I Was Supposed to Be Giving Love Advice on the School Radio, but Before I Knew It, the Beautiful Girls at School Were Hitting on Me
It was lunchtime in the broadcasting room. Summer vacation had ended, and I felt like a lot had happened, but it hadn’t even been a week yet. In the midst of all that, I was standing alone in the scorching hot broadcasting room.
“Pa ! Pe ! Pi ! Pu ! Pe ! Po ! Pa ! Po !”
I had finished my vocal exercises, but it was the first day back after summer vacation. It had been a while since I had done any broadcasting, so I decided to practice the parts I was unsure about one more time. While checking the tone of my voice, a heavy creaking sound echoed as the thick door opened.
“Long time no see.”
The one who entered with a lighthearted sound was Mashiro sensei, the history teacher who adores chocolate and sandwich bread (nicknamed Mashiron).
She entered with a leisurely stride, swirling her long, slender hands.
“Oh, this room is still as hot as ever even after summer vacation.”
With an expression that seemed to have completely forgotten the complaint she had made earlier, Mashiron opened the package of sandwich bread as usual today.
“Mashiro sensei, is it yakisoba bread again today?”
“Nn? No, no, today it’s a fish sandwich.”
The teacher glanced at me while taking a bite of the bread. Between the large koppe bread rolls made for students was not yakisoba, but thick fried fish.
“That’s unusual. Was it sold out?”
“You don’t get it, Kageyama. The era of yakisoba bread is over.”
Eating the fish sandwich with one hand, the teacher waved his other hand. With an inexplicably angry expression, the teacher began to speak.
“Do you know what EPA is?”
“Ah, isn’t that the stuff in fish oil?”
“Exactly. It’s good for your health, you know? I’m an adult now, so I want to think about the future and live healthily.”
I remember seeing a TV program yesterday about the power of bluefish, where they talked about the diet effects of EPA. But if you’re thinking about health,
“Then maybe you should skip the frying process…”
“Since they’re both oils, maybe there’s a synergistic effect between EPA and canola oil?”
I see, a synergistic effect. By the way, the program said that EPA is sensitive to heat.
But seeing the teacher enjoying a fish sandwich in such a stressful workplace, I felt it would be rude to point that out, so I kept quiet.
As we were talking, my smartphone alarm went off. It was the alarm for the start of the noon radio show.
I sat at my usual seat and turned on the equipment. Since the equipment generates heat, I start it up just before the broadcast begins during the summer.
“So, today’s letter is this…”
I went through the final confirmation of the messages, which had become routine, and let out a small sigh. I felt the heat leaving my body and shifting into broadcast mode, and then the usual jingle began to play.
“Alright, here we go ! It’s the first broadcast after summer break, and I, Kageyama, will be hosting it !
So, well…I won’t say what happened, but it’s over, isn’t it? What kind of summer did you all have?
Well, before summer break, everyone told me all about their various date plans—the beach, fireworks, and so on. How about it? Did you manage to create some summer memories? Personally, I was surprised to see how many people got sunburned.”
While asking the listeners, I recall my own summer. I was surrounded by the opposite sex, but I don’t think all my memories were beautiful. Especially toward the end.
“…Summer memories, huh?”
However, as I reflected on my summer, the teacher muttered quietly.
“They say half of your sunburns happen when you’re a student, so deliberately increasing that amount is nothing but a mistake of youth.”
Despite the detached tone of her words, Mashiron’s voice carried a hint of resentment as she bit into her fish sandwich with a big mouthful. …As usual, is this person here to get hurt?
“Well, summer vacation memories are nice, but we high school students still have a future ahead of us ! Let’s focus on the future…so, let’s read some more letters today !”
“Future…?”
Masiron seemed to glance at me as if to say, “Are you mocking me?” but I didn’t let it bother me.
“Alright, let’s start reading the letters ! First up is a letter from Radio Name Matcha Powder !”
I decided to choose Matcha Powder’s letter as the first letter of the memorable summer vacation.
