Ecchan-sensei: POV

"Ugh... Just turning over makes my back hurt..."

Lying on my futon, I tried to grab the plastic bottle beside my pillow to drink some water, but the massive danger signal shooting through my lower back made me groan and abandon the attempt.

My throat was already dry, but since I couldn't go to the bathroom by myself anyway, maybe it was better not to drink anything after all.

...Sigh. When something like this happens, living alone feels so lonely.

Recently, I've heard more women are living together in shared houses with their female friends.

But somehow that feels like admitting defeat, so I still haven't found the courage to go down that path.

"Etsuko is an elite teacher at a co-ed academy. I'm sure you'll marry a wonderful gentleman someday."

When I got the job at the prestigious co-ed Mitsutsuki Academy, my family and friends back home were all delighted and celebrated for me as they sent me off.

But in reality, it's not like I ever became close with any male students, and after being tricked several times by handsome-man bureaus and marriage scammers pretending to be men, my savings are almost gone.

All I've done is get older while lying here on a worn futon spread out in this shabby six-tatami apartment room.

...Am I really going to grow old and still be alone like this?

When your body weakens, your heart weakens too.

Normally I'm so tired from work that I fall asleep right away, so when I actually sit and think like this, I know I'm just drifting into vague anxieties about the future.

But even when I analyze my emotions logically from a detached perspective like that, the loneliness doesn't go away.

...Sigh. If only I had a wonderful husband at times like this...

To escape from painful reality, you either need alcohol or pleasant fantasies.

With that in mind, I start replaying a fantasy scenario I've recently been running over and over in my head.

"Hehehe..."

The subject of my recent fantasies is, of course, the boy in the class I've been assigned to this year.

After all, I've already been to that boy's house twice.

At this point, he's the only one I can use as material.

Alright.

Let's go to the world of dreams.

Ping-pong♪

"Tch!!"

The loathsome sound of the intercom rang, and I clicked my tongue inside the futon.

For a certain reason, I've come to hate the sound of intercoms.

I honestly think intercoms—those devilish devices that rip through the air—should disappear from this world.

Especially now, when I'm suffering from a slipped back.

I can't even get to the entrance.

Therefore, I have perfectly valid justification for ignoring the intercom.

Ping-pong♪

Persistent, aren't they...

Some pushy door-to-door sales person?

There's no way anyone would be home in a cheap apartment where only women live in the middle of a weekday afternoon.

And that facial beauty device that supposedly makes men go crazy for you—something I bought when I first started working—didn't do anything at all.

“Just give up already.”

Muttering that to myself, I pull the blanket over my head.

...

...Phew. Looks like they finally gave up.

"Ecchan-sensei, are you okay?"

"Wah! Tachibana!? O-Ow-ow-ow-ow!"

"Ecchan-sensei, don't force yourself to move! Just stay lying down!"

As I hurriedly tried to sit up on the futon, Tachibana—the male student from the class I teach—gently held my shoulder and eased me back down.

"Huh? Is this a dream?"

"It's not a dream. Here."

Saying that, Tachibana smiles and takes my hand, placing it against his cheek.

...Wow...

A high school boy's skin is so smooth and bouncy like a baby's compared to mine, which has recently started worrying about how makeup sits on it...

"I heard you had a slipped back, so I figured you probably couldn't move. I looked up the address listed in the contact info and came here. The front door wasn't even locked, so I just came in. That's dangerous, you know."

"Well... I doubt anyone would bother robbing a cheap apartment where a woman lives alone."

"Oh, I see. So that's how it works for women living alone."

Tachibana nods as if something suddenly made sense.

Sometimes this boy gets surprised by the strangest things. He's a mysterious kid.

"Here, Ecchan-sensei. I bought a back support brace at the drugstore. Also painkillers, and one of those bottle caps with a straw so you can drink while lying down."

"Th-thank you, Tachibana..."

Honestly, I was surprised by how practical the get-well gifts were.

In this world, boys—who are such rare beings—are usually raised carefully as if wrapped in cotton, and tend to feel a little detached from reality.

Though Tachibana is different from ordinary boys.

He's proactive with the girls in class too, so he's definitely unusual.

"Here, let me wrap the support around your back. Can you lift your waist a little? You can stay lying down."

"W-What!? I can put it on myself."

"You threw your back out, so don't push yourself."

"Ah..."

My protest is gently ignored, and the thin blanket covering me is lifted.

Wait a second—I'm still in my pajamas!?

And not even nice ones—these are the totally sloppy kind!

If possible I'd like to run away and change immediately, but my back refuses to cooperate, so all I can do is lift my waist slightly while Tachibana wraps the support brace around me.

"Alright. With the support holding your back in place, you should be able to move a little now."

"O-ow... Ah, but you're right. I can at least sit up."

Thanks to the tightly wrapped support brace holding my lower back, I manage to sit upright on the futon.

"You should still take it easy and lie down. Do you want to take the painkillers? If you're taking medicine you should eat something first, so I'll make some rice porridge."

With that, Tachibana starts rummaging through the cooking utensils in the kitchen.

A male high school student in his uniform, casually exposing his back while alone in a woman's apartment.

At that moment, I was truly grateful that I had a slipped back.

Because if I hadn't, I might have jumped him from behind.