Blood on the School Tracks: My Overprotective Mom and Secret Boyfriend - A flowerbed torn out by the roots

The back courtyard after school belonged to just the three of them. A small patch of open ground wedged between the school building and the gym. The evening sun poured through the fence, dyeing the packed earth orange. Mizuno Shiori was tilting a watering can. A thin stream of water was drawn down into the base of a small seedling. Her chestnut ponytail swayed softly each time she moved. "Osabe-kun, you've gotten better than last time." Shiori turned around and smiled. "You're the one, Mizuno-san — you plant the seedlings so carefully." Seiichi looked down, embarrassed. The feel of the soil he'd been touching lingered on his fingertips. Damp, a little cold, and yet somehow warm. "You two are getting along nicely." Shigeru, perched on the edge of the flowerbed, said it with a grin. His light brown hair glowed golden in the sunset. The earphones of an old vintage radio hanging from his neck swung against his knees. "W-what is?" Seiichi's face went hot all at once. "You're turning red." "Shigeru-kun, don't tease him." Shiori set down the watering can and put her hands on her hips. But her mouth was smiling. Seiichi was slowly coming to love this time the three of them spent together. (I can't tell Mom.) Something pricked at the back of his chest. (But I can't stop.) For the first time, time spent with others by his own choosing. Talking with Shiori, laughing with Shigeru, digging in the dirt. Just that much felt like a treasure to Seiichi. "Osabe-kun, your smile's gotten more natural lately." Shiori said it peering into his face. Her big eyes looked straight at him. "Huh...?" "Before, it kind of felt like you were forcing yourself to smile. Now you're really smiling." She said that and tilted her head slightly. Something in Seiichi's chest jumped. (Shiori-san was watching me.) He was happy. But at the same time, he was afraid. (A face I can't show Mom.) Seiichi couldn't say anything. He just nodded. "Seiichi." Shigeru's voice suddenly dropped. "What?" "...Nah, never mind." Shigeru stared at Seiichi's face, then looked away. "Don't push yourself too hard." The voice was small and short, dropped so only Seiichi could hear. Seiichi could only nod. The Aobagaoka Middle School PTA meeting was being held in the school's conference room. Parents sat in rows along a long table. The afternoon light through the windows lit the papers on the table white. Osabe Shizuko sat smiling, listening to the parent beside her. "Osabe-san, thank you for the bazaar the other day. Your cookies sold out in no time." "Oh, I'm glad. Seiichi loves those cookies too." Shizuko's voice was soft and gentle. "Speaking of which, your son seems to be having fun after school lately." Another parent said it offhandedly. Shizuko's hand stopped for just an instant. "...Having fun, you say." "Yes. The other day I saw him out in the back courtyard doing something with his friends — a boy and a girl, the three of them. They looked happy." Shizuko smiled brightly. "Oh, is that so. He hadn't said a word about it at home." Her voice was as soft as before. But Shizuko's fingertips curled tight against her knees. (Seiichi, not telling Mama, with friends.) (With a girl, and a boy, the three of them.) Inside Shizuko's head, something began to turn, slowly. Several days later. Shizuko stopped in her tracks on a road near the school. On their way home, Seiichi, Shiori, and Shigeru were walking together. Seiichi was laughing. Shiori was lightly touching Seiichi's arm. Shigeru was slapping Seiichi's shoulder, again and again. The three of them laughing carried on the wind to Shizuko's ears. Shizuko was smiling brightly. But her eyes were not smiling. After school. The three of them were tending the flowerbed in the back courtyard. Shiori was pulling weeds. Shigeru was lightly tilling the soil. Seiichi was watering the seedlings with the can. "Look, look — this seedling's got a new leaf!" Shiori pointed at a small seedling. "It really does. That's amazing." "Don't overwater it and rot the roots." "I know that!" The three of them laughing echoed through the back courtyard. That was when it happened. "Seiichi." A voice. Seiichi's body went rigid, as if bound in place. He turned around. At the entrance to the back courtyard stood Shizuko. A lunchbox in her hands. Smiling brightly. "You forgot your lunch, you know." Shizuko's