Tonari no Seki no Satou-San chapter 14

I was able to translate one chapter today. Hope you enjoy

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Title: Book report with Satou-san

After four o’clock in the afternoon, there were almost no students left in the school building. Except for the distant sound of the brass band playing from the music room, the school is fairly quiet. I try not to let the sound of my footsteps echo through the air as I head for class C.

In the classroom, of course, was Satou-san. She was seated in the second row from the window, at the back of the room, facing the manuscript paper, with a difficult look on her face. Gently peering through the doorway, she didn’t notice me. She holds a pen in her right hand and holds it up to the paper from time to time, but there is no sign of writing anything down. She stops moving for a few seconds with a difficult look on her face. Then she gives a small shake of her head and slumps her shoulders. It’s still before dark.  The sun’s rays are slowly starting to color in, though the sky was blue outside the window. Satou-san squints dazzlingly and doesn’t even move. She is staring out the window.

After all this time, I hesitated for a moment, but if I didn’t talk to her, there would be no point in staying until now.

“Satou-san.”(Y)

Satou-san’s shoulders jerked as I called out at the same time as I stepped into the classroom. She looked at me and her face was tense, but as soon as she recognized me, her expression changed to one of surprise. She asked, clutching her pen.

“Yamaguchi-kun… what’s wrong?”(S)

“I was just talking to a friend and it’s getting late. And now I’m waiting for the bus.”(Y)

The excuse I had prepared in advance was easy to say.

Well, I’m not lying. I kept my friends from leaving at the elevators and kept them from going along with the nonsense we were talking about earlier. Then I pretended to forget something and sent everyone home first, so I don’t think they’re suspicious. Everyone knows that Satou-san is still there. But since it’s something that happens all the time, they probably won’t pay attention to it. I was the same way until a while ago, so I’m sure of it.

“Is that the book report, Satou-san?”(Y)

I approached her seat with a casual gesture. Satou-san smiled slightly and nodded.

“Yeah. If I don’t finish this, I won’t be able to go home today.”(S)

“How’s it going?”(Y)

I pull a chair from the row to the seat next to her, my  window seat. Then I carefully say.

“We’ve got a bus to catch, if you want to I can take a look at it.”(Y)

Then Satou-san’s eyes widen.

“Huh?”(S)

Then she continued slowly.

“You sure? If you’re good with it Yamaguchi-kun, I’d be very grateful, but…”(S)

“I have more time. There’s only one train every 30 minutes on my line.”(Y)

I emphasized that point. That’s not an excuse. It’s an explanation for her not to be bothered.

“Thank you.”(S)

I felt as if the words of gratitude I heard slowly trembled. Maybe it was my imagination. I didn’t even look at her expression because I looked away from her right away, too.

“It’s because I’m free. Don’t worry about it too much.”(Y)

“Yeah, I know…. but I’m just so happy.”(S)

“So how far did you get?”(Y)

If I let it go, she is going to keep thanking me forever. I’ll put an end to the barren conversation as soon as possible. Trying not to look at Satou-san, I looked at the manuscript paper on her desk. Not a single square inch of the four-hundred character word pad had been marked, leaving it blank and bare.

“Well, I haven’t written anything.”(S)

She didn’t have to explain it to me. This is a tougher opponent than I expected.

“Can’t you write a line?”(Y)

I ask, trying to hold back a sigh. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Satou-san look down.

“Well…. Listen, Yamaguchi-kun. I need to ask you something.”(S)

“What is it?”(Y)

“I’ve been reading this book.”(S)

Then she pulled a book out of her bag.

‘Helen Keller.’A biography of a great man. What an excellent book. A perfect subject for a book report.

“So I was really moved to tears.”(S)

“Did you cry?”(Y)

I couldn’t help but ask her back. Satou-san might actually do that. But for a high school student to be able to cry over a biography is a very precious sensibility, isn’t it? If it were me, I would read it without moving an eyebrow.

“Mm-hm.”(S)

Satou-san nodded shyly. Then she continued with a twinkle in her eye.

“It’s amazing what Helen Keller can do. I thought it was amazing that Helen Keller overcame such a terrible ordeal and survived. I was really impressed with her, and I was also impressed with Dr. Sullivan for supporting her.”(S)

It’s just like her to be moved. I hid, holding back a laugh.

“Well, just write it as it is, then. Blow it up as you see fit. That way, there’s enough room for at least one sheet of paper right?”(Y)

“That’s what I thought at first, too. I was so moved by it that I thought if I wrote what I wanted to, I could write a lot about it. But–”(S)

The edge of the manuscript paper trembled as she took a breath. The pen in her right hand didn’t move.

“When I tried to put it in writing, everything just seemed so crappy.”(S)

“Why”(Y)

“I don’t know if it’s okay for me to be thinking that way.”(S)

“What?”(Y)

I asked back, and soon after, Satou-san clamped her lips together. We remain silent for a little while.

The sunlight shining through the window was even thicker and stronger than before. The shadow extending from underneath Satou-san’s feet was closing in on the desk next to her. The shadow growing from my feet wrapped around Ms. Satou-san’s seat and herself. The classroom, with only two people in it, was quiet. Both Satou-san and I were in our usual positions, in our own seats, but a different atmosphere was enveloping the area.

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