by Kayla Morgan
Emily adjusted her wig one more time, still trying to hide all of her real hair underneath it. The shop owner had shown her how, but she was still struggling with it on her own. With one final tweak, she finally succeeded and took a step back. She took in her new black hair and her new favorite outfit – a blue and brown plaid skirt with brown leggings and a white top with a fitted maroon jacket on top. In the mirror staring back at her was a Japanese girl.
Well, half-Japanese, she thought.
She knew she could never convince people that she was completely Japanese. Although she was built like most Japanese girls her age, she still had a very American-looking face. She figured she would still be taken more seriously with her art. She would also stop getting weird looks for being a gaijin speaking Japanese, which would be a lovely added bonus.
Honestly, she knew she was being kind of crazy. The whole idea was nuts. But so was crossing the ocean to chase a dream job that was difficult to break into. If this is what could possibly get her the best shot at her future career, why stop the crazy train now?
She finally walked away from the mirror and began packing up the last of her things. She had barely slept last night. After her big decision and late night shopping, she had come back to her room full of jittery nerves. As she always did, she dove into her art to help with the stress. She had been awake for hours before passing out on top of her sketchbook. It was the silhouette of a girl with long wavy black hair. The girl looked tiny as she faced the elaborate city that was spread before her. Written in Japanese across the top was one phrase – “Watashi no kami no yume o oikakete”.
“Chasing my paper dream”
Emily pulled the picture of her sketchbook and held it with outstretched arms.
“Not too bad for 4 o’clock in the morning,” she mumbled sleepily. “Maybe if I—”
It felt like only minutes had passed when Emily was awoken by her phone’s alarm. She fell out of bed, sketchbook flying, and started packing before her brain could even recognize what she was doing. Emily knew she had to get up early so that no one in the Kenzou family would see her. She felt terrible about leaving without saying goodbye, but she had written a heartfelt thank you note that she planned on leaving for them to find when she was gone.
Her second alarm went off, reminding her that she only had five more minutes before she needed to be out the door. Emily kicked it into high gear and began hastily shoving the rest of her things into her suitcase. She checked one final time to make sure that her thank you card was sitting on the dresser in plain sight. She stepped out into the hallway, quietly shutting the door behind her, and picked up her suitcase in order to make as little noise as possible.
Once outside, Emily hurried down the street while her suitcase bounced along behind her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was forgetting something, but she kept dismissing the idea. It was just because she had packed so quickly. She always felt this way when she packed. Emily shrugged the feeling off and marched on.
Finally feeling safe with the amount of distance she put between her and the inn, Emily hailed a taxi and settled down for another costly ride. She was pleasantly surprised to see that her cab driver didn’t bat an eye when she told him where she would like to go in Japanese. Her heart lifted; her new look was working!
Twenty minutes later, she arrived in front of her school and paid the driver. The only problem? It was barely 5 o’clock in the morning. She still had three more hours until she could check in at the college. Luckily, there was a 7-Eleven conbini a few blocks from the school. Emily ducked back into the crowd and headed that way.
She had heard all kinds of rumors about how Japanese convenience stores were the best convenience stores in the world. They were supposed to be filled to the brim with a boatload of snack and drink varieties and freshly made-to-go food that was good enough to actually supplement a made-at-home meal. Her first step through the 7-Eleven confirmed those rumors. She stood in fixed amazement for a few seconds before diving into a thorough examination of the place. She found cookies and candies with crazy flavors she had never heard of before, including a cherry blossom-flavored Kit-Kat. She grinned and giggled like the crazy fangirl she was when she found a bottle of Pocari Sweat. It was a sport drink that was similar to Gatorade, and she had watched characters drink it on some of her favorite Asian dramas. Then came the freshly-made foods – egg-salad sando (sandwiches), onigiri, packages of sushi, bento boxes with ingredients like curry, ramen, yakisoba, and finally tons of pan (bread), including a variety of buns stuffed with meat.
She hadn’t even realized she was hungry, but now that she was surrounded by all this delicious food, her stomach loudly told her she was. She picked up one of the onigiri, one that had bonito flakes and soy sauce, and one of the pork-stuffed buns. She ran back to grab a large koohii (coffee), added her sugar and cream, and then picked up a couple of the other snacks that she was dying to try. She paid for her food and bounced out of the store, feeling happy with her purchase.
Then she saw them – the cherry blossom trees.
A row of beautiful sakura trees, blooming in all of their April glory, from across the street in a small park. She dashed down and crossed the street with the crowd to get a closer look, clutching her suitcase and new bag of goodies. At first, all Emily could do was stare in awe at the glorious blossoms gently waving above her. She finally understood why cherry blossom trees were such a big deal. Just one individual tree on its own was beautiful enough, but the way the branches of all the surrounding sakura stretched out into an interwoven canopy was breath-taking. The blanket of blossoms shimmered pink and white like the clouds at sunset. Overwhelmed with a sense of peace, Emily collapsed into a nearby bench and continued to stare in awe. The trees swayed dreamily in the light breeze and the petals softly swam around her until they finished their journey to the ground.
