Daisuke, now feeling very good about himself, walked with Satoshi out to the parking lot where they waited for the bus that would take them to the Kyoto Promenade, "The Largest Mall Within a 6-mile radius!" which is pretty good if you've ever seen the malls in Japan. Daisuke shivered a bit against the freezing winter cold. What moron on the school board decided that the students would wait for a bus in sub zero temperatures? Well, maybe it wasn't subzero, but Daisuke couldn't feel his nose or his fingers, and he looked over at Satoshi whose nose was blood red and rolled his eyes thinking about how much money the school director probably made and decided to feel sorry for the poor pauper instead.
Without too much of a delay, the bus rounded the corner and pulled into the parking lot. Since Satoshi and Daisuke were among the last students to finish breakfast, they were the last ones on. Unfortunately, this meant that they couldn't sit next to each other. Daisuke took a seat next to a teacher in the front, and Satoshi sat next to a girl who was attending Azumano Middle as a foreign exchange student from Morocco near the back of the bus (please, people, don't be cruel. I meant nothing in particular by placing the African girl at the back. Mere coincidence, try to show some maturity.)
Luckily, considering the hundreds of malls in Japan, the Kyoto Promenade was only about a 4 or 5-minute drive away. In fact, daisuke had already been several times on trips with Daiki and Emiko, so he knew the mall well. It had three-stories, lime green tile throughout, skylights, two food courts, two department stores, a movie theater, some restaurants, about a hundred or so stores, and a video arcade. It was a pretty normal shopping arcade, and Daisuke was just looking forward to the alone time he would spend with Satoshi there.
Daisuke did not have to wait long, however, for after sitting for only a few minutes, he heard a teacher call over the public address system: "All right students! This is where we get off! Please, stay in groups of at least four or more, and we'll meet back here at 11:00am sharp!" The teacher practically ran off the bus, probably excited about getting some alone time in a large shopping center, away from her educating duties.
Daisuke, now a little disappointed that the groups HAD to have four people or more, turned to the Moroccan girl and asked her if she would join them. She accepted, and Daisuke asked her for her name. "It's K-a-I-t-e, pronounced the way you would pronounce 'Keti'." The girl, for an exchange student anyway, spoke Japanese very well. Daisuke was impressed. "Nice to meet you, Kaite. A boy named Satoshi will be in our group…now, about that fourth member…"
"Good news, Daisuke!" Satoshi had appeared. "Since there are an odd number of students, one group will have only three members. The teacher said that the group with only three is ours! Now, we just need to find a third member…"
"Already found her, Satoshi! This is K-a-I-t-e, pronounced the way we say 'Keti'."
Satoshi extended his hand for Kaite to shake. She took it firmly in hers and shook. This, of course is not a usual Japanese salutation, but neither Kaite nor Satoshi were native Japanese and had been taught that a handshake is also a fine proper first greeting.
Kaite was a fairly pretty girl, not radiantly beautiful, nor grotesquely ugly. She was about Daisuke's height, slim, dark-eyed, had long black hair and was wearing a pink sweater and blue jeans. On her feet, she was wearing a pair of green New Balances. In fact, for a foreigner, she dressed very natively.
"Well, if you're ready," Satoshi began. "I've heard this mall has an AWESOME shrimp restaurant called the Shrimp Palace I thought we could try. It's on the second floor, and I figured we could beat the lunch rush if we headed there now…" Satoshi looked at the two for approval, and Daisuke nodded his head. Kaite also agreed. With this settled, the trio entered the mall through a set of large brass double-doors. They entered into a large, palatial food court with over a dozen specialty restaurants like Ken and Terry's Ice Cream, Great Japanese Cookie Company, Pizza Shack, Uncle Dan's Pretzel Company, and Burger Prince. There was even a Taco Gong and a Cindy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers! The food court was remarkably well lit, and Daisuke could see the Shrimp Palace across the court on the other side. "There it is!" he exclaimed and pointed. Satoshi and Daisuke, followed closely by a nervous Kaite, this being her first time in a mall and probably her first time with total strangers in an open environment, strolled across the court and came to the shrimp restaurant.
The Shrimp Palace was hardly a palace at all, but rather a brick building that had been painted with gold paint. The menu was sloppily scribbled on a black board hanging on the front door. There were some plants in front of the restaurant to try to add some décor to this shabby eatery. Daisuke couldn't figure out if this mall was REALLY a hundred years old or if the diner TRIED to look run down.
There was no host on duty, and the sign read "Please Do Not Seat Self", leaving the three with no way to eat at the restaurant. Daisuke looked around to see if he could find anybody wearing a Shrimp Palace uniform but there was none to be found. In fact, Daisuke could not see ANY employees or customers other than the students. The mall was clearly in its last days…then he saw the sign that read "Kyoto Promenade (1971-2005). Recently closed. Open for school groups studying ancient history. Please do not litter."
Daisuke, Satoshi, and Kaite must have read this sign at the same instant because all three simultaneously began to laugh uncontrollably. How ironic, they finally got to go to something somewhat interested and it was a run down shamble of the remains of a successful mall. Daisuke couldn't believe it. Satoshi smirked. Kaite was in total disbelief. She expected to experience some Japanese culture, and so far what had she gotten? A backseat on a crowded school bus to a run down mall in the middle of nowhere.
Daisuke had thought that 11:00am was quite an early time to leave the mall, but suddenly he could not wait to leave.
Sure enough, he was soon saved when his watch beeped signaling that it was time to leave the mall. Good thing, too, he thought. They had only been in the mall for about twenty minutes. What kind of idiot was running the school system, he now really wanted to know. He then reminded himself that the director probably makes next to nothing so he decided to feel sorry for him instead of hating him.
Since they had not gone very far into the mall, they were the first ones on the bus. Daisuke and Satoshi got their favorite seat in the back, and Kaite chose a seat by herself in the middle. After a minute or two, the entire bus was filled to the rim with children and staff. Role was called, and the bus was ready to take off. Daisuke could not believe it. Part of him wanted to laugh. Part of him wanted to kill the school superintendent. Part of both parts knew he would make more money than the director, so it didn't care.
