Older Guys
Walking out of the station felt like a liberation; Elyna’s heart still hammered after seeing people get packed into the subway by the Oshiya pushers.
White gloves and impeccable suits, they had folded a salaryman, little by little, limb by limb, until the doors could close an inch away from his face.
Thank God I’m not taking this train.
A part of her still shuddered, even now that she’d escaped the station to make her way through scenic streets.
When it came to culture shock, this was by far the strangest, creepiest experience of her life. Chasing the absurd memory away from her mind, Elyna’s attention shifted to the little fishy shaped flags that danced in the breeze, raised on poles in the few houses that sported a backyard.
Kanae Satsuki walked by her side, eyes half-closed from exhaustion. Despite being a second year, the workload was substantial enough.
“Ne, Satsuki-chan, what do they mean?” Elyna asked.
Tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, the girl gave her a puzzled look, “What…? Oh, the koi no bori? It's a tradition."
After Elyna gave her one long expectant look, Satsuki consented to elaborate. "Families hang carp streamers because carp swim upstream against powerful currents. The biggest black one is for the father, red for the mother, smaller colourful ones for each child.”
Like the Chinese legend, Elyna thought, where the carp transforms into a dragon. A whole family on display. She wished they had something like that back home; little flags would look wonderful on the facade of Grandma’s cottage.
“Why are you here so early, by the way?” Elyna asked, glancing at her companion.
Red crept up the girl’s cheeks, just before a familiar voice interrupted from behind. “Sacchan doesn’t enjoy being squished in the train.”
Elyna rolled her eyes. Of course, Onishi Shūji had to be there, sneaking into every conversation to add his grain of salt… or sand. But she wasn’t about to grace him with her attention.
“Are you agoraphobic?” Elyna asked, watching Satsuki’s hunched shoulders.
The smaller girl ducked her head. “Ah, a bit.” Her eyes darted to Shūji, a silent conversation shared between them. For once, the boy didn’t tease her; he only held her gaze.
“Well, we all have our phobias.” Elyna’s attention drifted upwards, tracing the tangle of electric lines across the narrow street. Between the cables, ridiculously huge arachnids had strung their web. All colourful and eight-legged. Her skin crawled at the sight.
Elyna shuddered. “See, for me, it’s spiders.” Damn Japan and its aerial electric system, they’re just everywhere!
Behind her, Shūji followed her gaze upwards, a calculating light gleaming in his eyes. Dread descended upon Elyna. Oh no. I just gave him weapons to prank me. Scrambling for a distraction, she turned to face him fully. “And why are you here? You’re not usually the early type.”
Thrice she had found Satsuki on her way to the kōkō, but Shūji had been absent the first times.
“To protect Sacchan, of course,” he declared, eyes glinting with mischief. He reached over and ruffled the girl’s hair, making her yelp in protest. “And to mess with you.”
The assistant teacher huffed. “Ugh! Boys.” Intent on ignoring him, Elyna lengthened her stride. But of course, the kendōka cast a teasing line, fishing deliberately for a reaction. “Did you know Hijikata Toshizō was born on koi no bori day?”
That caught her attention, and she whirled around to find the tall boy way too close for comfort. “Really?” She walked backwards clumsily.
A Cheshire grin split his face. “Really,” he drawled. “So you’re into samurai… Is that your type of guy, Elyna-chan?”
“Don’t call me that, sushi,” she repeated for the hundredth time. As usual, the annoying student completely ignored her. By her side, Satsuki’s shoulders tensed at the prospect of yet another confrontation; to say she hated arguments was the understatement of the year.
Feeling mischievous, Elyna turned the conversation around. “So how’s your love life?”
Shūji blinked at the curveball; if romance wasn’t entirely banned by school regulations, it was strongly discouraged. Students needed to concentrate on their studies. Period. Not that it prevented anyone’s heart from beating.
“Don’t be mean, Elyna-chan,” he whined, carding his fingers through unruly strands.
“What?” she exclaimed, her hand flying to her chest to fake shock. “Don’t tell me you’re a cold fish, sushi?”
As he spluttered, Elyna danced away with a laugh, but she sobered up when she caught Satsuki’s crimson cheeks.
