Ellie-chan (COMPLETED)

Twenty-Five - New beginning...

I left the building with a heavy heart. I was told that although my English is fine, they are looking for native speakers.  They said that parents in their school are very picky. If they saw somebody who doesn't fit the image of somebody from countries like the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, they complain. The school owner said that he has no choice but to give in to their wishes because afterall, they are the ones paying for the teachers.

I went home frustrated again. I felt like giving up and call Hayato about his offer. But I don't feel good about it. Much as I like him, I don't have the heart to take advantage of his kindness. I'll give it another shot. I still have one interview left...

"Gommen ne, Ellie-sensei.  (I'm sorry about that, Ms. Ellie.)," was Sakamoto-sensei's reply when I told her about my latest interview result.

"I don't think I can find a job in four days," I said, feeling hopeless.

"Shinpai shinai de. (Don't worry).  There will be better options for you," she said before she left for her next class.  Better options? What could it be?  I can't help being sarcastic now.

I forced myself to be jolly and enthusiastic when I entered my classroom. As usual, the boys were very noisy. Some were playing cards, while others were playing darts. The seats were in chaos. I felt like screaming. Indeed, Kyoto-sensei was right. They don't have any sense of discipline.

"Minna-san, shizuka ni.  (Everybody, be quiet.)" I said in my normal speaking voice. Nobody paid attention. "Minna-san, shizuka ni shite kudasai! (Everybody, please be quiet!)" I raised my voice this time. Still, nobody seemed to  hear me.  "Minna, damare!  (Everybody, stop talking!)"  Everybody stopped what they were doing. They froze and stared at me.

I pointed at Hiroki who was leading the dart game. I asked him to put it away. He hurriedly took the dart board from the wall and placed it besides his seat. Naoki, on the other hand, was still wearing his headphones, probably listening to music. I told him to take it off. He looked at me with a blank face, He seemed to have no idea about what's going on around him. His twin brother, explained everything to him in Japanese. Since the twins were now paying attention, the rest of the class followed suit.

I gave them orders to push their chairs to the side since we will practice our graduation march in the classroom. Some of them moaned. They said they already know how to do it. I asked the boy who said that to demonstrate in front of his classmate. He scratched his head and frowned at me. But I didn't stop calling him until he did what I asked him to do. As expected, he marched like a crazy guy, lifting his knees way above his waist. His classmates laughed. I asked him to do it again. When he did it the same way, I asked him to repeat it. It went on and on like that until he yelled at me in exasperation. I stared at him without batting an eyelash. I showed him I was pretty serious about making them practice their march. His classmates were waiting for  something to happen, especially that he was already mad.  I think, he knew I wouldn't give in to him so he kicked the chair nearest to him and headed to the door.   

"Fushimi-kun, come back!"  He ignored me. I followed him to the door and yanked him back to the room. He yelled at me.  I stepped back a little because he looked like he would hit me. That's when Hiroki came between us and held him by the collar.

"Fushimi, ba-ka!  (Fushimi, stu-pid!)"  I knew Hiroki would hit him so I immediately yanked the twin away from the boy.  Fushimi-kun was still angry but he went back to his place.  He murmured some profanities towards Hiroki but when the latter went near him again, he shut his mouth up.

"Fuji-kun, that's enough!" 

At last, we were able to practice in peace.

After my last class, I run to the bus stop that would take me to Kyoto station. I did not attend the faculty meeting anymore. I told Sakamoto-sensei to tell our vice-principal I didn't feel well. But the truth is, I have an interview schedule to catch.  I was expected to be in Osaka at 6:30PM.  Because I was able to take the 4:30 bus to Kyoto, I was able to make it to my interview on time.

The Australian guy who introduced himself as James ushered me to the conference room. He said everybody's waiting for me there.  Everybody?  Will I have a panel interview?  There were three people waiting for me there.  Two white guys and one Japanese girl.  They all smiled when they saw me. The girl introduced herself and her companions and asked me to introduce myself.

"I'm Ellie Santos from the Philippines. It's nice to meet you all," I said and smiled at them. James sat beside the girl and asked me to sit in one of the vacat seats in the conference table. They were all sitting together with their faces toward my direction. They asked me to talk about myself and my current job.  I was a bit nervous at first but later on, I begun to relax. They seemed friendly and warm.  After half an hour, I felt confident that I'll get the job. James and Mari, the Japanese girl, seemed to like me. The other two, Eric and Richard, were more reserved but they seemed okay with my responses to theri questions.  Towards the end of the interview, James asked me about my visa.  I told them about my situation - that my visa is expering in less than a week.  They nodded but I sensed a change of heart. 

"Uhm, no worries about it. If we decided on hiring you, we will sponsor your visa," James replied to me, smiling. The other three nodded in agreement. But then, I still sensed that something has changed.  Mari acted differently now. 

Although, they didn't tell me that I didn't get the job, I have a feeling that it's a matter of time before they drop the bomb to me. I was right.  That evening, James called me up at 9PM. He informed me that they already found someone.  He said that they are thankful that I gave them a chance to have a chat with me.  I forced myself to stay calm.  When I hung up, I cried.

The following morning, when I went to bring Hayato's obento to his office, he asked me about my job prospects. Did I find one already?  I sighed and admitted, I went to several interviews but I didn't get any job offer.

"Your visa is expiring in three days," he said. I nodded without looking at him. I was pretending to be busy looking at my fingernails.  "I guess we have no other choice. I already contacted a lawyer. He can do things for us. He already got us some forms from the city hall and he's already trying to put things together for us. He has some contact with your embassy in Osaka so I think he can make things happen for us in a few days. Please think about this as a business arrangement. You have a loan from me to pay up so I am just trying to help you out so you can also return the money I loaned you. Once you have your visa as spouse of a Japanese national, you can have any job that you like."

I stared at him in disbelief. He already contacted a lawyer? That's so fast!  I think, he knew what I was thinking because he smiled at me sheepishly.

"I just want to be ready," was his curt reply.