20demayo Page 10
Page 10
The premise is not to cross his bottom line.
"They've completely ruined the internal unity of the brass band."
“There’s no saying that the system can’t function without someone,” Kitahara Hakuba said.
"Oh, sorry~ Well, I must have been talking nonsense." Kuno Tachibana raised his hand and patted his mouth.
Kitahara Hakuba, not bothering to pay attention to her extremely poor acting skills, said:
"The reason for this meeting today, which takes up everyone's lunch break practice time, is to explain a few things. This is something that I cannot do alone; you are the key to whether or not we can achieve this goal."
As Kitahara Hakuba spoke, he walked to the blackboard, his fingers holding a piece of white chalk. As he wrote "personalized development" on the blackboard, tiny specks of chalk floated in his field of vision.
"My teaching philosophy emphasizes the individual development of students. Now that I'm in charge of the wind instrument department, I'd like to make our goals clear to everyone."
He circled the words with chalk, but the chalk broke with a snap.
"Feel sorry."
Kitahara Hakuba crouched down, picked up the broken piece of chalk, placed it directly in his palm, and then neatly wrote a few words—
Hokkaido High School Brass Band League
How much does everyone know about the Hokkaido High School Brass Band League? How many branches does it have?
As soon as Kitahara Hakuba finished speaking, Kuno Tatsuka suddenly raised his slender arm high, startling Kirishima Mai, who was silently listening to the lecture beside him.
"Eleven of us! We are the Hakodate branch!"
“Yes, eleven.” Kitahara Hakuba said casually, then wrote “Hakodate Branch Competition” and put a big checkmark.
"There are only three high schools in the entire Hakodate competition branch that can assemble a full A-class, which is a 55-person wind band. We will likely be number one again this year."
He wasn't bragging, but the entire Hakodate branch has very few schools that can field a full A-level roster, only two or three each year, making their competitiveness pitifully low.
The fact that a school like Shenxu could get first place shows just how worrying the quality of its students is.
After saying that, Kitahara Hakuba crossed his arms, looking quite troubled, and kept twisting the chalk between his fingers.
"It is certainly gratifying that we have consistently ranked first in our branch year after year, but do you all know what achievements we made at the plenary session?"
As soon as the words were spoken, the entire classroom fell into a deathly silence once again.
Kitahara Hakuba raised his left hand to smooth his bangs and let out a soft sigh.
The students' abilities are one thing, but what teachers find most unacceptable is that their students don't have the habit of responding. That's the biggest disaster.
For a teacher, not getting any feedback is no different from being stuck in a swamp.
We're just waiting to die.
The audience was silent; for the first-year students, this had little to do with them.
This question should be answered by second- or third-year students.
Sakurako's gaze wandered around. She looked at the familiar faces of her club members, who, as always, wore silent expressions, revealing no joy or sorrow.
To her, the most terrifying people are those whose emotions are unreadable; they are either deeply scheming or utterly indifferent.
And looking around this place, nine out of ten people have this kind of expression.
"But we're all just minors, how could we possibly be scheming?" This thought remained etched in Yukawa Sakura's mind, refusing to leave.
Sakurako Yukawa secretly glanced at Hakuma Kitahara on the stage, and let out a breath of shame.
In order not to reveal her inner thoughts, she could only remain silent as well.
"It's fine."
Just then, Saito Harutori's warm hand suddenly touched her wrist, and the girl's gentle smile came into view.
"Sakura, you've worked really hard, and everyone is very grateful to you."
“Sunny Bird…” A pool of spring-like color flowed through the violet girl’s eyes.
The sweet scent emanating from Saito Haruka, and the glimpses of her fair legs beneath her skirt, caused Yukawa Sakurako to break out in a cold sweat.
Chapter 11.11. If I wanted it, I would give it to you without hesitation.
The ratio of men to women in the wind band is one to nine. For the girls in the band, the objects of their admiration and affection are usually other girls.
Sakurako Yukawa didn't know how she was perceived by the club members, but she knew that Haruko Saito and Tsukiyo Nagase, who had already left the club, were the most admired by the girls in the club.
Even she herself could not resist this sweet curse that felt like a real blessing.
On her first day of school, feeling lost, she noticed Saito Haruka and Nagase Tsukiyo. The two of them were so pure and beautiful that it was hard to look directly at them.
In particular, the overly gentle Saito Haruko, with her deep brown almond eyes, full lips, and slightly wavy brown hair, all captivated Yukawa Sakurako.
She still vividly remembers that spring day on campus, smelling the rosemary-like scent on Saito Harutori, with birds in flight and cherry blossoms mingling in the rustling of leaves swaying in the wind.
"If you feel lost, why not join the brass band with us?"
Now, if Haruno says she wants this ministerial position, I'd probably hand it over to her without hesitation.
