Prompt 3: We're all about cliques, yo! - Team AU (cont)
Every day in June, Ohno checked his mailbox. If he was in the city, he called his parents to ask if he had any mail. When he was in Ikeda, he thought of assaulting the postman but instead waited patiently and bowed in thanks.
Nothing came.
July rolled around, and Ohno started phoning Sho, who never seemed to be home. Ohno had refrained from calling him the previous month, but the delay was worrying. Of all the five, Sho was the least likely to send out the mail late. Ohno hoped the letters weren’t lost in the last leg of transit.
Nino arrived in Ikeda with the entire Ninomiya clan on the third Monday. “They wanted to check out Grandpa’s girlfriend,” he had moaned to Ohno when they met at the convenience store. “I told him not to tell my mother!” Ohno replied with a sympathetic hug.
To escape from the madness of his grandfather’s now-overcrowded farmland, Nino elected to stay with Ohno for the rest of summer vacation. Aiba arrived three days after Nino, alone this time; Jun and his father a week later. The other three were shocked at Jun’s new height; he was as tall as Nino now, though still round around the edges.
Ohno updated them on the situation with Sho. Days passed; they waited. Sho didn’t come.
*
They bid Jun’s father goodbye in the first week of August; Jun was to stay an extra ten days. All of them were antsy. They felt guilty for feeling like Sho had forgotten them, or worse, was trying to avoid them; but it certainly looked like that because there was always some sensible excuse for him not to come to the phone. In any case, Sho hadn’t promised that he would be back. But, Ohno remembered, he had promised to forward their letters.
Nino suggested they focus their efforts on something else. Sho would contact them of his own accord when he was ready. They decided to continue renovating their bus. Jun wished for an electric fan and Ohno said he could bring one, if someone could wire it up to a battery. Aiba said he would give it a try. Nino volunteered to cover the steering wheel with foil (for a more complete look). After a few days the bus was looking ridiculously upgraded - Ohno had even created a hood ornament - so the boys decided to stop.
It was then that Ohno realised they had been overlooking somebody who could clue them in on Sho’s whereabouts. Chiding himself for not doing so earlier, he herded the boys into his car and drove them to Taniguchi-san’s house.
*
Taniguchi-san served them cups of cold barley tea, his expression grave. He made sure they were all seated around the low table before he blurted: “Sho is in reform school.”
There was a stunned silence.
“You mean, like an institution for wayward kids?” Aiba croaked, disbelieving.
Taniguchi-san nodded.
Ohno’s lips had gone pale, he folded his fingers together as he leant forward. “Is it okay for you to tell us why?”
Taniguchi-san looked at them for a beat. “Amphetamines,” he uttered. “Sho was taking them.”
Nino gaped. “Drugs? Sho was on drugs?”
Ohno recalled that conversation he’d had with Taniguchi-san a year ago in the back of his parents’ store. He felt stupid for not understanding the situation sooner.
“Please don’t think he’s a bad kid,” Taniguchi-san’s voice was gravelly, but they could all hear he was pleading. “He started taking them when he entered high school. His parents put a lot of pressure on him because he’s got an older brother who’s, you know-” Taniguchi-san made a small cowering gesture.
“A bum?” Jun suggested, not saving any tact.
“I was thinking ‘withdrawn’, but I guess you could put it that way. My sister and her husband… They pin a lot of their hopes on Sho,” Taniguchi-san continued darkly. “They’re very strict, and cannot take losing any face. Got him into a prestigious school and everything.”
“Are they really rich or something?” probed Nino.
Taniguchi-san shook his head. “Middle-class. But they feel that they’re respectable people, y’know? They don’t want to be looked down on by others so they’re very hard on their kids. Sho only took the drugs because it helped him stay awake to study, and he got fantastic results, so he kept taking them until he got busted by his mother.”
Aiba struggled to find words. “When he was here… Was he…?”
“No,” Taniguchi-san immediately replied. “You know Sho. He obeys people with authority and seniority, all that. My sister told him he had two choices for rehabilitation: my place, or reform school. They wanted him to undergo some kind punishment for taking those stimulants, learn how to rely on himself, not some drug. They thought my place could offer some hard labour, teach him a thing or two about life.”
“So why is he in the institution?” Jun became impatient.