Emily was overcome with a swell of lightness as the realization of everything she had accomplished swam over her. She had done it. She was here in Tokyo. She had survived her first week. There had been rough patches along the way, but she still made it through.
Then she remembered her new look and self-consciously pulled at her new hair. The doubts rose up in her again on whether or not she should be disguising herself like this, but she squashed the thoughts back down. She had to do this. She couldn’t lose her shot at becoming a mangaka. And, as stupid as it may seem to others, she loved dressing like this. It was the reason she had always loved competing in cosplay conventions back home— the thrill of being someone new. She had never felt comfortable in her own skin. Now, she was where she wanted to be and who she wanted to be. Her worry pushed aside, she pulled her sketchbook out of her purse and lost herself attempting to recreate the beauty of the world around her.
Hours later, she emerged from her own little world and realized that it was already past 8 o’clock. Couples were walking down the paths while families were out with their young children at the small playground. Everyone was itching to get out into the April sunshine. Emily stashed her sketchbook away, now filled with pictures of cherry blossom trees and a certain boy that she was already missing and made her way back towards the college.
Her heart fluttered with excitement at the thought of finally starting. Tokyo International was one of the biggest universities in the city. Due to its enormous size, the university was the only school that offered both science paths, like nursing and physics, and art paths, like her manga course. It was also one of the few universities in Tokyo that had on-campus dorms. She had read that a lot of university students chose to rent apartments off-campus, so most colleges didn’t even offer them. However, TIU boasted of its on-campus dorm life that was similar to an American style, with everyone getting their own roommate.
Honestly, Emily wasn’t so sure how she felt about getting a new female friend in her life. She had never really been good at making friends back home, since she mostly kept to herself in order to protect herself from her fellow private schoo
l students. She mostly had her online friends, who were also into all of her fandoms. There was no judgement there, so Emily actually felt safe.
A huge booth with a sign welcoming new students caught Emily’s attention and she headed towards it. She greeted the girl at the booth, who introduced herself as one of the college seniors, and checked in.
“Here’s your room key and information packet,” the girl explained with a cheery smile. “The female dorms are just around the corner on the right.”
Emily thanked her and walked off in that direction. She quickly scanned the paperwork for the name of her room and roommate— Room J67 with Tanaka Michi.
Her nerves shivered out of control as she entered the building and headed up to the sixth floor. Not only was she going to be stuck with this girl for the next year, but she was also going to have to lie about who she really was. All the food she ate this morning sloshed in her stomach. Maybe she should have skipped that second egg sandwich.
With a shaking hand, Emily opened the door. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the girl standing there unpacking. She was stunningly beautiful with long blonde hair and porcelain skin. She towered over Emily’s short figure. Emily stared at the girl in shock and quickly backed out of the door to check the number again. J67. She had the right room. She opened the door again and now the blonde girl stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Emily.
“Can I help you?” she growled in Japanese.
Emily jumped at her harsh words and began to panic. “Gomen’nasai!” she started. “But… but are you Tanaka Michi?” She looked down at her pamphlet to make sure she got the name right.
“Yeah, I am.”
Emily’s eyes widened with shock. Was this some sort of joke? The woman in front of her could have been an American model!
Michi sighed and sank into the bed she had obviously already claimed as her own and stretched out her long legs. With an irritated scowl on her face, she continued, “Yeah, okay, I know that look. Listen here. My name is Tanaka Michi. My father is from Japan, but my mother was French. They named me Tanaka Michi, because they assumed I’d come out looking at least slightly Asian. However, the fates thought that was a cute joke and gave me every recessive gene I could have and – jian!” She stopped and gestured to her obviously “non-Asian” appearance. “Here I am. And it sucks, but after 20 years, you learn to deal with the cards that have been dealt to you. But I bet you know all about that, Johnson Emily.”
“What do you mean?” she asked with a nervous giggle.
Michi stood up gracefully and pointed at Emily’s appearance. “Johnson Emily? Come on. I totally expected some bright-eyed American to come waltzing through that door and instead I get you. You are Johnson Emily, aren’t you?” She crossed her arms, and her crystal-blue eyes bore down into Emily’s brown ones. Emily felt herself starting to crack under her gaze, but then she regained her composure. You’re never going to pull this off if you freak out on the first person you meet.
She squared her shoulders and gave some of Michi’s attitude back. “Yes, I am Emily Johnson. Half-Japanese as well; my mother was from Japan. But my father was an American, so I have an American name.”
For a second, the two girls continued to glare at each other. But, to Emily’s surprise, Michi broke the tension with a smile. “A fellow haafu. Maybe this roommate thing won’t be so bad after all.”
As she walked back to her luggage to continue unpacking, Emily breathed a sigh of relief for passing the first “test”. With the interrogation over, she finally took some time to look around her new room. It was small, especially with two beds, dressers, and desks shoved in it, but nothing that she couldn’t handle. The small room was very tidy and well-kept. She was grateful for that. She peeked out the window and was elated to see a view of the cherry blossom trees across the road. She began unpacking her things feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.
