Daily life in Zongman

Nishimiya Shoko looked around in confusion, completely unaware of what was going on.

Class monitor Kawai Miki was a little confused: "Eh...eh?"

"Class monitor, I'm busy. Since you said you wanted to help Nishimiya Glass, please be her deskmate and help her when you're free."

After Fujiwara Haru finished speaking, her brief surprise disappeared and a smile returned to her face: "It's okay, then I will help Nishimiya-san with his lessons from now on."

Class monitor Miki Kawai remembered Fujiwara Haru.

The last class was taught by our homeroom teacher, Mr. Takeuchi. He noticed Fujiwara Haru changing seats and asked what happened. Fujiwara Haru answered truthfully, "The class monitor wanted to help Nishimiya-san attend class better, so I switched seats with her."

Class monitor Kawai Miki nodded with a smile: "Well, Nishimiya-san can't hear clearly, I can help her during class."

The whole class applauded. Teacher Takeuchi adjusted his glasses and continued teaching.

10. The New Misfit

After school in the afternoon, Fujiwara Haru stayed behind to do the duty. His classmates were a little afraid of him. They were on duty cleaning together today and did not assign Fujiwara Haru anything.

"I won't hit you. Let me clean the windows."

Looking at the classmates gathered on the side, Fujiwara Haru started to clean the windows after he finished speaking. After working for more than half an hour, after cleaning them all, he followed his classmates to align the tables and prepared to leave school.

Being blocked at the door, Nishimiya Glass held the pen and bowed, holding the pen above her head with both hands: "I'm sorry!"

"Huh? What are you apologizing for?"

There were not many people around and it was quite quiet. Nishimiya Shoko heard clearly what Fujiwara Haru said. She stood up, took back the notebook, and wrote on it.

Fujiwara Haru walked over to her with her schoolbag and looked at her.

"I'm sorry I disturbed you."

Nishimiya Naoko didn't know why she had changed seats. The new class monitor simply wrote in her notebook, "Nishimiya-san, I'll help you in class from now on. Let's learn and improve together."

She didn't know the reason and thought she had done something wrong as she had disturbed Fujiwara Haru.

Fujiwara Haru read what she wrote and nodded: "It's a bit disturbing, but it's okay. No need to apologize for it. Is there anything else? If not, I'm leaving."

Nishimiya Glass wrote quickly and nervously: "It's okay."

Fujiwara Haru turned and left: "Goodbye."

Nishimiya Glass looked at Fujiwara Haru who had her back to her, opened her mouth, and then closed it again.

She also wanted to say goodbye, but she didn't say it in the end.

Nishimiya Shoko has a younger sister named Nishimiya Yuzuru. Once, Shoko occasionally spoke, and her unstandard pronunciation made people laugh, which attracted more bullying. Her sister Yuzuru said to her, "Sister, it's better for you not to speak in front of everyone."

Sister Yuzuru hopes that her sister will not be bullied outside because of her abnormality. Her starting point is good, but it also makes Nishimiya Shoko gradually stop talking and only speak occasionally at home.

Nishimiya Glass watched Fujiwara Haru disappear from her sight. A smile appeared on her face. She put the letter in her schoolbag and trotted back home.

Her sister Yuzuru, who was three years younger than her, was not on duty and was not playing outside. She returned home earlier than her. Seeing her sister running home excitedly, she walked over with curiosity on her face.

"Sister, what happened today?"

Nishimiya Glass explained in sign language: I might be able to make friends! I'm very happy!

Yuzuru's younger sister was surprised: "Huh?! Really? Be careful, sis! Don't let anyone pretend to be a bully and approach you!"

The younger sister Yuzuru was very alert and sat next to her older sister Nozomi, ready to give a long speech.

Nishimiya Shoko explained in sign language: It was the boy who helped us three days ago. He and I are in the same class!

Sister Yuzuru was stunned for a moment: "Eh... Eh? Eh! Really?"

Nishimiya Glass explained in sign language: Really! I even sat at the same table with him for a while!

Sister Yuzuru: "Tell me quickly! Tell me quickly!"

The sound of her younger sister Yuzuru's laughter could be heard from the cabin. She was very happy and felt genuinely happy that her sister might be able to make friends.

------

It's a new day and Class 6-2 is filled with a cheerful atmosphere because today is Friday.

