Chapter 14: Chest pain, Teacher!

Keisuke Takahashi's POV

Crap. I forgot to explain to Mei Shimizu about the moaning when she called me last night. Wait, why do I even want to explain it to her? This is crazy! I don't need to explain it to her! She's a stranger!

Tsk. There it goes again. This feeling that I have in my chest. Let's look it up online. I pulled out my phone and searched, "What's the cause of chest pain?"

Indigestion, Anxiety, Pleurisy, Costochondritis, Pneumonia, Pancreatis, etc.

A chest pain might be a sign of a heart attack. This must be a serious disease. I looked at my watch and noticed that I still had time. It's currently 12:25 p.m. so I still have time before class starts.

"I wonder if she'll take this seriously," I muttered.

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I knocked on the door that's in front of me.

"Come in," said a voice inside.

I slowly opened the door, and the person inside was surprised to see my face here.

"Kei? Why are you here?" asked my mom.

"I think I'm having a heart attack," I said.

My mom looked at me with a blank stare on her face and blinked several times. She stood up from her chair and walked toward me. She placed her hand on my forehead to check my temperature.

"Your temperature is normal," said my mom.

"I'm not sick; I'm ill," I said.

"Those two words have the same meaning," said my mom.

I blinked several times. I'm having these unreasonable things happen inside my body, and my mom is correcting me when it comes to Japanese.

"Sick is different compared to being ill. Sick generally refers to a state of not feeling well or being unwell. It's often used colloquially to describe a range of symptoms—"

"Yeah, sure," said my mom.

She interrupted me before I even got to finish my sentence.

"Mom, come on. I'm serious. I'm having a heart attack. Take me to a doctor for a checkup," I said.

My mom went back to her chair and pulled out her phone. She's starting to type something, obviously not paying attention to what I'm saying.

"Mom!" I screamed.

"I'll be the one to diagnose you," said my mom.

"Huh?" I wondered.

"Stop being a spoiled brat and take a seat. Explain what you feel, and I'll give my diagnosis about it," said my mom.

"Mom, come on. This is ridiculous," I said.

"Is it?" said my mom.

I didn't say anything and just looked straight into her face. She stared at me for a while with that nonchalant look. There's no way that she's taking this seriously. On my side, though, I think I might be overreacting. That's how much I hate to admit that I have a thing for Mei Shimizu.

"Did something happen?" asked my mom.

"Why do you think of that?" I asked.

"Don't answer a question by making your own question," said my mom.

I stayed quiet once again. I gathered my thoughts and thought really hard about what I was going to say. I might make a mistake if I tell her that this is about Mei Shimizu. I don't want to dig my own grave.

"Come on, you can tell me," said my mom.

She looked at me with calmness in her face. She's trying to make me comfortable, so I'll tell her what's bothering me.

"If a student tried to get into a relationship with Mei Shimizu, is it immoral?" I asked.

The eyes of my mom suddenly widened when she heard the name of Mei Shimizu being involved. Her face suddenly turned serious.

"Kei, you are not planning to get into a relationship with her. Do you?" asked my mom.

"No," I said.

"Then why are you even asking that kind of question?" asked my mom.

"That's..." I muttered.

Words couldn't form in my mouth after hearing what my mom said. I knew it; it's a mistake to tell her anything about this. Just saying the name of Mei Shimizu will give her a lot of information about the things that's bothering me. I wouldn't be surprised if she had already figured it out.

My mom let out an exasperated sigh and stood up from her chair. She slowly walked towards me and grabbed my shoulder with her left hand.

"Listen, Kei. That girl worked hard to reach her dreams. She's also considered by many a genius. She even got interviewed for being the youngest teacher in the world. That's why, give up on her. I know that you know that," said my mom.

"Why do you always draw conclusions? I just told you a single thing, and you proceeded into your own thoughts," I said.

My mom looked at my face with that nonchalant expression once again. She always does that. She sighed and stood up, walking back to her chair. She pulled up her laptop and started to scroll all over it.

"Don't get involved with Shimizu-sensei any further. She's young, and I get that you're attracted to her. But she's not for you," said my mom.

"Tsk. I'm not attracted to her," I said.

"Good," said my mom.

I came here for her to take me to a hospital, and this is how she responds. Why did I even come to her in the first place? I just wasted my time. I looked at my watch and noticed that it's close before our class starts.

"You should go," said my mom.

"I know that," I said.

I actually think that the idea of me having a heart attack is ridiculous. I just want to reject the idea that Mei Shimizu caused this feeling. But instead, what I got was a lecture from my mother.

I slowly grabbed the doorknob and opened it. I walked out and made my way back to the classroom.

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The door opened, and Mei Shimizu slowly walked towards her podium. The class has begun, and the subject is math, my favorite subject. She explained the lesson thoroughly, and I listened quietly. Even though I already studied it, she's explaining it beautifully. And I hate it.

This teacher is 15 years old, but she possesses an intellectual gift that surpasses mine. She must've developed a routine that will make this achievement possible for her.

"Tanaka," I called.

"What?" asked Tanaka.

"Have you ever felt lonely because you're the best and no one could ever beat you?" I asked.

"What kind of question is that?" asked Tanaka.

"Just answer it," I said.

"Jeez. Of course I haven't. There's always someone better than me in everything that I do. That's why," said Tanaka.

"Well, when it comes to academics, I've never lost before," I said.

"Show-off," said Tanaka.

I may be bragging, but it's true. I've always worked harder than everyone else. I've never met someone who works harder than me, except my sister. That's why I've felt mixed feelings since I met Mei Shimizu.

This teacher in front of me has achieved much more than mine. She worked harder than anyone else. Much harder than me, to be exact. Those realizations gave me nothing but jealousy. For the past few years, I've worked as hard as I could, and I've achieved a lot. However, it's not enough. Seeing Mei Shimizu made me realize that I could do something more.

Oh, maybe that's why. That's probably the reason why I feel this pain inside my chest. It might've been the feeling that I needed to do much more. This feeling is unsatisfaction.

"Tanaka," I called.

"What?" asked Tanaka.

"I've figured it out," I said.

"What?" asked Tanaka.

"I've figured out what I've been feeling since earlier this morning," I said.

"Is that so? Good for you then," said Tanaka.

"I'll tell you all about it after class," I said.

"Feel free not to," said Tanaka.