A Book Can't Be Judged By The Cover Chapter 93: Repressed Memory

Once Haji reached Aoi Umi Dormitory, he started asking around where Akamine-sensei was.

"She’s by the dining room with all the other teachers."

Thanking his classmate, Haji headed straight to the dining room. He totally forgot that the teachers were having a brief eting at the mont and that he shouldn’t disturb them. There were no doors by the dining area so by the ti he stepped foot in there, it was already too late. All the teachers had already seen him.

Fortunately, Akamine-sensei was quick to act and she imdiately stood up, excused herself from the other teachers, and then went toward Haji as if everything was pre-planned. On the other hand, Haji saw it as his cue to bow to the teachers and excuse himself. Everything went natural and smoothly and all the teachers even began doubting whether Haji was a delinquent or not. He even spoke in a hushed tone so as to not disturb the eting even though he accidentally interrupted it.

After going out of the dining room area, Akamine-sensei grabbed Haji by the hand without speaking another word. At first, Haji dreaded the thought that Akamine-sensei was infuriated by his thoughtless action but after seeing her expression, he realized that such wasn’t the case at all. Akamine-sensei was composed, and her face softened. "So, what made you interrupt our eting?"

Ah.

Wait.

Haji’s mind short-circuited for a second as soon as Akamine-sense spoke. He was too preoccupied with the current situation that he forgot to co up with a reason as to why he was looking for gumi.

"Um, I need to ask gumi sothing, do you know where their group went?" Haji asked while maintaining a straight face.

In a snap of a finger, Akamine-sensei’s calm expression transitioned into a smirk. She then rummaged through her pockets, grabbed her reading glasses, and wore them. All this ti she kept the sa smirk on her face while tilting her head slightly downwards. "Hoh~ you’re going to ask her sothing, huh... very interesting."

’I’m fairly certain that she’s misunderstanding sothing but this might work so let’s just leave it at that.’ Haji reminded himself, nodding towards Akamine-sensei in the process as if to implicate that what she was thinking was entirely correct.

"She told that their group is going to a nice Parfait Stall by Ueno Park. If you can’t find them there then maybe go to Ayoko?" Akamine-sensei responded, grabbing him by the shoulder before heaving a sigh.

"Sigh~ you’re a hopeless case, aren’t you? Well, do your best. Compared to other students, I’m pretty sure you have a good chance. Break a leg on this one, all right?"

Judging from Akamine-sensei’s reaction, Haji could tell that she was really misunderstanding everything. Still, he just nodded, thanking her before turning around to head straight there. At first, Haji thought that maybe Akamine-sensei would step in and dissuade him from going there without his group but no, Akamine-sensei did the exact opposite, even giving him a cheer from the sidelines.

"Don’t co crying if it fails, all right?"

Haji didn’t need any telling twice because that wasn’t his goal in the first place. After receiving the confirmation from Akamine-sensei and receiving a green light that his group didn’t have to go with him, Haji then headed to Ueno Park which was just a kiloter or so away from Aoi Umi Dormitory.

...

Ueno Park is mostly known for its variety of trees including the cherry trees which are an attraction to see whenever spring cos and viewing is available. There are an estimated eight hundred of these cherry trees which makes Ueno Park a sight to behold whenever cherry blossom season is around. Adding to that, there’s the Shinobazu Pond and shrines. This may be a natural park but there are stalls lined up in so of its pathways, giving tourists and park-goers lots of options when it cos to the food they eat. The queue could get a little bit congested though since Ueno Park is mostly filled with people, especially on an afternoon like this.

Still, Haji believed that it would be fairly easy to notice gumi in the crowd since most people don’t eat while walking— adding to that, Haji had a height advantage so scanning through the park is a ’walk in the park’ for him.

Haji had a considerable amount of experience running away from debt collectors, honing his skill of recognizing anyone even in a crowd. The crowd in Ueno Park may be dense, but it was nothing for Haji.

"How was it, delicious?"

"Co here, let daddy carry you,"

"Mom, I want to go there next!"

"Uwah~! Cotton candy!"

While looking for gumi, Haji could overhear the children in the park, enjoying the sights, the food, and the company of their parents without a care in the world. Even though it was getting rather late in the afternoon and the sweltering heat of the sun was reaching its climax, the children were still as cheerful as ever.

Rolling through the grass, eating cotton candy, and snapping photos with their parents— Haji felt nostalgia all over again as he decelerated, slowing down his pace almost to a halt.

’Now that I think about it... my family... we never went to the park... ’ Haji’s thoughts trailed off as it automatically put the thought of gumi in the back. His mind then began dwelling on the mory of the accident.

.

.

.

Unrecognizable faces, indistinct voices, misinterpreted sounds.

The sll of iron wafting in the air.

The whirring of automobiles, an uneven tire slowly rolling around as if to hypnotize.

The distant lights. Police cars. The sticky reddish liquid flows on the asphalt.

The sight of the overturned truck with its driver slumped on the driver’s seat, blood seed to trickle down his head.

The sight of a masked man... going down the truck and disappearing into the distance while Haji’s family helplessly dangled on their upside-down car.

The truck’s detached tire, rolling slowly to the opposite side of the road as the cloud darkened— an indication of the coming of the rain.

.

"HAAH~!" In the middle of the crowd, Haji grabbed his head and knelt down as a stinging headache suddenly hit him. Simultaneously, a repressed mory resurfaced, causing Haji to rember. Granted it was a traumatic experience and Haji’s mind took the subconscious precaution of locking the mory away. But now, it was unlocked and the key that Haji missed after all these months had finally appeared out of nowhere, triggered by the sound of the joyous children who were prancing about in the park, reminding him of the trip that was supposed to happen but didn’t.

The masked man going down the truck... there was soone else in the accident!