Created •
a serialized online story
by Tommy Schmitz
Chapter 6 - Full moon rising and the girls set a trap.
(here is the linklink to Chapter 5.)
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Katie and Susan O'Brien left for school
with hugs for Oba-chan but with few words for her or for each other,
and they continued to have little or nothing to say
going to school, during school, taking the train after school to the gym.
They saw Inga Godotnova, their Shintaiso coach,
stepping onto the platform from the
train car behind them at Wakabayashi Station
and walked quickly to her.
"We're sorry to have to tell you this..." Katie started.
"There is bad news about our parents."
Susan filled in with what little was known, and added
"the news may drift in during practice. We wanted you to know and hope it does not disrupt things too much."
"Even under such terrible circumstances,
I am not surprised you are here for practice."
Inga Godotnova hugged the girls closely.
"Thank you for telling me." she said with a smile
touching and honest and sad,
and this smile left a deep and centering impression
on Katie and Susan O'Brien.
The three continued walking to the gym.
"I'm not sure practice will go so well today," Katie said half muttering.
"If you want your amazing progress in this sport to change -
right now, in any direction whatsoever, for better or for worse -
it is, right now, your choice to do so."
And Katie and Susan paused walking and at once looked up into their coaches eyes.
During break the girls took towels from their gym bags.
"Look at this," Susan said pointing to the other girls with her eyes, "the news must have hit."
Katie sat and wiped her face
and rubbed the back of her neck with the towel
and looked at her team mates
nearly all looking at their cell phones
and then nearly all the girls
in quick and off-beat rhythm
glanced up and around at Katie and Susan,
the spreading awareness of horrifying news
coming in flashes of lightening
out of some uninvited presence
that rolled thick and fog-like across the gymnasium floor.
"I'm not looking at my cell phone." said Katie.
Me neither, said Susan, yet allowing a sideways stare
at the instant messages flooding in across the cell phone screen:
"I'm so sorry," "We're with you." "What can I do to help?" and so on.
Katie lifted her face buried in her towel.
And she and Susan looked calmly around the room,
Susan standing, Katie sitting, the others doing their best
not to look as they already were -
frozen in self-conscience.
"Let's get back to work!" said Inga Godotnova,
a set of words not normally acted upon
by her young Shintaiso athletes with such welcome as now.
Toward the end of practice the girls warmed down
in slower motion than usual,
dressed, loaded their equipment, swung the straps
of gym bags and gear over there shoulders
and headed for Wakabayashi Station with more presence of mind than usual.
They got off at Shimotakaido Station, the terminal for the Setagaya Line,
and walked toward the Keio Line tracks
and approached a choice of two sets of stairs to climb -
one for the local, one for the express.
They looked each other in the eyes
and traded nods that no one on the planet but the other
was suppose to ever understand.
And climbing the right-side set of stairs,
and looking straight ahead,
with monotone and purpose:
"Chofu," the one said.
"Chofu," said the other.
"Hebi-yama," the one said.
"Hebi-yama," said the other.
"We won't be late getting home," the one said.
"We won't be late," said the other.
"We'll just walk by."
"Just walk-on by."
"And we'll look," the one said.
"And maybe find!" said the other.
Both thought about Inga Godotnova briefly
and both smiled their coach's sad and knowing smile,
catching brief glances of eye contact with each other,
backing and squeezing onto the express train for Chofu Station.
[continue following for Chapter 6 or click here]