It was the last day of the weekend and everyone was very happy. As soon as get out of class was over, three or five people would get together to chat, talking about where to go tomorrow, whether they wanted to go out together the day after tomorrow, etc.

Naoka Ueno and class monitor Miki Kawai have a good relationship. They often play together and are currently discussing whether to go shopping tomorrow.

Nishimiya Glass walked over to them, holding the written communication book and carefully handed it over to them. "Can you tell me what you were talking about just now?"

Nishimiya Glass is trying hard to make friends. Her first target is Fujiwara Haru, but he is still reading books even after class. He once told her not to disturb him when he is studying, so Nishimiya Glass is trying other things.

The lively discussion in the small group suddenly fell silent, and Ueno Naoka casually replied, "We're discussing where to go this weekend."

Nishimiya Glass flipped through the notebook, found a page she had written previously, and showed it to me. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you clearly. Could you please write it down? I'm sorry."

Ueno Naoka was a little impatient, but she still took the notebook and wrote a few words: "Talking about where to go this weekend."

Nishimiya Glass was very happy. She took the notebook and started writing in reply. After chatting for a few sentences, the bell for class rang.

Ueno Naoka and her friends were unable to chat for a few minutes, and the atmosphere in the entire group became deserted because of Nishimiya Shoko's intervention.

Nishimiya Glass returned to her seat with the notebook in her arms. She felt that if she tried harder, she would definitely be able to make friends.

------

There are three music classes a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Because there is a music competition next Wednesday, the music classes have been practicing class chorus since last Monday. We have already practiced for five classes and there are two classes left.

In the music classroom, everyone lined up and started singing along with the music. Fujiwara Haru and Nishimiya Shoko became the black sheep.

Fujiwara Haru is really not good at it. After practicing for five lessons, she can now barely sing along with the group. Occasionally she is out of tune, which makes her voice a little dissonant in the group's unison.

Nishimiya Shoko was completely off track and out of tune, often singing a few beats too fast. Moreover, when she was singing, the sound of her own voice filled her mind, making her unable to hear any external sounds, unable to realize that she was singing wrong, and she would keep going off track.

The music teacher tried several times in this class but was unable to get the chorus to sing in unison.

The whole class was in a frenzy. As elementary school students, everyone valued group activities highly. Even if they couldn't win first prize, they hoped to win second or third. But now everyone realized they might just end up with last place.

Dissatisfaction built up in everyone's hearts, and most people subconsciously thought: "Fujiwara Haru's singing is at least okay. From last week to now, she's gone from being off-key at the beginning to barely singing along with the rest of the group. Nishimiya Shoko is too much trouble. She came in mid-song, had no practice, can't hear, and can't sing along with the others. Why include her in the chorus?"

Can she not join in the chorus?

"It will be painful to sing in chorus if we continue like this."

"Ah, it's a sure loss."

"We've worked so hard for so long, what can we do?"

Collective exclusion appeared at this moment.

Music teacher Kita noticed this and stepped forward to gently guide her: "Glass's off-tune singing is caused by congenital hearing impairment, but it is not unsolvable. As long as she practices hard with everyone, she will definitely perform well in the choir competition!"

"Everyone, let's work hard together! Those who agree, please clap your hands!~"

After the sparse applause, it gradually became loud and everyone clapped, but everyone felt even more uncomfortable because they had to work harder under the teacher's request.

Choir practice started again, something went terribly wrong, started again, something went terribly wrong, started again.

Music class ended, and as we were walking back to our classroom from the music room, class monitor Miki Kawai and Naoka Ueno were walking down the stairs together. Kawai said in a troubled tone, "Ah~ Why did I always miss the lessons before? I'm going to fall behind at this rate."

Ueno Naoka comforted her, "I'll lend you my notes later."

Class monitor Kawai Miki was still a little distressed: "Then please."

Ishida Shoya, who was playing with his friends near them, stopped playing when he heard their discussion.

Children's minds aren't as complex as adults', and they don't experience much. Their worlds are dominated by friends, family, learning, and play. Because of this, they're very sensitive to changes in their surroundings and can always spot details that adults tend to overlook.

For example, now everyone can feel that Nishimiya Shoko is a loner and a character that no one likes.

As the leader of the class, Ishida Shoya noticed it more sensitively.

He already found school extremely boring on weekdays, and at this moment, he was even more concerned about the transfer student Nishimiya Shoko.

He wants to make daily campus life interesting!

