Quantum Leap - Vol. 3 I Will Wait For You On The Other Side

C001 Juku

Tuesday, 9th May 1995. Nagoya, Japan.

The school bell had just rung and the teacher in front of the class had just ended her lecture. The teacher headed back at her table and reshuffled her assessment papers to be assessed later on during her lull period. The class she had taught had just ended and after she had cleared her table, she stood in front of the class to be addressed by the students.

All the students rose from their seats as they bowed and thanked the teacher for the lesson she had just delivered as she made her way out. It's already 3:15 pm on a Tuesday hot and stifling afternoon and the official school hours have already ended. 

The centralised air conditioning of the classroom was automatically switched off and the hum of the compressor outside the window stopped. Everyone went about their respective duties to upkeep the class room's cleanliness for tomorrow.

Six columns by five rows of the writing desk and chairs made up the small and tight classroom and my assigned desk was on the first-row sixth column which means I was right beside the window. A great opportunity for students like me to daydream and losing myself by watching the world pass by as I daydream on how I would like to spend the rest of the afternoon with.

As I had suddenly exchanged body with yet another student in modern Japan, I was half expecting that I was Kenzo and I would be able to revert the future so that I could change the adverse fate due to the planned camping trip and also the abductions. But then, as what Max had mentioned before, I was unable to change the fate that had already been altered.

If Kenzo was the original person, Max did highlight to me that he would not be able to survive on his own and would perish when he had the first confrontation with the Assassin. Furthermore, the original Kenzo would have faced a lot of difficulties alone on Exile Island as he was not equipped with any of the survival skills that I was bestowed from my past experiences as well as from the first-ever leap. 

Furthermore, the so-called body exchange program was to make sure that the original Kenzo was alive to go through the trials until the part where Kagome perished in his arms from an ambushed arranged by the abductee's Boss. "Damn...! I did not know that the trials for such a person would go to an extent...!" that was what I had thought since I just entered in this new Leap.

=*=

"Aichi Prefectural Asahigaoka Senior High School" sign was on top of the blackboard and the school was aiming to achieve as one of the Super High Schools in Japan. The classroom I had materialised was on the second level of the building. There were four levels altogether and the rooftop access, which could be used as a study area for the students, had several tables and benches and the perimeter had green wire fence all around it.

From the main road, the school looked pretty decent, unlike other public high schools. We had two cafeterias, one for the teaching staffs while the other for students such as us. There were plenty of amenities and facilities such as an Olympic sized swimming pool, two indoor basketball courts and volleyball courts, two half tennis and four full-sized courts, two outdoor basketball court, an indoor dojo for karate and other martial art practices as well as a hockey, soccer and futsal area. 

It was a top-notch full facilitated senior high school in that particular district.

I looked at the reflection beside me through translucent window glass and saw myself as 16 years old, medium built, roughly about 1.72 meters tall male student with cropped black hair while wearing a pair of light blue shirt uniform with dark blue pants. 

Most importantly my face had not suffered an outbreak of acne and pimples!!! 

Face value my man, face-value... Even you've got no money, but with a face and a flashy smile, could surely melt any girl's heart.

Nothing unusual about it as I cleared my textbooks and exercise books away and noticed that my name was stated as "Shiro Takashimaya". There was even an address on my textbook first-page information as "District 2 #6 Kachigawa, Nagoya, Japan". This saves the hassle of finding where I live at this moment. 

I wondered if I am once again a tenant for a landlady student here in the same class as I withdrew my shoulder bag underneath the desk and stuffed everything inside it.

There was a small Docomo flip phone and I cringed when I took it out. "My Goodness...! Even if I am in a high tech modern world, having this type of phone puts me back and makes me somehow older." I thought to myself as I flipped the phone up and saw a wallpaper of a high school girl in a uniform with a blue coloured bow around the collar with me beside her. 

"Oh great...!!! Another belle to add to my episode here in this series. Would the same abduction scenario be repeated or would there be more drastic events that followed thereafter?" Once again, wild thoughts raced through my mind as I looked at my new self in the wallpaper as well as the girl that was posing beside me.

The girl made a 'V' sign with her closed eyes and slightly pointed the sign towards the side of her head while I too made the similar sign but across my chest while sticking out my tongue. Well, a picture tells a thousand words - so very the Japanese anime cuteness! It looked kind of childish and I was wondering if Kagome and Kenzo had ever taken such pictures before.

I proceeded to remove the silent mode on the phone and checked my last SMS and call log. As this was not really a smartphone, I do not find any other forms of chat or communication app on it. I noticed that the last SMS I had received was in the early morning from a girl named Akira that requested me to wait for her at the Ozone Train Station. 

I checked Shiro's last memories and discovered that it was normal to take a connecting purple line train to Nagoya-Dome-Mae-Yada from Ozone as there would be more students from other neighbouring schools alighting and walking down. I checked my outgoing SMS and confirmed that I had waited for the girl there and walked together to school.

