The Story of Us

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

The next day, I called headmaster Turner to inform him of my final decision.

He'd sounded very enthusiastic when I'd told him I'd go to Japan for the exchange project.

"Very good, very good, miss Wiltshire! I'm sure you'll make our school proud." He'd said.

"Yes, mister Turner. I'll try to do my best."

"Of course! Can you please come by my office on Friday, say at three o'clock in the afternoon, to discuss some final points and to go through some paperwork?"

"Yes, I'll be there, mister Turner."

"Very well. See you this Friday then, miss Wiltshire."

Then he'd hung up the phone and I'd let out a sigh of relief.

My parents had been very happy as well when they heard this news yesterday.

I on the other hand was still a little bit dubious of my decision.

It still felt weird to go there without Lynn.

We had talked so much about this project.

How we would explore the streets of Tokyo and its many shops. How we would be studying alongside each other under the sakura trees and how we'd even participate in many cultural festivities like Bunkyo Kiku Matsuri, the Chrysanthemum Festival, or the cherry blossom festival named Ohanami.

But the thing we'd both been most excited about was living under the same roof.

Our university had picked out a place off campus. It was apparently some sort of small dorm or apartment where many exchange students had been staying before.

We would've stayed there among students from other countries; which had also seemed very exciting to us.

But now I had to experience all that on my own.

There would be nobody to share it with.

And to be honest, that scared me quite a lot.

Because my cousin and I had always been sharing everything with each other.

We'd experienced so much together and sometimes it had felt as if we couldn't take another step into the unknown without the other one's hand to hold onto. As if without the help of one another, we wouldn't make it.

Yes, ever since we were little we've always been more like sisters, not cousins. I even considered little Bonny my baby sister as well.

Thinking of all this made it quite hard again to imagine myself in such a big, foreign city.

All alone.

My heart also hurt because Lynn would not experience something like this yet. For she deserved this chance just as much as I did, or maybe even more than me.

I looked at the clock in my bedroom and realised I'd better get ready before I went to see mister Turner. So I got up from my bed and made my way to the bathroom.

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I came out off the school building, my arms loaded with many papers and folders.

Mister Turner hadn't been kidding about the fact that he had a lot of information to give me.

When I was in his office, he'd immediately called the University of Tokyo, informing them that Nia Wiltshire had decided to continue her participation in this very important project.

Right after that, he'd informed the owners of my future home as well. He'd said that room 302 would be occupied soon.

I'd noticed then, that he hadn't mentioned anything about room 303 .

That had been the room destined for Lynn.

Which meant that a week ago, after hearing of her disappearance, he'dimmediately made a call to the owners, probably telling them that that particular room could be rent to another student if they wished to.

Which in turn meant that he'd believed the bloody newspapers without any hesitation.

That he'd believed Lynn would be lost for quite some time and would maybe even never turn up again.

Or worse, that she had passed away.

I paused at a little bench, putting all the papers carefully on it. Then I put most of it in my bag and made my way to my dorm.

Once there I took a suitcase from my closet and started packing everything that was still left in that room.

For the time that I'd be away, the school would rent this to another student. Which meant that I'd probably be leasing another dorm room when I came back again.

That felt a bit strange, since Lynn and I had let ourselves go in organising this room to my taste.
From the beige to yellowish paint of the walls, to the organisation of many fandom posters. They varied from Harry Potter and other book series to Japanese music bands, drama's and landscapes.

Thinking about this also made me realise that it had been a while since I'd posted something on my book blog.

In fact, it had been a while since I'd picked up a book.

Eleven days exactly. Ever since the seventh of September.

Those days were the exact same amount since Lynn went missing.

It had almost been two weeks and the police still hadn't found any clues yet.

As for me, my memory of that night was still gone.

My nightmares had become a bit more violent though in sound.

Lynn screaming for help, then choking as if someone had clasped a large hand over her mouth or throat. A male voice yelling.

Just noises, no images. But it was enough for me to wake up in cold sweat every single day.

Even thinking about it now sent a chill down my spine.

My bruise was better though. Still a bit blue, but it didn't hurt so much any more.

When I was done packing, I called my parents to ask them if they could come and pick me up.

They were already on their way to Oxford from London, saying that they would be here in twenty minutes.

While waiting for them to arrive, I focused my attention on the information sheets. I sat at my desk and went through them, one by one.

Out of all of them I found my class schedule and the buddy request form the most interesting ones.

My classes in Japan would be roughly the same as the ones I'd get if I were to stay in England.

Some of those classes were Japanese, English, Japanese literature and culture and even my optional subject, which was Chinese.

The buddy request was also a nice initiative from this project.

It allowed you to be paired up with someone from Tokyo who would show you the ropes there.

I considered this and decided to fill in the form. It was something that Lynn and I would have done as well if the circumstances were different.

It had to be filled in online. Next to this I had to fill in my favourite hobby's and other pastimes.

Based on this, the people of the University of Tokyo would choose a student of their own with similar or the same interests. It would make the pairing up more enjoyable and suitable.

After I'd received an automatic response on their behalf, my parents walked into the room. At seeing them I smiled and gathered my suitcase.

As I looked back in the doorway, I found myself silently saying goodbye to my old dorm room and to another part of my life where so many memories of Lynn and me had taken place.