KAGAWA prefecture, ZENTSUJI Zentsuji Junior High School 3/e
Boys:
1. Baku Baisotei
2. Yamato Chiba
3. Fuyuki Shinji Egami
4. Gouki Hayata
5. Gouki Kakutama
6. Norito Royama
7. Fukashi Murata
8. Dan Nomura
9. Isato Okumura
10. Ben Ugaki
11. Baku Shoda
12. Asuya Fukuda
13. Michio Otomo
14. Kinji Ryusaki
15. Riki Ryusaki
16. Fukashi Tenzai
Girls:
1. Rena Bando
2. Nana Bunya
3. Benika Hoshino
4. Anri Kimura
5. Kirika Kido
6. Sonoko Kuroki
7. Fuyumi Morimoto
8. Midori Ogiwara
9. Rumiko Ozawa
10. Chisato Ozawa
11. Nichie Shiomi
12. Erina Sasaki
13. Yaeka Sugiyama
14. Sonia Tenzai
15. Katsumi Wakai
16. Anri Souma
17. Ayami Horigoshi
18. Etsumi Inukai
19. Iyona Tsumura
20. Yurisa Akera
Yomiuri Shimbun, 2008.05.04.
A student group goes into England onto a class excursion
The English specialized class of the 4. No. Zentsuji high school of the small town Zentsuji set Great Britain as an excursion aim in spite of these heavy times. Vainly, that there is a hostile relation between our bright homeland and there have been lesser or grater clashes among our realms, but thanks to our evolving diplomatic contacts, it seems, that we can put away our dissidence.
Although, the Soviet Union stands against the peace talks, Emperor Yoshiro favours this excursion, with which one we have the chance to correct on the poisoned states between the Empire of the Rising Sun and the Allies. If the Allies will ready to sign peace, the Soviet Union initiates negotiations as well, so there will be no need the alliance among this two superpower against our empire anymore. - the governance hopes so.
The class 3/e started on their journey on 03/05/2008, and hopefully, arrived today in London. The 36 -students and the four accompanying teachers will be accommodated by guest-families in a town, named Barnstaple (population: 34,000) in North Devon, where not only learn the language but also learn about the culture of its people, history and customs. According to the Emperor, this is an extremely important factor building up a friendly relationship, an essential factor to understand, accept each other's habits, and have mutual trust with our fellow-beings. The government of the Allies also guaranteed the safety of the group for the entire duration of their stay and promised, if everything takes place smoothly, the peace talks can be immediately begin in Geneva.
PROLOGUE
It was the year of 2008, May the 3rd. It was not an average Sunday.
The class 3/e from Zentsuji 4th No Junior High School (Kagawa Prefecture) was ready to set out for the class trip, only a few students were standing near the bus to say goodbye to their parents or help loading the luggage into the bus. The weather was gorgeous, nothing could be more ideal for this holiday.
The class was at full strength. Everybody had come.
'Strange. There's always someone who finds a good excuse and stay at home. At least a good alibi for the doctor to send him or her home.'
Sonoko Kuroki (girls, #6) thought about that, as she looked out the window of the coach. She was sitting next to her best friend, Rumiko Ozawa (girls, #9). Sonoko found strange the full class number, mainly because they both belong with that "prefer stay at home" band. Whenever they could, bunked off class trips and laughed at home at their poor classmates, who had to stand their annoying form teacher, Mr. Fukashi Genda. Nobody likes him. Fortunately, he won't come this time. But more about the teachers later.
Sonoko asked herself: 'Why am I here?'
„ Because it's compulsory." Rumiko replied immediately, without looking up her favourite comic book.
Oopsie! So she said that out loud? Typical behaviour of Sonoko, that she delves into her thoughts very much and sometimes says them aloud. When she draws, it often happens that she acquires the characters mood. Sonoko looked again at Rumiko, and then stood up to stretch her tired glimpsed to the watch next to the bus driver in front of the bus (her eyesight is slipping, she should buy new glasses), last she found from the slightly blur digits that they are on way at least three hours.
She did not know where are they going exactly, she was not interested in at all. She and Rumiko's seat was in front of the last four-seats of the vehicle. On the left side. Now as she stood up, she could see almost the entire bus.
In the front were sitting the normals, also known as the "dweebs". Like Yaeka Sugiyama (girls, #13) and Sonia Tenzai (girls, #14). They both doing very well at school, (mainly Yaeka), still humbly disacknowledge. Then there is Midori Ogiwara (girls, #8), a quiet girl within the class, but in the student hostel she's the main humorist. Midori laughs so many that she should be shot. Anri Kimura (girls, #4) also can be classified the normals, but the always smiling Erina Sasaki (girls #12) can be hardly call well-behaved. Anri and Erina sits always next to each other, in lessons and of course currently, too. They are good friends since they were kids and go together to parties and drink themselves under the table[1].