“He started taking them again.” Taniguchi-san chafed his sun-browned face with his palms, distraught. “He was so stressed. His university entrance exams are in February, and he has to do well enough for a scholarship because his father may get laid off.”
“Sho got caught?” Nino guessed.
“By a teacher.” Taniguchi-san’s heart ached for his favourite nephew. “They expelled him, and he’s in there trying to finish his high school education.”
“How are his parents taking it?” Ohno wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
“Not too well,” Taniguchi-san admitted. “But they are starting to realise that they’d been pushing Sho too hard. He is such a good kid; nobody should have treated him that way.”
“Where is he exactly?” Jun took out a notepad to copy down the address.
“Kyoto Juvenile Training School…”
Aiba grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Do they allow visitors?”
“I’ve gone twice.” Taniguchi-san was astonished to tears. “You boys are such good kids!” He clapped Ohno’s shoulder. “I should have let him meet you sooner.”
Ohno clutched Taniguchi-san’s hand firmly. “What matters is that we did.”
*
Sho was sullen as he waited behind the glass panel for his evening visitor. He wondered if his mother would do what she did the last time: sit there for an hour, unmoving, blinking back tears. Seeing her disappointment was worse than being locked up in a juvenile school.
He froze when Aiba entered.
“Hey,” Aiba gave Sho a shy smile, casting a quick glance to the staid police officer eyeing them from the corner and inclining his head as an afterthought. Hurriedly seating himself on the other side of the glass, Aiba edged towards Sho.
“Are you okay?” Aiba scanned Sho’s pallid face. “Are they treating you well?”
Sho had to twine his fingers together because they were trembling so badly. “Why are you here?” he rasped though he knew his uncle must have told them.
Aiba was hurt by the way Sho said that, but he steeled himself, knowing that he had half the battle won because Sho hadn’t tried to leave the room. “We came to visit you.” Aiba kept up his smile. “Don’t be like this.”
Sho remained silent.
“I won the janken, so I got to come in first. They’re giving each of us five minutes. Apparently you’re very well-behaved,” Aiba grinned bravely. “They say they don’t mind giving you four visitors.”
Sho propped his elbows and hid behind his hands, making a strangled noise. “Why did you guys have to come?”
Aiba’s face crumpled. “Because we love Sho-chan.” Unable to handle the tension, Aiba started to cry. He excused himself and left the room. Guilt gnawed at Sho’s conscience.
*
Nino came sauntering in next and Sho felt relieved that it wasn’t Jun. Sho wouldn’t be able to deal with another crying friend, much less one that looked like a cute little boy.
“It was a mistake letting Aiba come in first,” Nino scraped his chair across the linoleum as he spoke. “Sorry about that.”
Sho couldn’t help but marvel at Nino, who seemed to act like visiting him in a detention centre was the most natural thing in the world.
“Anyway, Sho.” Nino settled his chin at the base of his palm. “How did you get the drugs?”
Sho gawked for a moment before he came up with a mechanical reply. “A boy I met at cram school sold them to me.” Sho shrugged. “It’s not that uncommon. We just want our grades.”
Nino reclined into his seat and crossed his legs. “You don’t need to take amphetamines to get your grades.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re Sho.” Nino leant forward, placing his face close to the portion of the glass where holes were punctured.
“And you’re not an idiot.”
Nino winked and got up to leave, waving to Sho without a backward glance.
*
Jun strode in and made a beeline for the chair. Sho stared at him for awhile before saying, “You’ve grown.”
Jun nodded. “165 cm.” He then scowled. “Where are our letters?”
“Uh, at home. I hope.”
“You’re horrible,” Jun stated flatly.
“Sorry.”
“Did you get them before you came in?” Jun demanded.
Sho squinted in recollection. “I don’t think so.”
Jun blew at his bangs, exasperated. “When are you getting out?”
“November.” Sho figured that Jun was trying to divert his emotions to manage them better. Otherwise it was puberty. Either way, Sho felt comforted that Jun was choosing to meet him like that, because it made things much easier.
Jun took a while to digest this. He looked straight into Sho’s eyes.
“We’ll be waiting for you next summer. Don’t forget.”
Sho swallowed the lump in his throat and rubbed his nose to stop the twinge. He nodded.
