happens.”
The dreary rainy season came to an end. During a pool-cleaning session at school, I sneaked up behind the girls’ post-menopausal P.E. instructor and pushed her into the dirty water . Somebody snitched on me, and Cauliflower Aihara gave me thirteen hard ones across the face. On the achievement tests, Adama dropped eighty places. He’d been at the top in chemistry the year before, but this year he was down near the very bottom. The college entrance advisor yelled at me, saying I was trying to destroy the kid’s future. (Adama’s scores go down, and I get yelled at—I couldn’t figure that one out.) Iwase had his heart broken for the third time in his high school career, by a spiker on the girls’ volleyball team. As for Kazuko Matsui, I’d only had one more chance to speak to her, in the hallway at school. She asked me about Bookends. I stammered that I’d bring it next time, next time for sure. “Don’t worry,” said Bambi, with all the tenderness of an angel, “any time’s fine.” I had to make a success of the barricade at all costs, for my angel Bambi Lady Jane.
We were making good progress with the preparations. We would strike, as planned, the night before the end-of-school ceremony on July 19. We had the paint and a long roll of cloth for the banner, and the hideout was a hive of activity. The barricade required a total capital investment of 9,255 yen. Each of us chipped in a thousand.
“Everyone listen up.”
I was about to give them the final rundown.
“We’ll assemble at midnight, under the cherry tree by the pool. Whatever you do, don’t come by taxi. Otaki? You’ll walk from your house? Okay. Narushima, you’re walking, too, right? Fuse? Miyachi? You’re staying with Narushima? Good. Masutabe’s place is an inn, so I want Mizoguchi, Nakamura, and Hori to spend the night there. Leave the house separately, don’t walk together. Don’t do anything to draw attention
The dreary rainy season came to an end. During a pool-cleaning session at school, I sneaked up behind the girls’ post-menopausal P.E. instructor and pushed her into the dirty water . Somebody snitched on me, and Cauliflower Aihara gave me thirteen hard ones across the face. On the achievement tests, Adama dropped eighty places. He’d been at the top in chemistry the year before, but this year he was down near the very bottom. The college entrance advisor yelled at me, saying I was trying to destroy the kid’s future. (Adama’s scores go down, and I get yelled at—I couldn’t figure that one out.) Iwase had his heart broken for the third time in his high school career, by a spiker on the girls’ volleyball team. As for Kazuko Matsui, I’d only had one more chance to speak to her, in the hallway at school. She asked me about Bookends. I stammered that I’d bring it next time, next time for sure. “Don’t worry,” said Bambi, with all the tenderness of an angel, “any time’s fine.” I had to make a success of the barricade at all costs, for my angel Bambi Lady Jane.
We were making good progress with the preparations. We would strike, as planned, the night before the end-of-school ceremony on July 19. We had the paint and a long roll of cloth for the banner, and the hideout was a hive of activity. The barricade required a total capital investment of 9,255 yen. Each of us chipped in a thousand.
“Everyone listen up.”
I was about to give them the final rundown.
“We’ll assemble at midnight, under the cherry tree by the pool. Whatever you do, don’t come by taxi. Otaki? You’ll walk from your house? Okay. Narushima, you’re walking, too, right? Fuse? Miyachi? You’re staying with Narushima? Good. Masutabe’s place is an inn, so I want Mizoguchi, Nakamura, and Hori to spend the night there. Leave the house separately, don’t walk together. Don’t do anything to draw attention
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