Just as the Violet Flower Girl was immersed in the past, a warm current flowing through her heart, a sharp voice pierced her most vulnerable spot like a needle, making even her scalp tingle with shock.
"All bronze prizes!"
Everyone looked on in surprise. The petite Kuno Tatsuka was raising his hands to his mouth like a megaphone, just like a naughty child.
Kitahara Hakuba's gaze fell directly on her conspicuous bag.
She didn't say it right away, wanting to see how these seniors bowed their heads in "repentance," and only spoke up after secretly feeling a bit smug.
Some of the senior members looked at each other, but couldn't say a word, and could only laugh helplessly.
Kitahara Hakuba simply glanced around at his subordinates; if he were just going to laugh, that would be no problem at all.
The muscles that work together to create a "smile" expression are truly amazing; they can express indifference, sarcasm, shyness, and even extreme helplessness.
Kitahara Hakuba's gaze fell directly on Kuno Tachibana, and only when she noticed the displeasure in his gaze did she reveal a restrained smile.
"Minister Yukawa, what are everyone's goals?" Kitahara Hakuba asked, shifting his gaze.
When suddenly asked the question, Yukawa Sakurako pursed her lips, shyly scratching her braid, and said:
"Our goal this year is to participate in and win an award at the National Conference."
"Isn't this all aimed at Wei Tong?"
Kuno Tachibana swayed from side to side, grinning as he spoke.
"As expected of our seniors, their strong drive to improve is something we newcomers really need to learn from."
As soon as she said those words, many gazes were cast at her, a mixture of gloom, amusement, bitterness, and envy.
"Kuno." Kitahara Hakuba's gaze turned cold, and he raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to shut up.
Even if she disappeared right after leaving school, Kitahara Hakuba wouldn't be surprised.
Kuno Tachibana pursed his lips.
A thin layer of sweat appeared on Kirishima Mai's palms. Because they were so close, even she herself began to feel ashamed.
This person is so active that it's no exaggeration to call him violent. He's as violent as a giant whale that can capsize a whole bunch of small fish just by leaping out of the water and landing.
Kirishima Mayi spat, feeling like she was one of those little fish.
"OK OK."
Kitahara Hakuba clapped his hands, tilted his head in feigned helplessness, and smiled wryly for a moment before saying:
"This is too much of a headache. I graduated from Sapporo University. If I don't achieve something, it will really solidify the value of Sapporo University's music education major."
"puff--"
Several girls with a low threshold for laughter burst out laughing, and as laughter is contagious, dozens of people chuckled intermittently.
Kitahara Hakuba twirled a piece of chalk on the lectern, smiling as he said:
"I want to know everyone's true thoughts, but I only have one true thought."
After he finished speaking, he wrote a few words on the blackboard in a flowing style—
"National Convention".
Soon, the music classroom was like oil gradually reaching its boiling point, with whispers among the students appearing like tiny bubbles.
"Teacher, isn't this putting too much pressure on everyone?"
Saito Harutori explained with a furrowed brow,
"This is a huge leap; it's easier said than done, and everyone is already quite tired from their studies..."
Upon hearing Haruno speak, Yukawa Sakurako blurted out her words almost without thinking:
"Yes, given the club's current capabilities, we really shouldn't be considering this,"
“I know the gap is huge, because from the ‘All-Road Conference’ to the ‘National Conference’, the quota for the high school A group is only given to two schools.”
Kitahara Hakuba raised two thumbs, then, to everyone's astonishment, broke off his middle finger.
"The strongest A-class brass school in Hokkaido is Tokai High School in Sapporo. They have won the national gold medal for many consecutive years. Except for the three-out system, they have basically monopolized one spot for Hokkaido to enter the national competition. They are very strong."
"Even so...won't it be even more difficult?" Saito Harutori pursed her lips.
She could somewhat understand why this graduate wanted to achieve results immediately, but setting goals without considering everyone's situation was, to put it nicely, an act of ambition, and a belief that the members had great potential.
To put it bluntly, he doesn't respect anyone and has completely gone mad.
“But there’s still one, isn’t there?” Kitahara Hakuba smiled and bent his index finger. “My goal is to take that spot.”
He felt that the gesture was both strange and familiar, but he couldn't remember it.
Upon hearing this, Saito Harutori tilted her head slightly and gave a troubled yet sweet smile, saying:
"Teacher Kitahara, this seems a bit awkward... especially since Nagase-san isn't here..."
"Indeed, if Nagase were here..."
"I raise my hand in agreement. It would be a waste of my life not to play wind instruments at the national competition."
Just like he was going against the "leaders," Kuno Tachibana raised his hand in a very cooperative manner, which made Kitahara Hakuba start to like this eye-catching bag.
He finally understood why some leaders needed mouth doubles—because it was really enjoyable.
Saito Haruka's eyes twitched, and she grabbed the hem of her brown uniform skirt, creating deep wrinkles.