*
“I’ve decided to be a teacher,” Ohno announced as soon as he sat down. “I didn’t do very well in Japanese and English. But it doesn’t matter because I’m going to teach art.”
Sho looked confused.
“You asked me how my studies were going, in your letter,” Ohno replied patiently.
“Oh. Right.”
“Are you still going to do Business?”
If it weren’t Ohno, Sho would have felt that this person sitting so nonchalantly on the ‘free’ side of the glass was mocking him. But it was Ohno, and Sho couldn’t think that of him, ever.
“I may do something like Literature or English.”
“Really? Where?”
“Some small university in Kyoto, maybe. Anywhere that would be willing to give me a scholarship or, at least, a bursary.” Sho gave a bitter laugh. “You?”
“I’m applying to Nara University of Education.” Ohno paused. “If I get in, we’ll be less than an hour apart. I don’t even need to change trains.”
“I’m glad.” Sho smiled, meaning it.
“The rest don’t know yet. I wanted you to be the first.” Ohno balled his hand into a fist, pressing it against the glass. “Let’s work hard together?”
Sho touched his knuckles to the barrier as well, and bit his lip as his eyes filled with tears.
*
September 1, 1990
7:00 AM
In my dorm.
To Aiba-chan.
It’s me again. I’ve sent so much mail to the rest of you this summer that I need to remember this one is special.
Thank you for sending me the schedule, although you could have told me earlier that I was going to be the first to start this year’s Tag.
I know I have said this in all the letters the five of us have written over the summer, but since this is officially the second cycle of our game I would like to say thank you. I’m very sorry for causing all of you so much mental turmoil and heartache, and I am sorry for making you cry the first time you came.
And to all of you. I am very sorry for not confiding my problems. If you do not find me a nuisance, please let me bother you with my troubles whenever they arise. Thank you very much.
Now, apologies aside. I am doing well here, especially in my studies. The other boys even come to me for tutoring. I think I may just major in Business after all, and open a cram school.
I’m kidding. It’d be bad if people start selling amphetamines there.
My parents and I had a long talk the other day, in the counsellor’s office. They are not going to interfere in my studies from now on. But I shall do my best to get into university. Not so much for them as for myself. My brother has also started undergoing therapy for his reclusion, and my father has found a new job. It looks like things are starting to get better.
How are you doing? Is your brother still insufferable? And my uncle told me your grandmother revealed something about you having a girlfriend, what is that about?
I shall wait for your reply. I will be home November 6, do not send the next batch of mail here.
From Sakurai Sho.
PS. The other day a new kid arrived in my dorm. He looks very much like King Kong. He was about to hit me but I stopped his fist with my palm. I guess those arm muscles that I have developed are not air muscles after all, eh, Nino?
*
October 12, 1990
11:21 PM
In the living room
Nino!
I’ve gotten the photos developed, and there’s a set for everybody. Please take one and forward the rest. I know how stingy you are, so there are some stamps here as well. Buy the envelope yourself!
I’ve told you over the phone, but seeing that Sho has been writing an abridged version of the news, I need to repeat this in writing for the benefit of the rest. My mother has been bragging to anybody who knows me that I have a girlfriend. Obviously, she found the need to tell my grandmother, and since my grandmother also likes to brag, she had to tell all the people living in Ikeda who know us that I have a girlfriend. Oh my God I DO NOT. I am being stalked, you guys. This girl is in my Social Studies class this semester and she follows me around. She is crazy.
Back to Nino: I think she suits you though. Her name is Masami. I should hook you guys up, since you’re just an hour away and all.
Yusuke seems to have ended that weird phase of being a horrible person and is now behaving like my brother again. He’s taken up boxing. I’m kind of scared because he’s grown so big.
I dropped out of basketball because second year Math is killing me. It doesn’t help that I’m in the electrical engineering track, so our Math papers are like, set by Einstein or something. Are you coping okay in high school? It’s strange how you and I never seem to talk about school. Anyway, you seemed fine in first semester, so I hope it’s still good.
Okay, I’ve got to go do some revision. There’s a test on circuits tomorrow; I’m kind of glad I wired up that fan in our bus because nothing beats hands-on experience.
Aiba Masaki
PS. Oh-chan, I hope you’re taking good care of our bus!
PPS. Sho is going home soon! YAAAY!
*
November 25, 1990
6:18 AM
On my way to school
Dear Oh-chan ♥
Happy birthday!
