Hello again! It's been so long since I have written. Years before I started this story. All the positive words have been great to hear. Thank you! Dumbrat- You gets the cookie for catching the editing errors. I'm sure you will find a few this time as well. I'm happy you are finding my work informative as well as a decent read. Any questions anyone has about Japan and Japanese culture, if you ask me them I'll try to work their answers into the story. I will be using some Japanese language in off and on, mostly when I don't have an adequate English translation for the word.
6/20/15: Minor revisions, nothing too special!
Most members of the ELT group went to bed early the previous night and slept until the last minute in a desperate attempt to both recover from the jet lag and to adjust their internal clocks to the drastic time difference. A difference of 16 hours will take a few days to adjust to however no matter what but that does not stop the young adults from trying. Having to be awake and back in the conference room by six in the morning does offer some assistance in preventing them from sleeping until mid or late morning.
Mr. Tim Hage waits for the students while sipping on coffee. Though he tried to prepare them, he knows that many of them won't really have much of a clue what they are getting themselves into. His mind wonders a bit as he mentally takes bets on who is going to be calling him soonest, most often and who will break their contracts and return to America first. Heaving a sigh, he begins nibbling a muffin and shifts uncomfortably in his suit. One of the last things to run through his mind before people start trickling in is that maybe he should return to America. Teaching Japanese at home he wouldn't have to wear an uncomfortable suit.
Sara groans and covers her head with the blanket. Cold hands shake her again after yanking the cloth away. Green eyes glare down at the dozing women. Thump. Thump. Thump. Sara screams and dives out of the bed. Three ice cubes rest in her place.
"What. The. Hell?!" her voice high with what she was sure was a righteous rage. Right now, Sara could be snoozing away happy in a warm bed. Her eyes drifted to the clock, planning on using it to determine how much more time she could have been sleeping to use against her friend in her rant. What the clock tells her however, is that it is 5:45 am and she would be lucky to get a shower.
Michelle just waits and watches as the gears in Sara's head turn. Sara is so expressive; one can watch her think and pinpoint that exact moment when something falls into place. Sara suddenly makes a mad dash for the bathroom. The last block had fallen into place and Sara remembered that their apartment currently doesn't have a working shower. Ten minutes later she is out and throwing things in her bag.
They join the group in the conference room at two after six and thus are one of the last to join the group. Mr. Hage passes out train passes and a map to the train station. People exchange phone numbers and chat over coffee and muffins. The train leaves the station at 8 leaving them with a little time to spare. Soon enough pairs and small groups leave. Transportation to the train is not provided.
With the exception of rent, ELT will provide them with nothing further. ELT will step in and provide support and counsel should anyone have unreasonable issues with their assignment or wish to break contract however, the individual would be on the hook for transportation costs to the United States or to a new assignment should they require a change.
The program owns most of the housing so rent is not a concern for program sponsors. The program provided teachers with work and a livable wage as well as getting them to their neighborhood but beyond that, each needs to do for themselves. ELT provides some of the best wages for their teaching staff. However, those who are bad with money or wish for more than they have will end up taking on private English students. Others will chase after culture. Some will hunt for love.
Michelle and Sara thank Mr. Hage for all of his help and are one of the first to leave. Their walk is a short one as the train station is only a mile from the hotel. They take their time with it. They soak up the sights as they move through the mass of people all going about their business. Michelle wonders if maybe this is what it would be like to walk through New York City. They are in the heart of Tokyo.
"I wonder if this is what it feels like to be an ant?" Sara asks randomly as they cross a massive crosswalk with a large group of people. Sidewalks were packed everywhere they looked.
"Donno." Michelle answers dumbly. She was tired. She was cranky and to top it all off, she was having to swim up current through what appears to be enough people to populate the whole of New York City. While all the people seemed to moving as one mass, few interacted with each other. The change from what had been their normal left both Sara and Michelle feeling alone.
