“Luke! There aren’t any more trains!”
“Does that mean we can stay?” He looks hopeful.
“No! We’ll catch a cab instead.”
I hurry back to the road and feel around in my purse for my money. Damn. I only have five-hundred yen. That’s not going to get me home. Why didn’t I think to get more cash from the ATM earlier? I don’t have my card either—I think it’s in in the pocket of my pants back at the apartment.
“Do you have any money?” I ask Luke.
“I have enough for the hotel.”
“No! We’re not staying at the hotel! I want to go home!”
“Well, go then. I’m staying here,” he says stubbornly. He then turns and heads back to Club Dolphin.
“Luke!” I yell, exasperated.
He ignores me. “You can either stay with me or walk,” he calls over his shoulder.
I want to kill him. Forget him murdering me—it’s going to be the other way around.
I look around anxiously for some sort of sign. It’s not like I can call anyone to come pick me up. None of my friends have cars except Masahiro, and he’s probably in bed by now. And I haven’t been in touch with him since I left. I know it’s only been two weeks, but I should have made the effort. Anyway, I can’t ask Masahiro to rescue me in the middle of the night.
With no other choice, I go after Luke.
“Wait up,” I call dully.
TWENTY-FIVE
I think last night was a new low for me. And I’ve had some pretty low points in the past few months.
We stayed in the awful pirate room, complete with fluffy pink bedspread, vibrating mattress controls and a nightmarish ocean landscape painted in UV paint on the walls. Fake cannons were stuck to the sides of the bed frame, and there was even a pretend mast in the middle of the room and sails swinging from the roof.
I curled up on my side of the bed as close to the edge as possible. I also put a row of pillows down the middle so I wouldn’t have to touch Luke. He didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy trying out the vibrating mattress and singing karaoke on the in-room jukebox.
For the record, he is not good at karaoke. He sang Bon Jovi’s Blaze of Glory at the top of his lungs totally off-key and it was horrific. It’s all well and good when you’ve been drinking for hours and are out with a bunch of friends, but being stuck in a themed hotel room with a guy who mistakenly thinks he’s the next Bruno Mars is taking it to a whole new level.
I didn’t even want to go to the bathroom, because there was a big window that looked through from the bedroom to the shower. Of course Luke had no qualms about using the shower. I’m not sure if he wanted to try and tempt me or if he just didn’t care. But I made sure I was pre-occupied with the TV the entire time he was bathing. I didn’t look over once.
I lay in the dark for hours, maybe only sleeping for forty minutes. Consequently, I was feeling even worse the next day.
I caught the first train home, but not before informing Luke that he was to leave my apartment by the time I got home from work that evening.
He had the gall to look upset.
“But we’ve hardly had a chance to get to know each other!” he cried.
“I know as much as I want to,” I replied. “You’re inconsiderate, hyperactive and a borderline psycho. There is no future for us. You will have to go and explore Japan on your own.”
I know I was probably being a bit harsh, but I was at the end of my tether. I was going to have to sleep for most of the day just to be able to teach that night.
Thankfully Luke got the message and left me alone. He had apparently slept like a baby and wanted to go out sightseeing. I was thrilled to have my room to myself again, and I lazed around napping, eating and reading gossip online. It felt like things might finally return to normal.
***
I leave for work without hearing from Luke. Hopefully I won’t have to see him again. I’m so glad that’s over with.
Zac started early. He’s covering someone else’s shift, so he’s doing the full day. I’m glad he didn’t say anything this morning.
He was pretty quiet, come to think of it.
I don’t see him when I get to school. He must be in a class. And I decide to not tell Alana about what happened yet. It’s still too new and painful. She seems distracted anyway. She must have had a late night too.
My first couple of lessons go smoothly. After the second one, I quickly check my phone. It’s a bit of a habit. It’s not like anyone’s going to call me—nearly everyone I know is here at school. But I do have a missed call. I don’t recognise the number, but I recognise the voice on the message. With a sinking heart I listen to Luke saying he’s been arrested and that I need to go pick him up. He doesn’t say what he’s done, but it must be pretty bad for the police to get involved.
I tell the girls at the counter that I have an emergency and beg them to get someone to cover my classes. They begrudgingly agree. I hope they understand that I wouldn’t ask unless I really needed to.
I catch the train into Umeda, the whole while wondering what Luke could have done, and how I can get rid of him once and for all. He doesn’t seem capable of looking after himself. Maybe this will encourage him to go home.
I eventually find the police station and ask the officer at the counter if I can speak to Luke. His English isn’t very good, but I manage to somehow get my point across.
I’m led back to a holding cell where Luke is sitting miserably on the floor. It has timber floors, which is a nice change from the usual bare concrete you see in prison movies, but I wish I didn’t have to be here.
“What did you do?” I ask Luke.
“Nothing!” he protests. “I was just taking a walk down by the river and I started talking to these men that lived in a shack…”
It seems as if the homeless men enjoy socialising with all the Westerners who venture their way.
