We're Not Generals, We're Prom Floozies, Part 1
1672 Words
It's now Monday, the start of a brand-new week.
With my semestral project complete and ready to go, I am obviously in high spirits.
After doing my usual morning rituals, I'm on my way home to school, carrying my pride and joy in hand very carefully.
Of course, Harumi walks along with me and is peeking at my magnum opus while we're on our way to our schools.
“That project of yours is, to be honest, kinda boring.”
“You ain't seen nothing yet, Harumi. It's not just a mini veggie farm you're looking at; it's a prototype of the micro-controller-powered uninterruptible irrigation system you're definitely looking at. And... it sucks that I didn't get to demonstrate my project to you yesterday because we were so preoccupied. But I sure will someday.”
“Sure, I'm looking forward to it.”
We're now at the divergence point between the two schools.
“Make sure you're delivering that promise, OK? Later.”
“Later.”
Some hours later, during the school day...
It's now time for my professors to evaluate my project, which I submit ten days early.
I explain to them how I came up with the system by using a micro-controller alongside inexpensive, easily-acquired components.
And of course, the professors have me demonstrate the entire thing.
My first test run last Saturday was a success; and I sure hope today will be a success too.
And indeed it does, to no one's surprise.
One of my professors comments...
“This prototype you're showing does have some promise. However, much must be done for your micro-controller to be easily ported to existing irrigation systems currently available in the market. Furthermore, some modifications may be further needed. For example, SMS alerts or app notifications from the micro-controller to your phone on the times you must either irrigate the lands or drain them of water. Nevertheless, I commend your efforts. Congratulations.”
Yahoo! Even though I expected such victory, the feeling of having my project pass with flying colors is indeed sweet!
The professors recommend that I should develop the prototype even further, and it can be done outside school. After all, I came up with the concept in the first place.
They even recommend me to take the prototype home.
Yes, I can finally show Harumi my masterpiece!
And thus, the school day ends on a similar high note.
Harumi is there, obviously to make fun of my always-smiling face.
“Hi again, Gunpei. You're always smiling, like it feels so... unnatural. Are you a joker or something?”
“Ain't it obvious? My project's given accolades!”
“Then prove it. Demonstrate it to me ASAP, right at the Shiokaze Trail.”
After a moment of silence, I answer with confidence...
“OK.”
Eventually, we're now back at the waterway pavement.
It's time for the third test run of my project.
But... I'm missing something.
Here in this pavement, there are no faucets to speak of.
And thus, I quickly come up with a solution: Bottled water.
“Hey, I'm gonna get a bottle of water first! Take care of the prototype, OK?”
“Sure!”
I dash towards my unit for a bottle of mineral water from the fridge.
Sure, I may be wasting one mere bottle, but at least the crops will be nourished.
Three minutes later, and I'm back with the bottle.
“Alright! Let's see if your contraption really works, Mr. Roboto!”
“It's on!”
I first turn on the micro-controller, which is battery-powered and can also be charged via USB.
And then, sensing that it detects less-than-optimal amounts of water in the soil, the micro-controller instructs me to pour some water into the input tube.
I follow its instructions... excessively.
Since I also want to demonstrate to her how the entire system helps mitigate the effects of flooding on farmlands.
Soon enough, the flood sensor detects excess water in the soil, and thus it alerts the floodgate to do its thing.
Since I don't want water to spill onto the pavement (since it will attract unwanted attention), I wisely position the mouth of the bottle very close to the floodgate.
Indeed, I catch all the excess water flowing from it.
And thus, I end my third test run.
“Wow! I expected a genius like you to pull off something miraculous!”
“That's nothing. If I have to excel in my chosen field, I make sure to put out all the stops to do so. You do too, right?”
“Right.”
“Well then... it's approaching 6. We might be missing our storytelling power hour!”
“OK!”
It's now six, and Harumi and I are in our usual place for storytelling.
But right before we start the session, a certain American messages me.
“How are you doing, Gunpei and Harumi? I bet you're both faring well. As for me, I'm finishing up the deals in Kohaku-hama before I finally head back to the US of A.
“And while I sorely miss the storytelling session we all had, let me give you a suggestion on the topic of the night... or nights, whatever.
“My topic of preference is... the junior-senior promenade. The prom for short.”
