"In the Morning, I'll Say Hello" - by Jaime Lustig
Chapter 42
"Game On"
SCENE 1:
A big gym with multiple volleyball courts
set up. Players are warming up, practicing, stretching. The stands are
beginning to fill. Yuka is in the stands. She’s watching as Aiko and Kiko warm
up together. They’re really into the preparation but also chatting, more like
friends than before. Yuka looks puzzled at this new interaction between Aiko
and someone she doesn’t know. Aiko looks up to the stands and sees Yuka. She
waves and runs over to the side of the stands (it’s a big arena with stands
that are more than mere bleachers).
Aiko:
“Yuka!”
Yuka comes down the aisle to meet her at
the front barrier of the stands. Aiko is flush from practice, sweating, but
radiant. Yuka is mesmerized.
Aiko:
“I’m so glad you’re here. I missed you this past week.”
Yuka places her hands on Aiko’s, closes
them in hers, and places them against her cheek, closing her eyes a bit while
leaning her head into the clasped hands.
Aiko
(to herself): "What's wrong?"
Aiko:
“Yuka...wha...so...you didn't drag Fujimaki-san and Arishima-san here?”
Yuka just shakes her head 'no.'
Aiko:
“Did something happen?”
Yuka shakes her head 'no' again and tries
to put on a brave face.
Aiko
(to herself): “Now I know you’re hiding something. But at least I get you to
myself.”
Aiko:
“Our first match is in the second set of matches today, I’m sorry that you’ll
have to wait.”
Yuka shakes her head 'no' vigorously
signaling that she doesn't mind and Aiko shouldn't worry about it. Yuka gives a
big smile and a peace sign. Watching all this from a bit of a distance, from
where they were practicing, is Kiko.
Kiko
(to herself): “Okumura, you're much more interesting than I used to think. I
wonder if your little freak club knows about your secret?"
Noticing Kiko looking at them, Yuka points
inquisitively.
Aiko:
“Oh, that’s Kiko Hasekura. She’s in class 2-X, so you might not have met her
before.”
Yuka turns her head to the side and blinks
at Aiko as in “since when did you make another friend?”
Aiko:
“She...well, on the trip. She’s almost as good a player as I am!”
Yuka makes a funny face, like “how immodest
to actually say it.” And they both start laughing. Kiko turns around and walks
towards another group of girls.
SCENE 2:
At the hospital. Eriko and Hatsue are
walking into the main entrance.
Eriko:
“...He was pretty cute.”
Hatsue:
“It’s not like that. He’s a...”
Eriko:
“Oh, so now you’re afraid of guys again, that’s not what it looked like back
there.”
Hatsue:
“Quiet you!”
They’re just playing around, shoving each
other, laughing as they go up to the reception desk
Nurse:
“Yes, may I help you?”
The nurse isn’t looking up from her work
yet, but when she does, she sort of scoots back and looks shocked.
Nurse:
“Wait, you’re back! What do you want? You shouldn’t be here?”
Hatsue:
“They seem to know you here.”
Eriko:
“Um, I might have...done some things...to a few people.”
Hatsue:
“What type of things?”
The nurse is secretly calling security on
the phone (whispering into it).
Nurse:
“She’s here, that young woman the old man brought in...yes, that one...I don’t
know...just get up here.”
Right then some guards start turning the
corner.
Guard:
“Stay where you are!”
Eriko grabs Hatsue’s hand and takes off
running, they start running randomly through the halls, eventually eluding the
guards. When they think they’ve gone far enough, they stop, with Eriko’s hands
on her knees and Hatsue falling in a lump to the ground panting for air.
Hatsue:
"Wh...wh...(panting)...what...did...you...do?”
Eriko:
“you might...not...believe this...(panting)...but I...might have...beat up
the...doctor...and the guards.”
Hatsue:
“No...I...(panting)...I...believe you!”
They laugh at each other.
Hatsue:
“You're not at all like I thought you were when we first met."
Eriko:
“I...I wasn’t really anything back then. I felt like an animal. It’s sort of
like...like I’ve started building myself up, from scratch, since then.”
Hatsue:
“I guess it’s not like you had any other choice.”
Eriko:
“What do we do now?”
Hatsue:
“Well, since we’re in, let’s see if we can find that doctor friend of yours!
Maybe he knows something.”
SCENE 3:
They go from room to room, looking in,
finally they find the doctor (from chapters 21-22 when Eriko first was found by
Heizo in the alley).