"Alright, Shiro. Seems you are one lucky bastard after all. It's good to have a girlfriend at the start of this series. Heh... I guess everyone would be anticipating some kind of fight scenes or gory ones like the last series, am I right?" I thought inwardly as I checked out the flip phone which was considered as one of the pieces a museum would take in on my real world. Haha.

I scrolled through the phone and finally composed a short message to Akira to ensure if she would be heading back home together after school. Since I cannot find such messages earlier in the phone, it would be best t check with Akira on real-time instead.

At least, there would be someone that I could communicate with after school as we spend the time together while heading back home. After clicking the 'send' button, I waited for a short while when suddenly a girl poked her head into the classroom from the corridor.

"Psst...! Hey, Shiro...!! You have juku after this at 3:30 pm for one hour, right? Have you forgotten all about it? Your English remedial...? I myself have swim lessons till 4: 45 pm... Meet me at the poolside later...!!"

She has got to be the Akira from the girl on the phone's wallpaper. My short message that I had sent to Akira earlier was left unanswered, but she managed to reply to me directly by poking her head through my class room's door instead. 

How cute... I just realized she was in the classroom next to me and not a classmate of mine. Just too bad. Or else I would be spending more time with her just like how Kenzo and Kagome had spent their time too.

"A typical girl next door... Hmm..." I smiled to myself as the memories that I had as Kenzo with Kagome was slowly buried in the back of my mind and would be soon layered with the new experiences that I would have as Shiro and Akira.

I've got about ten minutes to spare and by looking at my scheduled time table on all of the lessons in class, I  decided to grab a drink at the nearest vending machine across the hall before heading back to my extra classes. 

I just wished that this Shiro character would be like the bookworm type as Kenzo and would not have too much cram lessons to cover up for all the deficiencies. Yup, truth to be told. Generally, Japanese schools have various vending machines set across the hallway for students to take a short break or refreshment in between lessons. 

Furthermore, Mr Director had arranged those machines for MC like me who had transmigrated across multiple platforms of the universe to enjoy such amenities. I wondered why do I need to attend juku as I was an English speaking native? Ah well... I had missed being a student for the day and I think I could mingle with the ordinary students who were weak in those subjects.

"Maybe this Shiro character was pretty weak in both oral and written English, so having this extra lessons would also do him good. I wondered how the remedial teacher would react if I suddenly score on his or her lessons afterwards. Maybe I should make some silly mistakes so I could still continue with this juku." I thought to myself as I headed outside the classroom and headed towards one of the many vending machines lines outside the hallway.

The cans of beverages that were sold by those vending machines were at a discounted price. I was glad that the vendors had managed to give us such privileges. A normally priced drink of ¥100 to ¥150 outside the school would cost only a mere ¥80 to ¥120 respectively from the vending machines here. 

There were 3 vending machines selling all kinds of fizzy soft drinks. One was selling fresh milk, plain tea, red or green tea while the latter sells UCC and Kirin branded hot and cold beverages. I was wondering about those health-conscious parents who were cringing in horror as they realised that the first vending machine that supplies those drinks had been dumped with many spoonfuls of sugar in them...!

It took me a while after I had scanned the various rows of assorted drinks displayed before I finally chose a bottle of green tea costing ¥80. After inserting the exact change (those machines do not return you any change at all...!!!) I pressed the button which states original, slightly cold and chilled and chose one. A few seconds later the bottle of the drink was dispensed as I then took the bottle out at the bottom dispenser and took a swig. 

Cool...! This vending machine has the option of choosing the level of chillness for the drink that we intend to buy. Japanese technology really goes a few notches high to meet the demands of the other consumers.

The drink tasted refreshing, just like what I used to drink back then. I cannot recall the brand but it came in a large 1.25litre bottle. I used to drink those if I intend to burn the midnight oil and to finish up my reports and work late through the night. I tipped the bottle up and quickly finished it while I leaned against the school's parapet before throwing the empty bottle into the trash receptacle next to one of the machines.

I went to the washroom next to relieve myself and freshen up while taking a good look at my new self -  Shiro Takashimaya.

"Not bad, this guy really had a fairly good workout and I think he must be involved in some sports meet, I suppose. At least I do not end up fat and flabby like a typical obese otaku. Hahaha...!!!" I laughed inwardly as I smirked at myself as I peered through the mirror and checked my self out.

I returned to class afterwards and retrieved my school bag. I moved to a few desks ahead of me since the juku would be smaller in size and happened to be in the same classroom after all. I was wondering would the same English lesson be like the one I had in the previous high school that I was in. 

I quickly settled down and saw that some of the students had prepared some of their English textbooks so I did the same. A while later, a male remedial class teacher came in, as we all stood up and greeted him before settling back down.