London was as busy as Yasuhara remembered it. People rushed from building to building caught up in their own lives.
Sonder.
He found a seat on the tube, which he soon gave up for a pregnant woman. He only had a few stops to go anyway. London had one of the highest crime rates in the UK. Chances were that there was at least one criminal in this carriage.
But who was it?
The man that looked like a banker, what could his crime be? Embezzlement? Tax evasion? Or the youth... Antisocial behaviour? Petty theft? Or even the pregnant woman. She could be a drug dealer. Or a benefit fraudster.
Yasuhara shook his head.
He was the criminal on this carriage. Chances are he was alone in that respect.
The banker was smiling at the image of his kid on his smart phone. The youth was sharing chocolate with what appeared to be his younger sibling. The pregnant woman was reading a magazine article about health supplements for pregnancy.
They were innocent people surely? But how many people looked at him and thought 'rapist'?
If he had taken a poll, he reckoned most people would peg him as a Japanese Tourist who had lost his camera. Which would make sense considering his suitcase.
As the underground train came to a stop, Yasuhara gripped the handle of his suitcase. He disembarked and once above ground, began the walk to his parents' house.
He had a plan. Tomorrow he would bash out the rest of his homework. Then the remainder of his week would be searching for work experience. As for his problem with meeting Eugene, he had decided to text Mai about it. He hated having to rely on Mai for help, but he needed it.
Yasuhara: Mai, I need your assistance.
Mai: Go for it, what's the problem.
Yasuhara: Yesterday, Gene approached me and asked to go for coffee to 'prove I had no control over him'.
Mai: Oh.
Yasuhara: 'Oh' indeed! I tried to say no, but he wasn't happy about that. What do I do?!
Mai took a long time to respond. Or rather, a long time considering how little she replied with.
Mai: I don't know. Let me think about it.
Yasuhara: Thanks.
But he did not feel thankful. Worry consumed him as he sat balled up under his duvet. Mai did not reply that evening. Or the next day.
She replied on Monday.
Mai: I don't think Oliver knows about Gene's idea, which concerns me. I probed him a bit, asking how Gene's counselling is going - which seems to be positive by the way - but he did not mention meeting you at all. Which I think Oliver would have? Considering we're friends?
Mai: But I had an idea. Gene obviously wants you to come, right? So go. But I'll come too. I get that he won't want me there, so I'll sit a little way away and then you can give me a signal if I need to intervene.
Mai: It's not a brilliant plan but it's the best I've got right now.
Yasuhara: If neither of us can't think of anything better, we'll go with that, if you're willing.
Mai: I would not have suggested it if I was not willing. I'll bring a book.
Yasuhara: I'll buy you a drink.
Mai: Well duh, that is the charge for my services :P
Yasuhara sighed in relief. He finished the coffee he was drinking and left the coffee shop. Next on his list of law firms to hit up was Green and Alliott. He had never heard of it, but it had appeared on his google search.
He strode in, dressed in his best suit, and walked up to the desk.
"Hi, how may I help you?" the receptionist asked.
"I am looking to speak to someone about work experience here," Yasuhara said, as confidently as he could.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No, but I am here all week if I need to make one."
The receptionist did not look convinced. He scratched his meticulously cared for beard and frowned.
"Give me a minute."
"Sure."
Yasuhara backed away a little, to give him space, but he was close enough to listen in on the conversation.
"Sir, yes, I have a young man looking for work experience here. Yes. Okay. Will do."
He hung up.
"Excuse me?"
"Yes?" Yasuhara walked forwards again.
"Do you have a CV?"
"I do," Yasuhara said, he pulled one from his bag and handed it over. The receptionist scanned it and smiled.
"Right, I'll keep hold of this, if you could just write your number on the top of it, one of the partners will phone you for a telephone interview. If they like you, they'll discuss potential dates and rates of pay."
Yasuhara was going to question the pay, but chose not to. If they wanted to pay him, he would take it and use it to buy Mai a new laptop. If only so he never had to hear her complain about it again.
He scribbled down his number and handed it over.
"Thanks, we'll be in touch by the end of the week."
"Thank you very much."
Yasuhara strode out, smiling. That had not been too bad. He checked his list for the next company and started on his way.
"Why are you phoning me?" Yasuhara demanded of Mai very early on Wednesday morning.
"Because Masako is busy in rehearsals! I want to gush about last night!"
Last night? What was last night? Oh. Valentine's day. Of course.
Yasuhara wiped the sleepy dust from his eyes and sat up in bed. He put his specs on and groaned at the time on the clock. Six thirty three.
"You realise it is the middle of the night?"
"I couldn't sleep. You're lucky I waited this long."
"Okay, sure. Gush away."