Hatsue:
“Excuse me...”
The doctor turns from his patient.
Doctor:
“Excuse me for a moment. Yes, can I help.....YOU! Ge...ge...get away from me.
GUARDS!”
Before she knows it, Eriko has grabbed him,
clamped her hand over his mouth to silence him. Hatsue plays the tough guy.
Hatsue:
“You know what she’s capable of. All we want to do is ask some questions. Will
you come with us?”
He looks at Eriko who shoots him a devilish
look (but one she’s fully in control of this time). He nods his head “yes” with
her hand still clamped over his mouth. The patient is left stunned watching as
the doctor is taken away. Hatsue turns and puts a finger to her mouth.
Hatsue
(to the patient): “Shhhhh.”
SCENE 4:
Eriko, Hatsue and the doctor are sitting in
an empty room now. The doctor is on a wheelie stool, Hatsue is sitting up on
the exam table, Eriko is leaning against the wall like a bad-ass.
Doctor:
“...that’s really all I know, I swear.”
Hatsue:
“So this old guy just drops an injured high-school girl off, says he found her
and doesn’t know who she is, and when no one else comes to see her, you call
him and he picks her up? And you were okay with that?”
Doctor:
“She didn’t have anything with her, no clothes, no jewelry, no ID, nothing. We
checked with the police and no one matching her description was reported missing
or anything. It’s like she didn’t exist before that night.
Hatsue:
“And the police didn’t take fingerprints?”
Eriko:
“Um, actually...they tried, but...”
Hatsue looks exasperatedly and comedic-ly
at Eriko, knowing full well what Eriko must have done to resist the police.
Hatsue:
“Sigh...You really are impossible. Didn’t you realize they were all trying to
help you?”
Eriko:
“Back then...help didn’t seem...possible.”
The doctor is slowly slinking out of the
room.
Hatsue:
“Wait! You’re not going anywhere until we do. Stay in this room and count to
100. Otherwise...”
Hatsue makes a slash across the throat sign
(like he’ll be killed).
Hatsue:
“Got it?”
He just nods “yes” fearfully and sits back
on his chair.
Hatsue:
“Good. Let’s go.”
Eriko:
“And you think I’ve changed? Where
did that come from?”
Hatsue:
“It’s easy to do when I’ve got a bodyguard like you.”
Eriko blushes. We hear the doctor counting
in the background as they walk down the hall and out of the hospital, then they
are running and giggling together.
SCENE 5:
Volleyball scenes. Aiko’s team is playing.
Aiko is playing amazing, dominating the competition. A few shots of Kiko too,
she's great as well. They high-five each other after plays. Shoot each other
looks to make plays. They rally to win. Yuka is cheering them on. Aiko looks
over at Yuka and winks.
After the match, Yuka is waiting around by
the locker room. Aiko comes out with some teammates.
Teammate:
“...when you did that, it was amazing!”
Teammate
2: “I thought for sure we were done.”
Teammate
3: “With Okumura-senpai and Hasekura-senpai there’s no way we can loose.”
Aiko:
“Yuka! How was I?”
Yuka is beaming and nodding her head and
runs up to hug Aiko who gives her a warm hug back.
Teammate:
“Okumura-senpai?”
Aiko:
“Oh, right. Yuka, we were going to the cafeteria for lunch, want to join us?”
Yuka looks at the other girls who are
talking amongst themselves and nods “yes” tentatively.
Teammate
2 (to herself): “We have to eat with that freak?”
SCENE 6:
In the cafeteria, all the girls are sitting
around the table eating in their warm-up outfits (warm-up pants, jackets,
etc...). Yuka is sitting at the end with Aiko next to her and Kiko across from
Aiko. Aiko and Kiko are talking. Yuka is just eating, basically being ignored.
Kiko:
“...did you see XX from M High School?”
Aiko:
“She’s ranked pretty highly. Her stuff blocks are supposed to be legendary.”
Teammate
(next to Kiko): “Don’t worry about it, we won’t even give her the chance to
block it.”
Aiko:
“And how do you propose to do that, you nearly blew that point back there?”
Kiko:
“Hey now Okumura-san, I thought you were finally being nice to your kohai?”
[Ed. note: kohai in the senpai-kohai schema
denotes a person who is under the tutelage of a more experienced (and senior)
person, known as the senpai, often used in work or school settings based on
age/grade, entry date into a job, and ability/experience.]
Aiko:
“Do we want to win the whole thing this year or not?”
