Chapter 20 Chapter Eighteen

(past) (Summary of work diary) - June 19 Bastard, what happened to our class? ... The students are listless and negative all day long.Moreover, there was a tense atmosphere in the class. Mr. Inagaki has not come to school for the past three days.I couldn't see him even when I went to visit home. I remembered the visit to Akiba's house.Hope all is well. Rumors that someone cheated in the midterm exam have already spread in the school.For a while, everyone suspected that the mastermind of the cheating was Mr. Inagaki who had won the first place in the exam, not the Kubomura gang.I have heard similar rumors from several students in my class, including Takuma Akiba and Hitomi Tsujimura.

The sudden rumor made me unable to believe it.Inagaki is a student with excellent grades and can get good grades without cheating. After school, I asked Kubomura Masayuki, Sato Genji, Noro Kazuo, and Noro Yukio brothers for questioning, but they all denied cheating. "Oh, I have never done such a thing." Kubomura denied it. It sent a chill down my spine to be stared into by his fish-like, emotionless eyes.Although the other party is only a fifteen-year-old boy, if you don't look at his crew cut, his strong physique of nearly 1.8 meters is no different from that of an adult.

I couldn't ask more from Kubomura. When I asked Genji Sato, the second person in the bad group, he was far away from me, but he immediately took the case and asked me how they cheated.The student was not very tall, but had broad shoulders and a solid build.According to my guess, he is the one who is mainly responsible for blatantly doing bad things in this bad group, while Kubomura is the one who secretly controls. The errand runners in this group are the twin Noro brothers. Both of them are big men. In the 100-meter sprint, no one in this school can match them. This pair of elusive brothers seems to be born to engage in espionage activities material.

I still can't distinguish who is the older brother and the male, and who is the younger brother Yukio, and I suspect that sometimes they will secretly switch seats with each other.They suddenly put on a straight face together, and the actions and language when they asked me to show the evidence of cheating were all uniform, as if they had been discussed in advance. In the end, they jointly pointed out that Mr. Inagaki was the culprit of the cheating incident. They said that Inagaki had been cheating frequently since the first year of junior high school, so he was able to maintain the third and fourth grades in the class.

"When he takes the exam, he will hide the reference books and peep!" They insisted that Inagaki had asked for leave for the past few days and did not come to school because the cheating was exposed, so he had to stay at home to avoid the rumors. Inagaki's current situation is very bad, but it would be unfair to him if he didn't ask him to find out the truth.So, I decided to visit his home, hoping to talk to him directly. Both of his parents work in the public office in the town.Both the husband and wife have to go to work, and it is said that they seldom take vacations at home to accompany the children. His mother did not attend the "speaking meeting with the student's mother" held in April, so we have not met so far.

When I went to his house after six o'clock, I was still wondering which of his parents came home from get off work.His home is in a village not far from Aoba Station. It is a two-story wooden house with white curtains drawn on the windows. I rang the doorbell, but no one answered... Is there no one at home?This is troublesome.I wanted to wait, but there wasn't even a cafe or restaurant around here to kill time.Aoba Station itself is a very small station with only one station attendant, and only passengers working in Gaoyan pass here during the morning and evening rush hours. After walking around the village, I went to Inagaki's house again. This time, I happened to see a middle-aged woman in a gray checked suit who looked like his mother, opening the door.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" Hearing a greeting from behind, the middle-aged woman exclaimed in a low voice "ah", then turned around.She wears a pair of red-rimmed glasses and looks very powerful.I said that I was her son's class teacher, and her originally calm face immediately showed a look of doubt. "Did something happen to him, husband?" "He hasn't come to school for three days and hasn't contacted the school. I want to know about the situation." "Ah... the day before yesterday, he said he had a stomachache, so he was asked to rest at home...but yesterday he recovered, and he should go to school."

His mother was puzzled, looked up at the room on the second floor, and called, "Master, are you home?" However, no one answered. "It's so strange, he hasn't come back yet?" His mother looked at me anxiously and asked me to wait at the door first.She entered the house and called "Gongfu", "Gongfu" loudly, which I could hear clearly from outside. Finally, his mother came out: "I'm sorry, the child is not at home, I don't know what to do." "Is that so?..." "Or, you go into the house and wait for him!"