Though it is a business day, the traffic leaving this station was massive. The girls are swept with the flow of the people down the stairs and into the subway station. Michelle's Japanese is much better then Sara's and so she leads the way to their platform. They wait with the countless other people. Most everyone looks the same. Few students are around due to most schools being in session at the moment. Dark hair and suits are everywhere.
Its three minutes and five seconds till eight when their train was scheduled to arrive. Michelle starts counting down the seconds under her breath as Sara looks at her confused.
"Five. Four. Three. Two." The train pulls to a stop as she smiles.
"Whoa! How did you know?!" Sara tugs at Michelle's arm and looks at her with large eyes.
"Lucky guess?" Michelle just offers a smile. She had always heard that you could set a watch by a Japanese train, always three minutes early and it appears to be true.
Everyone waits as the cars empty but as soon as the last soul is off, masses of people move onto the train. Michelle and Sara are swept into the car along with everyone around her however they are one of last people on, leaving them standing closer to the doors. In the corner of Michelle's vision she could swear she saw red hair but is distracted as it moves somewhere behind her and the last people cram in. Strangely Michelle and Sara are given extra room, though it is really hard to tell and the girls are still too new to the country to notice.
As the train beings to move the girls are squished together. Michelle's chest smashed into Sara's arm and Sara's slightly pressed against the back of a suit. Halfway through the ride, Michelle feels a man press closer against her back. She thinks nothing of it at first, the train is packed. This man however seems to be standing closer to her then others but it's so hard to tell.
The person must just have needed to shift their body to be more comfortable. Her mind quickly changes as she feels a large hand on her, gently at fist brushing her rear before more firmly gripping her through her jeans. Michelle can feel each of his fingers as they dig into her flesh.
She knows what is expected of her. Just move away the best she can and keep quite. Don't make a scene, don't draw attention to yourself. She however, is still new and hasn't had time to adjust and adopt such a meek attitude. The situation forces her to pretend and swallow the instinct screaming through her to yell, slap and push this disgusting man away from her.
She squirms as she tries to turn and request the person not grope her but is unsuccessful. She can only see the man when her neck was twisted as far as she could and not for long. From what she could see, he looked like most everyone around her. In one attempt to talk with the man she sees a glimpse of red hair again. Sara is unable to really tell what is going on and mumbles at Michelle to stop squirming.
When Michelle moves to turn again Sara is able to shift enough to allow her to complete part of her turn. As she is battling to turn she is unaware of what is happening behind her. A taller young man with long red hair has seen what is going on. He is disgusted by the man's actions and to be treating a gaijin in such a way. His actions would reflect on the country as a whole in this one young woman's eyes and in the eyes of all who she would tell.
Beyond that, the fact that any male would treat a female in such a way causes his mouth to twitch in disgust. He can see that other's nearby see what is going on but pretend not to and fail to act. Part of the problem is the view many have of foreigners. More so the problem is no one wanting to be the first to stand out.
The red haired man shifts and shuffles bringing himself closer to the man who in all reality was almost right next to him the whole time while mentally cursing the volume of people in the car. People shift to allow him through and are no doubt annoyed. He offers murmured apologies as he goes. As the girl turns to face forward again he reaches out and grabs the man's hand and removes it from her while he moves in front of the disgusting little man who takes the hint and shuffles back.
Michelle is able to turn just as she feels a shuffling behind her. Sara manages to stumble a bit with all of Michelle's squirming and pushes Michelle into the man, hard. He stands firm, only letting out a bit of a breath as her shoulder hits him in the chest. She looks up at him, her green eyes meeting their match. A Japanese man with red hair and green eyes looks down at her. How strange.
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Gomenasai" Michelle mumbles, bowing her head to him quickly as a slight blush at the situation creeps up on her cheeks.
"Dou Itashimashite" he answers quietly in a silky voice, surprised to hear how well the girl who is clearly gaijin by her own peachy pale skin and red hair speaks the Japanese language.
"Everything okay?" Sara asks just a little too loudly in English, unable to see what is going on with her friend. The burnet was annoyed and yet concerned over Michelle's wiggling and squirming.
"Yeah, fine." Michelle answers in a much softer voice noticing the looks Sara received for her louder voice.
