Takeshita Demons Read Free

squeal of web rubber, Cait came bursting in through the door, her umbrella dripping
with ice and her hair still rammed in a woolly hat.
"Sorry, Mr Llo..." she began, then stopped in her
tracks, staring at Mrs Okuda.

    Mrs Okuda stopped her roll call to glance at Cait,
who must have been making a large puddle in the
doorway. "You can leave your umbrella outside," she
said. "And you are?"
    "Gait O'Neill," said Cait, and she glanced across
the class, smiling a quick hello at me.
    "Right, thank you, Cait," Mrs Okuda said,
scanning her roll and making a mark with her pen.
"You may sit. Don't be late again." Then she continued
with the roll call.
    Cait dropped her umbrella outside and came to
take her seat next to me. I didn't look across. I had a
feeling something bad was going to happen.
    "Alex. Shaun. Isabella."
    She was getting close. I could hear my heart
beating louder.
    "Jackson? Robyn? Ursula?"
    Then it happened. When she got to my name,
Mrs Okuda stopped, smiling her awful smile right at
me. "Takeshita Miku," she said, saying my full name,
with the family name first, the proper Japanese way.
    I cringed. "Yes," I answered, wishing she'd treat me just like all the other kids. "But it's Miku..."
I dared to correct her, glaring as Alex turned around.

    "Miku Mouse," Alex mouthed silently, mocking
my name.
    But Mrs Okuda didn't seem to notice. Instead,
even worse, she spoke to me in Japanese.
    "Anata mo Nihonjin desu-ne? You are also Japanese,
aren't you?" she said, as if it wasn't obvious from my
name already.
    Heat rose from my collar in waves. This had never
happened before. I could feel the other kids turning
round in their seats, staring. I never spoke Japanese at
school. Why was she doing this?
    "Yes, Miss," I answered in English. I stared at
my desk, willing her to stop. It had been bad enough
when I was new at school. I did not need this now.
    "Kyou wa samukunai?" she continued, as if she was
completely oblivious to the shame she was causing
me.
    Talk English, I wanted to scream. What are you
doing? Instead I answered politely, hoping she'd think
enough was enough and get on with the roll call. "Yes,
Miss, quite cold today." What was she doing, asking
me about the weather? In Japan it was normal for
strangers to talk about the weather. In England too
I'd noticed, but she didn't need to do it in front of the whole class. Please.

    But still she didn't stop.
    "Mada Nihongo wo hanasu yo ne. So you still speak
Japanese." She narrowed her eyes. "And I guess you
still know...."
    I couldn't look, I just sank lower in my chair.
She hadn't asked a direct question, so I figured she
didn't want a direct answer. I decided to stay silent.
And there had been something strange in the way
she'd spoken. As if she wasn't even speaking to
me, but to herself, somewhere in the back of her
shiny trussed-up head. And what did she mean by
"still know"?
    I could hear the clock ticking, could feel every
pair of eyes in the room focused on me, burning holes
of shame into the top of my skull. I willed Mrs Okuda
to forget about me and start calling the roll again.
    Then, thankfully, something broke the silence.
It wasn't Mrs Okuda finishing the roll. She'd missed
heaps of kids' names out, but it was as if she'd
forgotten all about roll call. Instead, she was writing
something on the board. The chalk screeched, and
slowly chairs rumbled as the other kids turned to
face the front. I steamed with relief.
    When the chalk squeaked to a stop, I sneaked
a look at the board.

    "An essay," Mrs Okuda announced. "Write me
an essay, introducing yourself. It should be two pages
long, no pictures. Due lunchtime. Any questions?"
    The class groaned. Alex's hand shot high in
the air.
    "Yes?" Mrs Okuda asked, flashing her white and
purple smile.
    "On Tuesday mornings we play dodgeball in the
gym," Alex smirked.
    "Yes?" she asked, waiting.
    "Well, we won't have time to do essays before
lunch if we're playing