Boogiepop Returns VS Imaginator Part 1 Read Online Free Page B

memorize.”
    “Ah. . . b-but. . .” She hesitated. . . but with a clear goal placed in front of her, her eyes shone. Her type had no conscious goals of their own, so they tended to relax if you gave them one. “Will that work?”
    “I'm sure you can do it. Your percentile's been going up,” Asukai replied. He wanted to add, 'that won't save you, though. . . ' but he let the words die in his throat. It was futile.
    “Okay! I'll try it. Sensei, thank you so much!”
    “You're the one who has to do the work.”
    “No, it's because you really know how to help people. Everyone says so! Seems such a shame to waste that kind of talent on a cram school.”
    “Hey, now.”
    “Asukai-sensei, I think you were meant to do something much more important. Yeah, you probably were.”
    “Hmm. . . who knows?”

    “You are capable of it. Nothing will change the truth of that.”

    “I just can't get into it,” the boy said, sullenly.
    “Hmm. . . your first results were pretty good, but they haven't improved at all,” Asukai looked up from the boy's file, and checked the vision at his chest.
    No leaves.
    This type took no pleasure in life. Since his flower and stem were doing pretty well, he was fully capable of better things, but everything he tried dried up around him.
    “I know I gotta do better. . .”
    “Studying bores you, right?” Asukai said bluntly and to the point.
    The boy nodded, wryly. “Basically.”
    “You know why?” Asukai's tone changed, becoming sort of chummy.
    'Nope.”
    “'Cause it's boring. What other reason is there?” he grinned. This was all part of the performance.
    “Well, shit, if you put it that way. . .” the boy said, grinning back. Anyone else would lose their motivation if their teacher talked to them like this, but with this type there was no risk of that.
    “Look, I know it's tedious as hell. And you're expected to do whatever us teachers tell you to do. . . so how's that ever gonna be fun? All we're doing is just following some stupid rulebook anyway.”
    “Ha ha ha!”
    “When you get down to it, passing tests is a matter of understanding the system. You know why I can work part time here, right? It's not like I've got a teaching license or anything.”
    “Well. . . you got experience, right?”
    “Yep. Few years ago, just like you, I was trying to pass these exams. I kept hitting all these brick walls and I was just banging my head trying to figure out an easy way to pass. Now, I make a living passing on all those little tricks I figured out.”
    “Ah ha! I get ya.”
    “See? Studying has some use after all.”
    “Not just for getting into college, you mean?”
    “Exactly. These days, getting into a good college doesn't even mean that much. You only go because you have to go. Still, that's no reason to kill yourself studying. But if you look at it as training. . . I don't know what it is you want to be, but whatever it is, you're gonna have to develop a few tricks -- a few techniques. Think of all this as, like, a simulation. No, think of it like a game. There aren't that many other times in your life where society itself and all of the people around you will just up and support you, but this is one of those times. It gives you the freedom to experiment.”
    Personally, Asukai just thought he was talking crap, but the boy sitting across from him was visibly happier.
    “Never thought of it that way. ..”
    “Yeah, just think of the test itself as just another chance to gather data and experiment.”
    “Right. . .”
    “But in that sense, you've got a little catching up to do. On these results, you'll end up in a second rate school. That'd suck, right? Waste of a good opportunity.”
    This was a little logical sleight of hand, but the boy never noticed.
    People with no leaves feel like they aren't connected to the world around them. No matter what they do, they can never feel peace of mind when they are around other people. To compensate, they pretty much lose