“You know most of us don’t have a love life,” Shūji grumbled. His eyes darted quickly to the second-year girl, so fast that it felt like a blink. Satsuki looked on the verge of a heart attack, so Elyna deflected.
“Romance will not get you into university!” Shūji declared in his best impersonation of Katayū Makoto. Elyna yawned. “Yeah, yeah, duty and all. Perform, make your parents proud. I know the drill.”
Very few traditions, in Japan, raised her hackles like the pressure put upon students. It echoed in her bones painfully. To think her mother’s only praise about Japan was its strong focus on performance, where it was Elyna’s main gripe.
With every day spent there, Japan revealed its underbelly to her scrutiny. That pressure she loathed was the reason why Japanese people were so punctual, efficient, and reliable. But it snuffed out their light so badly that she bled for them.
“So…?” Shūji chanced. “Anyone caught your fancy at the kōkō? I heard Daichi-kun is…”
Satsuki gasped, but Elyna only scoffed. “I’m a teaching assistant, not a student. And I’m definitely into men, not boys, thank you very much.”
Aghast, Shūji jumped in front of her, arms outstretched in an impersonation of the Christ in Rio. “Boys?”
Elyna circled him like she would a pole in the middle of the road, hiding her smirk. Nothing miffed the boy more than being ignored; he who kept his cool facing Katayū’s wrath was undone by avoidance.
“Ne, Elyna-chan, you cannot mean that.”
The young woman sighed, and lifted an annoyed eyebrow. “Fine! You want to know my type, sushi? Older than you.”
Sano’s features flashed in her mind; she willed the image away before a blush could betray her.
There was no room for mistakes when verbally sparring with Shūji.
Sano had been the first person to extend his friendship and support.
Even though his physique was worthy of a nosebleed, he probably just represented… something psychological? Right?
That she couldn’t take her eyes off him was irrelevant. That his laugh caused her whole body to tingle, even less so. For once, Elyna welcomed Shūji’s annoying tone if only to snuff out that unhealthy obsession. There was no room for workplace romance here.
So no falling for your supervisor.
“What, like fifty? Want to snatch yourself an old man?”
Elyna’s brain had some trouble catching up with the conversation, lost in reminiscence of last Friday's izakaya outing.
“Shūji-senpai!” Satsuki scolded, voicing her disapproval for the first time.
Elyna shrugged as she walked, trying, and failing to dislodge Sano’s chiselled features from her mind. “No offence, but you guys are all boys at that age.”
Darn, I sounded so condescending.
But even though she was still the ‘baby’ teaching assistant, being part of the staff delighted her. So far, she enjoyed the stimulating conversations with her colleagues; her mind screamed for sustenance seldom found in people her age.
And some teachers were full of surprises. Fujimoto, in particular, was a wealth of knowledge when it came to geopolitics. And music. Not that students were uninteresting, but the brimming energy of youth could never compare to the depth of experience.
Satsuki was a little different; behind her shyness dwelt a pure heart mingled with streaks of wisdom found in withered old ladies. A strange combination that fuelled her curiosity.
“Boys?” Shūji’s tone turned dangerous. “That’s going too far, Elyna-chan.”
“Quod erat demonstrandum[4],” the young woman only smirked, proving her point tenfold.
“What does it mean?” Satsuki watched her volatile senpai warily.
“It means he’s demonstrating what we’d just discussed,” Elyna deadpanned, keeping an eye on the irate boy that trailed them. “The lack of maturity of boys his age!”
Hastening the pace, Shūji came to stand before them, and started unbuttoning his shirt. Elyna huffed a laugh, wondering how many hairs the boy hid underneath the white cotton; enough to count on one hand?
“Come on, I’ll show you a man!” he boasted.
“Shūji-senpai!” Satsuki shrieked with the strength of a fire alarm. “You can’t do that!”
“Watch me,” he commanded, tone playful but eyes blazing.
Amused, Elyna struggled to keep a stern face; that stubborn fool had courage of the kamikaze kind.
In a country where holding hands was an insult to privacy, shedding his uniform was quite the scandal.
And at the kōkō’s feet, nonetheless! Donning her teaching assistant persona, she schooled her features:
"Shūji-kun," she sternly commanded. “You will keep that shirt buttoned.”
Of course, the boy ignored her.