Things
kept going well on all fronts as we rang in 2002 and spring began to
approach. Valentine's Day went off well without a hitch, but
ironically it was the week after that that proved to be more
eventful.
On
Monday, we were in PE for two of the days designated as "stress
busters"—days where PE was just friendly competition between
classmates ahead of exams in less than two weeks. That day, it was
one-set tennis. Up until that point, during those "stress busters",
the guys and I hadn't played with or against Shiori, Nozomi,
Yukari, or Ayako—but that was all set to change.
That
day, by random drawing, I was matched against Yukari, while Olivier
would face Shiori, Nick would battle Nozomi, and Brad would go
against Ayako. A bunch of eyes widened as those pairings were
announced, and not all of them belonged to us, which I'm sure is
because they knew what that draw meant.
"Wow,
it's the guys against the girls today!" Olivier said.
"I
know!" I said, grinning. Then, lowering my voice, I asked him,
"What do you say we try to take 'em down today?"
"Yeah,
that'd be cool! You think I can take Shiori?" He asked, looking
towards her nervously before turning back to me.
I
decided to draw on something Dad told me once for inspiration. "Hey,
the ball is round. That's why they play the game." Hearing myself
say that got me even more ready to play Yukari even in spite of her
being on the tennis team. Olivier played tennis alongside Yukari at
an athletic club close to the school, so he was able to report to me
once before that day, "She's not exactly the biggest name on the
list, but she's solid."
Yukari and I didn't say much beforehand, even though her ongoing good run
with Nick had seen her and me becoming friends. By the way, I had
really been thankful that she had opted to let Shiori dole that extra
VIP pass to Tokyo Disney Resort out to me for Christmas, but that
wasn't on my mind at the moment.My
favorite tennis player growing up was Pete Sampras because of his
booming serve and penchant for winning what felt like every grand
slam. In reality, I had a so-so serve (nothing threatening) and my
biggest weapon was and is my forehand. That meant people had to be
wary when trying to hit to my right side, which is my forehand side.
Once
the match had gone a little way, I got—or rather, realized—some
good news. Two and a half years and counting of Tae Kwon Do training
(I was a bodan, or unofficial 1st-degree black belt
back then) meant I had the speed and stamina to keep up with Yukari.
More than my fair share of video games, watching game shows, and
academic competition had also done a lot for my reflexes, believe it
or not, which was another plus.
I
had a little more power, also because of my Tae Kwon Do training, but
Yukari had more technique, which meant she was less prone to unforced
errors. She also had the ability to lob, which meant trouble as I
liked to rush the net to try to put points away. Fortunately, she
didn't have a drop shot at the time, or I would have been dead. It
took an awful lot of focus to keep my mistakes down and keep things
close.
After
nine tough games, I managed to take advantage of a double fault from
Yukari and break her to go up 5-4 and serve for the match. Just as I
was about to serve, I saw Nick running over, and I walked over to
meet him without leaving the court.
"Brad
creamed Ayako, but I couldn't handle Nozomi and Olivier was just no
match for Shiori." He told me. "You gotta beat Yukari, or else
the girls one-up us today!"
"Nothing
against them, but not today." I told him, grinning. Looking over, I
noticed Yukari talking Shiori and Nozomi on the opposite end, and
something told me they were also discussing how the other results
affected what she and I were playing for.
"Show
'em who's boss, Carlo." Nick said, slapping me on the back as
the pause ended.
I
got Yukari to 30-30 after some more even battling, and then if only
because I got a little lucky, I was then able to do my best Pistol
Pete (Mr. Sampras' nickname) impression and put one right down the
middle for an ace to set up match point at 40-30.
That
match point developed into a somewhat lengthy rally that had both of
us fighting hard, but then Yukari tried hitting one crosscourt
towards my right-hand out-of-bounds line.
Knowing
that allowed me to use my best shot, I chased it hard, and again,
because of my reflexes, I was able to react quickly enough to
Yukari's attempted crosscourt return. Getting there, I focused on
turning hard through the ball to keep it in and also on hitting it as
hard as I dared with the possibility of hitting it too long.
