She glanced around the room, but there was no clock and no calendar to give her a clue, so instead she sneaked out into the hallway. Please be empty! she prayed to herself as she approached the living room.
As slowly and carefully as she could, Kazuko slid open the wooden door with its panels made of paper. Luckily there was nobody there. But there was a clock showing the time as 10:30.
10:30 a.m.! she thought. That’s in the middle of the third period! And with not a moment to lose, she dashed back to her room and grabbed her bag. It was Saturday morning after all, and she simply had to get to school! Because it wasn’t just any Saturday morning. This was the Saturday on which she’d stayed behind after class. The same Saturday when she’d caught a glimpse of that mysterious figure and all this mess had begun. So she had to make sure she was back in the science lab at the right moment and face that person before he or she could disappear again.
BACK TO THE LAB
Kazuko arrived at school during the ten-minute break between the third and fourth periods. She felt slightly relieved: if she was careful, she wouldn’t have to explain her absence to the teacher. She might just be able to walk back in with the other students and act as if nothing had happened. But the moment she walked back in with her classmates, her plan fell to pieces.
All of a sudden, her classmates ran to gather around her with surprised faces.
“Kazuko!” said Mariko. “Where have you been?”
“What do you mean, where?” Kazuko asked.
Mariko’s voice turned into a high-pitched screech.
“This is no time for kidding around! You just disappeared, right in the middle of the third period!”
“Disappeared?”
“That’s right,” added Goro, who was standing at her side. “You sneaking out like that got everyone worried. I mean, no one even saw you leave the room. Even the teacher up front didn’t see you stand up, and no one heard the door open.”
“That’s right,” Mariko screeched again. “Even I didn’t notice you leave, and I was sitting next to you!”
Kazuo, with his usual dazed look, also joined the conversation.
“It’s almost as if Kazuko used magic! You disappeared, just like smoke!”
Kazuko struggled to piece together what it could all mean. She’d wondered earlier on if there might be a problem of there being two Kazukos if she jumped back in time. So perhaps what they were talking about explained how the problem gets resolved. Could it be that every leap back in time triggers the disappearance of herself from that particular present time? That would explain why the Kazuko everyone was worrying about had disappeared at probably the same moment the future Kazuko had appeared back in her bedroom. But how on earth was she going to explain that to her friends? It wasn’t until days later that she explained everything to them, so there was no way she could expect them to believe her at this moment.
“So, where were you?” Mariko shrieked hysterically yet again, frustrated that something so strange could happen right next to her without her even noticing.
“I didn’t feel well, so I went to the bathroom,” offered Kazuko.
“To the bathroom? With your bag?” Mariko wasn’t having any of it, and her eyes remained fixed on Ka-zuko’s bag, which she was clutching tightly to her chest.
Fortunately at that moment the teacher, Mr Komat-su, entered the room and all the students immediately stopped talking and dashed back to their seats. Kazuko also took her seat and got out her textbook and notebook from her bag — ready to take notes from a class that she’d already sat through once in the past.
By the time the class was over, Kazuko was very relieved to find that her classmates had pretty much lost interest in questioning her about her disappearance. Then, just like before, Kazuko was asked by Mr Fukushima to clean the science lab with Goro and Kazuo.
By the time they finished cleaning, the school had emptied out, and all was silent apart from the occasional sound of a door slamming shut here and there and the distant sound of someone playing Chopin’s ‘Polonaise’ on the piano in the auditorium.
“That’s good enough,” said Kazuko. “I’ll take out the trash. You boys can go wash your hands.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Kazuo and Goro left for the lavatories together, and as soon as they were gone, Kazuko went into the small science lab.
Goro and Kazuo were washing their hands in the sink, talking.
“Kazuko’s cute, and she’s nice, too. But she can be a little overbearing at times, can’t she.”
“Oh yeah?” said Kazuo, who had been miles away again. “What makes you say that?”
“Don’t you think she can be overbearing?” said Goro, puffing up his chest to match his face, which was always rather red and puffy. “She treats us like we’re kids. Come on. You boys can go and wash your hands, she says.”
Meanwhile, Kazuko was hiding behind the partition in the science lab, waiting for the mysterious person to arrive. Her heart was pounding.
It’s nearly time! she thought. I need to hold my ground! Kazuko puffed up her chest and flexed the muscles in her arms and legs. Just then, the door to the science lab opened, and someone stepped in slowly.
This is him… thought Kazuko.
IDENTIFYING THE INTRUDER
Kazuko thought she would be able to remain out of the enemy’s sight for a while. But maybe she was being a bit hasty by thinking of him as the enemy. After all, she had no reason to believe that he meant her any harm. Come to think of it, she had no reason to believe it was a he! It could just as easily be a girl! But whoever it was, that person had caused a lot of difficulty for Kazuko, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Only moments later, the shadowy figure walked over to the chemicals cabinet, where he or she began rummaging through its contents. Kazuko then heard the clatter of chemical bottles and test tubes being lined up on the desk.
If I can just stay out of sight a little longer, thought Kazuko, that person will begin making the strange chemical concoction again. Then I’ll step out of the shadows and catch the intruder red-handed!
But in reality, Kazuko was too scared to do anything like that. What if that person was violent? What if that person decided to attack her to protect his or her secret? After all, she was only a girl. What hope did she have of protecting herself? If only she’d asked one of her friends to accompany her… But it was too late. And what was the point — she knew they wouldn’t have believed her anyway! There was no choice. She’d simply have to face the intruder by herself. But what sort of a person could it be? She knew that the intruder was capable of giving her superhuman powers. So was that person a genius? A lunatic? Or even a monster? She didn’t like her new-found powers, and she really didn’t want her friends to think she was any different to anybody else. So she needed to look this person in the face and demand that she be made normal again. And if that didn’t work, then maybe she’d have to trick or threaten that person into making her normal again But what would she do if the intruder didn’t want to or was unable to do what she wanted? What would she do then! Kazuko began to worry.
Getting a grip on herself, Kazuko remained silent and listened to the sound of chemicals being mixed.
This is the moment to make my move! she thought to herself. But her legs felt like jelly, and she couldn’t get them to work. What am I waiting for! I’ve gone through so much trouble to be here, and if I don’t do something, then it will all have been for nothing!