Ten Journeys by Various

Author:Various
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Legend Times Group
Published: 2010-08-06T04:00:00+00:00

1. REMOVE your shoes before walking on the tatami!

2. NO loud music after 9.00pm!

3. NO drugs, NO drunks!

4. SMOKE OUTSIDE or suffer the consequences!

5. NO people staying over!

6. WRITE DOWN phone messages. No, you WON’T remember them!

7. DON’T steal bikes, umbrellas or FOOD! IT’S BAD KARMA!!

8. DO I LOOK LIKE YOUR MUMMY?? CLEAN THE BATHROOM AND THE TOILET!!!!

The rule sheet was typed up and laminated and it looked pretty official but no-one took any notice of it, except Matt from Minnesota who taught Business English and hiked every weekend.

Sandra finished her joint and pulled herself back inside the window, grabbing Carol King’s Tapestry CD from her stack of music against the wall.

“I hostessed for a few months when I first got here. It’s completely demeaning. Why don’t you just teach? I can get you a gig at UIES if you like.”

I gritted my teeth and forced my lips into smile. Ex-hostesses were like reformed smokers, always wanting you to learn from their mistakes. I just wanted to be left alone.

“Thanks for the offer but I need to earn some money quickly. I want to keep moving. Japan’s just a pit stop for me and teachers’ salaries are rubbish in comparison to the bucks I can earn hostessing, no offence. I’ll probably pick up some private classes on the side though. I’ve heard they pay pretty well.”

Sandra glared at me and tugged at her hair. “Why are you in such a hurry anyway? The world will wait won’t it?” She flicked on the CD and grinned. “My absolute favourite singer.”

I thought about telling Sandra about Hopey and me. How we’d been friends since we were ten and that REM and a freshly-dug grave were never part of the plan. How his melodies and cracked smile got lost in the needle, the spoon and the flame. That the world didn’t wait for everyone but you never knew who was staying or going until it was too late. How the grey made waves within me and the white-noise came down between me and everything else. That moving helped.

I took a sharp inward breath and grinned. “Carol King’s a classic. I’m not in that much of a hurry. I’m just trying to stick to a travel plan, keep things ticking along.”

“Plan, sham,” Sandra said dismissively. “Well it’s your funeral. At least I’ve done my duty by telling you it sucks. Try The Amber Club, the money’s good and Trick’ll get you the best rate. Not because he’s looking out for you, although he’ll tell you he is, but because he’ll get himself the best deal in the process. But watch your back. Trick’s real slippery. He’s got connections with the local Bosozoku Boys, who are mostly all talk but they can turn. Some people say he’s in with the Yakuza but I don’t know for sure. He’d probably like people to think that. Hell, he probably started the rumours. Whoever heard of a guy called Trick anyway?”

Trick was an odd name, it seemed undignified.

“Well, we’re all on show here in a way,” I offered.

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