MUSIC
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Yuko Komiyama watched as the tram
slipped past her window. Jet black and glistening, it glided past smoothly and
quietly. She tried to scan the rider's faces, but the angle made it difficult.
She wasn't sure what she had hoped to see. Maybe someone familiar?
She narrowed her eyes and let her mind
drift as she watched the people scurry in the street outside the small office
space she occupied. All those people, yet she still felt so alone. So…uncared
for.
She adjusted her position
on her seat when she heard footsteps coming towards her and felt the cushion
press into the backs of her legs uncomfortably.
“Ohayou!
How is Kowai Neko today?” The loud
woman peeked around the corner of the cube wall and beamed at Yuko brightly,
handing her a cup of tea in a small cup in the shape of a cat face. Her hair was short and her face round and
friendly.
“Please – I don’t like that nickname. I’m not
a scared cat.” Yuko accepted the tea with a small bow of her head and glanced
out the window. The tram was gone.
“Oh – “ the woman said with a wave of her
hand. “Just playing. You know.” She saw that Yuko wasn’t smiling and said,
“I’ll stop, Yuko.” She smiled again and sat in the empty chair across from
Yuko’s. “Are we still going out
tonight?”
“I suppose.” Yuko turned to face her
coworker. June was her only real friend in the office. They had worked together
for over a year and seemed to be the only ones that carried on non-work related
conversations. This made Yuko happy, but sad at the same time. Were they
outcasts? To horrid to speak to?
“Ohayou
gozaimasu,” came a curt and rough voice.
June and Yuko smelled cigarette smoke
and knew who it was before seeing him. They both stood and smiled saying, “Ohayou gozaimasu,” in unison. Their boss
raised a hand in greeting and smiled without slowing his step. They watched him
enter his office. Yuko sat back down. June remained standing.
“I’ll talk to you later.” June nodded
and Yuko returned the nod before turning to face her screen again.
Her email program – open and too bright
– stared back at her blankly. Yuko cursed it in her mind and adjusted the
computer’s brightness. She read the
first line of the new set of emails in the inbox, but the words swam and she
didn’t really think about their meaning.
Another sing song chime whispered from
the computer and another email came in, this time from her boss. She sighed and
moved the mouse to click, but swept past the email and around it with the
curser. She moved the mouse back and forth over the email list absently with no
intent on clicking a single one. Not yet.
Another chime. Another email. Again,
from her boss.
She lifted her hand off her mouse and
rubbed her right wrist as she turned to stare out her window again.
She eyed the sweet shop below with
longing. What must it be like to work there, she wondered. The lovely little
pink uniforms they wore. The friendly greetings they got to call out as each
customer entered and left the store. She smiled at the thought. It must be
lovely.
“Excuse me, Ms. Komiyama?”
Yuko gasped and crossed her arms before
her as she jumped up from her chair. She gulped in a breath and smiled as the
wave of red flushed over her face. She bowed her head and choked out, “I’m
sorry, Mr. Matsueda. Can I help you?”
The man smiled politely. “Did you see
my email?”
Yuko glanced at her screen. “Oh…yes. My
wrist was sore. I was just about to open it.”
Matsueda looked at her wrist and made note of the redness where Yuko had been
rubbing it. He frowned. “Are you alright?”
“Yes. Yes, Sir. Just a sore wrist. I’ll
review your email right now.”
A voice in Yuko’s head growled, “You walking grotesque. Horrid slave driver
with no skills. Let me drop everything and serve your precious needs.” She blushed again.
“Thank you. I just needed a few pieces
of information for the board member meeting.” He smiled. “Take care of that
wrist.” He nodded and walked back to his office.
Yuko fell into her chair and rubbed her
forehead. She clamped her eyes closed tight. When she opened them, she looked
into the corner of her cube space towards the Kiki’s Delivery Service “JIJI”
clock sat. The little black cat’s paws framed 8:30am. It was only 8:30?
“I should just pull the fire alarm. Make
a few hours go away while they sort out the mess.” She drew in a deep
breath and turned back to her screen – ignoring the mean spirited voice in her
head.
The two emails from Mr. Matsueda seemed
to swim on the screen. She read them and composed a reply after attaching two
emails.
“Dear
Mr. Monster. I’m attaching the information you requested – two emails I’ve
already sent you several times before. If I were to be so absentminded, you
would have fired me for sure. Sad that your superiors don’t know just how
incompetent you are. Yours, Y.”
She wanted to hit send. She could end
all of this and go to find something else. Something she cared about. Something
new and interesting.
Something with a brightly colored
uniform, perhaps.
“And I wanted to ask you one more thing
if you have a moment.”
Yuko yelped loudly, the male voice
catching her completely unaware. She dragged her mouse over the email she had
composed and hit delete before turning and standing.
Mr. Matsueda laughed. “I’m sorry – I
seem to be shocking you with every visit today. Too much coffee?” He held up
his hands in mock surrender.
Yuko smiled and shook her head. “No
no…sorry. I’m…” She stopped and waved her hand at her forehead. “I’m not sure
I’m well. I’m…a bit ill, I believe.”
“Oh no. Well, I just needed the
information I wrote you about earlier and the key to the records file, then you
can go for the day if you need to.” His voice sounded soft and sincere. “I
don’t want you passing out on the floor today.” He tried to smile, but looked
more concerned than anything else.
Yuko blinked back at him.
“Ms. Komiyama? Are you ok?”
Yuko twitched herself free from the
stare and laughed nervously. “Yes. Ah…excuse me.” She turned, leaned over her
keyboard, and typed out, “The information you requested.” She double checked to
make sure the first MR MONSTER draft was fully gone, then hit send before
turning to face her boss again. “Information sent, Sir. Two letters we drafted
last month. That should cover what you asked for.” She smiled.
“Fantastic. Thank you – that was very
quick.” Matsueda smiled.
Yuko snatched a small key from a desk
drawer and handed it to Matsueda. “And, the file key.” She stammered, “I…have
another, so you can keep that one and I’ll have another made. I usually keep
this drawer locked when I’m not here, so…” She heard her own voice and it
sounded like she was going mad. She stopped herself and smiled.
“We’re fine here. Why don’t you head
home, Ms. Komiyama? Ok? Get some rest. You’ve worked very hard this past month.
You’ve earned the break.” He smiled, then whispered, “Off the books, hmm? No
need to record this. I’m sure you’ve worked the time a few nights in the past
month or so.” He nodded and smiled wider when he saw the shocked look on Yuko’s
red face. “Thank you, Ms. Komiyama. I’ll see you on Monday. Get some rest.”
Yuko gasped out a thank you as her boss
moved towards the records file and waved back at her.
Moments later, she was on the street
staring up at the large, multi-colored ice cream sign on Seneca’s Sweet Shoppe.
She typed out a message to June on her phone.
Sorry – headed out for the day. I’m not
feeling well. Maybe we can meet on Saturday? Y
She looked back over her shoulder to her office window. Was Mr. Matsueda
watching her to make sure she went right home? Of course not.
Yuko pushed through the pink doors of
the sweets shop. A chorus of greetings came at her.
“Irasshaimase!” Several young women
in bright, pink uniforms smiled and bowed.
Yuko smiled back and let the sweet
smell of the shop fill her.
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| PHOTO: From UFUNK. Click the image to visit and see more cute sweets! |
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