“And then they gave me some stuff that looked like herbs and I didn’t know what to do, and then suddenly there were police everywhere and I ended up here.”
“Herbs?”
“Well, I assume now it was drugs.”
“Didn’t you think at the time it was a bit weird, them giving you herbs?”
“I don’t know. This whole country is weird.”
“And the police just appeared out of nowhere?”
“Well…” He looks away nervously.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“I didn’t know what was happening! The guys must have rolled some of the drugs into a spliff for me but I thought it was tobacco. It was only after I had a puff that I realised what it was. But the cops must have smelt it and come to see what was going on.”
I look at him incredulously. “Are you kidding me? Do you know how strict they are with drugs here?”
“I’m not going to get the death penalty, am I?” He suddenly looks scared.
“I don’t know. Probably not. But let me go talk to someone and find out.”
The guard at the front counter doesn’t understand a thing I say. In frustration, I phone Masahiro and explain the situation. He asks to talk to the guard. I hand over my phone to the annoyed officer.
After some animated back and forth, the officer hands back the phone.
“What did he say, Masahiro?”
“He says your friend can go but he has to pay fine. Two-hundred-thousand yen.”
Two and a half grand? That seems a bit steep. But then I suppose it’s better than staying in jail.
“Thank you so much, Masahiro. I’m sorry I haven’t called before now. I will phone soon and we will go out for ramen.”
“I would like that. Take care, Jessica. And stay away from bad men!”
I laugh. He said something similar the last time I spoke to him.
The officer grumpily lets Luke out of his cell. Luke looks like he’s about to cry.
“You have to pay a two and a half thousand dollar fine,” I tell him.
He looks a
t me, dismayed. “But that would be all my holiday money.”
“Well, you don’t have a choice.”
He looks so pathetic that I momentarily feel sorry for him. But not enough to help him out any more than I already have.
“Just give them your credit card,” I say.
He hands it over dejectedly. The officer swipes it and makes Luke sign a bunch of papers.
We finally get out over an hour later. I look at Luke seriously. “Luke, this obviously isn’t working. I think you should go home and sort yourself out. You’ll get a job no problem. Maybe your old work will take you back.”
“I doubt it. I wasn’t very nice to my boss.”
I shake my head in amazement. How has he managed to survive this long?
“Well, go stay at your folks’ house or something. I just can’t look after you right now. I barely have any money myself and I’m trying to get back on my feet. I don’t have time for a relationship, and I certainly don’t have the time to babysit you.”
“I don’t need babysitting!”
I look at him pointedly.
“This was all a mistake! But fine, I get the picture. You want me to leave so you can be with Zac.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Luke, you should go now. I’m going back to work, and there better not be a trace of you when I return later.”
“That’s what I planned.”
“Good.” I leave him standing outside the station and shake my head. I really hope this is the last I see of Luke Miller.
***
I don’t really need to go back to work—I’m going to get there right before the end of the last lesson—but I don’t want to go home and watch Luke pack. I hope I can convince some of the gang to go out for a drink.
Zac and Alana are surprised to see me when I re-enter the staff room. I know I’m going to have to tell them everything, but I decide it can wait until I’ve had at least three Chu-His.
They agree to come with me to the Italian restaurant downstairs. I go straight to the bar and order two beers and a Chu-Hi. I seem to be the only one who voluntarily drinks it all the time. No one else drinks it if there’s another choice.
I slide the two beers across the table. Alana takes a sip and pulls a face.
“What?” I say. “Isn’t it any good?”
“No, it’s fine. I’m just feeling a bit off. I had some chicken sashimi earlier today and I don’t think it agreed with me.”
“You ate raw chicken?” I stare at her disbelievingly.
“Yeah, so?”
“Well, you’ve probably got salmonella or something. That’s disgusting!”
“Hey, it was on the restaurant menu,” she protests.
“I’m surprised you’re not puking all over the place! Do you think maybe you should go to the hospital?”
“Nah, I’m fine. I have a strong stomach.”
“Well, let me know if you feel faint or anything. We might need to get your stomach pumped.”
“I’m okay. Now come on, what the hell has been going on with Luke?”
I gulp most of my Chu-Hi in one mouthful and tell them.
They think it’s really funny.
“So apparently I have you to thank for last night.” I turn on Zac. “And that stupid pirate hotel.”
“What pirate hotel?”
“Miki told Luke that the two of you go to this themed hotel all the time. Look, I don’t mind what you get up to in your own time, but I would appreciate it if your girlfriend kept the details to herself. It was one of the worst nights of my life!”
“I’ve never stayed in a pirate hotel,” he says, looking puzzled. “Alana, do you know what she’s talking about?”
“I don’t think so. Where were you?” she asks me.
“Somewhere south of Umeda. There was neon everywhere. Oh, and there was a Christmas village. A bit early I must say, but it was kind of pretty.”
Suddenly, Alana roars with laughter. “Luke took you to the love hotel district?”
“Love hotel?”
“Where people go to shag.”
I’m taken aback. “Really? I mean, I suspected that some people might get into the whole role playing thing, but are you telling me its sole purpose is for people to go and get it on?”