After all, the people in 3/e aren't so separated from each other, the best friends are exactly the opposite personalities, though an outsider would tell, how factious is that 36-person team. The most worldlings are maybe Erina's circle of friends: Kirika Kido (girls, #5), true, she's a bit overweight, but also a hotshot - so she can easily has three guys together (maybe I say a little with three). Or Fuyumi Morimoto (girls, #7) - she goes out with a guy from 4/e, after all she's a worldling and finally Katsumi Wakai (girls #15), who is very popular between boys thanks to her average-size breasts. Anri Souma (girls, #16) lives together in the same student hostel room with these three (the whole class lives in the same hostel), but cannot say, Anri hangs with them. She is very weird and unpredictable, she should be always right and if someone does things she doesn't prefer, then 'You can have my eternal wrath! I will never speak again with you! Never again up ten minutes!' Sometimes she argues with her closest friend, Nichie Shiomi (girls, #11), although since Nichie since moved to Erina's room, they don't talk too much. Only during lessons, but then they speak a lot. Lately it had a new fashion between the girls (just in Erina's room), all the room members playing the sedulous ape to her. Benika Hoshino (girls, #3) is a great example for that, whose mother divorced Benika's father and now lives together with her two younger brothers. Benika just started school when it happened. Since then, her mother got together with someone from the town, and therefore try to keep her youthful appearance. Benika learned from her mother that damn "I have to look pretty!" and "Smile on the boys!" attitude.
This has become even more unbearable these times and is often a good backbiting topic for Erina's clique. Her supposed best friend Rena Bando (girls, #1) was fed up with that, too.
By the way, Rena was Sonoko's best friend their age 1/e but Benika had come and he managed to tear apart their friendship. Without that Sonoko would never team up with Rumiko, but that memory is still hurts Sonoko, it doesn't matter what she said to the others ('I don't care that anymore.') It could be because of the terrible first year in the Junior High School...
From this year Rena spends the most time (we can say day and night) with her boyfriend, Dan[2] Nomura (boys, #8) - it's not so stunning, they are sitting on the bus side by side, in the same row as Sonoko and Rumiko, only on the right side. Rena rested her head on Dan's shoulder, while they were listening together Dan's iPod (with Rumiko's headset)
Sonoko thrilled on Nana Bunya's (girls, #2) voice and turned round to her direction.
„Wanna some?" asked Nana and held out a large pack in silver paper. There were some sweets in the package.
The way she gave sweets to the two girls, the movement, reminded Sonoko of another Nana from the first year. That Nana would say: "Take it, b*tches!" But she is no longer so. Yet. But that is another long story, from that dark first year in the Junior High School.
Sonoko spent that year in suffer thanks to Amika Kentaro (she is in 2/e, failed the test at the end of the last year) and she caused for Nana an almost unfortunate ending. Fortunately all turned well and they both left Amika, Nana ran around with Midori instead. So Amika had to look after a new toy, Chisato Ozawa (girls, #10) was the perfect person. Amika is an extremely raffish chick, she says, what she thinks, talks dirty and isn't abashed by innerly things. She gives herself airs like a talented actress, who deserves OSCAR. That's why the boys are all over her, but they are only needed to...
To "have fun". Yeah. She was successful, no matter what she started to do - of course with a help of many people who were played upon by her then. And she dodged all trouble cleverly. This luckiest story-teller and singer girl of the world was Sonoko's best friend. In the past. This is the mystery of that first year, too.
„ My Sonoko, are you still alive? I speak to you!" Nana almost shouted „Take some! Help yourself! Rumiko?"
Sonoko shook her head.
„I have chewing gum."
Rumiko looked up a bit behind her manga comic.
„No, thankie." politely shook her head twice. That movement... typical "rumikoish".
„Doesn't matter, it will be more for us." Nana sat back her seat in disappointment and Sonoko continued looking around in the bus.
To the left, almost in the middle sat the fat cats of the class, Baku Shoda (boys, #11), Yamato Chiba (boys, #2) and Gouki Hayata (boys, #4). Well, Gouki can be called anything (and everyone do gladly) only not hard. He wants to solve all his problems with explaining things away. He can sh*ts better than a politician. He could also explain that your ears are your nose if he had the mood for it. Just to be right. His voice is often subject of jokes in the classroom: a thin and raspy "like a cut horse." Dan used to say that. Sometimes the boys included his names for the girls' just for fun.
