Junior Year Box Set

Saul had been smart to force us to fly in early and give ourselves the weekend to acclimate to the time change before my first job on Monday. It also gave everyone a chance to explore the city before I had to work.

◊◊◊ Sunday July 3

I’d asked the front desk to give me a wake-up call for seven in the morning. Back home, it was five in the evening. I had a bad feeling that when we returned home, my body clock would be completely messed up. Someone knocked on my door, so I grabbed a robe and answered it.

“You’re not going to be happy,” Cassidy said as she and Brook came into my room.

I hadn’t gotten a suite because we would be leaving Tokyo tomorrow after my first advertisement was shot. Before I could hear why I wouldn’t be happy, there was another knock at the door. This time it was Kent.

“I didn’t do it,” he said with raised hands.

“Hang on,” I said to Kent, and then turned back to Cassidy.

“They know you’re here,” Brook said.

“Who knows I’m here?” I asked.

Kent held up a newspaper, and my picture was on the entertainment page.

“What does it say?” I asked.

“How would I know? Didn’t you hire an interpreter?” Kent asked.

“You’re big in Japan. It’s almost impossible to get out of the lobby because your fans and the paparazzi are camped out,” Brook supplied.

“How do you know they’re my fans? There might be someone else famous here,” I hoped.

“They’re dressed up like fanboys and fangirls,” Kent said.

I’d had this happen once at the University of Chicago when we did the ‘get out the vote’ rallies. By now, I expected this would have calmed down some. I mean, in North Carolina, we had people come out to the games, but no one dressed up.

I called Hana and asked her to come to my room. While I waited, Kent ordered room service, and I took a shower. I came out to find everyone in my room.

“What did I tell you? They love you here,” Saul said.

“What’s the deal with everyone out front all dressed up?” Paul asked.

“That’s big here. They are called kosupure (kos-pu-ray), or cosplay back home. I would expect there are probably cameko taking pictures of them,” Hana explained.

“Are they going to be stalking me every time I go out?” I asked.

“‘#StrykerLocation’ is trending on Twitter right now,” Kent told me, staring at his phone.

“I wanted to play tourist today,” I complained.

“Do you know your lines for tomorrow’s commercial?” Saul asked, and he could tell that I didn’t. “Then, you’re staying here until you learn them.”

That was how Hana and I found ourselves stuck in the hotel room while everyone else went out and had fun. Hana was happy when I finally got the lines down to her satisfaction. The only problem was, I’d sent Paul and Cassidy with Kent, Brook, and Megan, so I couldn’t leave. Hana didn’t feel bad enough to stay and keep me company.

◊◊◊ Monday July 4

The hotel had put up a barrier to keep people back from the front of the building. Paul had hired a driver to take Hana, Kent, Saul, and me to Tokyo Animation for today’s commercial. He had everyone else come out and get into the car before I left my room. He and Cassidy then escorted me to the lobby where I suddenly was surrounded by fans.

I figured that since they were paying customers of the hotel, and I was causing them a huge hassle, I would accommodate them. I slowed down, signed some autographs, and let them have their picture taken with me. Paul wasn’t happy, but it was only thirteen people, so I wasn’t worried.

When we exited the hotel, there were about fifty fans and paparazzi on the far side of the barrier. I smiled and waved at them and then slowed down as Cassidy opened the door of the car. That was when someone pushed the barrier aside, and a flow of people rushed us. Paul shoved me into the car and jumped in while Cassidy slammed the door and hurried back into the hotel. The driver eased his way through the throng of people.

“That was fun,” I commented.

“We might need to get more security,” Paul said.

◊◊◊

Tokyo Animation reminded me of pictures I’d seen of Google and how their offices were set up. Their employees all looked to be in their twenties, and everyone had a laptop that seemed to be attached to them. There was a big open area with three rows of wooden desks that ran the length of the room. There didn’t seem to be assigned seating, because, on our tour, you would see people moving from spot to spot to talk and work with each other.

They had a game room with pool tables, pachinko machines (vertical pinball machines), and the like. There were also quiet rooms where they could go sit in big comfortable chairs while they worked. The cafeteria had large vending machines where you could select a free meal and pop it into a microwave. Everything in the cafeteria was free. We were told that some people preferred to work odd hours, and this way, they could get something when they were hungry.