here. Was he thinking that, too?
He bowed deeply to Yoshinoma. “Moushi wake gozaimasen,” he apologized. “I can’t believe my son would do such a thing. School has always been his top priority.”
“Please, Yuu-san, sit down,” Yoshinoma said, motioning with his hand until Tomo’s dad complied. “We were surprised, as well. He’s mostly been a reliable student, an example in his studies. He’s still maintaining his grades, and he’s advanced further than ever before in his kendo tournaments. But we cannot accept this disrespectful prank on our school.” The headmaster leaned back in his chair. It creaked as he pressed the back of it toward the wall. “I can only imagine that he must have become distracted.”
Tomo’s hand squeezed into a fist. “Kouchou, Katie had nothing to do with this,” he said, his voice tense. This was wrong. He had to stay calm, or we’d be in more trouble. Surely he knew that.
“Neither did Tomohiro-senpai,” I said. I figured now was a good time to put my slightly more formal Japanese into practice. “He didn’t do this.”
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that, Miss Greene,” said Yoshinoma. “It’s true that we don’t have proof that Tomo painted those offensive kanji on the chalkboards, but he was visibly upset about them, and he does have a background in calligraphy. Not just anyone could have written those in the style they appeared. Furthermore, the change room...well, it was full of ink, and students saw him go in. We’re sure he went there to wash up.”
“You don’t know that,” I said, my voice rising. “It wasn’t him. He arrived at school the same time I did that morning. It wasn’t him!”
Diane rested a gentle but urgent hand on my arm, and I hesitated. Was the way I was talking back to the headmaster not okay in Japan? I was probably out of line, but so was Yoshinoma. Tomo hadn’t done any of it—well, it had sort of been him, but it was the ink, the kami blood in his veins. He hadn’t meant for it to happen. He didn’t deserve to suffer for Tsukiyomi’s sake.
Diane’s voice was calm and reasonable as she spoke. I’d never heard her sound so collected before. “Yoshinoma-sensei, these two are good kids. Katie’s working so hard on her kanji to stay at Suntaba and catch up to the other students. The last thing these two would do is jeopardize their future.”
“I agree,” the headmaster said, leaning forward and resting his folded hands on his desk. “But part of growing up is learning there are consequences to your actions.”
Tomo’s dad nodded like he approved, but he kept sneaking peeks at his watch.
Yoshinoma let out a slow, whistling breath between his teeth. “To be honest, some of the teachers have called for expulsion.”
A small gasp escaped Tomo’s lips, his eyes round and horrified.
Tomo’s father wasn’t checking his watch anymore. “Yoshinoma-sensei!”
Yoshinoma’s voice was grave and monotone. “This isn’t the first time he’s caused trouble. He’s been in many fights since his first year.”
Tomo’s father blurted out, “Because his mother passed away, and...”
“That was seven years ago, Yuu-san. And there have been rumors that he fathered a child with a girl from Kibohan Senior High. Is that the kind of student we want to represent our school?”
So, the Shiori rumor had reached the teachers, too. Tomo clenched his hands into tighter fists as his father’s face went white. “That’s not true,” he said, looking down until his chin pressed against the knot of his uniform tie.
I could remember it now, when that knot had been loosened around his neck, his top button undone. Tomo looking up at the wagtail birds as he spread out on the warm field of Toro Iseki, when I’d first stumbled on his secret drawing place. I wanted to take his hand in mine, to pull him to his feet and run back there where we were safe, where no one could reach us. Where we could fly.
Yoshinoma sighed. “Even so, your friend Ishikawa Satoshi was shot this summer, Tomohiro. Yuu-san, do you know what kind of life your boy is up to?”
I looked away from Tomo’s dad, frightened of the emotions he tried to rein back on his face. His voice came out shakily. “Kouchou, I assure you, Tomo is not involved in the way Ishikawa is derailing his life.”
“However,” the headmaster continued, “Yuu scored the highest out of the Third Year boys in the first term exams. And he’s earning quite the spotlight for himself in kendo. It’s good for our school to gain such national recognition.” He cleared his throat. “So I am going to override the teachers and ask Tomohiro to stay at Suntaba.”
The relief washed through me, and I let out a breath I hadn’t even known I was holding. Tomo’s dad bowed his head to the headmaster.
“He will have to be suspended, of course. You understand this cannot go without punishment.”
“Of course,” Tomo’s dad mumbled.
“One month, Tomohiro,” Yoshinoma said, and I flinched. A month?
“But his entrance exams,” Tomo’s dad protested.
“He will have to spend the effort at home if he hopes to pass them when he returns. This was a serious offence to this school, Yuu-san. And a month will give him time to refocus on his work and forget any distractions.”
Oh. They wanted to separate us, thinking that time apart would make us grow apart. I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. It wouldn’t work. They couldn’t stop us. We were something greater together than they could ever understand.
Tomo’s face was blank, unreadable. “What about kendo practices?”
“You’ll be back in time for the serious training for the tournament, Tomo. But in the meantime, Watanabe-sensei and Nishimura-sensei have recommended you do your exercises at home. They don’t want you to be out of shape when you return.”
“And for Katie?” Diane said. Her hand was still on my arm, and she squeezed it to reassure me. I was glad she was there with me. Even if she lectured me later, I knew she loved me. Did Tomo feel that way about his dad? They seemed so distant as they sat side by side, as if they were worlds apart, as if they couldn’t really see each other at all.
“Katie hasn’t given the school any other trouble,” Yoshinoma said, “and we believe she was likely dragged into this. She—I apologize, but—she lacks the skill to have written those kanji on the chalkboards.”
My own illiteracy had saved me. I guess I should’ve felt relieved, but mostly I just felt annoyed.
“We just think it best that she be...separated from Tomohiro for a while, so they can both refocus on their futures.”
There it was again, that patronizing we-know-what’s-best jab. You’re just kids. You don’t know what love is. You’re blind. You’re wrecking your own futures.
We bowed to Yoshinoma-sensei and parted in the hallway. I tried to catch Tomo’s eye, but he didn’t look up. He just stiffly followed his father out of the school. It didn’t matter, though. I could feel his thoughts as if they were my own.
They didn’t know us, not at all. They didn’t understand what we had.