Teammate
2: “We’ve got this!”
Yuka keeps eating alone, seemingly ignored.
She pushes the food around on her plate listlessly. Her mind begins to drift as
she’s pushing the food, flashing back to the night they found Eriko in the
cave, brought her home, and ate a solemn dinner alone, just Yuka and Suzu.
[FLASHBACK
- occurred between chapters]
Suzu
and Yuka are sitting alone in the beach guest house, eating a wordless dinner.
Yuka is poking at her food and pushing it around her plate.
Suzu:
“I’m just glad you found her. It seems like she’ll be okay.”
Yuka
doesn’t look at her but nods once in affirmation.
Suzu:
“This reminds me of those dinners...after dad died...when it was just the two
of us...and things were awkward and sad...remember?
Yuka
still doesn’t look up but does stop pushing the food around.
Suzu:
“Mom would be asleep on the couch, or locked in her room, or...well, I’d bring
home some bento from the convenience store, or some instant ramen and we’d eat
together. I guess I’ve become a better cook now, after all these years.
Yuka
looks up at her.
Suzu:
“You haven't looked like this in a long time. I’m worried. I like Eriko-chan. I
really do. But...
[Flashback
ends]
Back to the present.
Voice:
“...ka...Yuka...we’ve got to get ready for our next match.”
It’s Aiko. Her voice pulls Yuka out of her
flashback and into reality. Yuka notices that everyone else is clearing their
plates and leaving. Aiko is standing up next to her.
Aiko:
“You didn’t eat at all. Weren’t you hungry?”
Yuk shakes her head 'no' and puts on a
somewhat fake little smile to try and reassure Aiko.
Aiko:
“I’m sorry, we didn’t even get a chance to talk. I still haven’t heard much
about the trip. But I’ve got to go. Will you stay and watch the next match?”
Yuka nods 'yes' vigorously.
Aiko:
“Thanks Yuka! I’ll see you after.”
Aiko waves as she leaves, Yuka puts up a
hand weakly to wave, but when Aiko turns away, she blankly stares after Aiko
leaving with all the teammates, looking at them all interacting closely with
each other as she sits there feeling alone.
SCENE 7:
Hatsue and Eriko are sitting in a café.
Hatsue:
“Well, that was a bust. He didn’t know anything.”
Eriko:
“What did you expect?”
Hatsue:
“I guess I just thought they would have found something with you or the police
would have looked into it or something.”
Eriko:
“Arishima-san said I didn’t have anything when he found me.”
Hatsue:
“Nothing? Like, you were naked?”
Eriko blushes.
Eriko:
“I...I think so.”
Hatsue:
“Poor guy, you must have given him a heart attack. He probably hasn’t seen
anything like that in decades!”
Eriko chokes on her food.
Hatsue:
“HAHAHA, I’m just kidding. I know how precious he is to you. But seriously, why
hasn’t anyone come to the hospital or police to look for you?”
Eriko:
“Maybe....maybe they don’t want to find me.”
Hatsue:
“That can’t be true!"
Awkward silence.
Hatsue:
"Are you an orphan? Maybe you ran away from an orphanage?"
Eriko:
“I don’t know. But that doesn't feel right either.”
Hatsue:
“Then you must have parents out there somewhere. They must be crazy with grief,
you’ve been gone for months.”
Eriko
(to herself): “If I do, I bet they’re glad I’m gone.”
Eriko and Hatsue are silent after this. A
police officer walks by the window sparking a thought in Hatsue.
Hatsue:
“I know, why don’t we go to the police stations tomorrow?”
Eriko:
“Why?”
Hatsue:
“Don’t they have posters of lost kids? We could look to see if you match any of
them.”
Eriko:
“I...I don’t know...”
Hatsue:
“Come on, what have you got to lose?”
Eriko
(to herself): “I could lose all of this, all of you.”
Eriko:
“What...what happens...if we do find something?”
Hatsue:
“Are you really going to back out now?”
Eriko
(to herself): “I'm afraid to find out. What if the reason I can't remember
anything is because I didn’t want anyone to find me?”
Eriko:
“But what if...”
Hatsue:
“But nothing. You’re stuck. You can’t move forward like this. Either you have
to let it all go and just accept who you are today, right now, or you have to
find out who you really are.”
Eriko:
“It might change...everything.”
Hatsue:
“You’re still 'you' and who you are and what you feel today won’t be gone just
because you find out about your past.”
Eriko:
“What I feel?”