Here’s a jacket for you! I hope you like it. Contrary to popular belief, I do buy presents for people. Also, I got a discount on postage because Aiba gave me some stamps. He’s got some photos for us too, please take a set and send the rest to Jun and Sho.
Did Sho call you? I bet he called you first. Oh well, we all have to make choices. I’d have called you first too!
You’re applying to a national university, right? I’ve been reading up on the new system; you have to sit for two exams. Tough. Don’t die!
I’m doing okay in school. I’m glad I listened to Sho-chan and chose the public school instead. My best subject is Japanese. I got full marks on my last test. Congratulate me!
I can’t write much because I’m standing in the train (you probably can tell, my handwriting is usually not this horrible) so I’ll stop here.
Oh by the way, I think I’ve reached the end of my growth spurt. Whatever. That makes two of us ♥ Call you soon! Tell your parents I said hi.
Love,
Kazu
PS. Sho, I will never stop seeing them as air muscles so you can save your story for someone else.
*
December 22, 1990
10:19 AM
At the cash register
To Jun~
I’m back in Ikeda~! Aiba’s sent us photos; I love your expression in the third one!
I’ve just put up a new layer of aluminium foil in the bus. My dad has been deducting the expenses from my pocket money. I haven’t told him where the fan went. Never mind, it’s winter so he won’t notice anyway!
I’ve been preparing for university entrance exams. How are you doing with school? I’m worried for you. Take care, okay? I called you last week but your little brother said you were at your part-time job. Since when do you have a part-time job? Why do you even need a part-time job? Sorry I’m asking so many questions!
This morning I went to the shrine with my mother, and we decided to write a wish each for your mother. I really hope she gets well. You know you can call whenever you want to! You have my grandparents’ number, right? I’m there on weekdays.
Okay I’ve got a customer approaching with aluminium foil! I’ve got to ring it up, so I’ll hear from you soon~ Sorry this was short! I’ll call you tonight!
Satoshi
*
January 24, 1991
9:08 PM
At the hospital
Sho-kun,
Happy birthday! I’m sorry I can’t send you anything more decent than the photos we took with Aiba’s camera. This was supposed to be a birthday present for you, I wonder if the others remember. Remember what you said way back, something about the letters being an evidence of a memory? We figured photos would have the same effect, so we saved a space for you every time we took one. That’s why there’s always an awkward gap between Aiba and I, haha.
Thank you for the phone call. It was nice to hear from you again. I’m fine, really. Study hard for your entrance exams, okay?
My mom says hi. She’s right beside me. She thinks you’re very brave, and wishes for you to get that scholarship. We’re all rooting for you!
I have told my father that I may just not go to university. I don’t know, there doesn’t seem to be any meaning in it. I’d rather go out and work or something. Waiting tables at the family restaurant has exposed me to so much; I realise I really like working.
My aunt has been staying at our place to look after my brother and sister. She’s nice, but kind of neurotic. I don’t know. I miss my mom when my aunt is around, because she’s not my mom. It’s so weird to say this when she’s right here, but I want her back in the house. She hasn’t been home since before Christmas.
I know you have problems of your own at home. You shouldn’t have to listen to my gripes. I glad your dad found a job. Don’t stress out.
Peace,
Jun
PS. Kazu, where’s my birthday present?
PPS. 170 cm! YES!
*
Jun’s mother died that spring.
It was the middle of the first month of school, and Aiba had been petrified as Jun tried to steady his voice over the phone. The doctors had just removed the life support and Jun said he thought they should know. Within the hour Aiba had disseminated the information to the other three, and they all agreed they wanted to go to Gunma.
Sho and Ohno had been accepted to their universities a week before and had nothing on their hands, plus they could drive, so they made their way to Gunma as soon as they heard, even though it was already nine in the evening. Aiba and Nino, however, had to beg their parents to let them skip school the next day. Aiba’s parents knew who Jun was and readily agreed; Nino had a harder time, but Nino was better at throwing a tantrum.
Nino told Aiba to come over to his house in Tokyo, where they scrambled to arrange the logistics, cursed at the unavailability of overnight transport (and affordable transport in general), finally booking a highway bus from Akihabara Station that would take them straight into Maebashi City the next afternoon.
