Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume37 Chapter13

Farewell Bouquet VII

Newspaper was spread out across the table.

Placed on top of that were the flowerpots made from milk cartons and plastic bottles. Growing within were mint, lemongrass, chamomile, and other herbs.

The small pots were fine, but the herbs in the long planters, made from milk cartons cut it in two lengthwise, had to be separated before they could be taken home.

For the ones without a pot, the herbs and a clump of soil were wrapped in newspaper. It seemed a bit unstable, but as long as they were placed gently into plastic or paper bags they'd probably be fine, since it only had to hold until they got home.

They talked quietly as they split the herbs, so they wouldn't disturb Mami-san and Katori-sensei.

Those that had brought herbs from home swapped them with others that had done the same. Those that hadn't received all sorts of herbs.

The small trowel she'd borrowed from her mother played a very active role. It had been bought from a general store that also sold things like stationery and tea-cups, but the foreign-made trowel wasn't just functional, with its wooden handle it looked lovely adorning the table.

"Huh? … Onee-sama?"

Touko whispered. She must have sensed something when she saw Yumi take a pair of scissors out of the drawer.

"Are you going to … "

"Yeah, I just thought of it."

When Yumi also replied in a whisper, Touko said, "In that case," and went and fetched a candy tin. That said, it didn't have candies or chocolates inside. So as not to draw attention, she placed it down beside Yumi without opening it.

Her petite soeur's instincts were as good as ever. Then Noriko-chan, beside her, noticed, and she laid out some cling wrap, moistened a tissue, and instructed Nana-chan to fetch a rubber band.

"Ahh."

Shimako-san, who had been using the newspaper for origami, noticed at this point, and whispered into the ear of Yoshino-san, who was looking questioningly at the cryptic movements that had started taking place. But from there it could spread no further.

"– So with that, thanks for all your assistance."

"Not at all, I'm sorry to have taken up so much of your time."

At the end of the table, the newspaper reporter (Mami-san) and the article subject (Katori-sensei) bowed deeply at each other. It looked like the pair, who had been sitting knee to knee looking straight at each other and oblivious to the outside world, had finally finished their conversation.

"So what happens next?"

Having provided the location for their conversation, the Rose families thought it was okay to ask that much.

"We decided to keep the current article as-is, but we'll add another article with the latest information regarding Katori-sensei's pregnancy and leave of absence after it."

Katori-sensei added, "That's not all," to Mami-san's explanation. Then Mami-san chortled, like a scheming merchant in a historical drama.

"Katori-sensei has graciously agreed to collaborate on a column, starting next semester. It'll be called, "Katori-mama's Monthly Report.""

Then she flashed the peace sign.

"Huuuuuh."

"Hehehe."

Apparently the plan was to have a monthly phone call, where they would discuss how Katori-sensei's life was going during her leave of absence. Hmm, she had to hand it to the newspaper club. They just got right back up when they were knocked down. Well, they hadn't really been knocked down, had they?

"Well, is it really such a good thing that we'll still be connected?"

Katori-sensei's expression showed she was happy, despite what she said. And that satisfied expression was a source of joy for Yumi and the rest of the students.

"So, how did things go for you?"

Mami-san asked, leaning forwards in curiosity. She was asking if they'd finished their task of splitting up the herbs.

"We'll just be a little bit longer. Have some herbal tea while you wait. Nana-chan, can you get them refills?"

Yumi hastily dispatched Nana-chan. Mami-san by herself would have been fine, but if she'd also brought Katori-sensei over then they would have been in a spot of bother.

"Ah, sure."

Understanding what was going on, Nana-chan suspended her current task and hurried over to the teapot.

"No thanks, my stomach's almost overflowing."

"Now, now, don't say that. I'll mix some red tea leaves in and it will completely change the impression."

Good luck, Nana-chan. Just keep them in their seats for a little while longer. Spurred on, Yumi and the other girls resumed their work. Yoshino-san and Shimako-san, seated closer to their guests, resumed the task of splitting up the herbs, while behind them Yumi, Noriko-chan, and Touko-chan continued their secret task.

While this was going on:

"Gokigenyou. I called out, but it didn't seem like anyone heard, so I let myself in – "

A new guest appeared on the second floor of the Rose Mansion. Seeing Yumi, Yoshino-san, and Mami-san, she said, "Ah, there you are," but when she spotted Katori-sensei she said, "Wah," and her surprised showed clearly on her entire body. She was the fourth "it" from the third-year pine class, the photography club's Takeshima Tsutako-san.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Since she'd said, "Ah, there you are," it seemed like she'd come here for some specific purpose.

"Umm."

Tsutako-san hemmed and hawed. It looked like it had something to do with Katori-sensei. Perhaps to keep her from noticing, or perhaps just to diffuse the situation somewhat, she said, "But first, a photo," and swiftly raised the camera that was hanging around her neck. Or it may have simply been that she wanted to take the photo, since it was rare to have a picture of a teacher in the Rose Mansion.

"I can leave, if you'd rather I wasn't here."

Katori-sensei chuckled. She'd correctly concluded that it was some secret talk about herself.

"N-no, that won't be necessary."

Tsutako-san exchanged a look with Yoshino-san, Yumi, and Mami-san, then left the room. While the lady in question had immediately uncovered the secret, that didn't mean that they had to have the conversation right in front of her.

The trio followed Tsutako-san out of the room and started their secret conversation.

"Michiyo-san and Itsue-san came to the clubhouse earlier, asking for me."

"Why did they go all the way out there to see you?"

"They said they wanted to talk to me about an autograph board."

"An autograph board?"

"The sort of thing that would have "Congratulations teacher" or "Thank-you teacher" written in the middle of it."

"Ah, I see."

