Part 6 – One Step at a Time
Daigo picked up a piece of chalk.
With a few strokes, he wrote across the board.
45 + 37 - 18 = ?
He stepped aside.
"...Amaya."
Amaya stood and walked to the front.
She quietly read the question to herself.
"...Forty-five plus thirty-seven is eighty-two."
"...Eighty-two minus eighteen..."
"...Sixty-four."
She wrote the final answer beneath the question.
Daigo nodded.
"Correct."
He erased the board.
He wrote another question.
Find 25% of 80.
"...Haruki."
Haruki walked up.
"...Twenty-five percent..."
He frowned.
"...That's twenty-five."
He wrote 25.
Daigo smiled.
"Twenty-five percent means twenty-five out of every hundred."
He drew a quick fraction.
25/100 = 1/4
"So we're finding one-fourth of eighty."
Haruki's eyes lit up.
"...Twenty."
He corrected it himself.
"Good."
Daigo erased the board again.
This time he wrote:
A rectangle has a length of 12 cm and a width of 8 cm. Find its area and perimeter.
"...Ayame."
Ayame calmly solved it.
"Correct."
He erased it.
Next question.
A shopkeeper buys 6 apples for 24 yen. How much does one apple cost?
"...Kaito."
Kaito walked up confidently.
"...Twenty-four divided by six..."
He wrote
5
The class laughed.
Kaito looked at the board.
"...Wait."
"...Four."
Daigo chuckled.
"Correct."
Then another question.
3/4 + 1/8
"...Misaki."
She carefully worked through it, made one mistake, caught it herself, and finished with 7/8.
Eventually...
Daigo erased the board one final time.
The chalk softly scraped against the blackboard.
He wrote:
68 − 29 = ?
A simple question.
One Haruto had solved dozens of times before.
Daigo set the chalk down.
"...Haruto."
The classroom gradually fell silent.
Haruto's shoulders stiffened.
"...Y-Yes..."
He slowly stood.
Every step toward the front of the room felt heavier than the last.
He accepted the chalk with both hands.
For several moments...
He simply stared at the question.
"Sixty-eight minus twenty-nine..."
He knew it.
He knew exactly how to do it.
But...
The silence behind him only grew louder.
He could feel everyone's eyes on his back.
His fingers tightened around the chalk.
He slowly wrote:
68 − 29
Then stopped.
His breathing became uneven.
The numbers in front of him slowly began to blur.
"...Haruto."
Daigo's calm voice broke the silence.
"There is no hurry."
Haruto swallowed.
"...S-Sorry..."
He took a slow breath.
Just as Ayame had taught him years ago.
One step at a time.
He quietly whispered to himself.
"...Sixty-eight minus twenty..."
"...Forty-eight..."
"...Then..."
"...Minus nine..."
He counted silently on his fingers hidden behind the board.
A few students noticed...
But no one laughed.
After another moment...
Haruto slowly wrote beneath the question.
39
He hesitated.
Then looked toward Daigo.
The classroom remained quiet.
Daigo glanced at the answer.
A warm smile appeared on his face.
"...Correct."
Haruto blinked.
"...R-Really?"
Daigo nodded.
"You knew the answer."
"You simply needed to believe yourself."
A small smile slowly appeared on Haruto's face.
"...Yes, Sensei."
He carefully placed the chalk back onto the tray.
As he returned to his seat...
Kaito gave him a small thumbs-up beneath the desk where only Haruto could see it.
Haruto smiled shyly.
For the first time...
Walking back from the blackboard didn't feel quite as frightening.
Haruto quietly returned to his seat.
His heartbeat had finally begun to settle.
Daigo gave him a small nod before picking up the chalk once more.
"We still have a few students left."
With a few quick strokes, another question appeared on the board.
"...Tetsu."
Tetsu stood immediately.
He glanced at the problem, worked through it without hesitation, and wrote the final answer.
"Correct."
Daigo erased the board.
Next came another question.
"...Shin."
Shin adjusted his glasses before walking to the front.
He carefully analyzed the question for a brief moment, wrote each step neatly, and arrived at the correct answer.
"Good."
The chalk erased the board once again.
"...Hina."
Hina quietly made her way forward.
She softly read the question under her breath before solving it without saying another word.
"Correct."
She gave a small nod and returned to her seat.
Daigo wrote another problem.
"...Izumi."
Izumi smiled as she walked up.
"...This one's fun."
She solved it confidently and placed the chalk back on the tray.
"Correct."
A few students smiled at her enthusiasm.
The board was cleaned once more.
"...Raizo."
Raizo confidently strode to the front.
He finished the calculation quickly.
Just before writing the final answer, he paused to check one step.
Satisfied, he wrote the answer.
"Correct."
Daigo nodded approvingly.
One final time...
The chalk glided across the blackboard.
"...Naoko."
Naoko calmly approached.
Her handwriting remained as neat as ever.
She solved the question step by step, making sure each calculation was properly aligned.
When she finished, she stepped aside.
Daigo looked over the solution.
"...Excellent."
Naoko smiled politely before returning to her seat.
Daigo dusted the chalk from his hands.
"Good."
"I'm glad to see most of you remembered yesterday's lesson."
He looked around the classroom.
"Those of you who made mistakes..."
"Don't be discouraged."
"Mistakes are part of learning."
A few students, including Haruki, Sanae, Kaito, Daichi, and Misaki, smiled sheepishly.
Daigo chuckled softly.
"Now..."
"Let's continue today's lesson."