Zac smiles. “Oh Jess. So innocent.”
“Hey,” I snap. “I’ve only been in the country for a month. I don’t know everything about the damn place.”
“Sorry,” Zac apologises. “It’s just that a lot of people use them because they live with their extended families, and sometimes they need the privacy.”
“So you do go to them!” I accuse. “Like when you and Miki stay out all night.”
“We’ve been once or twice. But not to the themed ones. We stayed at one the other night, because I knew it made you uncomfortable that first night when Miki was over.”
“You don’t have to leave on my account,” I say. “Just tell Miki to keep it down a bit. She sounds like Minnie Mouse on acid.”
Alana loves this. “And I hear you two go at it for hours,” she laughs.
Zac looks at me. “Have you been talking about me to Alana?”
I shoot her daggers.
“Well, it was impossible not to hear her carrying on,” I explain. “I didn’t go into details or anything.”
“Just keep it to yourself next time, okay?”
“Sorry,” I mumble.
“So, where’s Luke now?” Alana asks, realising she probably shouldn’t have said anything.
“Gone, I hope. I can’t believe he got arrested. Idiot.”
“Well, now there’s nothing stopping you enjoying your time here,” she reasons.
“That’s true. Although, I do miss Alex. But I think he’s going to come visit around Christmas.”
“Let’s hope he doesn’t end up being charged with shoplifting or anything,” Alana giggles.
“God, I hope not. Alex is a lot more savvy than Luke, though. I think he’ll quite like it here.”
We sit and chat for a bit longer. I want to make sure I’ve given Luke more than enough time to get away.
Thinking about Alex has reminded me of home and my old job.
“I wish I could get in touch with the head guy back at my office in Australia,” I muse.
“Pfft. Who needs them?” Alana says.
“But I just wanted the chance to explain myself. I was up for a big promotion before I got fired, you know.”
“That sucks, but you should move on. We love you, and Starlight loves you. Ace doesn’t deserve you.”
“I guess you’re right. From now on, I’ll try and focus on teaching English. I can always come back to graphic design later.”
“Of course you can.”
Finally, the restaurant closes up and we head home. I’m relieved to see there’s no sign of Luke. And my carton of cigarettes has gone. Typical.
Well, that’s done with. Now to move on.
TWENTY-SIX
I haven’t seen Miki around for a while, thankfully. Maybe she knows I would yell at her for telling Luke about the love hotel.
After getting over the initial shock of whole districts devoted to sex hotels, I’m curious to learn more. I want to know if the one where we stayed was weirder than usual.
Apparently not. In fact, when I go online and do some research, ours seems pretty tame compared to some. There’s one with S & M rooms, one with heart-shaped beds and cheesy mirrors on the ceiling, and one with a children’s fairground theme. Creepy.
Things have pretty much returned to normal. I’m trying to focus on work and save some money for once. Most days I go for a ride up the river by myself, staring out at the green mountains in the distance. It’s surprisingly quiet during the day. Even the homeless men don’t seem to be very noisy until later in the afternoon. The feeling of peace that I had at the café when I first arrived has re-emerged and I feel quite settled.
It’s strange, but despite the h
ectic nature of the city, I often feel like I’m travelling around in a bubble. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that I hardly know anyone, or because I don’t speak Japanese. Sometimes I listen to music on my headphones and watch life go by. It’s kind of like viewing an arthouse movie.
It’s Friday, so I’m trying to figure out what to do this weekend. I might go to Nara and see some deer. Or perhaps Kobe, to try some of their famous beef.
I get to work a few minutes early and see that I have an empty lesson first up. What a nice surprise. I’ll be able to go through some of my student files and relax for once.
Nigel comes in. “Jess, I was wondering if maybe you could help us out. We’ve got an open day coming up and I thought you might be able to do up some flyers, seeing as you don’t have a lesson right now.”
“Oh, of course. Just tell me what you want on them.”
“Here—I’ve scribbled a few notes.” He hands me a piece of paper. “We don’t need anything fancy. Just let me know if you have any questions.”
“No problem.”
I wonder if he realises what he’s asking me to do. It looks like I’m going back to graphic design sooner than I thought.
It feels like ages since I’ve used that part of my brain. Thankfully I’ve got my laptop with me. I take it everywhere, kind of like a security blanket. I flip it open and start up Illustrator.
***
Half an hour later, I have a few rough ideas. I go and show Nigel.
“Jess! These are fantastic!”
He’s so enthusiastic, I feel like he’s making fun of me. But I know he would never do that.
“They’re not quite finished,” I explain. I’m used to going back at least two or three times to refine a concept.
“But they’re fine just as they are! Better than fine!”
“If it’s okay with you, I would like to finish them properly tomorrow and then bring them up, maybe in the afternoon?”
“Of course! But you don’t have to go out of your way. We can put them up on Monday, so just bring them along then. What are you doing working here? You should be at one of those big advertising agencies.”
“Yeah, well I used to be. But it didn’t work out very well.”
Zen Queen Page 24