The "Talk" (89C)
Aug 12, 2021 20:08:38 GMT
Post by Clive Shiriki Iliopoulos on Aug 12, 2021 20:08:38 GMT
Clive watched with a worried expression as his kind new Japanese tutor wave at him and head out the door after changing her shoes. She was a pretty high schooler who scored well in her English exams, so she was helped him go over his homework in a way he could understand. Today, she also spent quite a bit of time reviewing common greetings and Japanese words.
School finished at 3:15 pm, and the driver his family hired would pick him up at that time to take him home. It took half an hour to get home, and he had just over an hour to get a snack and work on his homework before his tutor, Suzuki-san, arrived at 5:00 pm and taught him until 7:00 pm on Mondays through Fridays. She was responsible for teaching him written and verbal Japanese, helping him understand his homework, teaching him about Japanese culture and history, and so on. Many things were different from living in Chicago.
Saturday was spent with his music tutors: the morning was for the piano, the afternoon for the violin and guitar, and the evening for the flute.
Unfortunately, it was a Thursday evening, so he couldn't escape his mother's intense stare.
Clive shifted uncomfortably while looking at the floor.
"So our driver, Tanaka-san, said he went to pick you up at Shibuya Station only fifteen minutes after he dropped you off here," Mama Iliopoulos stated in English, staring at him in the eyes. "You were wearing your indoor slippers and were filthy dirty like you fell in some sort of sandbox or something."
The petite buisnesswoman tapped her manicured nails on the coffee table as she continued the interrogation.
"Would you care to explain?"
"I--I met Viktoriya, Aunt Elizabeth's daughter," he stated nervously, rubbing his fingers.
"Look me in the eyes," his mother demanded.
"I just saw her passing by," he continued to lie as he looked up to his mother's face, "and so I raced down to meet with her. I forgot to change my slippers. Why can't we just wear shoes in the house like we used to?"
"While living in foreign countries, it is important to adapt to their culture and understand them. Furthermore, your father and I are planning to live here for a long time. You need to pay more attention to etiquette. I'll text Suzuki-san and instruct her to focus on teaching your proper manners. Continue."
"I ran down to meet with her. We talked as I walked her down to the station. I didn't want to walk back, so I called the driver to get me," he lied. Honestly, he had been lost and didn't know how to get back home.
"Oh. I see. And how could you have gotten to Shibuya Station in only fifteen minutes by walking? It takes fifteen minutes to drive there in a car. It should have taken you half an hour or more--Don't lie to me. I looked up this information while you were meeting with your tutor. You must have gotten on a bike or scooter, or else you couldn't have made it there in such a short period of time."
Clive wilted. He'd spent so much time in the Digital World, he thought he was really late, and his tutor had already arrived and everything. How was he supposed to know that hours there translated into a mere moment here? And why did he show up at the subway station? Why not his computer, where he disappeared from? He spent quite a while just trying to figure out where he was; he was only familiar with the most common Kanji after all. Just in what way did all this nonsense make sense?!
His mother sighed.
"Clive, your father and I only want the best for you," said his mother, elegantly sipping from her expensive tea cup. "Clive.... kun, you're not in trouble. We need to know the truth in order to look out for you. Lying, especially in such an obvious manner, is disgraceful."
The twelve-year-old looked down in shame. The truth made even less sense than his white lie! He was told he had to keep the Digital World secret, or something bad could happen. Viktoriya liked that place, and he didn't want anything to happen to Desdemona. He had to protect them.
Sighing once more, his mother brushed her hand through her short blond hair.
"I see you don't want to clarify matters. One day, I hope you can trust me with what really happened. We've warned you about traveling with strangers."
Why was Clive getting a particularly uncomfortable feeling about this topic?
"Japan has an extraordinarily low crime rate. Ever since 2002, the crime rate has continued to drop. In 2002, there were 2.85 million cases, but there were only 749,000 cases in 2020," she continued, rattling off numbers and statistics like she were in one of her business meetings. "Out of the 2020 cases, 70% were related to theft. About 22% of crimes were performed by senior citizens, usually through shoplifting and robbery. If someone tries to rob you, just hand them your items. They can all be replaced, and fighting back is too dangerous. The exception is with school bullies--If they dare to attack you, then you need to beat the hell out of them. Kick them below the belt line and punch them in the throat, just like we've taught you."
Clive nodded and uneasily sat down in the recliner, wondering where she was going with this.
"The only problem is... the Japanese government does not treat sexual assault or... 'crimes against children' nearly as strictly as the US."
