7.
For the second time since entering the room, there was some memory itching at the back of Miyagi's mind. He felt a strange sense of déjà vu when he surveyed the room and his eyes were met with nothing but the futon, the bear-and-salmon woodcarving, and his three roommates.
Suddenly, he sat straight up.
"That's it!" he gasped.
"What?" Takano asked, his expression pissed off.
"Have any of you ever read 'No exit,' by Jean-Paul Sartre? French existentialist? I read a translation as an undergrad when I studied abroad."
"I vaguely remember reading it in French," Akihiko nodded. "But if there was no gay smut, the story tends to slip through my memory."
"Actually, I think one of the main characters was a lesbian," Miyagi paused to consider. "But that's besides the point." He turned. "Takano? You've read it, right?"
"Was it made into an anime?" he asked in a bored tone.
"No...sheesh! A novelist and an editor-in-chief, and you guys haven't even read the classics? Pathetic!"
"Did you have a point, professor?" Akihiko asked.
"In the story, his vision of hell is these three people locked in a room for all eternity. None of them have eyelids, so they can't blink. The room was just like this one...just, decorated in the Second-Empire French style, but I guess they gave us a futon 'cause we're Japanese...and they had a bronze statue, not that ridiculous woodcarving...who even knows what the hell that's about..."
"And?" Takano asked impatiently. "Was there a point?"
"Umm...I can't remember. All I remember is that it was these two girls and a guy... and they all sit around telling each other about how they died and whatever... I think the guy died in the war?"
Akihiko and Takano shook their heads in disappointment.
"What? That was a semester of heavy partying for me," Miyagi protested. "My final paper was slightly more profound, I promise."
"Useless people will always be useless," Takano growled, tipping his head back in exasperation and staring at the ceiling. "Damn it, if I could only close my eyes!"
xxx
My apologies to anyone still reading for the delay in updating...will finish posting the story this week :D. Things are about to get hellish!