Side Story – Erika Side Story
“Karaoke, just the two of us…”
There were some unexpected interruptions along the way, but was this a date just now, right?
I propped myself up on one elbow on my open notebook and gazed out the window, lost in thought.
It’s been an hour since I sat down at my desk to prepare for class. I haven’t gotten anywhere with my studies.
“‘Erika can do it. “huh…”
I don’t know how many times these words, and his own, have helped me. He doesn’t seem to mind, but he is definitely the reason I am where I am today. Yes, even back then…
I’ve always been a serious person. I always obeyed what my parents and teachers told me to do, and when it came to studies, sports, or anything else, I gave it my all. I behaved like an honors student, so to speak. However, it is not always the case that those who are diligent can achieve results. Just as it was for me.
I was never good at studying since elementary school, but I never thought about it too much. I wasn’t even aware of it. I took my classes seriously and did all my homework, so I thought I was fine. However, this belief was soon shattered in junior high school.
When I took the first test in junior high school, I was ranked at the bottom. It was then that I understood that tests are used to show the status difference between you and the people around you. I thought I was well-prepared for this kind of result, so I started to push myself even harder.
I have to do more, I have to push myself harder.
Then came the next test, and the result was only a little higher than last time.
It wasn’t good enough. This time, I had to do better, better…..
But the next time, and the time after that, there were no results, and sometimes the rankings got worse. At that time, I was under a lot of pressure. Students who knew my earnest attitude expressed their sympathy, saying “You’re so earnest, but…” and “I feel sorry for you,” while my parents were disappointed. I couldn’t take it all in. I felt like I was going to be crushed by all this pressure.
I was about to give up on the whole idea…
Just when I was about to give up, he called out to me.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Perhaps because I looked so serious, he was worried.
“…Don’t worry. It’s no big deal.”
“…You don’t look okay to me.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“But…”
“You’re so persistent!”
As if the emotions I had been suppressing were overflowing, I raised my voice. He was also surprised. Once my emotions overflowed, it was hard to stop them.
“You have no idea! About how I feel! You’re the kind of person who can do anything!”
He is good at most things. I knew there was a lot of effort behind it, but I couldn’t stop myself from saying it.
“I’m working hard too! But… no matter how much I try, I can’t get results… I know, I know I’m not smart enough! But then… What am I supposed to do! No matter how hard I try, I can’t get any reward. What should I do….? I don’t know…”
I don’t care anymore. I let out what I had kept locked up. I can’t stand women who suddenly start crying and saying incomprehensible things. I guess my friend from elementary school hates me too.
And yet, instead of leaving me, he came up to me and put his hand on my back.
I guess he had a lot on his mind. Just cry until you feel better, and then I’ll talk to you after.
I didn’t have a handkerchief, so he offered me a tissue, that was soft and warm.
After crying for a while, I began to calm down and decided to talk about my problems. I told him that I was stumbling in my studies, how hard I was working for it, and that the results were still not good. I felt a little better about what I had been keeping bottled up.
“I see, you’ve been working hard.”
“Yeah, but I’m still stupid…”
“It’s not that you’re stupid, it’s that you’re not doing things right.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Yeah, there are good and bad points, and it’s not just about doing things. There are things that don’t work for you.”
“But I don’t know how to do it.”
“I’ll help you. Don’t worry. Erika can do it.”
He pushed me and said, “You can do it,” and the fire that had almost gone out was lit again. Studying on my own would not make any difference anyway, so I started studying with him, clutching at straws. That was when I started to rethink the method I had been studying.
First of all, time. Instead of doing it all the time, I should take breaks and keep my concentration. Also, get a good night’s sleep. Memories are organized during sleep, so instead of working through the night, wake up early in the morning and start working. I’m going to try to put this advice into practice.
He also taught me how to study. What I found out was that I spend too much time on problems I don’t understand, which makes it inefficient, and that even if I have mastered the basics, I become useless when it comes to application.
