After I won the literary prize, I half-expected Itsumi to let me join the club. And then, a few weeks into high school, Itsumi and Sayuri showed up at my classroom. It was like a dream come true.
“We read your novel. It was fantastic! Would you please join our club?” Itsumi asked.
The classroom buzzed with excitement. First of all, they were a remarkable pair. They had this aura that the underclassmen found hard to approach. They shone so brightly that they’d burn your eyes if you got too close. It was crazy to think they had come to me, stood right in front of me, to invite me to their club! “With pleasure,” I replied, shaking Itsumi’s hand. My classmates squealed with excitement. I was trying to play it cool, but secretly my legs were shaking. Also, I was so honored to be the first member of the club. They had chosen me!
Itsumi’s hand was warm. My heart raced late into the night.
Itsumi loved Kimikageso. Well, it’s kind of embarrassing to say this, but she pretty much raved about it. She talked about it at our book discussions and even put a copy of it in the library. “Can I have your autograph?” she asked. I played along, turned to a random page in the middle of the book, wrote my name, and:
“To Itsumi Shiraishi, the beautiful president of our beloved Literature Club.”
I can’t believe I had the guts to write that.
Itsumi let me write in the salon whenever I wanted to, and I was really grateful for that. The Literature Club provided me with the funds to order the books I needed from Japan and abroad, kind of like how the medieval European patrons used to be. You may be thinking, like, “Okay, stop exaggerating!” but I’d be typing in the Gothic-style literary salon and look up to suddenly find black tea and freshly baked cookies on my right, and the files I had asked for on my left. Just try and picture that. I’m sure you’d say the word “patron” without even thinking.
✦ ✦ ✦
I made friends with the members of the club and grew closer to Itsumi, the girl I had always worshipped.
Itsumi and I became even better friends during our homestay in Bulgaria. We were only there for two short weeks, but it was really fun. Even Mr. Hojo was startled at how happy we were.
No one at school had ever asked to study abroad in Bulgaria, a completely unfamiliar country to us, but Itsumi had apparently already gone the year before, the first student from the academy to go. Most students choose to study abroad in America or England, and yet there Itsumi was, going to Bulgaria. I was dumbfounded as to why she would choose such a (I shouldn’t say it, but) backwater country in the first place. She even had the guts to go alone. So, I also settled on Bulgaria. If I’m lucky enough, I’ll be able to spend one-on-one time with Itsumi! I thought to myself. And then, my wish actually came true! “I’m so glad you’re coming! I was so bored when I went alone last year,” Itsumi told me. I really enjoyed going to all the different places with her.
On that trip, I discovered a lot of things about Itsumi.
It was really nice staying in a small village instead of a city. I also became besties with Diana and Ema. It was a really precious experience for me.
I was supposed to stay at this woman Bessie’s house, but she told me I had to sleep in the living room. Frankly, Ema kinda messed up. She got all flustered when I asked to be moved to another homestay, and then said that she wouldn’t be able to find a ready place for me to stay. At that point, I told her that I didn’t mind staying in a hotel. So even though the homestay program was supposed to be the highlight of the study abroad program, which required me to stay at a local home, I ended up lodging in a hotel. I’m sure Ema would have gotten in trouble if I had reported her to the school, but I could tell that she was doing her best and told her I’d keep it a secret. “Thank you for not saying anything, Shiyo. We couldn’t live without Ema’s job,” Diana told me. But hey, that’s what friends do, right?
Speaking of friends, Itsumi once bought us all good-luck bracelets from the Rila Church. When you put on a good-luck bracelet, you’re supposed to make a wish. Right arm for love, left arm for studies, right leg for friendship, and left leg for fortune, I think? I put mine on my right leg because I wanted to be closer friends with Itsumi. It was embarrassing to put it on in front of her, so I just did it, like, really fast. I watched Diana and Ema put theirs on their right arm. Ema chose her right arm because she hoped to marry her boyfriend someday. Diana didn’t say anything, but I think she might have liked someone at the time.
I wished as hard as I could, hoping that my wish to be great friends with Itsumi would come true really soon, but the next day I heard a snap, and the bracelet was broken. These things aren’t supposed to break, so I was shocked. But maybe it was the bracelet working in my favor; Itsumi and I got so close during study abroad it was almost like we were actual sisters.