Luckily,
it was the best shot I hit all day.
It
landed right in the far-right corner on Yukari's side almost a full
foot beyond her outstretched racket. Game, set, match, and tie
series!
Realizing
that I'd won and what it meant, I pumped my fist and yelled, "Yes!" as
my friends whooped and the girls graciously applauded before I
came to the net to shake Yukari's hand.
"Good
game." I said. "I needed everything I had to take that one."
"You
too. I'm curious, though…did Nick give you some inside
information on me when he was talking to you?" She asked curiously.
"No."
I replied.
"Really?"
She asked.
"No,
really, he didn't." I answered. "I don't lie about that sort
of stuff. Shiori didn't let you in on some stuff about me, did
she?"
"No,
she didn't." She replied earnestly.
Wednesday's PE class
would feature 4-on-4 basketball at the gym-style stadium. Our PE teachers had
allowed us to bring their own clothes for this, so the guys and I
were wearing Russell Athletic and Nike athletic shorts (mine went
down almost to my kneecaps, which was how I like them) and t-shirts
featuring our favorite college teams—Duke for me (my shirt was
actually the latest national-champion shirt), Wake Forest (Tim
Duncan's alma mater) for Olivier, NC State (known in college hoops
for Coach "Jimmy V" Valvano, David Thompson, and for two national
titles) for Brad, and Michigan State (the only non-ACC school any of
us was linked to, another 2-time national champion and Magic
Johnson's alma mater) for Nick.
We four registered as
a team, while Shiori had Nozomi, Yukari, and Yukari's good friend
Yumi Saotome from Class C, who played girls' hoops for Kirameki.
The matchups were announced in such a manner that the next one was
announced after the ending of the previous one, with each team
getting one game. People thus had some warning that the four of us
were going against the girls again, and the buzz was tangible by the
time we took the floor. Again, we shook hands and wished each other
luck, but didn't say much. My friends have the same competitive
mode as me in that we don't talk too much to our opponents before a
contest, no matter how well we know them.
We
learned early on that Shiori and company could flat-out shoot,
but we were able to adjust and limit their chances for the rest of
the game. We weren't the best of shooters, but we managed to go
inside more often and get high-percentage shots such as layups and
short jumpers, in no small part because we knew how to do basket cuts
and even set picks here and there. Playing point guard, my favorite
position, I also was able to penetrate a number of times to either
get a layup or create a chance for Brad, Nick, or Olivier. I was and
am no LeBron James or Grayson "The Professor" Boucher (from the
AND1 Mixtape streetball tour), but my crossover was good enough to
get me space off of whoever was guarding me. It was another tense
back-and-forth battle, but when I ran a give-and-go with Nick, jumped
leaning in, and knocked down a shot off the glass with 20 seconds to
go to put us up by 3, it looked as if we had it in hand.
This
time, though, it was Shiori who had other ideas.
I
was able to come back down to earth fast enough to see Yukari throw
the inbounds pass to Nozomi. When it came back in, I also bent over
and did something that only my friends and teammates understood: I
slapped the floor. Slapping the floor is the signal at Duke meaning
"Defense!" and hence is something the players do when they want
to buckle down and make a big stop. Looking behind me, I saw the
others smiling and emulating the gesture—which was something,
considering I was the only Dukie in the group. Feeling psyched at the
sight, I smiled at them and focused on defending Shiori, who had
taken the ball from Nozomi before the ball crossed the halfcourt
line.
The
clock was down to 5 when Yukari passed it to Yumi, who was in the corner behind the three-point line and made as if she
was going to shoot but who was close enough to me that I knew I could
help Nick, who was guarding her, and put another hand in her face if I leapt towards her. I tried
just that, but suddenly, Yumi pulled it back down and tossed it to Shiori…who I had left
open outside the arc!
Realizing my mistake with a thrill of terror, I
tried springing back towards her, but she had already caught the ball.