The rest of the ride passed quickly. Michelle kept her eyes forward studying the shoulder of the man's shirt that hovered just two inches from her face. Containing her curiosity of the man she was pressed into was a challenge. She knew however examining him or questioning him was not appropriate at that moment. He looked Japanese enough however his skin and a pale milky color to it and his hair was a red that was tinged with pink yet looked natural enough judging from his eyebrows.
Michelle had seen people wear wigs and dye their hair colors such as his however; they never seemed to look natural. The color never seemed to belong on them. The soft red of his hair looked to be a part of him and as natural as the sub. It was mind boggling. Michelle took the time to be jealous over the volume she could see in his hair. Her own hair was lacking a bit in the natural volume department and with time and hair products, would appear thick and lush if she wished it. When she was lazy, the subtle wave in her locks did a good enough job.
Soon enough the train stops gently and the doors open. Michelle wasn't paying enough attention and was jerked forward, into the man's chest before bouncing back. His hands steady her and before she can thank him again she and Sara are swept out of the car by the flow of people. In the process she loses sight of the red haired man who rescued her.
"What was the squirm fest about?" Sara questioned as they climbed the stairs into the light of day. The girls followed their map and hoped that Mr. Hage was reliable in his directions. As they moved away from the station people spread out and dispersed. They had much more breathing room then in Central Tokyo.
"I got groped." Michelle stated plain as day. Sara's eyes got large and she nearly dropped the handles to her bags. How the women managed to drag the three large bags Michelle had no idea. Michelle did help her though, and was dragging Sara's purple carry-on bag in addition to her own large bag.
"I thought that was only in anime?!" Her voice rose in volume and pitch, drawing eyes to her. "Do we need to go to the police?! Let's find a cop!" Michelle sighed. "Where do we find cops here?" Their conversation was in English so at least those around them don't know what they are talking about.
"No. Shut up." Michelle ordered, though her voice wasn't what drew the attention to them. "Nothing can be done. It is fine. It's just how things are. I'm sure it won't happen all the time" Michelle finished as they turned at an intersection.
"Are you sure?" Sara asked softly and at Michelle's nod, the topic was dropped. Talking about sexual harassment in such a dismissing manner made Sara feel slightly sick.
Their talk drifted to how they liked the feel of the neighborhood and how the area had a good amount of small local commercial businesses but little industry and only some taller office buildings. Their area was more of a residential catering to families and their needs. Many of the adults living here no doubt commute to work.
After twenty minutes they came to a building with a matching address. It was three stories tall and each floor had ten units lined up with stairs on each end of the building. The girls walked along each floor as they look for their unit, 4C. They found their unit on the top floor. Theirs was not an end unit so they will have to be aware of being too loud on both sides of their new home.
Michelle takes a deep breath as she puts the key in the lock and turns. She makes eye contact with Sara and together they count down from three, swinging open the door on one.
I think this is a good spot to stop, a girl does have to sleep you know? Let me know if you find any errors, my keyboard has been acting up but I think I may have caught all of it. I know most everyone knows "gomenasai" as 'I'm sorry' but it is more of a cross between that and 'excuse me'. Most everyone also knows "arigatou" but in that situation it is proper to add "Gozaimasu" though it doesn't change the meaning at all really- Just gives the respect that is due to a stranger.
I used "dou itashimashite" because it gets no love! It just means 'you're welcome'. I'm putting translations at the end to give the feeling of not understanding what is being said- as Sara will run into often. Nothing important will be in Japanese, I promise.
Last side note: I got my butt groped on my third train trip in Japan and was lucky enough to have the room to move away from the man. But it really does happen and some trains do have 'women only' cars however it is not an enforceable rule. Oh and I can't promise that I'll write at this pace all the time so no promise on a chapter a day continuing.
6/27/15: Just finished revising this chapter, no big changes had been made. If you happen to be traveling to Japan, check out the reviews for this chapter for a nice tip if you ever get groped on a train. It's something I wish I knew and I'm sure many others who have been in that situation would agree.