by Tanya Mindo
Soon, the tour begins. The entire group is composed of around 100 students; thus, they are separated into two groups. Zoe and Jesse join the group led by Miss Asahi, while the other group is led by a middle-aged man in a white polo and black tie. His eyes disappear when he smiles.
Zoe and Jesse walk behind a short Portuguese guy and a French girl with blonde hair. Miss Asahi discusses information about the buildings, some historical facts, and other relevant details, but Zoe can barely hear what Miss Asahi is saying. They are not interested. Even the other students are only chatting and taking photos. Everyone is way too preoccupied and excited for the official start of the program.
Zoe thinks that Jesse is right. Nobody is there to bury themselves in books. They are there to explore what the world has to offer.
“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?” Zoe exclaims.
Jesse giggles. “I hope this isn’t rude, but it seems like you haven’t been out in a while.”
Zoe gives her a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah. I don’t go out much.”
“That’s alright. It’s never too late. We have a lot of time. We’ll have fun.”
And Zoe takes that as an offer of friendship.
Chapter Five
The moment they get off at Shibuya, Zoe’s heartbeat stops. She has seen movies showing the Shibuya crossing where people appear like small insects going in specific directions. She has never expected that the scramble will be ten times busier and brighter.
The neon lights from the tall buildings illuminate the area. Shibuya offers coffee shops, clubs, bars, restaurants, and clothing stores. It has everything. Zoe gazes down from above, the city spreading below her, and it feels as though she is free to jump. She feels a prickling along the back of her neck.
Jesse and Zoe descend the escalator and take photos at the Hachiko statue, which was surrounded by people, mostly tourists. She remembers how she bawled her eyes out when she watched the film years ago. She asked for a pet dog after that. The request was immediately turned down.
They also take photos at the scramble. They try to capture a few good ones, although too many people are walking by. Afterwards, the two of them wait close to the entrance of the station.
“Wow, this place is too crowded,” Zoe mumbles, her gaze darting from left to right.
Jesse chuckles and asks, “You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m only overwhelmed. Trains are always jam-packed, and footsteps just come from everywhere. Tokyo feels so... Alive.”
Jesse smiles then glimpses at her watch. “They’ll be here soon.”
Zoe fidgets. She forgot that she is going to meet another group of foreigners. Everything is going too fast.
Jesse notices her worry. She touches Zoe’s arm soothingly.
“Relax, Zoe. This is why you’re here, right? You want to meet new people. You want to broaden your horizons.”
Zoe nods shyly.
Jesse can read Zoe like an open book, and it vexes Zoe to the core. Other people can easily recognize whatever she's feeling no matter how hard she tries to look indifferent.
Besides that, she is beginning to worry about Seth. She hasn’t sent him a message since she left the dorm.
I really need to buy that sim card.
A few minutes later, Jesse saunters to a group of unfamiliar students. There are three guys and one girl. The girl in gray, wool coat waves her hand at them. Amid the crowd, it is hard not to notice them since they are way too diverse.
Unexpectedly, Kaito is among the guys. He squints at Zoe before giving her a discreet nod which she returns. Seeing him there instantly calms her down.
“Hi everyone, this is Zoe. She’s from the University of the Philippines. I met her at the orientation,” Jesse says. “Zoe, here’s everyone.”
The girl with long, black hair lays her hand and gives Zoe a handshake. She wears a sweet smile, and slight wrinkles appear on the sides of her mouth. They don’t make her old though, if anything, she looks sophisticated. She is slim, her skin is olive, and her eyes are almond-shaped. Zoe thinks she’s beautiful. “I’m Marie. I’m from Alberta, Canada. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hey. I’m Taylor from San Francisco, USA.” Taylor has brown, curly hair and big, round eyes. He’s pale, yet his cheeks are a bit pinkish. He is taller and thinner than Kaito. Taylor winks at her, then he shakes her hand.
The only Japanese guy wearing round glasses standing next to Taylor introduces himself next. “Hello. I’m Naoki. I’m a non-exchange student.” Naoki is kinny and has an oval-shaped face. He is fair-skinned, and his long, jet-black hair covers his ears. Naoki appears serious, and Zoe wonders if she will be able to talk to him at all.
Zoe also shakes his hand.
“I’m Kaito,” Kaito utters with a playful smile.
Zoe rolls her eyes which surprises the rest of the crew. Somehow, it makes her feel relieved that he’s part of this group. It is a good sign.
“You know each other?” Jesse asks.
“Sort of,” Zoe answers, half-shrugging. “We both stay in Mitaka. I just got here yesterday, and he helped me out with a lot of things.”
“Ooh, smooth,” Taylor quips.
The atmosphere suddenly turns awkward. Zoe lowers her gaze and shifts her weight from left to right.
Kaito elbows Taylor and says, “Nice try, Taylor. She has a boyfriend.”