"Okay, then I'll just wait a little longer." I thought this was an excellent opportunity to learn about Inagaki's daily life, so I went inside and waited.I sat upright on the cushion, and his mother hurriedly brought tea and sat down in front of me. "Is your husband a bit strange?" "I think he's a bit listless. In this mid-term exam, he got the first place in his age. I hope he can be even more excited from now on." His mother was taken aback: "What... Teacher, did your husband take the first place in the exam?" "Yeah, don't you know?" I looked at her in surprise.

"Well, that child didn't say anything, so he got the first place in the exam!..." Confusion and surprise intertwined on the mother's face, "Why did he hide such a big thing from us? " "Did he never talk about school at home?" "Well, I never said that the child is always alone in the room, studying or playing with models or something. He has always been a good child who doesn't let his parents worry about it." After chatting for about an hour, I still couldn't understand what kind of person Inagaki is from his mother's words. Just like him at school, he is also a child with a very thin sense of existence at home.

I didn't wait for Inagaki to come home, but his father did.His father's hair is neatly combed into three to seven parts, and he is of medium build. He looks like an honest man. Presumably, his son has some neurotic side, which is inherited from his father.On the business card he handed over, it said "Director, General Affairs Division, Town Hall". "Husband, I heard that my husband won the first place in the mid-term exam!" "Oh, as long as he works hard, he's pretty good!" His father took off his shirt and sat cross-legged on the tatami. "Teacher, my family doesn't care much about the child. Learning depends entirely on his self-consciousness. However, this is also because we both have to go to work and have no time to take care of him." The cheerful father tried his best to invite me to drink some beer and have a good chat, but I left in a hurry on the grounds that I would visit again tomorrow. At that time, I had no idea that I would be in another place the next day, embarrassing with them to meet. Early the next morning, I was woken up by a rushing and loud noise.I pressed the button of the bedside alarm clock, but the sound still didn't stop. "Asshole, it's not the alarm clock, it's the phone." When I picked up the receiver, I glanced at my watch. It was just after six o'clock. I rubbed my eyes, cursed the person who woke me up early in the morning, and answered impatiently. Immediately there was a screaming man's voice from the opposite side: "I am the dean. Something serious happened, come to the school right away!..." All the drowsiness flew away at once, and I will listen to Jane press close to my ear: "Bastard!... What happened?" "You'll know it when you come, it's a big deal!" The dean's vague answer made me even more anxious, and I couldn't help raising my voice. "Please explain clearly, what happened?" "Okay...well, actually..." the dean's voice became softer, "A student in your class committed suicide." "Suicide?..." My mind went blank for an instant, the ground under my feet seemed to be shaking violently, and I immediately slumped on the ground. "Who...is dead?" Although I asked this, I didn't know why, but I already had the answer. "It's Mrs. Inagaki!..." the dean said sternly, "This morning, the handyman found him lying in the flower bed. We'll talk about the specifics later, anyway, hurry up and come here." After hanging up the phone, I froze for a while, then put on my shirt and coat with trembling hands, and rushed out of the room.On my way to the station, I ran into Takakura Chiharu.She also came running, her hair was disheveled, and the hem of her blouse ran out of her skirt.Noticing my gaze, she suddenly came back to her senses, and tucked the hem into her skirt. "Called you too?" "Yes. Although I don't know the specific situation, it is said that a major incident has occurred." When I told her that Inagaki had committed suicide, Takakura Chiharu was dumbfounded and couldn't say a word. When we arrived at Matsui Station, we saw the first train stop at the platform, and we rushed on the train. It's still early, but the school is already very lively.Originally, I thought that there were no people in the surrounding villages, but at this time, a large group of spectators gathered at the school gate. I really don't know where they came from.There were two police cars parked on the campus. The police and the personnel responsible for the on-site identification were working nervously in front of the teaching building. There are police officers at the school gate to check the identities of those entering and leaving, so as to keep those who try to get in and watch the excitement out of the gate.I just said that I am a teacher, and the crowd was in an uproar. There was a figure drawn with white lines on the flower bed, Takakura Chiharu let out a soft cry and lowered her head. "Bastard! He's right there..." "Probably!