Hatsue:
“Isn’t this about being able to face her? Or am I wrong about that?”
Eriko:
“H...her?”
Hatsue:
“If I’m wrong, we can just go home now.”
Eriko
(to herself): “She right. I can’t face Yuka like this. I can’t drag her into my
life any more than I already have until I know what sort of life it is.”
Eriko:
“Okay. Tomorrow?”
Hatsue:
“Tomorrow!”
SCENE 8:
More volleyball scenes. Aiko is just
killing it. Kiko doing well too. Various vignettes: Aiko shouts some orders,
takes a hard spill, is helped up by Kiko, etc... They exchange strongly
supportive looks at each other throughout to keep the other pumped up. At one
point, Kiko does a great setup for an Aiko spike. Aiko yells:
Aiko:
“Nice!”
The other girls on the team are really
getting pumped.
Girl:
“When they play like that, we’re unstoppable.”
Girl
2: “Come on ladies, we can’t let them hog all the glory!”
Aiko looks on them approvingly. They
huddle. More shots of the match. Finally they come out victorious in a close
contest. The team is celebrating. Yuka has been watching all this from the
stands. We see her being intermittently excited by the action but also clearly
concentrating on the emerging relationship between Aiko and Kiko.
SCENE 9:
Outside the sports venue, it’s dusk. Yuka
is waiting on the edge of a raised tree planter under the shade of the tree.
Aiko and her teammates walk out, they’re congratulating each other. Yuka looks
up at Aiko. Aiko opens her arms up. Yuka runs into them.
Aiko:
“How’d we do?”
Yuka nods vigorously 'yes' in approval.
Aiko:
“We made it to the semi-finals tomorrow, but that’s where the real challenge
will be. The other three teams all come from schools that have won this in the
past.”
Yuka looks up lovingly, and somewhat
longingly, at Aiko.
Aiko:
“What’s wrong?”
Yuka shakes her head 'no' and gestures to
her stomach which grumbles. They both laugh.
Aiko:
“Well, you didn’t eat much lunch. Is Suzu cooking tonight?”
Yuka gestures for Aiko to come over and
join them for dinner.
Aiko:
“I’m so sorry, I can’t come over tonight, I have somewhere I needed to be.
Yuka looks over at the other girls from the
team who are standing around talking. One glances at Aiko and makes an
expectant look. Yuka looks at Aiko and nods acceptingly (she knows that Aiko
needs to go out with her teammates after a day like this.)
Aiko:
“Will you cheer us on again tomorrow?”
Yuka nods 'yes.'
Yuka waves goodbye as she leaves for the
train station. Aiko waves back with the other girls standing in the background.
Kiko comes up to Aiko and puts a hand on her shoulder.
Kiko:
“You're coming out with us tonight?”
Aiko:
“I’m sorry, I can’t.”
Kiko:
“Didn’t you just turn Kiyoura-san down?”
Aiko:
“What about it?”
Kiko:
“Whatever, if you change your mind we’ll be at XXXX.”
Kiko
(to herself): “You better not mess this up Okumura. We need you in top shape
tomorrow.”
SCENE 10:
Yuka on the train ride home. It’s dusk, the
sunset is vivid through the mostly empty train windows. Yuka is sitting with
her body facing into the train’s center aisle but her head it turned staring
forward out the window. She’s in a daze. As she's looking out the window, she
sees someone riding a bike along the path by the canal. Her eyes perk up when
she notices the wild blond hair streaming behind the figure on the bike. The
woman on the bike is pedaling fast, and not even sitting in the seat, all energy
and youth. Yuka stares, as the person gets closer, she realizes that it’s Eriko
(returning from Hatsue’s house). She turns in the seat and presses her hands to
the window as she watches Eriko on the bike backlit by the sunset, hair
shimmering and streaming behind her. Yuka is mesmerized.
SCENE 11:
A fancy black car pulls up in a big formal
drive. We see sneakers step out of it. It’s Aiko getting out of her car at the
psychiatric institution where her mother is placed.
Next we see the mother, comatose in the
bed, hooked up to IVs, looking thin and gaunt. Beeps from the monitors. The
curtains on the window gently blowing in the twilight. Aiko is sitting in a
chair next to her mom, staring out the window. She’s on the phone.
Phone:
“...party can’t be reached. BEEP”
Aiko:
“Hi Dad. It’s Aiko. We won both our matches today. We’re in the semi-finals...”
(to be continued...)
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