Chapter 42

"Have a nice trip. See you next fall."
- C. Chase

When I walked Lori to the Quad on Thursday, I did not enter it. Instead, I said goodbye to Lori and walked down to the social science wing. When I entered Ms. Miyazawa's classroom, Rose, Chuck, David, and a couple of freshman girls were already inside. As more students started to file into the classroom, I found an empty desk towards the back and tried to slip in unobserved. However, Rose noticed my presence in less than a minute and came over to me.

"Oh my god, I can't believe that this is happening!" Rose told me, her voice a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

Giving her my most reassuring smile, I asked her, "You ready for it?"

"I think so, though if Mike doesn't get here soon, I'm going to kick his ass. Ms. Miyazawa told me that she was a little worried when I didn't come to school yesterday, but I explained that I'd had a family emergency."

I nodded in understanding. Rose had had a perfect attendance until she had made her trip down to see her father the previous day. As I was about to tell her she should relax, Mike came through the door and Rose excused herself to go talk to him. I took that opportunity to retrieve the bento box that Rose had prepared that morning. As emotionally draining as the previous day had been for her, she had still had the energy to wake up early and prepare Japanese lunchboxes for everybody in the household, including Marge.

When I removed the lid, I was greeted by a rabbit looking up at me. Besides pickled veggies and omelet, there was a bed of rice in the largest compartment. Using an umeboshi (pickled plum), some thinly sliced nori (dried seaweed), and sesame seeds, she had constructed a rabbit's face. It felt shameful to destroy such a pretty design, but hunger won out over aesthetics and, using my chopsticks, I dug in.

Rose and Mike must have decided that everybody who was going to show up had, so the two of them went up to stand in front of the classroom. Whereas Rose had appeared to be nervous and excited, Mike seemed to be just nervous. He gave Rose a couple of pleading looks before he finally cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Hi, everyone. My name is Mike Richards, and I would like to thank you all for showing an interest in our attempt to form a school club. Since this is Rose's brainchild, I think it best that she explain it."

Rose shot a glare at Mike for what seemed to be an unexpected development, but when she addressed the room, she had a smile on her face. "The idea of this club is to explore and promote Japanese culture. Besides anime and manga, we want to also explore other aspects of Japanese society, be it CosPlay, language, cooking, games, and so forth. Before we decide upon what to call ourselves, I think our first order of business is to officially nominate and vote on a leader. Me and my friends picked on... I mean, picked Mike, but anybody else can take on that responsibility if they so want to. That being said, I nominate Mike."

Mike's eyes grew wide, and he did not comment on Rose's Freudian slip about being picked on as he realized that, in turning over the meeting to Rose, he had let the opportunity to nominate Rose or somebody else first pass him by. After David had seconded the nomination, he tried to rectify the situation by nominating Rose. A few of the freshman girls looked up at Rose in response, but she gave them a small headshake, so that motion went exactly nowhere. When nobody else was nominated, a vote was called; all the students but one raised their hand, signaling those in favor for Mike. While it was not necessary, Rose asked for those opposed, and Mike hung his head low as he raised his hand.

"Okay, motion approved. Mike will be our gichou?" Rose announced, and she looked to Ms. Miyazawa for confirmation that she had used the correct word.

As Ms. Miyazawa was nodding in agreement for the Japanese word for 'chairman', Mike said, "I pick Rose to be my fukugichou. All those in favor?"

Since Rose had expressed a disinterest in being the vice-chairman, I figured that it was wisest to abstain from the vote; though it did not matter in the end, as Rose was overwhelmingly approved.

"How long should the term of office last?" asked Stacy Midfield, the lone junior female in the room.

"'Til the end of the school year?" supplied Mike hopefully.

"Jesus, Mike! Grow some balls. Rose has bigger ones than you do," David said laughingly.

Ms. Miyazawa cleared her throat, reminding everybody of her presence in the room. Rose distracted her by asking her what type of bird was outside the window. Ms. Miyazawa kept her head turned long enough for Rose to walk over to David and deliver him a dope slap. As Rose was walking back to the front of the classroom, Ms. Miyazawa smiled and told her, "I do believe that is a crow."

Once the laughter over my friends' antics had settled down, it was Chuck who suggested, "I think that whomever is gichou should be so until they graduate or leave school, in which case the fukugichou will become gichou, and they will choose an underclassman to be their second. At that time, the club will vote whether to approve the new chairman's choice."

Rose had a look of surprise as she realized that, starting her junior year, she would become the leader of the club. She started to protest, but as the majority of the room began to nod their heads, she let out a long sigh and accepted it.

Before we moved on to what the role of the club would be, it was decided that we needed to have a name. Besides Rose's ACME, there were several other suggestions, but it was John's BAKA that gathered the most interest.

"While Boring Anime Komic Association is cute, I don't know if we want to be known as 'boring'," Rose said dubiously.

Shrugging, John told her, "I couldn't think of any other 'B' words that fit."

"What about 'boeotian'? That means stupid. Or 'bêtise', which means a foolish act," supplied Mike.

I began to suspect that he had the same English teacher that Lori had had, to be able to recall such obscure words.

It appeared that we were about to agree upon a name, when one of the freshmen girls spoke up. I later found out that her name was Taylor Koch.

"I understand that most the people here are into comics and animation, but I showed up 'cause Rose said that the club would also deal with cooking and creating outfits. I don't mind being called the Bêtise Anime Komic Assembly, but we might be able to attract more members if they don't think it's all about cartoons and comics."

