The Key to Victory, Part 1
1264 Words
It's Sunday.
Again, it's “freedom to do anything” day.
But I still have to finish my homework for tomorrow.
Today, Harumi's gonna show me her painting she's been working on for who knows how long.
After a quick breakfast, I knock on the door to her unit.
“You can open the door. It's unlocked.”
I gently open the door, and...
Wow!
So this is the still-life painting that she considers her pride and joy!
A plant in a glass vase on top of a wooden coffee table, to be exact.
It's not photo-realistic, but the way she employed some shading techniques, as well as the lighting, makes this opus of hers more striking than the blandly realistic.
“Wow... your painting's astounding. And good morning, by the way.”
“I'm just putting on the finishing touches, namely the protective seal. This way, I can submit it tomorrow.”
“I see. Well, since you've shown me your school project, I guess it's time for you to be shown mine.”
“Go ahead. Nobody's stopping you.”
I quickly go back to my unit, nab the blueprint I'm still working on, and then unfurl it right in front of her.
“Oooh... your blueprint's amazing. Guess your chosen course suits you. Buuut.... I have no idea what it's for.”
“It's for a controlled irrigation system. Simply put... this micro-controller regulates how much water must get into the farm lands. This way, farmers will never have to worry about running out of water in hot and dry days, or getting flooded on during rainy days.”
“I see. That's truly wonderful. Say... is that your childhood dream? Building robots and stuff?”
“I guess I can say yes. Being surrounded by computers and super robot shows back when I was still living with my parents in Hokkaido shaped up what I'm aiming to be right now.”
“That's neat. As for me... I was enamored by the arts ever since I was young. I saw my parents getting all inspired by watching a TV show that shows a prominent painter churning out masterpieces in a calm, friendly, and educational way.”
“So in a sense, your parents handed you the joy of painting.”
“Indeed. So... I'm proposing something: You'll bear witness to the actual completion of my opus!”
“That's great. Now show me what you're made of!”
She then wastes no time in picking up the fixative, the thing painters and other visual artists use in sealing in their works, protecting them from the elements as well as smudges.
She also hands over two masks – one for me and one for herself.
We both wear our masks as she declares...
“It's time for the grand finale of Harumi Sogawa's Joy of Painting.”
Her face is all awash in calm smiles as she shakes the fixative spray, pops it open, and then starts to spray the sealing substance all over her still-life.
She distributes the fixative evenly, ensuring every nook and cranny of her opus is protected by it.
In just fifteen minutes, the sealing process is finished.
“Voila! Here is my opus... 'Still Life of Plant Vase over a Coffee Table'.”
Yup, obvious title is obvious.
“Now all it needs is a drying time of around 24 hours. Well, since I'm practically done with my project... can you also show me the finishing touches of yours?”
“Sure, why not? But let me bring my drafting table first.”
“OK.”
I go ahead and go back to my unit to fold my drafting table and carry it.
One return to her unit later...
I waste no time placing my drafting table on an unoccupied corner of her unit's living room, spreading my blueprint on top of the table, and breaking out my pencil and drafting instruments before formally starting doing my finishing touches.
Inspired by her calm and cheery disposition when she finished her painting, I let myself get lost in the midst of calmness as I glide my pencil and instruments to the empty spots of my blueprint.
All those calculations and carefully thought out lines, schematics, and designations swimming in my head now translate to these thingamajigs on paper.
It took around twenty minutes – five minutes longer than her session – but here I am.
All done with my homework.
My technically-inclined illustration.
The blueprint for a micro-controller-powered uninterruptible irrigation system.
I proudly show it to her.
“Wow... So this is the blueprint for a machine you'll plan to work on, right?”
“Obviously. Of course, it won't just be on paper. Once my blueprint gets approved, I will be given the go-ahead to build the machine itself as a semester-long project.”
“That's nice. And even though I can't understand all those calculations and what not, I feel that... you're going to ace it.”
“Yeah. Same thing goes with your painting. It truly has potential.”
But it's just one painting. I must let her see her other works to determine if she's worthy of being Noemi's successor in terms of artistic merit.
“Well then... we practically have a half-day dedicated to ourselves. So, until tomorrow, let's make the most of our own free time, OK?”
“Sure. Until then, see ya.”
We then return our own homework and materials to our own units, spending the rest of our Sunday just relaxing and preparing for another week of school.
Monday. The next day.
We have successfully submitted our own take-home projects.
I won't know how Harumi will fare with her still-life until the end of the day, but I'm confident she'll earn her teachers' praise.
As for me...
“Mr. Gunpei Imahara... your draft proposal for a micro-controller-powered uninterruptible irrigation system has been approved. Therefore, you will have until the end of this semester to build and present that project of yours. Congratulations, and may your project prosper.”
By the way, I (and also Harumi) are in the middle of the first semester.
I therefore expect my machine to be finished by the end of July.
The day eventually ends; and to no one's surprise...
“Yay! Gunpei, I did it! My still-life earned me high grades!”
“Atta girl!”
In the midst of the sunset that is visible on the waterway pavement...
I give her a head pat, which I admit I've never done before.
Something inside me compels me to do so, but that's a matter for another day.
As her face elicits a slight blush, she asks me...
“And how's your project doing?”
“It got approved. Now I've got a whole month to build the entire thing.”
“That's good news. Oh, hey! It's almost 6! We mustn't miss our storytelling session!”
She quickly grabs my hand and leads me back to our apartment.
The way she just casually grabbed me was reminiscent of how Noemi did it back when I first met her.
Now that's one point in favor of me believing Harumi is Noemi reincarnated.
I'll give her another point if Harumi's artistic skills match those of Noemi's.
We're back in our apartment.
Once more, the living room of my unit is the place for our session.
We have some throat-soothing drinks on hand – namely water with lemon and honey – since we expect to use up our vocal cords in telling stories and reacting to them for a full hour.
“So... seeing you draw the blueprint for a machine... and telling me how you are enamored with computers and super robot shows... makes me wanna hear a story of yours.”
“I knew you would say that. Admittedly... I'm not much of a tech genius... at least when compared to the engineers that built the greatest machines today. In fact, I struggled with a question about a tech-related topic, back when my parents had me join a quiz show when I was in elementary school.”
“Hey, don't belittle yourself like that.”
“I would like you to know that my parents taught me never to be too boastful. After all, what's the worth of the loudness of your bark if your bite isn't all that deadly?”
“Yeah, humility matters.”
“So back to that question which stumped me back then.”
- Writer
