Ā Ā Ā he sees her before he hears her.
Ā Ā Ā thatās because heās got his headphones on, a radio feed playing from the open tab on his desktop while he reads through some papers. he set up his office this way for a reason, after all ā desk against one of the side walls, so the door is to his side instead of behind him, and on this wall specifically so that any sound coming from outside hits his right ear, which has a better chance of catching it than his left. open-door policy, too; heās a lot more likely to see someone outside his door than he is to hear them knocking. he doesnāt hear the sound of her running feet, but he doesĀ catch sight of her as she leans in the doorway.
Ā Ā Ā āheeeey, jirou!ā he greets with a grin, tapping the spacebar and pausing the feed in time to catch the tail end of his title. he spins his chair to face her (spinny chair, obviously; better than four-legged chairs in every way, not least in the ability to spin it around to face the door at a momentās notice). heās a bit surprised to see her ā sheās a good student, one of the better ones in his class specifically, and heās been keeping an eye on her quirkās development ever since they squared off in the final exam, but sheās never spoken up much. heās got some students who visit his office pretty regularly for help with schoolwork or just to talk, but sheās never seemed like one of them.
Ā Ā Ā she looks nervous, too ā he catches the slightly flushed cheeks, the wide eyes. plenty of students get anxious visiting teachers after hours for the first time, but thatās the thing ā must really be something up if sheās overcoming those anxieties to approach him, and he canāt imagine itās concern over her english grades, because those are doing just fine. he keeps his face open, smile inviting, as she finds her words, hoping it helps her feel a little more comfortable.
Ā Ā Ā ānever too busy for a listener!ā he says cheerfully, and yes, itās a little silly of him to call all his students listeners, but he was a radio host before he was a teacher and why break a fun habit?Ā ācāmon in, pop a squat,ā and he gestures to the other chair in the room, available for just such a purpose.Ā āwhatās on your mind?ā
Ā Ā Ā instead of further standing in his doorway and continuing to gawk like a starstruck idiot,Ā Ā jirou looks to the seat offered to her and manages to make her way over to it with only a slightlyĀ awkward delay of hesitation.Ā much more troubling is the way the chair slides away from him when she sits down on it,Ā Ā and then thereās the scramble of sneakers on the ground to brace herself and scooch closer again. jeeze,Ā jeeze,Ā jeezeĀ āĀ Ā !
Ā Ā come on, Ā kyouka. spit it out.Ā Ā he would! Ā maybe what would present mic do? Ā isnāt by any means a universal rule for everyone, Ā but thereās something about emulating someoneās confidence that makes it that much easier to keep it up Ā ā Ā even if it isnāt real to start with. Ā itās gotten her this far, Ā has it not?Ā Ā so, Ā she says it to herself again for a little kick in the step she needs to take to come all the way in. Ā spit it out!
Ā Ā Ā āĀ so...Ā you know the cultural festival is coming upĀ Ā āĀ i mean,Ā i know you know that, of course you do,Ā but,Ā Ā uh,Ā i mean, whatever, whatever,Ā justĀ āĀ !Ā itās soon,Ā and i think the bandās almost ready,Ā but i want your opinion on my...Ā Ā āĀ a glance is spared to the notebooks she holds,Ā and she lifts them out of her lap to hold them up to him;Ā not yet does she offer them all the way out,Ā but enough a gesture to indicate what she means.Ā Ā
Ā Ā Ā she points to the front cover of the front-most notebook in the stack in her hands,Ā which hasĀ āSHOWTIMEā written a little less than neatly on it.Ā what it lacks in neatness could be made up for with the colorful doodle decorations, though!Ā Ā Ā
Ā Ā Ā āĀ āĀ Ā my,Ā uh,Ā my plans.Ā my class is putting on a music act,Ā and iām leading it.Ā iām teaching kaminari how to play guitar,Ā and i have a notebook for each of them for to study,Ā with what i think theyāll excel at and,Ā you know,Ā tips and stuff!Ā Ā Ā i just donāt know if any of this is useful, you know?Ā then,Ā i have a notebook for the overall plan,Ā and thatās a whole other thingĀ --Ā i just...Ā really could use another pair of eyes on this.Ā āĀ
Ā Ā Ā as her pitch comes to a close, Ā her words get slower and she finds herself looking at him again, Ā and suddenly aware of just how much sheās asking him to look at. Ā thereās no way he has time for this, Ā is there? Ā the man has three jobs Ā āĀ maybe she shouldnāt have come.Ā he doesnāt seem to mind, but...Ā ā i know,Ā itās a lot.Ā itās okay if youāre busy.Ā i just thought of you first becauseĀ ā āĀ because what?Ā iāve been listening to your radio show way past my bedtime since i was like, eight?Ā forget about it.Ā Ā ā because... i mean,Ā obviously,Ā right?Ā Ā āĀ in time with her less than explanatory reason,Ā she gestures toĀ Ā āĀ Ā well,Ā all ofĀ him.Ā