Jun hadn’t known they were coming, and squawked when he opened his front door in the morning to see Ohno, who informed him that Nino and Aiba were arriving at three PM before collapsing from sheer exhaustion on the couch. Sho took the longest to arrive because he lived the furthest. By evening, they were all there, suited in black and holding prayer beads. They could not help commenting on the weight Jun had lost and how good-looking he had become and how tall he had grown (Nino sounded wistful). Jun was able to laugh, and it was then he knew the world wasn’t going to end.
*
Shortly after the funeral, Ohno went to Ikeda to help out with the convenience store at his father’s request, since he had nothing else to do but wait for school to start. For the same reason, Sho went back to his uncle’s farm at around the same time.
Nino wanted to go to Ikeda the moment school let out but his sister, who had been finishing up university in Italy the previous year and hadn’t gone when the entire family had made their visit, foiled his plans by offering to drive him there if he let her come along. Jun’s father, who said that his mother had lived longer than the doctors had expected, had plans to bring all his children on a ‘thanksgiving journey’.
Aiba arrived on July 25th with Yusuke, who wanted to meet their grandmother’s boyfriend. It was still awkward calling Nino’s grandfather that, and Aiba avoided when he could. Their grandmother made sure Yusuke was settled before pulling Aiba into the kitchen.
“Obaa-chan?”
His grandmother let go of his hand and exhaled through her teeth. “Masaki, I’m afraid I need you to close up your bus.”
Aiba raised his eyebrows. “Close up my bus?”
Aiba’s grandmother nodded. “We’ve found a buyer for the land, and the bus will be taken away.”
It took a few seconds for Aiba to understand the gravity of the situation. “You SOLD the land?!”
“Yes. I told the buyer my grandson has some business to finish and he will be done with it this summer.” She looked at him imploringly. “It was never a permanent thing to begin with, right?”
Aiba wanted to cry.
*
Jun and Nino arrived in the first week of August and Aiba broke the news. He apologised to Ohno, who had painstakingly maintained the secret base for two years in the others’ absence. Ohno knew it was nobody’s fault and assured Aiba that it couldn’t be helped.
In his spare time over the past few weeks Sho had varnished the entire bus in preparation of their third summer together and Aiba said sorry to him as well, because his effort was now rendered futile. Sho knew Aiba was the saddest of them all and just returned the sentiment with an arm draped on his shoulder.
They took a farewell photo with the bus, with the help of Yusuke (“It doesn’t matter that he sees the secret base, if it’s going to be demolished,” reasoned Aiba), and started to clear out their things. The fan was detached from the battery box and returned to Ohno’s father’s office. Sho recovered a box of stationery from under the backseats. Jun asked if he could keep the hood ornament Ohno had made. Ohno agreed. Aiba moved the folding chairs and table back to his grandmother’s place. Nino made sure the other four took sips of water, and mopped their brows when necessary.
When the furniture was removed, they started taking down the aluminium foil. There was enough to make some kind of sculpture, Ohno reckoned, and he would keep it for future art projects.
They lined up alongside the length of the vehicle for a final goodbye; the polished red and blue reflected their sombre expressions as the sun set over the meadow.
Nino broke the silence. “It’s just a bus,” he said flippantly, squeezing Aiba’s and Jun’s hands as tight as he could.
It was a nocturnal summer because the younger three had to spend time with their siblings and parents and grandparents, while Sho and Ohno had to work, so they only met in the evenings at each other’s houses, having dinner together and, whenever they were not playing Super Mario, indulging in the telling or retelling of ghost stories (once, Ohno came up with a Japanese adaptation of Puppet Master; Aiba didn’t sleep well for a week).
Their customary end-of-vacation sleepover was relocated to Sho’s home; Nino’s sister claimed that having the boys around would encroach on her privacy, but Nino suspected it was because she had an inappropriate crush on Sho, who was five years her junior and duly informed of the situation. He agreed red-faced that it was better to have the commune on the other side of the valley.
It was then they finally found time to talk - Sho convinced Jun that dropping out of high school was not a good idea, and Aiba advised him to arrange for a transfer if he was unhappy with the system. Jun said he would consider.
The conversation then shifted to Ohno, whose decision to become a teacher still remained shrouded in mystery. He explained that he liked children and art, and it really was that simple. And teachers didn’t get retrenched so easily.