Behind the pros Fukashi Murata (boys, #7) and Okumura Isato (boys, #9) entertained each other with their dog stories. These twos are quite figurative, for example Fukashi reads fantasy books. But with Norito Royama (boys, #6), they make an incredibly bombastic team when they start to bugger around. Then the audience prefer should be prepared for a sudden coming, big amount of laughing or you will suffer from the symptom called muscle strain. They talk so much nonsense that it hurts. Beyond Yamato's and the other's seat Sonoko could see only heads.
She recognized Goushi Kakutama's (boys, #5) ratty plait of hair - usually he wears ponytail and his childhoods best friend, Ben Ugaki's (boys, #10) short curls. Asuya Fukuda (boys, #12) was standing up from his seat in that very moment to join his girlfriend, Yaeka. Fuyuki Shinji Egami and Baku Baisotei (boys, #3, #10) had the loudest laugh in the whole bus. They make also a great team together in talk hooey but only between themselves.
Suddenly Rumiko snorted nervously and pretended not to notice that the new girls behind their place were kicking her seat all the time. By name: Etsumi Inukai (girls, #18) and Yurisa Akera(girls, #20).
„They have been just from another school, what do they want?" Rumiko muttered, but she ended the issue with that much.
Six students came to the 3/e beside them, Sonoko hardly knew these students, even though she was an important person in the class. At first sight quiet Iyona Tsumura (girls, #19) fulfilled this impression, just like the main worldling, Ayami Horigoshi (girls, #17). Fuyuki philanders her ever since she put her foot on the classroom of the 3/e.
Which month did they come? Who can remember?
All in different times. Fukashi Tenzai (boys, #16) for example only changed class from 3/a, nobody knows why. Anyway Sonia Tenzai likes the idea and not only her, Fukashi is happy, too to finally be in the same class. It was quite difficult to talk, while three other girl wanted to go out with him. It is also funny that they have the same surname. Yes, they were born to each other.
Sonoko knew about Michio Otomo (boys, #13) only that, he is Ayami Horigoshi's stepbrother. Both of their parents divorced and Ayami's father got together with Michio's mother. Last but not least about the Ryusaki-twins, Kinji (boys, #14) and Riki (boys, #15) even the form teacher knows only that they are twins. They aren't as like as two peas: Kinji has splayed, prominent, bushy hair and longish face, while his brother has short, stylish hair left a little longer by his neck and a simple, silver earring in his left ear. Wearing earrings in the left ear has become great style between boys, never mind what sort of earring is it.
Sonoko on the model of that worn a silver Nike logo in her left ear. If she is already kept to a boyish girl, don't do it baseless. Returning to the twins, they keep quiet all along the lessons, they do nothing bad in breaks either, that was only odd, that they hardly say any word. When someone ask them, they give the reply in one or two words, it seemed, that they can communicate with each other through their thoughts. Or how else could they what the other wants? From the meaningless eyes? Just kidding, right? Kirika, Amika and a large group of girl fanatics gave up the lovemaking, because the boys didn't ever show to be interested in females (or in worst case males).
Do they feel something?
One look was enough for Sonoko to have a bad, mysterious feeling every time he looked at any Ryusaki. They can have guilty past or something. For sure, something is wrong with them. She couldn't tell the reason she thought it. Only felt.
And she felt something else, tiredness. She was restless, wanted to do more than staring out on the window and thinking about these sh*ts. What would happen if, let's see... she would continue one of her novels in her mind? She likes writing novels very much, as long as possible, but often it is the problem. Whereof she finished the half of one, will be weary of the writing and leave the matter open. Sometimes come into her mind, it would be good if she could continue her novels, the reply come in no time: 'Why? Only Rumiko will read them. Plus... I don't feel like it.'
The initial enthusiasm slowly will had gone and finally the idea of finishing the story remains really a thought.
Sonoko thought about the boy, Shinji again, who is in the 2/e. In fact Sonoko should belong with that class, too but she started school a year earlier, because she could read and write at the age of three. The first "novel" of her was born in these times anyway. Therefore, she is the youngest in the 3/e, Baku Baisotei is roundly one year older than she, by chance they were born in the same month on the same day.
In words this Shinji appeals to Sonoko, not only because they both love to play football, Shinji is almost as tall as her (nearly 165 cm) and well ... he's so hot.
And as she watched him the past years, discovered more and more similarities among them. Once, in a boring study-afternoon, they talked about that, which boy fits with them. Sonia and the others immediately said Shinji's name. Then it's no casual.
Although this love-thing is not her cup of tea, she didn't care at all one year ago, but now she began to feel, she should change her life...
[1] Hungarian meaning of the „drink themselves blind" expression
[2] everyone called Dan with English pronunciation. /dan/
