With classes over, the school building was quiet and kind of bleak. Occasionally, the sound of a classroom door sliding open and close echoed hollowly down the empty hallway. Someone was playing Chopin’s polonaise on the auditorium piano. Third year student Kazuko Yoshiyama had just finished cleaning the science room with classmates Kazuo Fukamachi and Goro Asakusa.
“That’s good enough. I’ll take the trash out. You two, go wash your hands.”
“Oh, thanks…”
Kazuo and Goro walked off to the hallway sink. As she watched them walk away, Kazuko again, felt like laughing. The two of them were a truly funny pairing. Kazuo was tall and thin. Goro was short, fat and round. While both of them had good grades, Goro was a hard worker, if not a little too straight. On the other side, Kazuo was a dreamer. He seemed kind of vague and you never knew what he was thinking. He was a little creepy from time to time, too.
*******
This is the first page of the book. More to come. A side note. All three are junior high students. They’re the equivalent of an American 9th grader, so they’re 14-15 years old. For those that didn’t know, Japanese students clean the schools. There are no janitors. So in the hallways, there are sinks (like this) for the students to wash their hands and get water to wash the floors, rinse the rags, etc. Personally, I think it’s great and American schools should do it, too. Kids keep it cleaner and save money on janitors salary.
As for the names, Kazuko and Kazuo, in Japanese, they’re completely different. I would refer to Kazuo by only Fukamachi, but he gets called that later. So, ummm just be careful.
[Edit] So, reading the next paragraph, they go to the bathroom, not to the hall sink…