“Hello, Kageyama san ! I’ll continue to send letters in the second semester ! …Okay, thank you very much~
Now, about the topic of this letter…I have something to consult you about my senior at work again. Recently, I adjusted my shift so that it would overlap with my senior’s, but my senior changed part of their shift due to circumstances.
It’s such a hassle that they changed their schedule even though I went out of my way to adjust mine…fufu.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how bold they were. While I felt a certain warmth toward their earnest and charming way of speaking, I continued reading the letter.
“I tried to adjust my schedule as well, but I was told that it would be a problem if two people were absent, so I failed. …..But I’m not the type to give up here. I want to turn this situation around and do something, but if you have any good ideas, I’d like to hear them…
Well, how should I put it? Matcha Powder, have you changed a bit? I thought you used to be more timid and hesitant, but maybe you’ve let go a bit?”
Or maybe something happened with her senior at work. It’s so heartwarming that she feels this way about me…I’m so jealous.
“Um, so…it’s about how to approach him, right? Yeah…you’re right, Matcha Powder, it’s worrisome that your shifts don’t overlap…”
But I’m a fair person, and I’ll be honest with her.
If you’re going to make use of the shift difference, how about going to the part-time job on the day when only that senior is working?
The roles are reversed, with me as the customer and her as the part-timer…wouldn’t that be exciting?”
Of course, being able to be together all the time is important, but I think it’s also important to use the situation to create some variety. I give her a heartfelt cheer as she keeps trying her best.
“Let’s show that senior, who’s sitting back on their seniority, that you can do it too ! How about taking advantage of that opportunity to fully utilize Matcha Powder’s aggressive nature? … So, Matcha Powder, was that helpful? Let’s move on to the next letter !”
With a prayer for Matcha Powder’s success, I flipped the page. The next letter was also from a regular listener.
“Next up is a message from Radio Name Deltora Forest ! Deltora Forest, thank you for always listening !
Kageyama san, I always enjoy listening to your radio show ! This time, I sent a letter because I wanted to hear your opinion on the cultural festival. When I say ‘cultural festival,’ I’m not talking about lofty topics like how to make it more exciting.
…To be honest, I hadn’t really participated in the cultural festival much until last year. I just thought, ‘Oh, that’s something people who like that kind of thing would do,’ and spent most of my days in the physics lecture room…
Ah, that sounds like something Deltora Forest would say.”
By the way, the physics lecture room is open as a dining area during the cultural festival. However, since there are usually enough outdoor dining spaces, it serves as a resting spot for those who aren’t interested in the cultural festival, like Detora Forest.
“But recently, because I was so uninterested in the cultural festival, someone looked at me with disdain, implying, ‘You should show more interest in school events.’………
This year, I was originally planning to be a hardcore member of the physics lecture room, but that incident made me question my stance a little. So, my question is:
Do you prefer students who are proactive in such events, or is it okay if they’re passive…?”
Hmm, I had a vague feeling from past event-related letters that Deltra was a hardcore member of the physics lecture room…
Somehow, it reminds me of Kitahara. Maybe these two met last year. Well, never mind, let’s focus on this letter for now.
“Um, you’re asking whether I prefer students who are active in the cultural festival or not, right? Since you asked me, I’ll give you my personal opinion.
To be honest, I prefer active people. I can say that with certainty.
…Well, it’s a simple reason why I can say that with certainty. I just like the atmosphere of that festival. It’s simple and embarrassing, but I’m the type of person who is easily influenced, so when I see other people’s enthusiasm, it gets me excited too.
…So, if Deltora Forest really doesn’t like noisy places, or if you’re just avoiding the cultural festival without trying it, I encourage you to participate this time !”
…It made me happy that Deltora Forest, whom I’ve never met and who declared he’d bring a book to the sports festival, said that.
“Alright, let’s move on to the next letter !”
Today is going well, and I’m relieved that I’m off to a good start in the second semester. I flipped the page.
Maitoshi