……" Almost all the teachers in the teacher's room were present. They were whispering in small groups. The grade director Sugimoto raised his head, saw me at a glance, and waved to me. "What happened this time is really a big deal." Sugimoto frowned and said, "This is the most serious incident since the establishment of our school!..." "What's going on with Inagaki?" I asked along the way. Director Sugimoto said: "He was taken to the hospital by ambulance, but his neck was broken, and he died soon." It was Mr. Takezawa, the handyman who was sweeping the floor, who found Mr. Inagaki lying in the flower bed at five o'clock.It was said that Inagaki was out of breath at that time, and Takezawa immediately called an ambulance and called the principal. "Is there any evidence that he committed suicide?" I asked. "The windows on the second floor are open, the windows of Class 3A." "However, based on this alone, it cannot be determined that it is suicide." I argued hard. "If it wasn't suicide, how did he die?" As he spoke, Sugimoto's eyes became sinister, and the next second, he was overwhelmed by fear again. "You don't want to say that he was killed?" Hearing the other party say the word "kill", it was my turn to be frightened. "Bastard, what are you talking about?!... There must be a limit to joking. I mean, could it be an accidental death." I stared at Sugimoto and raised my voice. "Ah, that's right." After Director Sugimoto said this, he fell silent in embarrassment, "I'm very sorry. I said too much." At this time, the teaching director clapped his hands to call everyone's attention and announced that an emergency teacher meeting would be held. The dean, who was flushed with excitement, explained the situation of this incident in the early morning of this morning, and everyone began to discuss the countermeasures for this matter, and finally decided: temporarily suspend classes for one day today, and hold a meeting today and tomorrow. Parent meeting, explain to parents. After the on-site evidence collection, the local police found me, the head teacher, to learn more about the situation, and the place of questioning was in the classroom of Class 3A.The police mainly asked me about the student who had the accident, whether there was anything unusual recently, and whether his speech and behavior showed any intention of committing suicide.The police also seemed more inclined to treat the incident as a suicide rather than an accident.I told the police: Inagaki ranked first in his class in the mid-term exam, but I couldn't think of any reason for his suicide. I don't believe the rumors of him cheating.If you don't believe me, there's no need to tell the police.But it seems that someone has already said that Inagaki is the mastermind of the cheating incident, and has been depressed for the past few days. If this was an accident, why did Inagaki come to school late at night or early in the morning?The theory of falling from a window is hard to believe. In the beginning, the police seemed to have followed the idea of ​​homicide to investigate, but they did not find anyone who had the intention to kill Inagaki or other conclusive evidence, so they quickly gave up the possibility of homicide. (Work Diary Summary) - June 22 Inagaki's farewell ceremony is held today.All the staff of the school, as well as all the students in Year 3 Class A were present. After the funeral, Class 3A temporarily accompanied the class, and the school held an emergency teacher meeting. Two days after Mr. Inagaki's death, the funeral was held at his home.On that day, there was a drizzle that is common in the rainy season, and there were so many guests who came to Inagaki's house to express their condolences that they couldn't fit in the yard, so they had to line up on the street.For the funeral of a junior high school student, there were too many people attending, and the flower circle was arranged in a long row along the fence of his house. I brought all the students in Class 3A—including Masaru Kubomura and his group of course—to the funeral.There is a portrait of Inagaki on the mourning hall. In the black frame, he lowered his head slightly, showing his white teeth, and smiling brightly.This is the carefree smile he never showed when he was in school.A complex emotion suddenly seized my heart: Did he laugh like this in class?I tried my best to remember, but I couldn't remember anything. People in mourning clothes came one after another, one after another.At this time, a group of people in white shirts came in, disrupting the well-ordered team for a while.Boys with crew cuts and girls in sailor suits cut their way through the black crowds and parasols, just as Moses did when he led the Jews out of Egypt. In the sound of chanting, the incense burning ceremony began... Inagaki's parents were sitting in front of the incense burner on the verandah.His mother looked extremely sad, her eyes were red, she put a handkerchief to her nose, like a Red Bull doll, and bowed her head to thank each mourner; Just then, something happened.I led the students to join the incense-burning team. When it was our turn, I finished burning the incense and bowed my head to Inagaki's parents. Suddenly, his mother stood up and yelled with a ferocious face: "You all go back!...Murderer!..." She stood majestically on the porch, pointed at me and said, "Bastard, what are you doing here? ?!...Ah, by the way, you are here to see the excitement! You are happy to see us so sad, aren't you?!..." The surroundings suddenly became quiet, only the monk continued to chant scriptures as if nothing had happened. "Hey, just stop in moderation!..." The husband stood up immediately, and half-dragged and half-carried his wife out. "Let go of me. If I don't say it, who else will!...Hey, I let you go, do you hear me!..." "You have to look at the occasion too, idiot!..." The figures of the husband and wife quickly disappeared behind the black and white tent, but the voice of the wife yelling was still clearly audible. The crowd who came to mourn was in an uproar, and no one knew how to react to this scene. "Get the hell out of here! You are not human!...What face do you have to come here! Murderer...! That child committed suicide because he couldn't bear to be bullied!...That child..." After Inagaki's mother was taken to another room, people present could still clearly hear her scolding.The venue of the farewell ceremony fell into oppressive silence again. There were a few restless students who seemed very nervous. The principal, who couldn't bear it any longer, pushed aside the crowd, came to my side, and whispered something to me. "It's better to go back as soon as possible, the students are too pitiful. Leave the next thing to me and the dean." "I see!