She then jumped and took the shot in the same motion, with my hand
flashing in front of her half a second after she fired.
The buzzer sounded while the ball was still in the air.
Swish!
Shiori's
shot found nothing but nylon. It was the only trey of the game for
the girls, but they got it when they needed.
The
quality of the shot—classy—and the fact that it was a
buzzer-beater that denied us a win made us laugh—with Shiori and
the girls, not at them—as we clutched our heads or bent over and
grabbed our shorts. After the shot, Shiori had wheeled jubilantly
towards the opposite end with Nozomi, Yukari, and Yumi in hot
pursuit—not much unlike Duke after Christian Laettner hit that
legendary shot to beat Kentucky in 1992, I noted with a smile.
"Overtime?"
I asked just after we shook hands with smiles back on our faces.
"I
think class is about to end, so I'm afraid not." Shiori said.
"Nice
shot." I said, partly because I would have wanted to be genteel
even if she wasn't my girlfriend.
"Thanks,
but you're a statistician. That means you probably know that was
the only three we had the whole game." She replied.
"Well,
wherever our defense gave you room, you made us pay for it…"
That morning, I reached the subway station that Shiori and I took to get to Kirameki and found the three others waiting for me. Because of the station's location, it would later become a rendezvous point for us when we wanted to meet up and head onto campus together for whatever reason.
Knowing I had to show the face the team needed to see, as Duke's very own men's hoops coach Mike Krzyzewski (better known perhaps as "Coach K") would have put it, I grinned broadly and said, "Let's get 'em."
They returned the grin, and Nick added, "Let's kick some butt today." We chuckled a little bit and then headed below street level.
Once we were off the train and just off campus, we walked onto it with a "business walk", if you know what I'm talking about. Some of our classmates were outside to wish us luck. We were waving and smiling at them like we were Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns about to show their stuff on the football field. Against USC in the Rose Bowl? I don't mean to be conceited, but I think that's a solid "Yes" because of who Shiori was likely to be having as teammates, and given that, I think we did a good job of staying loose but not too loose. The previous night, the four of us had held a meeting about the impending academic competition duel, and I had told them that Shiori would likely be working alongside two fellow Academic Team regulars in Megumi, the second-ranked girl in the grade behind Shiori, and Mio Kisaragi, the green-haired and bespectacled resident English specialist of our grade. On top of that, she was also likely to have Saki—who had also been impressing academically—as a teammate.
One fellow freshman, Toshio Hanzo, had brought a boombox was playing Snoop Dogg's Gin And Juice as we came up to the door. "I thought it'd make good entrance music for the four of you." He told us.
We grinned at him and I thanked us just as we heard the lines "Rollin' down the street, smoking Indo, sippin' on gin and juice…"
"Laid back, with my mind on my money and my money on my mind!" We finished, even Brad—who, remember, is definitely more of a rock guy than a rap guy. By the way, we knew how that part went because we had gladly digested that line after seeing a snippet or two of Down To Earth.
Reaching the door, I half-yanked the door open as my way of saying again, "Let's do this!" before holding it open for the others.
All through class that day, even though the tournaments did not start until the afternoon, as part of something that the guys and I had decided on, we kept our eyes forward for the most part and off the girls. The message was sent: if only temporarily, friendship and country took precedence over romance.
There
were 24 people in freshman Class A, which meant that there were six
four-person teams. Our three afternoon teachers—Mr. Suzuki, Mr.
Arimoto, and Mrs. Tezuka—had decided to split us into two groups of
three, with the top two in each group after round-robin play
advancing to the semis. As it turned out, our two teams were drawn
into different groups.
In
Group A, Shiori, Megumi, Mio, and Saki blew through their two
matches, including their game against a quartet captained by Rei
Ijuin, the principal's grandchild. Meanwhile, Group B didn't seem
to offer too much resistance for us as we cruised past the other two
teams in our group.
Neither
of our two teams broke stride in the semis. Shiori and her teammates
blasted the second-place team from our group, and then, as Nick later
put it, "we busted a can of whoop-A on Rei's team."