Zoe gets the urge to correct him but decides against it. There’s no point.
“Would that stop you?” Taylor jeers. Naoki and Jesse react with ‘Woaaah’. Kaito scowls and elbows him again, but Taylor blocks it with his hand.
“I’m just kidding, man.” Taylor shoots a friendly look at Zoe. “I’m just messing with him.”
She nods with a small smile. Taylor puts his arm around Kaito’s shoulder.
“But it’s a shame,” Taylor adds. Kaito shakes his head with a smirk and then winks at Zoe.
“Ignore him.”
“Alright, enough. You might scare her away,” Marie interrupts, taking a step closer to Zoe.
“You’re welcome to join us, Zoe.”
“Thanks,” she replies softly.
Frankly, she is glad to meet new people. She didn’t know that it was… Simple. She only made two friends in high school, and they moved to other parts of the Philippines. Elle is the only true friend she made in university, plus Seth and Connor.
While she has several acquaintances, they are different. They don’t know her like Elle and Seth do. Only the two of them have the patience to put up with her unbelievable excuses to ditch parties and social gatherings. Her parents will never allow her anyway, so why bother asking for permission?
So yes. It’s a miracle that they let her date. That they allowed her to go to Japan.
“Let’s go,” Taylor says, and everyone starts walking.
The city glows at night. It is her second day, yet the feeling remains surreal. Zoe stays behind because she doesn’t want to seem crude. She’s a newcomer, and the last thing she wants is to give them a bad impression. Moreover, she wants to make sure that they are the kind of people she’ll want to spend time with. Not that she can be picky.
She snaps out of her daze after realizing that it is too crowded for her to daydream. She needs to be alert to avoid bumping into people.
“You okay?” It was Kaito. She didn’t notice him walking next to her.
He inserts his hands into his coat’s pockets. She does the same. It is still cold, although a lot bearable than yesterday’s morning.
“Yeah. Do you know where we’re going?”
“We always sing karaoke or drink in bars, but right now… I think we’re heading to a nearby bar. By the way, how old are you? The legal age in Japan is nijuissai or hatachi. It’s 20 years old.”
“I’m 20,” she answers “How about you?”
“Good. Just want to make sure that you’ll be able to come in. You look below 18,” he teases.
“I’m sorry that I’m short,” she snorts.
Kaito l
aughs. “Don’t be sorry. Not your fault. Anyway, I just turned 21.”
Zoe dodges a pole, so she slows down. Kaito stops to wait for her.
“Thanks for waiting,” she says as she catches up with him. They continue walking.
“I forgot to ask you this before, but what’s your major?” Zoe asks.
“I’m an Economics major,” Kaito replies. “You?”
“Political Science.”
He nods approvingly.
Surprised with the absence of a follow-up question, she asks, “You’re not gonna ask me what I’m going to do with my degree?”
“Should I?”
“Most people ask if I’m going to become a lawyer. Or a politician.”
“Then I guess I’m not one of them,” Kaito says, his lips twitching into a smirk.
“Huh...”
She chews her lips.
“This is out of nowhere, but do you think it’s too late to pursue a career that’s entirely different from my major?”
Kaito glimpses at her. “It’s only too late if you think that it is.”
How can this guy talk as if he has no worries at all? Zoe starts to become curious about him, but she also feels envious of his carefree nature.
Kaito interrupts her trailing thoughts. “It is fine if you don’t drink, by the way.”
Finally realizing that a bar is a place she has never visited, Zoe immediately fishes her phone out of her backpack. She squirms at herself. She won’t be able to contact Seth or her parents.
Zoe looks at Kaito and asks, “Do you know where I can buy a sim card for mobile data?”
“Yes. Wait a sec.” Kaito yells at their company. “Guys!”
The rest of the group looks back at them.
“We’re just going to buy a sim. We’ll be right behind you!”
They nod. Taylor wiggles his eyebrows in amusement and then they walk ahead. Zoe silently wishes that things won’t be uncomfortable between her and Kaito because of Taylor. She glances at Kaito. He doesn’t seem to care. She sighs in relief.
They enter a store called BIC Camera. She purchases a 2GB sim and inserts it into her phone right away.
“You need to ask for permission?” Kaito asks as they wait for Zoe’s phone to turn on.
“Yes. My parents are strict.”
“I see.”
They continue walking, and Zoe types a message to her parents. Ma wants her to come home. Zoe expected it, but as she looks at the beautiful lights and the people who are willing to get to know her, she truly doesn’t want to. She wants to stay.
So, she promises that she won’t do anything that will put herself in danger. Ma eventually realizes that it’s no use stopping her. She’s miles away after all, and she’s a grown-up who can make decisions of her own. Pa warns her to be careful.
Zoe sends a message to Seth next. He seems pissed that she texts him so late. He also hints that he wants her to come home instead of hanging out with a bunch of strangers.
