The parents present and Teacher Ageo, standing on the other side of the podium, all thought that Tsuna, who was introducing himself on stage, was very brave and cute.
When it was the first time for their own or other children to face so many people staring at them, they were either too shy and introduced themselves haltingly, or they simply didn't dare to speak and hid behind their parents.
After Tsuna finished his self-introduction, Teacher Ageo applauded again, and the parents in the seats followed suit. On the first day, Tsuna's clear self-introduction and his entanglement with Shouko left a deep impression on the parents.
After waiting for a while, Yaeko saw that Shouko did not want to let go or speak at all, so she walked up to the podium, took Tsuna's little hand, and led him to an empty seat in the back. The seats in the front were already full.
Tsuna and Shouko sat on a chair together, while Yaeko sat next to Tsuna and began chatting with the parents who had been talking to him.
Tsuna then carefully observed the surrounding environment. The table was a small square yellow desk with cushions on all four sides. There was also a hole under the table for students to place their personal belongings.
The chair was an ordinary small wooden one with a backrest, and the distance between it and the surrounding tables and chairs was about one meter.
The floor and walls were made of white tiles, which looked very easy to get dirty.
There was also a large round clock hanging on the blackboard behind the podium, likely used to track the start and end of classes.
Hearing the sound of the classroom door opening, he looked up and saw Teacher Kamio leading another child and his parents inside.
The same process was followed. Teacher Kamio walked to the stage and introduced the name of the child behind the parent to the others, then asked the child to introduce himself.
The child introduced his name haltingly on the podium, followed by applause.
Tsuna looked up and saw that it was almost time. He lowered his head and said to Shouko, who was still holding him, in a doting tone:
"Shouko, can you let me go? How about I take you to buy snacks after school?"
Shouko looked up at Tsuna, then shook her head, unmoved.
Tsuna noticed that it didn't work and whispered temptingly, "You can buy whatever you want to eat, and I won't make you practice pronunciation tonight, okay?"
"Yeah... yeah!" Shouko was a little hesitant at first, but after hearing the second part, she let go decisively.
Shouko thought to herself, Every time Tsuna teaches me pronunciation and speaking, it's boring and not fun at all. I have to repeat one or two words several times—or even dozens of times—before I can pass. I have to do it again the next day, and if it's not right, we start over.If I don't have to practice tonight, I can have fun with Tsuna all night. Shouko's mouth curled up. She thought it was a sure win.
Seeing that Shouko had let go, Tsuna reached out and patted her head, then turned around and said to Yaeko, who was still chatting, "Aunt Nishimiya, I'm going back to the Sunflower Class first."
Yaeko heard Tsuna, and after telling the parents next to her that they'd talk later, she turned her head toward Tsuna and Shouko, surprised to find that Tsuna had somehow gotten Shouko to let go.
Yaeko asked with concern, "Tsuna, do you know the way to the Sunflower Class?"
Tsuna understood what Yaeko meant in a second and quickly waved his hand to reassure her. "Don't worry, Aunt Nishimiya. You can see the Sunflower Classroom as soon as you go out."
After he finished speaking, he stood up, touched Shouko's head again, and said with a chuckle, "I'm leaving now, Aunt Nishimiya. See you later."
Without waiting for Yaeko to reply, Tsuna walked to the classroom's wooden door, opened it, and left.
Shouko watched Tsuna leave, her eyes wide with reluctance, and leaned closer to Yaeko.Tsuna's departure also successfully caught the attention of some parents.
——————
Tsuna walked to the wooden door of the Sunflower Classroom, took a deep breath, exhaled, then raised his hand, grabbed the door handle, and gently opened it.
He saw Teacher Yoshinaga standing on the podium, introducing the children around her to the adults and children seated below.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the wooden door as it opened. The child next to Teacher Yoshinaga, finally freed from everyone's stares, let out a sigh of relief. Then he turned to look at the door.
When Teacher Yoshinaga turned her head and saw the child at the door, she remembered his name: "Miyamura Tsunayoshi." Tsuna had left a strong impression.
Teacher Yoshinaga smiled, waved to Tsuna, and said, "Tsuna, come and introduce yourself. You're the only one left."
The child beside her hurried to his parents, grabbed their hands, and walked to an empty seat, afraid that Teacher Yoshinaga might ask him to perform a talent show for being late.
Tsuna walked to the podium and first observed the classroom environment. During his scan, he saw his mother taking photos of him with her mobile phone.
It looked the same as the Sakura Class—nothing had changed. He turned and looked at the top of the blackboard. Sure enough, there was a large round clock.
After finishing his observation, he cleared his throat and said naturally, "Hello everyone, my name is Miyamura Tsunayoshi. You can also call me Tsuna. That's the end of my self-introduction."
The first time had felt unfamiliar. The second time felt natural. The embarrassment he experienced in the Sakura Class had completely faded.
Maybe because Shouko wasn't clinging to me this time, he thought.
Teacher Yoshinaga clapped politely, and the parents and children below followed. But Shizuka just smiled and didn't move.
Teacher Yoshinaga asked Tsuna to sit down first, as she still had more to say to the parents.
Tsuna nodded and walked over to Shizuka. She was still recording with her phone as he passed by her.
Standing in the aisle, Tsuna looked at the phone nearly hitting his face and said impatiently, "Shizuka—Mom—that's enough."
Shizuka, still sitting, set her phone down. She pulled Tsuna into her arms, raised her hands, and rubbed his head playfully while gritting her teeth. "You disrespectful child. You call me 'Mom' when you want something, but when it's just talking, it's 'Shizuka,' huh?"
Tsuna was already used to it. But this sudden action startled Teacher Yoshinaga on the podium. Others in the classroom followed her gaze and looked at the mother and son.
Shizuka noticed that Teacher Yoshinaga had paused. Curious, she looked up and found everyone staring at her. Embarrassed, she quickly placed Tsuna back in his seat and gave a light laugh to cover her awkwardness. "Sorry, Teacher Yoshinaga. Please continue," she said.
Teacher Yoshinaga had already guessed their personalities—the little adult-like child and the playful mother. She chuckled and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention back.
She began explaining the basic teaching schedule. The children would nap at school, but parents were required to prepare lunch at home in the morning for their child to bring.
After confirming that everyone understood, she dismissed them for the day.
Today was special—it was the first day of school. Parents could pick up their children at 10:30 in the morning.
Starting tomorrow, children could be dropped off at kindergarten between 8:30 and 9:30. School would end at 3:00 PM.