As
anticipated, the Class A championship would be the third battle of
the week between the Kirameki female A-list and the American
Fantastic Four. If the basketball game on Tuesday was hyped up as an
international match in any way, it was nothing compared to how this
decisive battle was being promoted in that way.
"It's
all set in the Class A final!" We heard Yoshio calling out from
outside during the break between rounds to the other classes. "It's
Shiori, Megumi, Mio, and Saki for Japan versus Carlo, Olivier, Nick,
and Brad for the United States!"
We
could thus hear some buzz from outside as Mrs. Tezuka, our kind
social studies teacher and the official for the finale, ended the
break by calling, "All right, it's championship time. Shiori,
Carlo…"
Our
two teams purposefully rose as one and then marched just as
determinedly, with me and Shiori in the lead, to the front of the
classroom as our classmates applauded.
Once
we were up at the front of the classroom, designated as the "in
play" area, we shook hands and smiled at each other, not in the
least Shiori and me when we shook hands, but once we sat down at the
two players' tables in the "in play" area, we put our game
faces on.
Mrs.
Tezuka smiled at us and said, "Well, well. For all intents and
purposes, this is Japan against the USA. I understand your friends
have been looking forward to this—am I right?"
Our
classmates let their assent be heard, I'll tell you that much. As a
matter of fact, Mrs. Tezuka had to start speaking again to quiet them
down. "Okay, let's get started. Ten minutes on the clock…"
She
set a sizable timer in front of her as she said this, and then said,
"And go!"
I
could see everyone tensing up just a bit, and I leaned forward
slightly, just as when we played other schools.
"What
is the ratio of the sides in a 30-60-90 triangle?" Mrs. Tezuka
asked.
I
buzzed in almost instantaneously. "1 to the square root of 3 to 2."
I said quickly but clearly.
"Correct!
Name the three categories of English Renaissance plays."
Mio beat us to
the buzzer that time and said, "Comedies, histories, and
tragedies."
"Correct!"
The
class was asked to be silent, but if they were allowed to make noise
over the ten minutes that followed, there would have been an awful
lot of gasping, cheering, and tense speech. That was because it was
just straight back-and-forth competition in the true sense of the
word. By that, I mean that the biggest lead either of our teams had was just one
point! The drama was ratcheting up because everyone was
getting correct answers and nobody was missing stuff once he
or she buzzed in, which meant it was a battle of speed that was
growing increasingly tense for us and our classmates with each
passing question. What made it even tenser was that with the
questions coming one after another, hardly anyone had time to even
vent, which meant a lot of emotions got held in. With 10 seconds to
go, it was tied yet again at 28 each.
Even
Mrs. Tezuka's voice was becoming more fraught with emotion—in her
case, excitement. Her next question was, "Which Polish scientist
published the idea that the Sun is the center of the solar system?"
Saki
beat me by about a millisecond—which infuriated me in a sense—and
said, "Copernicus!"
"Correct!
Last question: What Japanese general was involved in campaigns during
World War II in Singapore and the Philippines?" Mrs. Tezuka was
semi-yelling by now.
This
time, I buzzed in before any of the girls moved a muscle. "Tomoyuki
Yamashita!" I answered in a yell because of the tension. If I had missed that question, I would have
been kicking myself for losing the match because of not being sharp
enough when my American nationality and Philippine ancestry
pinned a "should know" label on it.
Mrs.
Tezuka nodded and said, "Correct!" just as the bell signaling the
end of regulation went off. Tied again!
Knowing
we were the ones to rescue ourselves at the last minute that time, I
allowed myself to emote a bit—or more than that—and roared "Yes!"
before high-fiving each of my friends before I asked Mrs. Tezuka,
"Overtime?"
"I'm
afraid we don't have time for that." Mrs. Tezuka said, almost
ruefully. "I'll have to see what I can do about getting a
duplicate plaque made for our other first-place team."