Well, they are strangers, and they will remain strangers unless she spends time with them. Although pissed, he ends the conversation by telling her to come home early and not to drink. Zoe looks at the time and since it’s only 6 PM, she says yes.
They arrive at the bar after a ten-minute walk. Zoe’s feet hurt, but she accepts that it’s how things are in Japan. She has to get used to it. Walking is a healthy activity anyway, and it’s the only exercise she can get aside from biking.
The bar is in a secluded area on the outskirts of Shibuya. The interior is modern, dimly lit, and the place smells like cigarette smoke and alcohol. Zoe gulps and stops walking in the middle of the hallway.
“You’re safe here. Don’t worry,” Kaito whispers. “I’m here.”
Her chest becomes lighter. She bites her lip and continues walking.
The group takes the spot near the bartender who shares a secret handshake with Naoki. He used to work there. Zoe feels uneasy as she sits on the couch next to Marie. Her eyes roam the room. It’s dark, and the Japanese music playing in the background blends with the laughter and the voices of people chatting. There are a lot of foreigners inside. She notices a couple making out at the corner. She blushes and looks away.
Everyone purchases alcoholic drinks except for Zoe. She has never tasted alcohol before and is uncomfortable to drink her first alcoholic beverage in a foreign land with strangers.
Nobody forces her which is a good thing. They respect her decision when she declines their offer. She doesn’t want to be a killjoy, but she also doesn’t want to force herself just to fit in. She only orders a glass of root beer. They begin chatting about the classes they’ll take and their past winter vacations.
It is obvious that they’ve been close since last semester. Zoe notices the way they comfortably crack jokes and exchange high-fives with each other. She’s pleased and jealous at the same time. Fortunately, she doesn’t feel out of place. They try to involve her with the topics, and they seem genuinely interested when she speaks. Zoe’s stomach hardens when all eyes are on her, though. She wonders if she is boring them.
At 8 o’clock, the questions begin to revolve around Jesse and Zoe as newcomers. It feels like a rite of passage, but Zoe doesn’t mind. They want to get to know her, and she wants to get to know them, too.
“So, Zoe, how are things going at your dorm?” Marie asks.
“It’s great. I’ve settled in.” She glimpses at Kaito. “Kaito helped me a lot on my first day. I don’t know how to speak Japanese, so he became my interpreter.”
“Typical,” Naoki comments.
“That’s good,” Marie says. “I remember using apps for translation, and it didn’t end well.”
“Apps aren’t exactly reliable,” Jesse adds, flicking her short hair. “They translate languages word per word, and some expressions don’t have direct translation. That messes up everything.”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m thankful to Kaito. I was about to cry at the streets of Kichijoji when he found me.”
Zoe smiles at Kaito who scratches his temple. Taylor guffaws, and Kaito immediately shoots daggers at him.
“What? I’m not saying anything,” Taylor says, shrugging.
“But you’re making things awkward,” Jesse says. “She has a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, man. Just stop,” Kaito hisses. Taylor throws his arms up in the air.
Zoe swallows. “Well, I… He’s not exactly my boyfriend. It’s more like…”
She pauses. Everyone stares at her, waiting, and she regrets that she even said anything about it.
“A fling?” Taylor asks.
“Not a fling. A fling is good for just a few months,” Zoe utters, biting her lower lip. “We’ve been seeing each other exclusively for a year.”
“So he is, like what we said, a boyfriend,” Kaito retorts.
She clears her throat. “I don’t know how to explain it. We don’t call each other boyfriend-girlfriend. It’s not our thing.”
They weren’t even asking. I should have just kept my mouth shut!
“It’s a mutual decision?” Jesse asks.
She can’t say that it is, so she merely winces.
“Casual dating,” Marie utters, then she takes a sip from her glass of beer. “That’s fine. But a year seems pretty long.”
“And how does long-distance casual dating work? That’s not fun,” Taylor says. “Out of sight, out of mind.”
“He said he’ll wait for me,” Zoe replies, her chin dipping down. “He’s graduating first, but it’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”
“Ah, so this supposed casual relationship is serious after all?” Naoki finally speaks, finishing his ‘Asahi’ beer.
Zoe nods reluctantly. She doesn’t know the answers to their questions. Maybe this is why Elle wants her to clear things up with Seth.
“Well, she’s just staying here for what? Four? Five months? That’s short.” Jesse says.
Zoe licks her lips with cautious hope and states, “Dis
tance doesn’t matter when the relationship matters.”
“What do you think, Kaito?” Taylor asks.
Kaito smirks and shrugs his shoulders casually. He is aware that Zoe is loyal. He just didn’t realize that she is dead serious about her current relationship. Casual dating isn’t supposed to be exclusive. What is she doing wasting her time with only one guy?
