Chapter 28. [Parents and Children]

“Yeah, yeah! No, no, that was a [I’m going to enter the school!] That’s what you were saying!”

“Aww, I’m dizzy!”

My mom jumps up in surprise and grabs me by the shoulders, shaking me stiffly.

I replied while breaking free from her grasp.

“I know mom is thinking about me. But that’s that and this is that.”

“So, is there something you want to do instead of going to cram school?”

“What do I want to do? It’s .to spend every day watching VTubers, laughing, and throwing comments!”

“Idiot!”

I get smacked on the head.

Terrible. I was only answering because my mom asked.

Huh? I thought my mom had a grander goal in mind.

Idiot, the most important thing is this, of course.

That has not changed and will never change.

And then there’s the second thing. I’d like to do something as a bonus to make my stream more enjoyable.

“I would like to ask one question, does mom want me to enter a cram school, or do you want me to take the entrance exam for junior high school?”

“Of course I want you to take the junior high school entrance exam. That’s why I want you to enter a junior high school.”

“Okay. Then I won’t go to cram school after all.

“Oh, no…”

“But… I can take the junior high school entrance exam.”

I added, “There are some conditions, though.”

My mom looked puzzled.

“Oh, you don’t mind? I thought you didn’t want to take the middle school entrance exam.”

“I’ve never said I didn’t want to take the junior high school entrance exam. I just don’t like that studying for the entrance exams cuts into the time I have to watch the video.”

“Eh. Did you mean that!”

“No, I’m serious.”

“Huh, you stupid girl.”

Ugh, she said stupid!

She just said [I’m not stupid]!

Well.

Why the sudden change of direction? It has to do with my second goal.

Taking the junior high school entrance exam would get me closer to that goal.

If that was the case, why had I been so adamant about it? It was because the risk and return were not worth it.

If I wanted to pass a difficult junior high school entrance exam, I would have to study too much for my academic ability.

It would cut into my viewing time too much. That would be a complete waste of time.

But what if I could pass the entrance exam with minimum study?

What if there is such an ultra-C?

For me, there is such a way.

The first time I learned about it was during a summer course. In that sense, it was a good decision.

However, I was always hesitant to choose this method.

It wasn’t fair, and I didn’t know what would happen afterward.

So I was going to take the stable route and go to a public junior high school.

“Mom, do you want me to take the entrance exam so badly?”

“Of course I do.”

“Are you sure you want me to take it?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure, really, really sure?”

“What, you scared me …… you say it’s okay, right?”

“Hmm, okay. Then there are my terms for applying to middle school.”

I made up my mind and showed her the screen of my smartphone.

There, the website of a junior high school is displayed.

“This is the only school I will take the entrance exam. If I fail, I will not aim for other schools and give up. I will not enter a school and study alone to pass the entrance exam.”

“It’s meaningless to take an entrance exam just for the sake of it.”

“I understand. I will do my best to pass the exam. And I will pay for the …… exam by myself. So please don’t work overtime like this again, mom.”

“What are you talking about? There is no way you can prepare that kind of money for yourself. You didn’t tell me the reason you were going to take the entrance exam without enrolling in the school!”

“No, I didn’t. What? Did you not see that, mom?

“What?”

“Huh, no wonder we’re having such a delicate conversation.”

I operate my smartphone to display the Adsense earnings screen.

Their numbers are lined up there.

“For your information, this is my confirmed earnings for last month. It will take a few more days for the money to be transferred to my account. And here is the estimated earnings for this month.”

“Hmm? Hmm? One, ten, one hundred, ten, ten thousand, ten thousand… Oh! Did you make this much money?

“Yes.”

My mom collapsed on the bed.

“Ha, ha ……”, I hear a dry laugh.

“You earn more than your mother. What was your mother working so hard to earn?”

“No, no, no, mom knew I was getting money to throw around, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah. Was it Superchat? I knew you were making some money. But I thought it was pennies at most. Especially since I’ve been so busy with work lately that I haven’t been able to watch the feeds. I never would have guessed that my daughter making so much money without me knowing.”

It was a big shock.

The mother let out a big, loud sigh.

“What’s your mother doing this for?”

She looked as if she had suddenly grown old, and I felt uneasy.

Shaking my head, I denied my mother’s words.

“It’s just for now. I’m only popular because I’m a ‘real elementary school student’. Next year, that title will be gone, and I won’t be able to make as much money. And the year after that, I will make even less money. In the first place, I don’t know how long I will continue to stream, or how long I will be able to continue to stream.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. So, if mom stops working, I thought we’ll eventually end up on the street. But for now, I will pay for my entrance exams. And as for my earnings, I will only get enough allowance for my needs, and the rest of the money will go into the house.”

“Don’t be silly. That’s the money you earned. Spend it on yourself.”

“But…”

“Also, you can decide whether or not you want to take the entrance exam for junior high school.”

“What? What’s wrong all of a sudden?

“I’m just saying you’re a lot more mature than your mother thought you were. She always thought she had to lay down the rails for you so that you could move forward without making mistakes. So you could move forward without making mistakes. I thought that was a grown-up’s job.”

My raises her gaze to look into the distance.

“But you’ve been on your own for a long time, way ahead of me. You’d already found your path and were starting to move on. I’m sorry I’ve been a nuisance to you, mother.”

I could hear some loneliness in her voice.

I was holding her hand naturally. My mom rolls her eyes.

“Nah. Like I said, I’m still going to take the test. But there are many things I can’t do alone, so will you help me then?”

“Hmmm…yes. Of course, I will! Of course, I will! Because I’m your mother!”

I felt like I was having a heart-to-heart with my mother. Her eyes filled with tears.

She scooped them up with her fingertips and asked, “Speaking of which.” my mom said, “What do you think of that?”

“What kind of school did you show me? I know it’s close to home and has a high deviation score.”

“It’s what you call an advanced school, but they have very loose school rules! I know that most schools for higher education tend to have loose school rules, but this school is very loose! As long as you get good grades, they don’t get mad at you if you watch the video feed during class.”

I was completely off guard. This is what I have to say.

I stood up.

“Well, I just remembered I have something to do, so I think I’ll go home. Well, take care then. Um, mom? So I wonder if you could take your hands off me.”

“I-ro-ha-?”

“Well, um.”

“Show me more details about that school!”

“Heeeeyyyy!

After that, we were scolded by the nurse, saying, “You guys, this is a hospital!? Be quiet! Do you know the word rest?!”

I’m sorry.

＊　　＊　　＊

And so my turbulent summer vacation came to an end.

The new term started, and I went to school for the first time in a while.

But what is it? It’s strangely noisy.

It seems that it is not just because the summer vacation is over.

As I tilted my head, my homeroom teacher, who had arrived late, drew my attention by clearing her throat.

When she quieted down, she opened her mouth and said, “Well,” she said.

“It’s a new term today, and there’s a girl I’d like to introduce to you all. Come in.”

Shiing.

Nothing happened.

The teacher said, “Oh, right.” and opened the classroom door.

There was a female student whom I did not know. She enters the classroom with the teacher’s prompting.

“Guys, she is a fellow student who will study with us today. Can you please introduce yourselves?”

The student nodded and stepped forward.

She gave her name in faltering Japanese and added a few words at the end.

“Ai m comee furoom, Ukraine.”

A breeze blew in through the open window, and her silver hair swayed.

And the 2nd semester of the 6th grade began.