"Teacher Adam, please don't joke like that!"
Sayaka is both a little embarrassed and annoyed; her train of thought and the serious atmosphere have been disrupted.
"Sorry, sorry." The silver-haired man raised his hands in surrender. "You can continue."
"Really..."
Sayaka gathered her emotions again and continued from where she left off, though this time, the gloomy atmosphere around her had somewhat receded.
"When I first heard that Kyosuke had injured his hand and could no longer play the violin, I actually felt a little bit of secret joy." She lowered her head again, avoiding eye contact out of shame. "I thought, 'Now I can be a good match for him?'."
"But then I hated myself. Having such thoughts truly made me disgusting."
The blue-haired girl tightly gripped the corners of her skirt with force.
"So these past few days, even though Kyosuke has been rude to me, I've ignored it. Looking back now, I think I was more looking for atonement- to make up for these thoughts..."
Sayaka frankly told Adam and Hitomi her honest thoughts. For people she absolutely trusts, she concealed nothing.
"I don't think this is a big deal." At her look that seemed to ask for his opinion, Adam casually shrugged. "Everyone has a dark side and some thoughts that aren't quite pleasant."
He crossed one leg over the other.
"You know, we refer to them as 'intrusive thoughts'. It's very common."
The silver-haired man tapped his finger on his thigh as he continued with a casual and easy-going smile.
"If thinking about something is illegal, then even saints would have to go to jail." He looked into her eyes. "Judge people by their actions and not their thoughts."
If what Sayaka thought is considered despicable, then what is he?
His intrusive thoughts are on a 10x level of hers. He has even thought of-
Adam stopped that line of thought. After all, some things are better left unsaid.
"What about you, teacher?"
Hearing his words, Sayaka stopped gripping her skirt and stared back at him with a hopeful gaze.
"Have you ever had similar thoughts?"
It's as if she wants to see him nod and say 'Yes, I have', so that she'll feel better about herself.
When people see other people doing the same thing, they often feel more at ease with themselves. They think 'I'm not the only one who does this, so it's okay'.
"Yes, I have."
The silver-haired teacher nodded with no hesitation.
"Um, could you tell me about it?"
Sayaka is a little curious: what kind of dark side or intrusive thoughts does the dashing, handsome, and warm-hearted Adam have in his heart?
"For example…" Adam grinned as he thought of something interesting to actually say: "Liking one's students."
"Um?!!"
Sayaka and Hitomi immediately sat up straight upon hearing his words.
"Um... Mr. Adam…." The green-haired girl cautiously began, looking at him with hesitation. "Did you just say something inappropriate? Or was it a slip of the tongue?"
"Hm? But I'm not lying."
The silver-haired man shrugged; that grin still on his face made it difficult to know if he was serious or not.
…
Of course, he isn't a liar. Madoka and Homura... They're now considered his students, aren't they?
He does like these two. Though he isn't sure what level of 'liking' this is. Maybe he'll pull a 'I like you…as a friend' move on them, who knows?
….
"....."
The blue-haired girl and the green-haired girl remained silent.
The two of them truly don't know whether he is joking or not- and this makes them feel very uneasy.
They recalled his two rescues, and his help in healing Kyosuke without even asking for anything in return.
Inexplicably, a thought formed:
'Could it be that the person Teacher Adam likes is me?'x2
Without any prior discussion, the two of them both reached this exact same thought.
"Ha... Teacher, you're really joking."
Sayaka sheepishly scratched her head in embarrassment.
It isn't that she dislikes Adam. It's just that when these words, which sound a bit like a confession, registered in her ears, her mind went blank.
"Joking?" The man larping as a teacher raised an amused eyebrow. "You can take it as a joke. As long as you feel better."
Seeing their reaction, he internally nodded in understanding.
Good, it seems the morality of this world hasn't degenerated due to Kyubey. It's good that they are feeling off. Any normal student hearing of a teacher liking their student shouldn't be nonchalant.
Of course-
It's an exaggeration. The liking in these two girls' minds isn't the liking he is talking about.
However, it does surpass the liking of a normal Teacher and Student. After all, Madoka and Homura aren't his students, and Homura is even a fellow chat room member!
"I-I have some things to take care of at home, so I'll be leaving n-now!"
After saying that, Sayaka blushed even more, turning around and hurriedly leaving.
Judging from her erratic movements as she tried to make a beeline towards the hospital's exit, it seems like she is fleeing in panic.
"Oh?"
...
..
.
------
A/N:
Next chapter on Saturday.
Discord: discord.gg / xwJ4CBUHK9
Patreon at: Adam_Flores