Aiba’s school had an elevator system so he was to be spared the agony of university entrance exams, gaining direct admittance into Chiba Institute of Technology in spring. However, he also had the option to graduate high school and start working, so what should he do? None of them had advice for Aiba on this, though Nino pointed out Aiba was already struggling with Math in high school.
Sho had found solace in fiction when he was in the juvenile training school, immersing himself in works by Murakami and a handful of Western authors; he applied to the Faculty of Letters of three different universities and was accepted into all of them. He chose the one nearest to his home, but hadn’t decided on what he wanted to major in.
Nino shocked everyone with the revelation that he was definitely going overseas for university. He wanted to pursue a degree in film, and Japan wasn’t the place to do it. In any case, Nino was only in his second year of high school; he just thought he should inform them early.
That year, Aiba was the first to leave, but not before he drew up a new schedule for them to send their mail (Nino was to start). Jun’s family had been visiting the rest of Fukui and he was to meet them in the city before they went back to Gunma. Nino and Sho headed home on the same day. As he waved to their departing cars, Ohno was left in a swallowing state of loneliness.
*
September 2, 1991
10:27 PM
Where I am is none of your business
Jun, happy belated birthday! I’ve enclosed a sheet of aluminium foil I nicked from the bus as your birthday present. What’s the skinny on your school situation?
Ninomiya Kazunari
*
October 13, 1991
12:20 PM
Living room
Dear Aiba,
I took your advice and applied for a transfer. It cost a lot of money because I have to start over from first year but because my mother had insurance, my family ended up being able to afford it. I’m starting in spring, with a concentration in - don’t laugh - acting. My father wasn’t very inclined to the idea; I told him there was nothing else I wanted to do.
Right now I’m working full-time at the family restaurant. I have a day off every week, so it’s not too tiring. I like the idea of earning my own keep. It was kind of weird, though, when I served my previous homeroom teacher and his wife and kids, and on a separate occasion, my ex-classmates. But they were friendly. Most of my friends think I’m making the right decision by pursuing what I’m interested in.
My brother and sister (your greatest fans) keep asking me when you are going to take them firefly-catching again. Did you tell them that you like turtles? They want to send you one for your birthday, for some strange reason. I don’t know how that is even possible, but I told them you’re very protective of animals and it might be a bad idea to try.
I’ve got to go cook lunch. Talk to you soon. And next time, please don’t schedule Nino near any of our birthdays (with the exception of Ohno-kun, he seems to get better treatment).
Peace,
Jun
*
November 25, 1991
7:02 PM
Classroom
Oh-chan,
Happy birthday! I made you a fishing lure. Don’t you think it looks like Jun?!
Today we had career guidance counselling, so my teacher met with my parents. When they started talking about university, I almost immediately knew I wasn’t going there. It was so easy to realise, you know? Just like that! I knew I would be free from the bondage of Math. I never want to count again!!! (There’s still my last semester, though. I just need to scrape through.)
It’s so scary how we’re all kind of grown up now. I’m going to be working the next time you see me, and you and Sho are going to be in university! That’s so cool. Nino and Jun are still the babies in high school, haha. Especially Jun, who has to start from first year… But it will be awesome! Can you imagine Jun being an actor? He’d have to have some kind of cool stage name, like ‘Matsujun’ or something! That has a nice ring to it. Jun, are you reading this?
Are you having fun in school? According to the guidance counsellor, university isn’t what we expect it to be. Then again I’ve never expected university to be anything. How about you? Is it what you thought it was? Also, take lots of pictures with the deer in Nara! I want to see.
I’m taking my first driving lesson on my birthday! With any luck, I’d be able to drive Jun and Nino to Ikeda the next time.
Aiba Masaki
*
December 5, 1991
9:30 PM
In the common room, watching TV
To Sho-chan~
Thank you for visiting me last weekend!!! It was such a nice surprise! My roommate says you are very handsome! Hahaha~
I have a class in which all we have to do is fold origami! School is really not what I expected, because I thought university would be a place of studying and hard work, but it’s not all that. I’m surprised in a good way! Next week I will visit an elementary school.
How about you? Are your classes as fun as mine? I hope they are, though I know I wouldn’t appreciate Literature the way you do…
Next time I’ll visit you, all right? Do you want to spend Christmas together? We can do that before we go back to our hometowns for New Year’s. What do you think?