——End of Chapter————

Note ①- Nishimiya Yuzuru: From "A Silent Voice", the younger sister of the heroine Nishimiya Shoko, three years younger than Shoko, in good health, and very concerned about her hearing-impaired sister.

Note ②- Kita-sensei: A supporting character from "A Silent Voice", kind but a little cowardly.

11. The change of atmosphere only takes one day

There were four classes in the morning, and the last one was taught by our homeroom teacher, Mr. Takeuchi. He called on Naoka Ueno to stand up and read the textbook.

Ueno Naoka stood up and said, "In the autumn countryside, I saw my grandmother harvesting vegetables in the fields. In the sunny fields, my grandmother's sweat dripped onto the leaves, turning into water droplets that sparkled in the sun."

She read it correctly, but it lacked emotion, so Teacher Takeuchi criticized her: "Ueno, what kind of reading is that? There's no emotion. Forget it, next one."

"Nishimiya."

Nishimiya Glass didn't hear it. The squad leader Kawai, who was sitting next to her, patted her shoulder and pointed, "Read from here."

(Naoka Ueno grumbled quietly: "A picky guy with glasses.")

Nishimiya Glass stood up quickly, the table and the floor making a harsh sound. She nervously began to read aloud: "Wo Zou Dao Tian Li Qu, shrink one, grandma, tie the cloth down..."

Teacher Takeuchi waited for her to finish reading, then waved his hand downward without any expression, motioning her to sit down. The class monitor Kawai tugged at Nishimiya Shoko's clothes.

Ueno Naoka muttered softly, "Why?"

She was unhappy. Why was she being criticized for her standard pronunciation, but Nishimiya Shoko said nothing?

She knew that Nishimiya Shoko had a hearing impairment and needed to be taken care of, but her reaction was still: Why?

Just like when parents tell their children to give in to their younger siblings, or to their relatives' children, we all know that they are younger and there is a reason for that. But when something happens and parents criticize the older children but let the younger ones off, this kind of unfair treatment will make people's first reaction: Why?

Knowing and practicing are two different things.

Ishida Masaya, who was sitting next to her, heard her grumbling.

"Ishida."

After gesturing for Nishimiya to sit down, Mr. Takeuchi called on Shoya Ishida to stand up and read aloud.

Ishida Shouya picked up the textbook with an exaggerated expression: "Ugh~ Ugh~ Ugh~ Gurgle~"

He wasn't reading at all, he was just making weird noises, yet the whole class knew who he was imitating.

"Pfft~"

"Haha~"

“That’s so funny~”

"Hee hee~"

Everyone knew that Ishida Masaya was imitating Nishimiya Shoko's slurred speech, and the class was filled with laughter.

Teacher Takeuchi held his glasses and said sternly, "Ishida! What's that noise?"

He was very unhappy when Ishita acted weird during his class, as it was his class and he was the head teacher.

However, Ishida's approach was more in line with his wishes, so he didn't ask him to stand outside as punishment. Instead, he simply said, "Quiet, sit down!"

The class instantly became quiet, and Ishida Shoya also sat down.

Nishimiya Shoko, who sat a row behind him, wrote in her notebook, "What happened? Everyone seems happy."

She wears a hearing aid, but she can only hear half of what others say and guess what they hear. If she wants to fully understand what others are saying, she needs the help of sign language to fully understand.

Just now, Ishida Shoya imitated her and made weird noises. To her, it was not much different from listening to other people chatting normally, but this time she could not understand it even more.

Nishimiya Glass showed the written communication book to the class monitor Kawai. The class monitor Kawai's smile faded away, then smiled again, but this time it was a little awkward. She wrote in reply, "Ishida's reading is too bad."

Nishimiya Shoko looked confused and continued to try to listen to the class carefully, but with little success.

As the bell rang, it was time for lunch break.

Teacher Takeuchi called out, "Ishida, come to my office."

Fujiwara Haru, who had stood up, sat back down in his seat. He wanted to teach Ishida Shoya a lesson for Ishida's malicious imitation, but Mr. Takeuchi had already called Ishida to the office to teach him a lesson, so he didn't do anything else.

In the office, Mr. Takeuchi had just finished teaching Ishida a lesson, reminding him to respect his teachers. He also said, "Don't imitate Nishimiya Glass's speech. It's immoral."

Ishida Shouya looked confused: "Morality?"

Now in the sixth grade of elementary school, he knows some of the meaning of morality, but it is too early to explain it clearly.