The girls continued to unpack in silence, but Michi was done long before Emily. While Emily put her clothes in the dresser, Michi pulled out a business book and began flipping through it. However, Emily couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched between pages. Emily kept glancing up at Michi, thinking that she wanted to start up a conversation, but every time she looked up, Michi looked back down. It went on for a full five minutes before Emily couldn’t take the pressure anymore.
“What’s up? Did you want something?”
“Yeah, actually I do.” Michi put the book down, and her formerly friendly face turned back into the scowl that Emily had met at the front door. “You want to explain to me why you’re wearing a wig?”
chapter four
Heart pounding, Emily clutched at her hair— a piece of her natural brown hair was sticking out from under the wig.
“I-um…,” she started but she had no idea where to begin. How had she already failed? Her crazy plan had been foiled before the school year even started. The first person she met already knew she was lying.
Her new roommate continued to glare at her. “I’m waiting.”
She didn’t have a choice. She honestly couldn’t see a way around it, so she decided to tell her the truth.
Emily went into full detail about everything— how she grew up wanting to become a mangaka, how her grandmother had helped her come here to fulfill her dream but it was a secret from her parents, how she had felt criticized about being an American in this field so she decided to hide her identity.
Michi looked at her like she was a mad woman and replied, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Emily winced and plopped onto her bed, admitting defeat. She pulled her black wig off and stared at the floor. What would Michi do? Was she going to turn her into campus administration?
“So…are you any good?”
Emily jumped and looked up at her.
Michi stared back, waiting for Emily to respond. When she didn’t, Michi rolled her eyes and pointed at the sketchbook that was sticking out of her purse. “May I?” she asked.
Emily paused momentarily. She had never let anyone look at her sketchbook, except for Grandma. But if she wanted Michi to trust her, this may be her only way in.
Emily nodded quickly and shoved the sketchbook into Michi’s hands.
Michi stretched herself back out onto her bed and began flipping through the pages. It was agonizing for Emily to watch. Even when she had Grandma look at her sketchbook, it was still incredibly nerve-racking. Sharing her art was like baring her soul out into the open for others to scrutinize. She knew this was something she’d have to get over in order to go forward in this career, but the thought still made her anxiety kick into overdrive.
Finally, Michi let out a long whistle. “You,” she said with a slight sound of surprise in her voice, “are one very talented chick.”
“Really?” Emily stared at with amazement and a tiny bit of hope. Maybe now Michi wouldn’t turn her in?
“I’m serious,” she continued. “I’m an especially huge fan of this page.”
And of course, Michi held up the one page that could embarrass Emily the most. It was full of tiny sketches of Akio. Akio smiling. Akio eating his dinner. Akio with a look of surprise and covered in trash. And of course, Akio hugging her in the alleyway from the night before.
“Who’s the hottie?” she asked with a smirk.
Emily’s face grew hot. “No one!” she sputtered. “Just some guy!”
Michi gave her a “yeah-right” face but didn’t push the subject any further. She closed the sketchbook and handed it back to Emily.
“Well alright then!” she clapped her hands together. “Let’s do this!”
Emily paused, dumbfounded. “Do what?”
“Um, hello! Your crazy plan! Personally, I don’t get it, but if you think it’s going to help you succeed then whatever. I’m all in!”
Michi grinned at her, and Emily couldn’t help but be in awe of this new girl. She didn’t even know Emily, but she was willing to go along with this c
razy scheme that she had come up with.
Emily asked with deliberation, “So you’re actually going to help me with my plan?”
“I’m going to help you with your wig,” she replied and picked it up from Emily’s bed. “You’re never going to fool anyone if you can’t figure out how to put on a wig correctly. Plus, it is so obviously a cosplay wig. If you’re going to do this, then you’re going to need to get one that actually looks like real human hair.” She picked up Emily’s wig with a scrutinizing look. “You’re lucky you ran into me first.”
“You’re going to help me?” she asked again, concerned. “Even though you don’t even know me?” This felt like a trap. It didn’t help that Michi’s looks kind of reminded her of the stuffy private school girls who tormented her back home.
Michi shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, I guess I don’t know you. But I know a thing or two about fighting to get what you want, despite all the odds against you.”
“You’re here chasing your dream too?”
“That’s the plan. I’m going to be an incredibly wealthy and super successful businesswoman. I’m going to be in charge of my own hotel line on the beaches of France!”
“And you came all the way to Tokyo to do it?”
Michi deflated and replied, “Oh. No, not really. I just moved back to Tokyo towards the end of March. Dad’s job transferred him back here. And one of Dad’s friends is a board member here and put in a good word with the dean. But TIU is a good school. They really have an excellent business program.”
“Sounds like you have a pretty impressive plan for your life as well.”
Michi smiled, but this time it wasn’t as easy as before. Emily felt like she could see a hint of sadness behind her smile. “Well, that’s the plan for now, anyway.”
Noticing that Michi was beginning to feel uncomfortable, Emily decided to refocus the conversation. She pointed at her wig. “So what do we need to do to make this work?”