Satoshi
PS. Aiba-chan, you drew eyebrows on the minnow!!! Jun is going to get mad.
*
January 28, 1992
1:20 PM
Mechanics lecture
To Nino.
It’s me.
Thank you for your phone call. I am happy that your sister has found a boyfriend. Give her my best wishes.
School has been enjoyable. I am doing a lot of study on Western postmodern influences on Japanese literature in the past fifty years and it is highly stimulating for my intellect.
We have to take compulsory modules in other non-related fields. I chose Math. I haven’t the faintest idea what I was thinking when I selected it; maybe I was curious as to why Aiba disliked it so much. I wasn’t too bad at Math in high school but this is radically different from whatever I was acquainted with. I think Aiba and I can form some sort of hate club for the subject.
Satoshi and I went to Ikeda during winter break. The area behind Aiba’s grandmother’s house has been boarded up. She asked us to help shovel snow off her roof, and we got to look inside. Our bus is gone.
But like what you said: it’s just a bus.
See you this summer.
From Sakurai Sho.
*
Epilogue
Masaki.com has been added to the conversation.
89 Productions says:
YOU'RE LATE
Masaki.com says:
Hi everyone
Masaki.com says:
Sorry, my daughter wanted me to read her a bedtime story
Ohno-sensei says:
Guess what my wife just found in my drawer
Sakurai Sho, Asahi Shimbun Newsdesk says:
Amphetamines?
MJ says:
HAHAHA
Sakurai Sho, Asahi Shimbun Newsdesk says:
Sorry, that never gets old
MJ says:
What did your wife find in your drawer?
Ohno-sensei says:
A letter Nino sent
Ohno-sensei says:
She read the first two lines and went, "Who is this woman?"
Ohno-sensei says:
haha
89 Productions says:
I'm not giving your children otoshidama anymore
Masaki.com says:
You'd better apologise, Oh-chan
Masaki.com says:
Uncle Nino gives big and you will want that otoshidama for your kids' trust fund
MJ says:
Wouldn’t Nino have signed off with his name?
Ohno-sensei says:
She found the first sheet
89 Productions says:
You misplaced the last page?!
Masaki.com says:
Wait, Nino used TWO sheets of letter paper?
89 Productions says:
I was homesick, all right?
Sakurai Sho, Asahi Shimbun Newsdesk says:
You only wrote me half a page the entire time you were in the US!
MJ says:
Sho, be thankful you got any at all
MJ says:
The moment text messaging was invented he didn’t bother sending me letters anymore
89 Productions says:
Sho’s my brother-in-law. You’re just my friend
MJ says:
Oh, wow. Plan your wedding yourself, then
89 Productions says:
You know, I liked you better when you were 15
Masaki.com says:
Oh-chan, what did Nino write?
Ohno-sensei says:
‘Dear Oh-chan ♥’
Ohno-sensei says:
‘It is freezing in Michigan’
89 Productions says:
Satoshi, you and your family are officially off the guest list
Sakurai Sho, Asahi Shimbun Newsdesk says:
Does anyone remember that the point of this online conversation was to plan Nino’s wedding?
Ohno-sensei says:
‘But I feel warm when I write to you’
Sakurai Sho, Asahi Shimbun Newsdesk says:
Okay, apparently not
Masaki.com says:
Oh my God, Nino wrote that?
Masaki.com says:
No wonder Yumi-san got jealous
89 Productions says:
One less kid to receive an otoshidama from Uncle Nino
Masaki.com says:
HEY
Ohno-sensei says:
‘You make me think of summer, and Sho and Jun and Aiba’
MJ says:
Aww that’s actually quite sweet
Ohno-sensei says:
‘Though mostly I think of you’
MJ says:
…And I take that back
Ohno-sensei says:
That was the first sheet
Masaki.com says:
It was kind of short…
MJ says:
Nino cheats by using a lot of spaces, remember?
Ohno-sensei says:
Now that that’s done
Ohno-sensei says:
What’s the theme of the wedding?
Sakurai Sho, Asahi Shimbun Newsdesk says:
amphetamines
Masaki.com says:
hahahahaha
89 Productions says:
About that…
89 Productions says:
I kind of bought a bus.
Poll Team AU