The JS prom? Yup, it's almost unheard of here in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Normally, high schools here in Japan don't have proms, unlike those in America; because the students here are intensively preparing for college and university admission tests, which are said to be brutal.
The closest thing some high schools have here to American proms is what is called “senpai o okuru kai”, which literally means “a party where we send off the seniors”, and can be translated in English as “senior graduation celebration ceremony”.
And yeah, I forgot to ask Soren about proms overall in the first place (mainly because I wanted to ask him how the Japanese and American school system differ), but thank goodness he's there to fill such a gap.
Harumi responds to the live video message...
“Hey, Soren. I think some high schools here do have proms, especially those belonging to international schools that adapt the American or Canadian system. Unfortunately, Inugazaki High, my high school alma mater, didn't have one.”
“That sucks. And Gunpei, did you experience the prom, too?”
Who, me?
“It may come as a surprise to you, Soren... but I did experience the JS prom. Twice, of course.”
“That's amazing! I bet you're one of the few Japanese who got to experience something magical... something that will and should take the stress out of a senior's strenuous preparation for college.”
It is because my high school alma mater, Sango-minato Central High School, adapts some aspects of high schools from other countries.
The founder and still-current principal of the high school is an experienced educator who would travel a lot to experience what education was like in other countries and how he could integrate them into the current Japanese system.
Soren thus ends his message...
“Well, I have some deals in the making, so I won't delay them any further! Hope to see you both again some time!”
We bid Soren goodbye as he terminates the live video message.
Naturally, Harumi's excited by what I've spat out.
“You've heard Soren, right? Can you tell me how the prom's like, pretty please?”
Now that I have a great topic to discuss for this edition of the storytelling power hour, I clear my throat and begin my tale.
“Sure. As I've said before, Sango-minato Central High School implements JS proms into its academic calendar. The practice started roughly 15 years ago, five years into the high school's life.”
***
I was then in the junior year. As this was the penultimate year of high school, I wanted to make it as memorable as possible. Especially because prom month – i.e. the month of February – was approaching.
But there was a problem: In this section I was in, the girls outnumbered the boys, 3:1. To make matters worse, the other sections had this gender ratio inverted. And what's even worse, there was a directive from the principal that forbade any student from taking someone from a section other than his/hers as his/her prom date. That was in light of an incident in the previous year's prom where two senior students from different sections did something “miraculous” inside the hotel where the prom was held – and were expelled as a result.
So we, the boys, had to devise a plan. Some of the girls planned to skip the prom because they wouldn't get a date anyway, but we would put a stop to their suffering.
It was the week before the prom; and during lunch break, I was organizing a lightning meeting at the school's cafeteria. All the boys in the section – ten in number, including myself – showed up.
I began the meeting with this: “You know why I gathered you all here, right?”
The other boys replied with a boring monotone, “Yeah.”
“Now let's cut to the chase. You all notice that most of the girls in our section will skip the prom, right? We won't let their dream of having to dance with us dashing princes go to waste, especially with the fact that we're all graduating next year and we might never experience this ever again!”
“But how are we gonna do that?” one boy by the name of Nariyoshi Morita asked. “The girls outnumber us, and then there's this absurd directive from the principal!”
I confidently answered, “That's why I have something in mind. I actually cooperated with our adviser for this… something to work.”
Another boy by the name of Atsuto Maeno asked, “Whoa! You actually have his approval?! Awesome!”
My response: “OK, here's what we will do...”
The plan I concocted the day before went like this: Starting tomorrow, special lectures would be given by our adviser Fumiya Hirano, who's also our English teacher, about harems. The boys would also be treated to a daily marathon screening of one episode each of well-known harem anime. As for the girls? They would be made to watch reverse harem anime, so as to prevent anti-feminist implications of the plan. See? No love potions or crazy magic spells involved.
After the boys heard of my plan, no objections were raised.
Brilliant.
We just had to wait for the plan to be set into action.
***
“Unfortunately, how the plan was set into motion will be best reserved for tomorrow.”
“Aw, bummer. You're really picking up my techniques.”
“Well, no one's claiming nor copyrighting what Scheherazade did. She lived long ago, and we get to do what she did with no legal loopholes.”
“Yeah, it makes sense. Well then, see you tomorrow.”
“See ya.”
- Writer