If I don’t understand a problem, I either put it off or ask for help if I can’t figure it out on my own. For the applications, I recognized that they all have different patterns, so I changed my way of thinking and tried to solve them.
He also taught me how to solve tests, how to use time, how to get marks and the tendency of each teacher’s questions.
The best part of all was the effect of studying with others. If you study together, you can ask each other about things you don’t understand. You can take in ideas that are different from your own, so you can understand them more smoothly and deeply.
It made me realize how narrow-minded I had been, and how I had never thought of relying on others because I was too prideful, but I did my best.
This time! This time too… I went to the test with mixed feelings of anticipation and anxiety. And the result was…
I was in the top 20. It was a big improvement for me, who had been counting from the bottom until now.
The moment I saw the results, I felt something welling up in the back of my eyes, but I held it in and ran to the person. As soon as I saw him, I told him in words I hadn’t organized yet. He laughed softly and said.
“I told you, right? Erika can do it.”
Seeing his smile, I think.
Ah, I, about this person-
After that, we began to study together and started to teach each other. My grades went higher and higher, and by the end of my sophomore year, I was in the single digits. Because of this, I gained confidence and started to do well not only in my studies but also in my club activities and personal relationships.
After studying with him, I realized once again how great he was. There are many things that he can do to a certain extent, such as analysis, but I think what is most impressive is the way he communicates. The way he communicates, the way he gets close to people, the way he devises ways to get results.
It’s easy and irresponsible to tell someone that they can do something. But he uses the word responsibly.
Since that time, when he tells me that I can do it, I feel like I can do anything…
At the moment, I have a problem. It’s about love, which everyone worries about when they’re an adolescent.
This is the only thing I can’t discuss with him as normal. There is no way I can talk about it in front of a book or a person. I have to do it on my own.
“Erika can do it… Yes, I can do it.”
With determination in my heart, I picked up a pen and finally began to study.
“I’m going to make sure you say you love me, Etsuji-kun.”
Side Story – Erika Side Story
“Karaoke, just the two of us…”
There were some unexpected interruptions along the way, but was this a date just now, right?
I propped myself up on one elbow on my open notebook and gazed out the window, lost in thought.
It’s been an hour since I sat down at my desk to prepare for class. I haven’t gotten anywhere with my studies.
“‘Erika can do it. “huh…”
I don’t know how many times these words, and his own, have helped me. He doesn’t seem to mind, but he is definitely the reason I am where I am today. Yes, even back then…
I’ve always been a serious person. I always obeyed what my parents and teachers told me to do, and when it came to studies, sports, or anything else, I gave it my all. I behaved like an honors student, so to speak. However, it is not always the case that those who are diligent can achieve results. Just as it was for me.
I was never good at studying since elementary school, but I never thought about it too much. I wasn’t even aware of it. I took my classes seriously and did all my homework, so I thought I was fine. However, this belief was soon shattered in junior high school.
When I took the first test in junior high school, I was ranked at the bottom. It was then that I understood that tests are used to show the status difference between you and the people around you. I thought I was well-prepared for this kind of result, so I started to push myself even harder.
I have to do more, I have to push myself harder.
Then came the next test, and the result was only a little higher than last time.
It wasn’t good enough. This time, I had to do better, better…..
But the next time, and the time after that, there were no results, and sometimes the rankings got worse. At that time, I was under a lot of pressure. Students who knew my earnest attitude expressed their sympathy, saying “You’re so earnest, but…” and “I feel sorry for you,” while my parents were disappointed. I couldn’t take it all in. I felt like I was going to be crushed by all this pressure.
I was about to give up on the whole idea…
Just when I was about to give up, he called out to me.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Perhaps because I looked so serious, he was worried.
“…Don’t worry. It’s no big deal.”
“…You don’t look okay to me.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“But…”
“You’re so persistent!”
As if the emotions I had been suppressing were overflowing, I raised my voice. He was also surprised. Once my emotions overflowed, it was hard to stop them.
