Quantum Leap - Vol. 3 I Will Wait For You On The Other Side

C007 Groped

Wednesday, 10th May 1995

Approximately around 6:00 am.

I was rudely awakened by the simultaneous ringing by the different type of alarms that came through the mobile phone I was using last night as well as some windup clocks that were placed on the table, one that was somehow ended up inside the laundry basket as well as one under the bed. 

How come this Shiro guy would be so obsessive with so many alarm clocks but do not even bother to clear up all the mess from the laundry basket himself. He must be thinking there might be a standby maid who would be clearing up his mess once he left the room and goes to school.

I sat up on my single bed first to stabilise my blood pressure. You all know that I had low blood pressure even though I had changed body with someone else. In this body exchange program, if I am as fit as a fiddle, I do not think that I would be bestowed with the skills that I had managed to learn on the first series.

I raised both hands and then touched my face. It was wet and the pillow that I had slept on was slightly damp as well with my tears. Well, some trails of snot managed to somehow cover the lower part of my face when I was crying incessantly as I vividly remember the soft lithe body against me, her warmth that was slowly dissipating through the gaps of my fingers, as I cried and looked up in heavens to tell God that it was really unfair and I wanted God to return the soul back into that lifeless body.

"SIGH...How I wished that this Quantum Leap would be like the one where one time travelled so that I may be able to adjust some of the events that had happened and then reverse back the occurrences just like a load and save option that I had wished for. Hahaha...!" But too bad, I was not able to be gifted with such an option since Max already knew and had read my intentions well.

I let out a long sigh as I slowly kicked the blanket off that had gathered around my feet and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I managed to silence all the alarms as I briskly grabbed the towel that I had used to wrap myself and skipped to the bathroom and hoped to be the first in line. Before I left, I grabbed a small utility pail that contained some of my toiletries and headed to the toilet and bath. 

After my shower, which I just had splashed some water on my body since the last user of the bath had used up all the hot water in the tub and I had no choice but to endure the cold water as I splashed it about just like I did in Bamboo Village.

I hurried back to my room and changed into a fresh pair of school uniform. I made sure that I do not leave anything important behind and headed downstairs to return the key to the landlord and to ask him what I am going to do with the laundry upstairs.

"Ah...Do not worry about the laundry, Shiro-san. I will bring it down for you and then make a checklist of what you had in the laundry basket. And then, I would be able to charge according to how many pieces that need to be laundered as well as those that need to be ironed and primed, especially your school uniform."

"Of course, I would personally check and empty the pockets to ensure that there would be no spare change that would accidentally be washed in the washing and drying machine."

"You know ah, in the old days, we used to wash our own clothes at the river bank if we stayed near a body of water or we would need to manually pump the water up from the ground. Really, you know...!"

"We would rinse our clothes first and make them wet before we rub the yellow coloured laundry bar on the clothes using the corrugated washing board, you know and then rinse the clothes several times before we would hit them against a flat rock to ensure that all the soap had been removed."

If we do not do that, there would be a kind of musty smell when the clothes had dried and being folded if the clothes were not cleared of the suds, you know what I am trying to tell you, Shiro-san?"

"Ara Maa... I tell you ah...Doing laundry the old times before was not easy and those people who worked as a laundry person would have a hard time to wash these clothes comes Spring."

"The people back then do not wash their clothes during winter and it would be a 3 months break for the laundry person. Of course, not doing laundry also means we do not have the liberty to bath also since gathering of firewood to make heated water in the bath that period was too costly."

"HHUUAARRGGHH...!!! SO VERY THE NAGAI KAZE  OR LUO SUO (Cantonese) OR DAMN f*****g LONG WINDED...!!!" Haiyo Uncle...!!! I am going off to school and you are telling me the history of doing laundry and at the same time delaying my time to even grab a cup of coffee, you know. You would not want to see how a tiger on top of the mountain top to be pouncing on you since I do not have any coffee intake in me...I WANT MY COFFEE, DAMMIT...!!!

As I had expected, there was no f*****g COFFEE AT THE END...!!! The old blabbering fool had made me missed my morning coffee and had the cheek to stop me and tell me the history of doing their laundry in olden Japan. "HHUUAARRGGHH..." I screamed in my head as I clenched my fist as I really wanted to pummel the old man before me...!!!

"Got to go, Mr Landlord...! I do not want to be late for school and I would be meeting Akira just outside her dormitory as we intend to walk together to school. Ciao...!" I waved off the old man just as if I was trying to shoo off some flies that were buzzing right in front of my face...

I walked out into the sunshine and saw that Akira was already there waiting for me as she held two styrofoam cups that had been filled with some hot beverages. It seemed that she already prophesied that I would be stalled early in the morning by the old landlord so Akira immediately made some hot beverages for me."

The moment I came out of my dormitory, Akira was already a the front of the dormitory and was leaning against a fire hydrant and when she saw me shielding my face against the morning sun, she walked towards me and greeted me. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted in the air as she held one of the styrofoam cups near my face and nose.

"For you...I made this since I knew that you would be stalled by the landlord on every Wednesday since it would be time for him to pick up all the laundry from the rooms and makes the list and charges them for the value-added service."