After a short debate, we decided to call the club JAC4: Japanese Arts and Culture Council of Central City. It was also agreed upon that the name was subject to change if a better name could be devised. JAC4 would serve as an umbrella organization for subcommittees that would address the interests that Taylor had brought up, as well as some other interests that others suggested. Ms. Miyazawa informed us that, since she usually ate her lunch in her classroom, the subcommittees were free to meet there during lunch. She also volunteered her classroom for up to an hour after school three days a week -- with the stipulation that one of those afternoons would be dedicated to learning Japanese. Marty Torres, a junior, was an aide for Mr. Graham, the creative food teacher, and volunteered to check with him to see if his classroom was available either at lunch or after school for those who wanted to learn about Japanese cooking.

By the time that the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch, a list of the subcommittees and those who were interested in them was created. Mike and Rose told everyone that they would try to come up with a schedule by the time we met again the following week. We were also to discuss fundraising and what stuff to purchase at that time, as well.

As I was leaving the classroom, Stacy came up to me and asked, "Hey, Chad, where's Traci? I thought for sure she was going to be here, since she's the one who told me about this club."

Nodding, I explained to the junior varsity head cheerleader, "Well, Traci does like anime and manga, but not as much as Rose and me. Besides, it kinda goes back to the beginning of the school year. You see, I usually eat lunch with Traci and her friends, except for one day of the week when Rose and I hang out with Chuck and the gang. I make it up to them by hosting a lunch on Saturdays."

Since I did not need to stop by my locker for my world history class, I ended up walking Stacy to hers while we conversed. "Ah yes, I think I remember her telling me about your lunches. She says that's the reason why she can't attend our slumber parties."

Frowning slightly, I told her, "Odd, we eat lunch at noon, so she would have plenty of time to get back. Well, you girls can always sleep over at our house."

Stacy let out a short chuckle and shook her head. "Oh no, we can't do that. We've all heard about Traci's first sleepover at your place. Though, I think there might be a couple of girls on the squad who might want to see for themselves what Traci described." She accented her point by casting a sideways glance at my crotch.

"Keech! Does my girlfriend have to tell everyone everything?" I asked aloud in mock surprise. I smiled as Stacy laughed, but part of me was wondering why Traci was avoiding the cheerleading sleepovers.

A few nights later, I finally figured out why Traci was passing up the slumber parties. Marge and I had finished a long (and rigorous) lovemaking session. As I was spooning Marge, I found myself drifting off to sleep, only to have her slip out of my arms and began to shake me.

"Chad, wake up!"

"Again?!? I'm sorry, but unless you have some Viagra, I'm out of commission. Hell, even my tongue is tired," I protested.

Rolling her eyes, Marge said, "You need to go sleep in your own bed."

"Oh, I see. You're just going to use me and then kick me out of bed. What's wrong with sleeping with one of the women that I love?"

Marge's look of resolve weakened for a moment at that, but she was firm when she said, "Oh no, I'm not going to have your first night away from Traci on my head."

My eyes had been only half-open, but when Marge's words hit me, I found them growing wide. Ever since the Caspars had moved in, Traci and I had spent every night together. Even on Lori's birthday, when we had planned to sleep apart, we still found ourselves sleeping together. "When I told her this afternoon that I was most likely going to spend the night with you, she didn't have a problem with it."

"Well, she was most likely putting on a strong front," explained Marge. "If I know my daughter right, she won't sleep a wink tonight."

The idea of being akin to a security blanket was a tad troubling, but I trusted Marge's assessment. After I got out bed, I reached out and offered her my hand.

"What?"

"If Traci truly does need me to sleep with her, it doesn't stop me from wanting to sleep with you. Come on," I told Marge.

Marge looked up and studied me for a few moments, and I could see the internal struggle on her face. Biting her bottom lip, she nodded and took ahold of my hand, and I helped her out of bed. She let go of my hand long enough to put on her bathrobe, then the two of us left her room and went down to the master bedroom.

Traci was sitting up in bed, with the covers drawn to her waist. She was wearing her white pajamas with large red and blue polka dots. She set down the book she was reading when Marge and I entered the room.

"What's up?" Traci asked us.

"Your mom's convinced that you won't get any sleep unless I'm with you," I told her.

Shrugging, Traci said, "I don't know about that. I'm not tired, so I thought I would read a book for English."

As Marge and I approached the bed, I was able to see the title of the book she had been reading. Surprised, since it was a book that I had been assigned the previous semester, I asked, "They're making you read that, too?"

Traci let out a snort and replied, "No, though it will probably take me a year to finish it. I swear, it's as if the shift and period buttons broke on this guy's keyboard."

I was about to explain that Faulkner wrote the novel before the advent of the word processor, when Traci shot me a grin to signal that she was only joking. I then remembered that Traci was not taking English this year, since she had taken it during summer school.

I let go of Marge's hand as I crawled into bed; Marge remained standing and looked to Traci, as if asking for permission. Traci scooted over and indicated to her mother that she should join us. Marge gave Traci a gentle smile before letting her robe drop to the floor and climbing under the sheets. I noticed Traci averted her eyes while her mother disrobed, and when she reached to turn off the lights, I stopped her. As tired as I was, I had a few questions I wanted to ask Traci and I wanted to judge her facial reactions.

"Buttercup, have you been blowing off slumber parties with your squad because you don't want to be separated from me?"

Traci frowned ever so slightly and shook her head. "Nah, I just figured it would be the same as it was like in junior high: staying up all night and gossiping with each other."

Marge let out an audible scoff, despite the fact she was lying on her side and facing away from us. Even I had trouble imagining that Traci would pass up the chance to exchange information that, despite being trivial, seemed vital to her school life existence. Instead of challenging her verbally, I fixed her with a stare.