That
was the end of the week in terms of the guys and I going toe-to-toe
with the girls. For three days out of four, we had battled hard in
both the gym and the classroom—to a complete dead heat—a fact
that made me grin as I realized it. Apparently, the same thing was
going through the minds of the girls and our classmates, because
they—including Shiori, Megumi, Mio, and Saki—were wearing similar
expressions for the most part.
Mrs.
Tezuka then asked me, "Carlo, can I speak to you for a moment?"
I
had not given my teachers not too many reasons over that year to get
on my case when it came to my conduct, so I walked to the opposite
side of the table where she was feeling calm. What she told me,
though, set the course for the next day, the most tense Friday of
that spring and thus something even more tense than the three days of competition we had just endured.
The
next day, we boarded a bullet train out of town for a day-long class
trip to Hiroshima, which was meant as both an educational trip and
another chance for us to loosen our nerves heading into exams. Every
freshman came along, from me and my fellow
Class A members to the people in the dregs of the 9th
grade. That
day thankfully started off very well for the most part, with more than
its fair
share of fun moments, not in the least because our talk involving the
tennis, basketball, and academic competition faceoffs (among other
things) with the others, including the girls, was more light-hearted
than anything All of us were in good enough spirits by the
time the afternoon began—our time for visiting the museums and
monuments—everyone was at least awake enough to give very good
attention.
"Whew!
This afternoon hasn't been boring to death, but I'm still glad
it's the last museum of the day coming up!" Yukari said.
"Me
too!" Yuko Asahina said with a grin. "I forgot…what's the
last museum we're visiting, again?"
That
question was answered as we turned a corner just as she finished
asking it, and I found my nerves starting to come on and my emotions
starting to build up.
Oh,
man. The voice in my head that sounded that thought was not
joyful, I'll tell you that much.
Before
us stood the Hiroshima Peace Park, the main memorial for those who
had perished when Colonel Paul Tibbets and eight others flew the
bomber Enola Gay from Tinian in the Marianas to Hiroshima in
August 1945 and dropped the first atomic bomb ever used in the
history of warfare, leveling the city and rendering it uninhabitable
for years. 100,000 people had died when the bomb exploded and issued
its unmistakable mushroom cloud, and 100,000 caught in the blast
perished in the weeks immediately afterward of various causes,
including shrapnel, burns, and radiation. Translation: It was a place
built in memory of the largest tragedy in Japanese history excluding
Japan's surrender—a tragedy wrought by the United States.
The
memorial was a tranquil place, but it also stirred up my emotions,
and judging from the looks and reactions of my classmates, it was
also really stirring up theirs. Shiori's, Yukari's, Ayako's,
and Nozomi's faces looked as if clouds had suddenly moved over them
and parked there, making them dimmer and more grave, but their
reactions weren't the only ones that had me and the others
concerned. We could hear silent sobbing coming from in front of us,
and up ahead, we saw Mio and Miharu Tatebayashi. Even though their backs were
turned to us, we could see that Mio her glasses in her left hand and
her right hand at her face and that Miharu had both hands in her
face. I also could feel eyes swiveling and moving before locking on
us.
Fortunately, we had a response ready, thanks to an alert Mrs.
Tezuka had given me when she held me up after the academic competition
championship the previous day.
"I know you're not
just the team leader for you and your friends when you're
competing," she had told me, no doubt referencing the article from
the fall trimester before adding, "I think you and your friends
should know something about the trip to Hiroshima we're taking
tomorrow: we're going to visit the Hiroshima Peace Park."
"I had a feeling
that might be coming up." I said gravely.
Mrs.
Tezuka nodded before adding concernedly, "This will be the first
time we've had Americans as full-fledged members of the class, so I
think you and your friends should prepare yourselves for tomorrow
with some responses to potential questions or maybe a good gesture."
I was still scared at
what might occur the next day, but I found enough resolve to nod and
say, "I think I'll do that—I'll talk to the guys and see if
we can come up with something."
