An Unlikely Deal(31)

"Arigato gozaimasu."

I make my way to the office. Yamamoto-san fidgets when she sees me. She won't meet my eyes.

A bad sign. What's the problem now?

"You can go in," Yamamoto-san says.

I murmur my thanks and walk inside. Kouchou-sensei is again seated at her desk, and she offers the same chair. I sit down, feeling a bit of déjà vu. Maybe I'm hallucinating. That wouldn't surprise me. I haven't been sleeping well-thanks to Lucas's sudden reappearance and demands-and I could be dreaming with my eyes wide open …

Her thin hands are on the desk, folded neatly. "It's come to my attention that there is a problem other than the hotel incident."

I stare at her. What crime have I committed? My Facebook account has nothing that could come back to bite me in the butt. I didn't even start one until I left the States, mostly so I could keep in touch with Darcy and Ray. Bennie and I used LINE and Skype to communicate with each other until I joined him in Osaka.

When I don't give her the reaction she was obviously expecting, Kouchou-sensei asks, "Is it true you're cohabiting with a man?" There is a subtle emphasis on cohabiting, as though I've been hosting and participating in orgies or something.

"If you're asking me whether I have a roommate, yes, I do."

"And this roommate …  Is he a man?"

"Yes. He's my best friend. He's been my best friend since I was a small child."

"But he is a man."

I can see where this is going. "Yes."

"And he is not related to you."

"No, but he's like a brother to me. We grew up together."

Her forehead wrinkles. "Yet he is not your brother, correct?"

"Correct."

She stares at me as though surprised at my frank answers. "You must realize how this appears."

"He is homosexual. He looks at me the way you look at Mishima-sensei."

I'd bet my gaijin card that that hateful busybody is behind this. She's probably pissed off over our confrontation and wants to show me who's boss.

"But do you see him the same way?"

My mouth parts. The question is so preposterous it takes me a moment to process. "Like I said, he's my best friend, and he is not at all interested in women that way. How could I possibly see him as a … romantic partner?"

"Men and women cannot be friends."

"Of course they can."




 

 

"Even if that is the case, there is the matter of appearance. Teachers are the moral pillars of society. A young unmarried female teacher cannot cohabit with a young unmarried man who is not related to her."

It's on the tip of my tongue to ask if it's acceptable if the man in question is a young married male adult who isn't related to her, but I swallow my sarcastic comment. That would be pouring gas on the fire.

"This isn't Edo-jidai, Kouchou-sensei," I remind her, referring to the medieval Tokugawa Era when the shoguns ruled the country.

She gives me a bland look. "Very fortunate for you. Foreigners were not allowed in Osaka during that period." She lays her hands on the desk, her spider-leg fingers linking loosely. "Regardless, your female students may look at your behavior and assume that it is acceptable to cohabit in such amoral manner. And your male students may feel that it is natural for them to expect women to cohabit with them. This will not do. I cannot allow it."

"What are you saying?" Is she going to try to put me into some kind of dorm or some-

"I'm afraid I will have to terminate your employment."

My mouth parts, and it takes two attempts before I can gasp, "What?"

"Your contract has a clause that specifically prohibits you from behaving immorally, which you have done." She pauses meaningfully. "Twice."

I feel heat traveling from my chest to my face. Goddamn it. I cannot believe how narrow-minded Kouchou-sensei is being. Mishima-sensei probably egged her on to get me fired. I clench my trembling hands into fists and stiffen my body. I will not show weakness.

"You're going to say I'm guilty without a hearing? Giving me a fair chance to defend myself?" I ask.

She looks at me like I'm slightly slow. "I gave you a chance, and you admitted to everything. I don't know what more you expect. I have been more than fair."

Shit. This is it. I'm not Japanese, I'm not a permanent employee, and I don't get the consideration that a union  ized teacher here might get. The situation galls me.

"We have a substitute teacher to replace you today. I do not expect you to teach." Kouchou-sensei puts a subtle emphasis on "expect," making it clear she will not allow me to have any further contact with the students. "Now. Very sorry to have to say this, but it is required that you will leave."