voice was soft and kind, as always. But Shizuko's eyes were not on Seiichi — they were on the flowerbed, on Shiori, on Shigeru. "M-Mom..." Seiichi's voice trembled. Shizuko slowly approached the three of them. "My, what a lovely flowerbed. Did you make this, Seiichi?" "...Yeah." Seiichi hung his head. Shizuko's gaze turned to Shiori. "You're close with Seiichi, aren't you." Shizuko spoke to Shiori with a cheerful smile. "Yes! Osabe-kun is so kind!" Shiori answered innocently. Shizuko's smile turned, for just an instant, into a noh mask. Only her eyes weren't smiling. Only her mouth was smiling. Shigeru did not miss that change. Shigeru stepped half a pace in front of Seiichi. "Thank you for always being so good to him." Shizuko said that to Shiori, then took Seiichi's hand. "It's about time we headed home." Shizuko's hand was cold. Seiichi could not shake it off. He let his mother lead him out of the back courtyard. He didn't look back. He couldn't look back. That night. The Osabe living room. The TV murmured softly. Seiichi sat on the sofa, fiddling with the cuff of his uniform sleeve on his knees. Shizuko sat down beside him. "Is the flowerbed fun?" Shizuko asked quietly. Seiichi hung his head. "...It's fun." His voice was small and shaking. "I see." Shizuko gently stroked Seiichi's head. "You know, Mama would do anything if it made you smile. But..." Shizuko's hand slowly combed through Seiichi's hair. "When I see you smiling with someone other than Mama, it hurts my heart." Seiichi's body froze. "Mom, I—" He started to speak. "Hey, Seiichi." Shizuko cut him off. "Have you come to hate Mama?" Shizuko's voice was quiet. But that quietness was, if anything, terrifying. Seiichi shook his head. He had no choice but to shake it. "Good." Shizuko said that and stroked his head once more. Seiichi could not say what he truly felt. There was no way he could. His mother's smile pressed down on him, heavy, as if crushing him. The next morning. Seiichi arrived at school earlier than usual. The classroom was still empty. He set down his bag and headed for the back courtyard. (Did I water them too much yesterday?) (Are the seedlings Shiori-san planted okay?) Thinking such things, he stood at the entrance to the back courtyard. And his feet stopped. The flowerbed was in ruins. The soil had been dug up, roots and all. The seedlings Shiori had planted were flung onto the ground, trampled. Small leaves were torn off and scattered across the dirt. Seiichi couldn't breathe. "This is awful..." Shiori's voice came from behind him. He turned. Shiori was standing there. Her face was dead white. "This is awful... why..." Shiori crumpled to her knees in front of the flowerbed. With trembling hands, she picked up the trampled seedlings. "We finally... we finally got them to sprout..." Tears spilled from Shiori's eyes. Seiichi stood frozen. (Who would do this?) He started to speak, then swallowed the words. His mother's smile flashed through his mind. (No way.) (No way Mom would—) Seiichi tried to deny the thought. But he couldn't. "Seiichi." Shigeru stood beside him. Without a word, Shigeru crouched in front of the ravaged flowerbed and silently began smoothing the soil. "Osabe-kun." Shiori lifted her tear-soaked face. "Your mom came to pick you up yesterday... no way, right?" Shiori started to say it. "Shiori, stop." Shigeru cut her off. Shigeru's voice was low and quiet. Shiori bit her lip and hung her head. Shigeru stood up. And gripped Seiichi's shoulder tight. "Seiichi, you didn't do anything wrong." Shigeru's voice reached Seiichi's ears clearly. Seiichi couldn't say anything. (I didn't do anything wrong?) (But maybe Mom did that for my sake.) (Because I made the flowerbed without telling Mom.) (Maybe it's my fault.) The same thoughts spun round and round in Seiichi's head. Behind his mother's smile, Seiichi felt, for the first time, a clear and unmistakable fear. (Mom is smiling.) (Smiling while she destroys what's precious to me.) Seiichi's fingertips trembled. The three of them stood silently for a while before the ravaged flowerbed. The morning sun cast long shadows across the back courtyard. Seiichi's own shadow looked like his mother's, and he closed his eyes.

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Episode 5

Name: Blood on the School Tracks: My Overprotective Mom and Secret Boyfriend
Author: Novelia

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