“You have no idea! About how I feel! You’re the kind of person who can do anything!”
He is good at most things. I knew there was a lot of effort behind it, but I couldn’t stop myself from saying it.
“I’m working hard too! But… no matter how much I try, I can’t get results… I know, I know I’m not smart enough! But then… What am I supposed to do! No matter how hard I try, I can’t get any reward. What should I do….? I don’t know…”
I don’t care anymore. I let out what I had kept locked up. I can’t stand women who suddenly start crying and saying incomprehensible things. I guess my friend from elementary school hates me too.
And yet, instead of leaving me, he came up to me and put his hand on my back.
I guess he had a lot on his mind. Just cry until you feel better, and then I’ll talk to you after.
I didn’t have a handkerchief, so he offered me a tissue, that was soft and warm.
After crying for a while, I began to calm down and decided to talk about my problems. I told him that I was stumbling in my studies, how hard I was working for it, and that the results were still not good. I felt a little better about what I had been keeping bottled up.
“I see, you’ve been working hard.”
“Yeah, but I’m still stupid…”
“It’s not that you’re stupid, it’s that you’re not doing things right.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Yeah, there are good and bad points, and it’s not just about doing things. There are things that don’t work for you.”
“But I don’t know how to do it.”
“I’ll help you. Don’t worry. Erika can do it.”
He pushed me and said, “You can do it,” and the fire that had almost gone out was lit again. Studying on my own would not make any difference anyway, so I started studying with him, clutching at straws. That was when I started to rethink the method I had been studying.
First of all, time. Instead of doing it all the time, I should take breaks and keep my concentration. Also, get a good night’s sleep. Memories are organized during sleep, so instead of working through the night, wake up early in the morning and start working. I’m going to try to put this advice into practice.
He also taught me how to study. What I found out was that I spend too much time on problems I don’t understand, which makes it inefficient, and that even if I have mastered the basics, I become useless when it comes to application.
If I don’t understand a problem, I either put it off or ask for help if I can’t figure it out on my own. For the applications, I recognized that they all have different patterns, so I changed my way of thinking and tried to solve them.
He also taught me how to solve tests, how to use time, how to get marks and the tendency of each teacher’s questions.
The best part of all was the effect of studying with others. If you study together, you can ask each other about things you don’t understand. You can take in ideas that are different from your own, so you can understand them more smoothly and deeply.
It made me realize how narrow-minded I had been, and how I had never thought of relying on others because I was too prideful, but I did my best.
This time! This time too… I went to the test with mixed feelings of anticipation and anxiety. And the result was…
I was in the top 20. It was a big improvement for me, who had been counting from the bottom until now.
The moment I saw the results, I felt something welling up in the back of my eyes, but I held it in and ran to the person. As soon as I saw him, I told him in words I hadn’t organized yet. He laughed softly and said.
“I told you, right? Erika can do it.”
Seeing his smile, I think.
Ah, I, about this person-
After that, we began to study together and started to teach each other. My grades went higher and higher, and by the end of my sophomore year, I was in the single digits. Because of this, I gained confidence and started to do well not only in my studies but also in my club activities and personal relationships.
After studying with him, I realized once again how great he was. There are many things that he can do to a certain extent, such as analysis, but I think what is most impressive is the way he communicates. The way he communicates, the way he gets close to people, the way he devises ways to get results.
It’s easy and irresponsible to tell someone that they can do something. But he uses the word responsibly.
Since that time, when he tells me that I can do it, I feel like I can do anything…
At the moment, I have a problem. It’s about love, which everyone worries about when they’re an adolescent.
This is the only thing I can’t discuss with him as normal. There is no way I can talk about it in front of a book or a person. I have to do it on my own.
“Erika can do it… Yes, I can do it.”
With determination in my heart, I picked up a pen and finally began to study.
“I’m going to make sure you say you love me, Etsuji-kun.”