"By the way...Eeeehhh...Shiro...Why are your eyes so puffy like a goldfish again...? Are you having some kind of sore eyes because I can see some kind of redness and I think we better head to the school infirmary and get some treatment there."

"The convenience stores or the pharmacies nearby our school would not be open at this hour and in case they do sell that eye drops, it would cost at least 4 to 5 times the normal cost from a pharmacy...!"

"Ara ma...!!! How you gonna be in class later on...? I think you had quite a poor record in attendance lately since you easily have gotten ill yourself." Akira was basically fussing around me and I think that the embrace last night was the unlocking of her potentials. Just like a system, the moment she embraced someone of the opposite s*x that she adored, she scored a lot of favourability points which would be used in the later stages to buy gifts and other addons. 

Ara Ma... Wrong topic to discuss in this series. LOL..!!!

"Huh...? My eyes are puffy...? Ohh... Yesterday, I just managed to sort out my laundry to ensure I got enough to wear. I think the dust had somehow flown into my eyes and I rubbed them to get rid of it. It was teary, you know. Furthermore, today some of my hair shampoos happened to enter my eyes and caused some irritation, that's all. I will go to the Infirmary to get an eye bath...Don't worry Ka... I mean, Akira...!"

Damn it...! I nearly blurted out Kagome's name and I managed to cover it up soon enough. Akira looked up at me and said the most unanticipated and bombastic answer that I had never thought that would come out of her...

"You can call me Kagome, instead of Akira, if you wish to, Shiro..."

I NEARLY HAD A HEART ATTACK ON HEARING THESE WORDS AND I NEARLY CHOKED AND BURNED MYSELF WHEN I WAS SIPPING THE HOT FRAGRANT COFFEE...!!!

"NANNIIII...!!! Jōdan o iwanaide...!!!"

I held both of Akira's shoulders and spun her around to face me, right after I had placed the styrofoam cup that I was earlier drinking from down on the ground. Hahaha...you all tried to catch my mistakes, am I right? Boo hoo hoo...I am more careful this time, you know. Hahaha...!!

She was taken aback at what I had done to her because she had never expected and never had been handled in that manner before...!! A sudden look of surprise and fear flashed across her face and eyes. I held out a forefinger and gently touched the soft bags under her eyes instead and asked what she has to say about the puffy dark circles around both eyes that almost made her look like a panda.

"Keh...You had been burning the midnight oil and catching up on your studies last night, am I right to say that? What have you got anything to say about this verdict?" I expertly manoeuvred the sentences that Akira had mentioned earlier on by calling her Kagome instead. 

I swiftly diverted it into another question to reply to her questions as well as my concerns towards her. She immediately avoided my direct gaze and then she looked down at her feet that were almost touching mine. I did not realise that we were standing so close to one another at all. 

"Ahh...Ahhh... I stayed up all night reading the paperback you had bought and gifted for me, Shiro. The paperback is with me inside the bag and I intend to read it during the break...You don't really mind, do you...?"

"I cannot put down the paperback novel when I started to turn the pages to read...and I have to re-read the pages again to understand the storyline and plot very well..." She answered in her meek voice and as if she had done an irreversible mistake and had half expected a slap coming towards her. 

Err...did I make Akira be that low esteem in this part?

But instead, a hand reached out and patted her head while another hand reached out and touched her chin as it lifted it up so that Akira was looking back into my gaze. " Uh-huh... What did I tell you yesterday? It is not good to be reading under artificial light, am I right? Once you start to read the synopsis yesterday, it seemed that you were captivated by it and can't put the novel back into the shelf last night."

"Besides, the moment you flip the book on its first page and began reading, I am 100% sure that you would not and could not put the book down no matter how sleepy you are. Hahaha...I know you, Akira and I understand you quite well." 

I told her that I had advised against her reading in the dark or using her mobile-phone light to illuminate and read the materials. Right now,  she really looked like a panda. I chided her first before I slowly chuckled as I patted gently on her head and then subconsciously slid my hand down her neck, then her back where I could feel her bra that she was wearing underneath and discovered that she was wearing a type of sports bra since there was no latch behind it. 

My hand paused slightly while I kind of felt her back and the sports bra that she was wearing before my hand rested lightly on her butt. And I gently grabbed her firm and ample butt through her short school skirt uniform as I muttered the phrase, "MMUUAAKKK...!!!".

LOL!

"Hoshi-sama...!!! How dare you...?!?!" I heard a familiar voice screaming at my direction from the next set across mine and  I immediately turned my body around. Their conversation was loud enough to disrupt the series as I saw Sango-Chan raised her Hiraikotsu and slammed it hard of Hoshi-sama's head..." KKAABBOOIINNGG...!!!" 

*TWEET*

*TWEET*

Little yellow birds were flying around Hoshi-sama's head and were tweeting around the large bump that was slowly rising from Hoshi-sama's head...!!! From the scene that was happening from the other set, it seemed that it was all Hoshi-sama's doing and not mine...

Mr Director...there is something wrong with the script again...! Why are characters from Inuyasha being mentioned in this series? It is not the time yet, am I right? That scene would only appear from Quantum Leap series 7 onwards...!!!

You like to change the script as and when you like eh, Mr Director...?!?!