"So Luella and Martin went out for the evening. Leaving me with the twins and they cooked me dinner. I think Oliver was going to cook alone to be romantic or something, but Gene thinks Oliver's cooking is awful. So I was sat at the table watching them bicker. They made pasta and vegetables and pesto and it was really good. Then we watched a film together and as Gene was complaining about being a third wheel and all we let him pick the film. He picked the Martian, because Oliver liked the book so much. Did I mention that? Well he did."
And she went on. And on. And on.
Yasuhara fell asleep sitting up in his bed with the phone vaguely held against his ear. When he woke, Mai had hung up.
Mai: I'll tell you later…
The text was left on his phone. Yasuhara cursed and hastened to reply, hoping he had not upset Mai.
Yasuhara: Sorry! I didn't mean to!
Mai: It's fine! But Madoka and Lin are still asleep after last night… They didn't really let me sleep either…
Yasuhara: Eww, really?
Mai: Yeah… Real freaks in the sheets.
Yasuhara: And you still want to stay with them?
Mai: Better than a home!
Yasuhara: Really?
Mai: Yeah… Though I now wish I'd taken up the offer to sleep over at the twin's… Though maybe Luella and Martin would have been worse…
Yasuhara: Eww. Just no. I don't want that mental image in my head.
Mai: What? The mental image of two old flabby people doing it?
Yasuhara: Stop…
Mai: Yeah that's gonna put me off my breakfast.
Yasuhara: Good.
Green and Alliott phoned him back on Thursday.
"Hi, is this Osamu Yasuhara speaking?"
"Yes, speaking."
Yasuhara put his coffee down and waited for the man to speak.
"My name is Mr Pilcher, I am one of the partners here at Green and Alliott law firm. I understand you want some work experience?"
"Yes, I would very much so. I'm looking mainly for the summer."
"Yes, I see you are an A Level student right now with good grades." He hummed at the other end of the line. "Why do you want to be a lawyer?"
"To give people a voice. Not everyone can argue their case and I want to help them."
"I see." Mr Pilcher hummed again. "What achievement are you most proud of in your life?"
Yasuhara thought for a moment before answering.
"While my own personal achievements are something I am proud of, the thing I think I'm most proud of was tutoring a friend of mine. She is the year below and struggled with writing History essays. I assisted her in getting her grade from an A to an A* in her January mocks. It sounds like a minor change, but she had been convinced she could not do any better than that A she had been stuck with for the last two years. I am proud that I changed that."
"Yes, I can imagine that is quite rewarding. Can you give me an example of when you've had to work to a tight or sudden deadline?"
"Yes, I can. I was very ill over Christmas, I was in hospital with no expectation to be released before my own January mocks. I found out a few days a few days before my first exams that I would be allowed to take them at all. While my teachers knew about my situation, I did not want to give up so easily. I dealt with this short time scale by prioritising what I didn't know in my revision. A mixture of that and working my butt off resulted in the scores I put on my CV."
"Impressive. Finally, what is the worst mistake you ever made and what did you learn from it?"
Yasuhara's breath hitched.
"I hurt a friend badly. I won't go into the details, but let's say we are definitely not friends now," Yasuhara said. "I did not immediately realise what I had done at the time. When I did realise… I realised just how much my words and actions have consequences. Not only on what happens but people's opinions. How they think of you later. I also learnt there are some things that saying sorry is not enough for."
"I see." There was a small pause. "Well, I will get back to you soon. I hope you understand that we have a lot of people who want these spots, so if you aren't successful, then don't think badly of yourself. There a lot of talented young people out there."
"I understand, thank you so much for taking the time to call me."
The call ended. Yasuhara breathed out. As the only firm so far to have got back to him, he hoped that Green andAlliott would give him a positive answer.
Yasuhara hated being ill. But he especially hated being ill and stuck on a stuffy train with a distinct lack of tissues and coffee.
Deciding he should not suffer alone, he texted Mai.
Yasuhara: I'm sick. Give me sympathy.
Mai: Aww poor you! What's wrong?
Yasuhara: Just a cold. But I am definitely dying.
Mai: *cough* Man flu *cough*
Yasuhara: Cheers. I'm on the train back now.
Mai: Have you got a time for tomorrow?
Yasuhara: Not yet… Shit. I will do that now.
Yasuhara groaned and found Eugene's number. He thought for a moment about calling, but chose to text instead. He was not up a phone call right now.
Yasuhara: What time and where tomorrow?
Eugene was quick to reply, but that did not concern Yasuhara. He would be glad to get this conversation done with.
Eugene: 11AM at that cafe we went to all that time ago?
Yasuhara: Sure. See you then.
He took a deep, calming breath and switched back to Mai's conversation.
Yasuhara: 11AM.
Mai: Great. I presume we'll be going a bit earlier?
Yasuhara: Yeah, just in case. You sure you still want to come?
Mai: I think it's for the best.
Yasuhara privately agreed, but he did not want to pressure Mai.
Yasuhara: Great, see you later then!
He let his head sink down onto the table in front of him and hoped that coffee would miraculously appear out of thin air.
Author's note: Well... Yeah... Please review?