looked at me suspiciously. I looked away and just started talking.
“Oh, Terauchi? Did you see the TV show? Sorry to have worried you. We have some guests now so I’ll call you back.”
The person on the other end finally spoke.
“The cops are there, aren’t they. I’ll call back later.”
It was Worm. I hung up like nothing was going on. This was like something out of a movie.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
I went back to the two detectives. The man, apparently farsighted, was squinting at his notebook. “The person who saw the young man stated that he was wearing a navy blue T-shirt and jeans,” he said, “and was carrying a black backpack. The person who saw him was a housewife who lives behind your house. She was pushing her baby in a stroller to a park nearby. She said she passes in front of the boy’s house every time she goes to the station, so she’s seen him a number of times. This housewife also said that she saw someone who looked like you pass her by on a bike. Are you positive you didn’t see him?”
“Really? Well, it must have been just around twelve, because I took the 12:05 express.” I looked casual as I said this, and the two of them wrote it all down. I’m glad I didn’t have to lie about that. Facts pile up like this, one after another. They’d find out soon enough that Worm had broken the lock on my bike and stolen it.
“If anything changes, or you remember anything else, please call this number. We’ll be coming every day, so if you’d like, you can tell us later.”
The female detective handed me her card, which had rounded edges, and I mumbled a word of thanks. After they left I felt on edge. The phone rang again, and thinking it might be Worm, I answered in a low voice.
“Toshi-chan—is that you? What’s the matter? You sound upset.”
The voice was the opposite of Terauchi’s—clear and bouncy. This was my friend who went by the nickname Kirarin. Me, Terauchi, Kirarin, and Yuzan. This was the group I was in throughout junior and senior high. Kirarin’s real name was kind of odd—Kirari Higashiyama—and even though she didn’t like it, we all called her Kirarin. She was cute, cheerful, a well-brought-up, proper young girl. The name Kirarin was perfect for her, and she was the only one in our group who could fit in nicely wherever she went.
“You lost your cell, didn’t you, Toshi? Last night the guy who picked it up called me.”
“What time was it?”
“About ten maybe?” Kirarin said lightly. “I went to a movie and was on the train back when he called. I couldn’t really talk a lot, but it was fun and I ended up talking about all kinds of things. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—the guy’s got a lot of nerve.”
I was so surprised I didn’t know what to say. Kirarin went on. “I told him you need your cell phone and he’s got to give it back. And he’s like, Sorry, I understand, I’ll definitely give it back.”
“Apologizing to you isn’t going to help. He’s got to tell me he’s sorry.”
“Totally.”
Kirarin laughed cheerfully. Come to think of it, she’s the only one of my friends I’ve never felt like killing. It’s like I was always praying that she’d stay as cute as she was and always be the one who smoothed things over among us.
“But hey—why aren’t you in cram school?” she asked.
“I’ll tell you about that later. I gotta go. I’ve got to ask Yuzan if she got a call, too.”
“Let’s all get together during summer vacation,” Kirarin said. If Worm had phoned Kirarin he might have called Yuzan, too. Both their names were in my contacts list, so he was just having fun calling them at random. What a jerk. I called Yuzan right away.
“Yeah, hello…” Yuzan said, her voice low and cautious.
“It’s me. Toshi.”
“Hey, Toshi. There wasn’t any caller ID, so I was wondering who it was. I heard you lost your cell phone?”
“The guy called you?”
“Yep. I thought it was you, but it was a guy.
“Oh, Terauchi? Did you see the TV show? Sorry to have worried you. We have some guests now so I’ll call you back.”
The person on the other end finally spoke.
“The cops are there, aren’t they. I’ll call back later.”
It was Worm. I hung up like nothing was going on. This was like something out of a movie.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
I went back to the two detectives. The man, apparently farsighted, was squinting at his notebook. “The person who saw the young man stated that he was wearing a navy blue T-shirt and jeans,” he said, “and was carrying a black backpack. The person who saw him was a housewife who lives behind your house. She was pushing her baby in a stroller to a park nearby. She said she passes in front of the boy’s house every time she goes to the station, so she’s seen him a number of times. This housewife also said that she saw someone who looked like you pass her by on a bike. Are you positive you didn’t see him?”
“Really? Well, it must have been just around twelve, because I took the 12:05 express.” I looked casual as I said this, and the two of them wrote it all down. I’m glad I didn’t have to lie about that. Facts pile up like this, one after another. They’d find out soon enough that Worm had broken the lock on my bike and stolen it.
“If anything changes, or you remember anything else, please call this number. We’ll be coming every day, so if you’d like, you can tell us later.”
The female detective handed me her card, which had rounded edges, and I mumbled a word of thanks. After they left I felt on edge. The phone rang again, and thinking it might be Worm, I answered in a low voice.
“Toshi-chan—is that you? What’s the matter? You sound upset.”
The voice was the opposite of Terauchi’s—clear and bouncy. This was my friend who went by the nickname Kirarin. Me, Terauchi, Kirarin, and Yuzan. This was the group I was in throughout junior and senior high. Kirarin’s real name was kind of odd—Kirari Higashiyama—and even though she didn’t like it, we all called her Kirarin. She was cute, cheerful, a well-brought-up, proper young girl. The name Kirarin was perfect for her, and she was the only one in our group who could fit in nicely wherever she went.
“You lost your cell, didn’t you, Toshi? Last night the guy who picked it up called me.”
“What time was it?”
“About ten maybe?” Kirarin said lightly. “I went to a movie and was on the train back when he called. I couldn’t really talk a lot, but it was fun and I ended up talking about all kinds of things. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—the guy’s got a lot of nerve.”
I was so surprised I didn’t know what to say. Kirarin went on. “I told him you need your cell phone and he’s got to give it back. And he’s like, Sorry, I understand, I’ll definitely give it back.”
“Apologizing to you isn’t going to help. He’s got to tell me he’s sorry.”
“Totally.”
Kirarin laughed cheerfully. Come to think of it, she’s the only one of my friends I’ve never felt like killing. It’s like I was always praying that she’d stay as cute as she was and always be the one who smoothed things over among us.
“But hey—why aren’t you in cram school?” she asked.
“I’ll tell you about that later. I gotta go. I’ve got to ask Yuzan if she got a call, too.”
“Let’s all get together during summer vacation,” Kirarin said. If Worm had phoned Kirarin he might have called Yuzan, too. Both their names were in my contacts list, so he was just having fun calling them at random. What a jerk. I called Yuzan right away.
“Yeah, hello…” Yuzan said, her voice low and cautious.
“It’s me. Toshi.”
“Hey, Toshi. There wasn’t any caller ID, so I was wondering who it was. I heard you lost your cell phone?”
“The guy called you?”
“Yep. I thought it was you, but it was a guy.
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