"They asked about putting a picture in the middle of it. Last year, the basketball club had made something similar for their graduating seniors, but they photos were easy to get – "

Hearing this, the trio's opinions were:

"Sounds good."

"I agree."

"No objection here."

– that. There was absolutely no reason to oppose it. Tsutako-san nodded too, probably expecting that reaction.

"I thought so too, and I said they could use any of the photos that I'd taken of the class, but – "

"What's the problem?"

"They said they couldn't use any of my photos."

"Huh – why not?"

Tsutako-san's skill with the camera was recognized by everyone in the school. If Tsutako-san was no good, then who else in the school would be acceptable?

"I get it. It's because you wouldn't be in any of the photos you took."

Yoshino-san answered.

"Exactly."

It had to be a photograph with everyone in the class. It wasn't a question of skill.

"Then what will we do? Add a photo of you to the background?"

Yumi asked.

"That's the one thing I don't want."

It was rejected.

"… No doubt."

When she thought about being in that position herself, Yumi was completely against the idea.

"But still, you didn't come here just to tell us that you didn't have any ideas, did you Tsutako-san?"

Mami-san said pointedly, breaking her silence.

"No."

As expected.

"So you've probably already decided more or less what to do then."

She probed a bit further and Tsutako-san nodded.

"On the day of the closing ceremony, we would all have to arrive a bit early in order to sign the autograph board. If we could get there fifteen minutes early, we could take a new group photograph. Ah, this is all getting spread person-to-person, so there's no need for a notice or anything."

"Will you be able to get the photograph developed that quickly?"

Homeroom on the day of the closing ceremony finished at just part noon. The autograph board had to be finished by then so they could give it to Katori-sensei.

"I don't like it, but we'll use a digital camera. That way it will be done instantly."

Hmm.

"If you're going to take the photo, does that mean you'll use a timer?"

"Yeah, and they asked Shouko-chan to come along in case that doesn't work out."

It sounded as though Shouko-chan had been there when Michiyo-san and Itsue-san visited, and she'd accepted their request to help out. The discussion must have happened so quickly that Tsutako-san couldn't interject. So it looked like this was another thing that Tsutako-san didn't like, on top of using a digital camera.

"So, in the end, you came here just to moan about it?"

Yoshino-san asked coldly, and Tsutako-san admitted it directly.

"That's right."

But so what? Yumi was a little bit pleased as she looked at her defiant friend.

"I see, I see."

That she would think of them as people she could complain to, it was, how to put it … right, it was a good thing.

"Well then, let's go inside and you can complain to your heart's content as we drink herbal tea."

Yumi said, giving them a gentle verbal push from behind as she took Mami-san and Tsutako-san by the hand.

"There's cookies that a first-year gave to Yumi-san."

Herbal cookies and herbal tea. They would borrow the power of herbs to clear away this vague gloominess.

"But setting that aside, why is our teacher here?"

"Ah, don't worry about it."

Just as she was about to put her hand on the doorknob to open it, Nana-chan opened the door a little and peered out from the other side.

"Ah, good, you're here. Rosa Chinensis, we've hit the limit of what we can do to detain her – Katori-sensei said she should be heading home."

Yumi was the initiator of all this, so it looked like Nana-chan had come looking for her because she didn't know what to do. That was no good.

"Is that thing done?"

Yumi asked Nana-chan, as she opened the door.

"Yeah. Touko-sama couldn't wait, so she chose one of the ribbons from the tin on her own."

"Okay, that's fine. Touko has good taste, so we can trust her."

Yumi entered the room. It wasn't just Yumi, she was followed by Yoshino-san, who appeared slightly annoyed that Nana-chan had turned to Yumi for help instead of her, and Mami-san and Tsutako-san, who both looked puzzled, wondering, "What's this about a ribbon?"

The room on the second floor of the Rose Mansion.

Shimako-san and Katori-sensei were standing alongside the table. It was a lovely scene, like they were two high-school girls that were standing there chatting, reluctant to go home. Tsutako-san appeared to be so captivated by it that she forgot to snap a photo, even though she had her camera with her.

"Ah."

Noticing their gaze, Katori-sensei turned and smiled at the four third-year Chrysanthemum class students.

"I think it's about time I was leaving. I seem to have caused a bit of a disturbance in the staff room."

At the mention of the words, "staff room," the spell was broken, and Katori Maki-san turned back into Katori-sensei.

"Katori-sensei."

Yumi called to Katori-sensei as she started to walk towards the door. Then, without a moment's hesitation, Touko offered "that thing" up to her.

"Here."

What she was offering up was a herb bouquet. While they'd been divvying up the herbs, they'd cut off some branches, gathered them together, wrapped the stems in water-soaked tissues, then covered that in cling film. The grip was a wide, ivory lace ribbon, with a thin, dark-green ribbon tied around it.

"Oh my."

This was apparently quite unexpected, as Katori-sensei accepted the gift with her eyes wide in surprise. A bouquet of mint, lemongrass, and chamomile.

"It's from the Yamayurikai."

"Oh, I'm so happy. I was just thinking I should pick up some herbal tea on my way home."

Katori-sensei breathed in their scent deeply, like she was going to bury her face in them, then smiled and said, "For when my throat gets dry." It looked like she might be retiring her throat lozenges from now on.

"I – "

Tsutako-san said.

"May not know exactly what's going on, but there's one thing I do know."

"Huh?"

"I didn't come here this afternoon to complain."

As she said this, she smoothly raised her camera.

"I came here to capture this joyous moment on film."

A large print of the photo Tsutako-san took was displayed at the school festival in autumn.

The title was "Farewell Bouquet."

Katori-sensei was embracing the bouquet and surrounded by gently smiling students – it was definitely a joyous moment.

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