……" I asked Takuma Akiba and Hitomi Tsujimura to gather the students together.Except for a few people, most of the students looked indifferent.Everyone quickly lined up and left Inagaki's house. When the Inagaki house was out of sight, a female student suddenly sobbed, and her emotions also affected other female students. The girls were all downcast, and correspondingly, the boys were all expressionless—especially Masayuki Kubomura, Genji Sato, and the Noro brothers who lowered their heads. I couldn't read any emotions from their faces. A funeral procession wearing a mask...Suddenly, it occurred to me that this could be used to describe the present situation. What the hell are these guys thinking? I don't know if Inagaki couldn't bear it anymore, and chose to go to a dead end after staying in this kind of class. On that day, only the third grade was temporarily suspended, and the students were disbanded when they arrived at the school. I was still worried about the funeral, so I returned to Inagaki's house immediately. When I arrived again, the farewell ceremony had just ended. The bereaved family stood in a row in front of the house. Inagaki’s mother was crying loudly, regardless of other people’s eyes. A woman who looked like her younger sister was behind her supporting her.As a representative of the bereaved family, Inagaki's father stood in front of the mourners, stammering his grief over his son's death, and expressing his determination as a parent to thoroughly investigate the cause of his son's suicide. Relevant people in the school, headed by the principal, expressed their condolences to the bereaved family during the wake last night, and today expressed their condolences to Inagaki's father again for the death of Inagaki.Inagaki's father just bowed in return without saying a word; his mother, surrounded by relatives, boarded the car bound for the funeral home, and his father also boarded the hearse. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and all the teachers were silent on the way back.We trudged back to school in our soaked mourning clothes. Everyone gathered in the teacher's room and listened to the principal's arrangements for the aftermath of the incident.Subsequently, an emergency teachers' meeting was held.However, at the meeting, the principal just reiterated that everyone should unite in good faith in the future and not let this kind of tragedy happen again. Until the end of the meeting, no specific countermeasures were discussed, and nothing was mentioned about the core issue of this incident. I strongly felt that the teachers were afraid of something, but I did not take the initiative to raise objections.The problem happened in my class. It is conceivable that once I raise it, they will definitely take this opportunity to criticize me.I was afraid of getting burned, so I kept silent... Ah, how pathetic I am. With a gloomy mood, I came out of the teacher's room and went up to the second floor, and came to the empty classroom of Class 3A.In the middle of the night three days ago, or in the early morning of two days ago, Mr. Inagaki came to this classroom. He obviously didn't go to school that day, so why did he come to the classroom in the middle of the night? If he committed suicide, he should have left a suicide note, but no suicide note was found.No, it cannot be asserted that there is none.The police said that Inagaki was lying in the flower bed, clutching a piece of paper.The content on the paper is incomprehensible, and there is an Amitabha lottery drawn on it (see Figure 1). On this ink-printed Amitabha lottery, if you choose one of zero×△□, it will lead to a certain result in heaven, suicide, hell or safety.On the triangle symbol, a circle was drawn with a pencil. I don’t know if it was drawn by Mr. Inagaki. However, according to the route marked on the map, the triangle finally arrived at "suicide". So, he chose to commit suicide?Is that true? ... From the open window, I looked down at the flower beds below: the ground was a little wet because of the rainy season.Inagaki fell into the flower bed, and the soft ground surface was instantly smashed into a human silhouette.When looking down, I don't feel much, but looking down from the second floor, the scene at that time will be vividly reproduced in my mind. There are many messy footprints near the flower beds. I closed my eyes, then opened them again, and Mrs. Inagaki, who was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, was lying in the flower bed. "Student Inagaki!..." At the same time I called out, the phantom disappeared, I exhaled a breath, turned around and saw the words on the blackboard, and couldn't help shouting in a low voice. "eliminate!……" Although it was wiped off, under the light, I can still see the faintly emerging writing on the blackboard. Could it be that this is also... I felt my heart was suddenly tightened, and the fear spread from the soles of my feet to my whole body.Ah, what's going on!

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