"W-What?!" asked Clive, growing alarmed as his face flushed bright red. Just where was this topic going?
His mother dramatically began going into detail about the culture of blaming the victim and how notorious Japan was for weak sexual assault laws. Furthermore, as a country that permitted marriage and inappropriate ecchi art for sale on the streets (inappropriate in other countries, that is), children were not spared from this.
"Mom, Mom! No! It wasn't like that!" said Clive, dramatically waving his arms in front of him. Just what did she think he had gotten into in a mere fifteen minutes?!
"Anyway, some people may try to take advantage of you, especially since you're an ignorant foreigner. Also, address me as kaa-san from now on."
"No! No! I have not been involved in anything like that, I swear, k-kaa-san!"
His mother's icy blue eyes stared at him intently before she slowly took another drink.
"I see," she said, believing him this time. "Just keep it in mind for the future. In that case, you traveled with someone else you knew or were comfortable with. Although the age of consent in Japan is only thirteen, it's eighteen here in Tokyo, which is a year higher than in Illinois."
Face still burning, Clive hopelessly looked up at the ceiling as he adjusted his glasses and prayed for this conversation to end. Was his crime so bad, he had to endure this?
"Since you are male, you cannot get married until you are eighteen years old. Although girls can marry at sixteen, I won't permit you to marry what I consider to be a child. It's odd that girls can marry when they're so young, even though they need more time to develop... In order to keep things legal, I guess they have to postpone their wedding night for a couple of years in that situation."
"Mooom...."
"You are at that age where you might begin feeling attraction to other boys or girls, but it is important to wait."
"Mom, Mom... It's not like that."
She gave him the Mom Look.
"Kaa-san, I mean..."
"Do we need to talk about the birds and the bees some more?"
"No! I already had sex ed in elementary school, and I don't have anyone I like!"
His mother tapped her fingernails against the coffee table once again.
"Very well."
Thank god!
"Go ahead and practice your Nihongo until 9:00 pm. You can take a shower in the morning before going to school. Your schedule will be the same tomorrow. Also, I've decided to go to come home from the company early from now on and continue working in my home office. Unless I have a meeting, Tanaka-san will pick me up from work prior to picking you up from school. In exchange, I will head to the company earlier in the morning, so you won't see me when you get up," she said, planning out who she needed to get into contact with to make these schedule changes. "By the way, how was your school day?"
"Rough... Mom--Kaa-san, can I go study Japanese now? I... I really want to study."
"Very well," she stated with authority. "This meeting is adjourned. Don't try to deceive me in the future."
Clive shakily stood up from the recliner, collected his study materials from the kitchen table, and wobbled over to his bedroom as if he managed to exhaust all of his energy enduring that short lecture.
After swallowing down the rest of her cold tea, his mother called up his father to inform him of the situation and changes regarding raising their child from now on.
It took a four phone calls before he answered. He sounded out of breath. Of course, he should have left work an hour ago.
After reporting to him, she advised him to "exercise" less during his "working hours" and at least look after their child. Since he was now "working" late in the evenings and even on the weekends, the poor kid only got to see him briefly in the mornings before school.
Mr. Iliopoulos casually agreed and then hung up.
Mrs. Iliopoulos sighed, putting the phone down on the table before her. Even though they only just moved here, he was already having another affair.
She leaned back on the couch, disappointed as she gazed at the ceiling like her son had only moments ago. She had hoped that moving away would keep him out of the skirts of other women, so they could be a happy family again, but she was wrong.
It wasn't worth getting divorced over. She no longer cared who he slept with as long as it wasn't her.
She could only fill up her schedule with work, so she didn't have to think about it anymore. She had to keep Clive busy, too, so he wouldn't notice. Even better, she had him spending that time with tutors to improve his skills for the future.
She considered sending him off to stay with Viktoriya for a period of time to keep their marital dispute secret.
When she first caught her husband in an affair, she sent his son to visit her aunt's family in Russia for awhile, and he managed to pick up the language quite well. He had a good time.
Meanwhile, she spent the time chucking hairdryers and other other items at her husband while chasing him out of their house. They discussed getting divorced at that time. However, he didn't want to get divorced since it would reflect badly on their work and cause a great deal of drama in the company they both worked at. She didn't mind losing some money for peace of mind, but she didn't want Clive growing up under the shadow of divorced parents.
She sighed again, leaning forward and rubbing her tired eyes.
What had she done to deserve this?
Tonight, after experiencing a child who lied to her and a husband who was only interested in money and lust, she decided to drink a little extra wine.