They
were still just outside, so I met them and told them what Mrs. Tezuka
had told me. Judging from their reaction, they saw the situation as I
did: something extremely delicate. At the ice cream parlor that had
become a hangout of ours, especially when we had to think something
over together, we put our heads together and came up with something
to pull out in case we needed to defuse a situation at the Peace
Park. As was the case, we had to pull it out, all right.
I
looked at Nick, Brad, and Olivier beside me. "Guys?" I asked.
They
looked back and nodded, murmuring "Yeah." Silently and solemnly,
Brad set his backpack down and pulled out a folded-up American flag.
Stretching it out after zipping up his backpack and shouldering it
again, he offered three of the corners to me, Nick, and Olivier, and
then he himself held on to one of them. The four of us spread out so
that we were holding the flag taut and parallel to the ground but not
overstretched and then started moving, walking slowly but
purposefully towards the black stone arch set in a planter filled
with small white rocks that had some flowers left in front.
Once
we were there, each of us either bent over or kneeled and laid our
flag down on the ground in front of the raised area containing the
arch. I could hear some gasping behind me as we did so—the Japanese
have the same flag etiquette as we do, which means that the national
flag is not supposed to touch the ground unless a soldier carrying it
falls. But I also knew the way the four of us were behaving was
certainly a clear enough indication that this was not a desecration
of our flag, but rather our way of paying our respects.Once
we came back around, lining up side to side so that the flag was
between us and the arch, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind
that told me, It's good that you, Olivier, Nick, and Brad are here doing this. All four of us were (and of course are)
American citizens, but I am Filipino by blood and Olivier is French
by blood. I like to think that if ever a Japanese school class that
visited the Hiroshima Peace Park had a delegation with
representatives for both the Japanese and the Allies, it was ours.
For
about two minutes, we stood there with our heads bowed and our eyes
closed, deep in thought. I also found myself saying a silent prayer
for those who lost their lives that day and onward because of that
bomb.
"Thank
you." I heard Mio's voice behind us. "I'm sorry I'm acting
like this…"I
was the first to turn around and see that she still had tears coming
down her face. I told her, "Don't say that. I'm—or should I
say, we're—the ones who should be saying we're sorry."
Nick,
Brad, and Olivier, who had all turned around by now, nodded.
"Thanks.
It's just…I lost my aunt when I was 10. She became a hibakusha
(the Japanese term for an A-bomb survivor) when she was just 12. A
few years ago, the radiation exposure caught up to her. I know she'd
appreciate the four of you paying your respects, though." Mio said,
and to our relief, she managed a small smile.
Miharu
was next to approach us with the rest of the class not far behind.
Like Mio, she was still crying slightly, but she managed to say, "I
know my uncle would like this, too, so, Carlo, Brad, Olivier, Nick,
thanks so much. What got Mio's aunt also got him—the radiation
catching up. I was 11 when he passed away."
"Well,
in that case, I'm sorry about your uncle too." I said.
"It's
okay. I mean, you weren't on that plane that day, were you?" She
asked.
"Not
even in a past life, if I had one." I said, trying to lighten the
mood a bit.
We
chuckled momentarily before Miharu asked us the day's big question.
"I
don't mean to make you and your friends uncomfortable, but what are
your beliefs about the bomb?"
I
thought it over hard for a minute before summoning my strength again
and giving my answer, handling my voice as if I was handling a box
with "Fragile" stickers all over it.
"Do
I mourn the fact that it helped end World War II and consequently
saved possibly hundreds of thousands of American lives by making the
invasion of Japan unnecessary?" I asked. "I'd be lying to you
if I said I did. But," I added, my tone growing softer, "I do
mourn the fact that so many people who had nothing to do with the
war—people who never raised a hand against America—perished as a
result of what happened here on that day in August 1945. And I can't
speak for my friends, but my guess is that their stance here is the
same. You know what one of the crewmen on the Enola Gay said
when he saw the mushroom cloud and the damage after the bomb was
dropped?"
I
heard some people, including Nozomi, Ayako, and Mio, say "No" and
saw others, including Shiori, Yukari, and Miharu, shake their heads.
I
knew it was an Enola Gay crewman who had spoken the next five
words to come out of my mouth, but I didn't remember his name or
his role. I didn't have to remember that it was copilot Bob Lewis,
though—all I needed was the quote.
"'My
God, what have we done?'" I said, echoing his words and trying my
best to recreate what I imagined would have been his stunned,
horrified tone.
I
could tell that that quote had hit home by the reactions of my Japanese
classmates. Many were nodding, some including Shiori apparently had
tears in their eyes, and there was no trace of resentment to be seen.
Mrs. Tezuka, who also saw what happened, would later tell us that we
had walked the fine line between being true to our attitude about the
bombing and showing concern for our Japanese classmates.
Nick
fervently whispered to me, "Perfect, Carlo." He gave me a
quick thumbs-up, and I responded with a quick nod, knowing we had
done our job.
"I really appreciate you doing that today." She said earnestly. "Actually, I should say we appreciate you doing that today. No American or group of Americans I've ever seen has done that in Hiroshima."
"Thanks, but it was the least we could do." I replied.
"That may be true, but you four still really had to be brave to do that." Shiori said.
"Thanks." I said. "I tell you what, though, thank God for Douglas MacArthur, because I hate to think about what Japan would be like today if it weren't for him."
My fellow Americans held MacArthur in good regard because of his distinguished service record, but my family and I revere him because of his famous promise of "I shall return" to the Philippines during World War II and the way he fulfilled it. What many don't know is that he's considered a hero not just to the United States and the Philippines, but also, ironically, to Japan. After the war, MacArthur was put in charge of the Allied occupation of Japan and was hence faced with rebuilding the country he had helped bring to its knees. His efforts, as it turned out, were crucial in not only bringing Japan back from its lowest point period, but also in turning Japan from something that looked not much unlike a feudal society in terms of rights and social values into the modern and very vibrant country that it is today.
We spent a good amount of the train ride back to Yokohama/Tokyo talking about a common hero rather than conflicts. We even were able to share a cool conversation with Mio and Miharu when they came over when we were halfway home. When you're with a person or group you work well with, any conflict whatsoever is followed quickly by a reminder of what brings you together, and this was no exception.
Not that I mind…I thought, with a smile on my face. Not that I mind at all…
To top the day off, I got a cool revelation out of Shiori. When we got off, I quietly asked her, "I don't mean to be selfish, but is it okay if we head out to Disney once the year's over?"
"Sure!" Shiori answered, smiling and making me smile back again. "And don't worry about being selfish for picking Disney. I forgot to tell you this during Christmas, but I'm a Disney fan too."
"You don't say!" I said, now smiling even more broadly.
In the next
chapter—"Making Waves":
Shiori, Nozomi, and
Olivier take center stage! With its trio of now-sophomore sensations,
Kirameki's swim teams have made it to the Japanese swimming
national championships. Are they enough to earn Kirameki the
distinction of being best in the land?
Author's Soundtrack Suggestions
Original Version (released by March 2002)Play—Jennifer Lopez
This is one of those tunes I like to hear when I'm either watching competitions or actually competing, whether it is friendly or serious. The fact that I have a faster remix from a Philippine R&B/rap compilation from 2001 (with the songs by the original artists) doesn't hurt, either.
Tears
From A Star—Sting
Good
melody, moving lyrics…seven words: perfect for the Hiroshima Peace
Park scene.
Modern
Version
(Can We Please
Have…?) Just A Moment—Nas & Quan
This is a rap song I
don't think a lot of people know about that is nice in its own way.
As a matter of fact, I listen to this whenever I want to think about
people I've lost, among other things. For example, when I want to
reminisce over a couple of uncles of mine in the Philippines on my
father's side who passed away within 4 months of each other—one
in December 2004 and the other last March. To that end, I can imagine
this as well as a song playing during the scene at the Hiroshima
Peace Park.