Since we’d been sworn to secrecy, the only people who knew that Shima Taiga’s objet had been damaged was me, Shimai-san, Sawami-san, Aotagawa-kun, and Koumura-sensei.
…is what I would like to say, but that wasn’t the case. Of course, Koumura-sensei would inform the school, and the rest of us, or at least I, was not someone capable of keeping such big news under wraps. That night, I sent a message to Osanai-san.
“Shima Taiga’s objet got damaged.”
She was slow to reply. A short message was delivered when I finished my bath and returned to my room.
“!?”
“There was a rack filled with plaster busts behind the objet. One of those busts was lying sideways on the ground, and the pedestal had white dust on one of its corners.”
This time, the reply came quickly.
“How badly was it damaged?”
“There was a hole at the very top, and a crack spread from there. I think there’s no doubt that the plaster bust’s pedestal struck it.”
“Why did it hit?”
“In our discussion, the theory was that it fell from the rack during the earthquake.”
A short pause ensued.
“Was the bust damaged?”
I smiled to myself. With a mystery being dangled right before our very eyes, even Osanai-san couldn’t help but act like a cat faced with a cat teaser, or like a wolf faced with a deer, and express her interest. As for whether the bust was damaged, that was precisely the big problem with this case. I lay down on my bed and typed out a message.
“Not a scratch.”
No sooner had I sent it than a reply arrived.
“Human-induced.”
As expected, Osanai-san was able to make that judgment without having been on the scene.
If the plaster statue fell and damaged the objet, it can be deduced that it was placed quite high up. It was strange that the bust fell from that height and broke the sphere, but was completely unharmed when it next fell to the ground.
Another message came in.
“I don’t know the situation, but it should have fallen head-first.”
That was also a point I could agree with. Assuming that the plaster bust shook and fell from the rack due to the earthquake, it looked like it would fall head-first rather than with the pedestal facing down. Yet it was a corner of the pedestal that had struck the objet.
In conclusion, the damage done to Shima Taiga’s objet was not caused by the earthquake. Someone had swung the plaster bust at the top of the sphere, then placed the bust horizontally on the ground.
It took a little while before Osanai-san’s next message.
“I’m going to sleep.”
We weren’t done with our conversation, but it was quite late at night.
“Good night.”
“Could we head home together tomorrow?”
I failed to grasp the meaning behind those words.
Osanai-san and I hardly interacted unless it was necessary to do so. Today’s series of messages was only due to the existence of a unique situation where we could catch a glimpse of someone’s intent behind an incident that was being kept under wraps. Getting asked to head home together for no particular purpose felt odd. Basically, Osanai-san must have some reason for that proposal.
“Why?”
But there was no response. I left the room to get ready for bed, and saw that a message had arrived when I returned.
“Because I’m being targeted by an evil organization.”
In other words, she had no intention of giving me a proper explanation.
The speech was scheduled to be in the afternoon.
Even with the threatening letter and the objet’s destruction, it would still be conducted. Well, Shima Taiga did come all the way back here from America to give the speech, so it wouldn’t be canceled so easily.
Predictions of what would happen flew around in my class. Strangely enough, everyone knew that Shima Taiga’s objet had been damaged. While the dominant view was the mild one that nothing would happen, there were all sorts of ideas thrown around, like the gym being set on fire, a terror group that criticizes modern art suddenly attacking the school, and Shima Taiga having an upset stomach. I liked the one that Shimai-san mentioned:
“Don’t you think the lighting will fall on Shima Taiga while he’s on the podium?”
Like in The Phantom of the Opera? But alas, chandeliers were not used as stage lighting for Funado High School.
Of course, we weren’t actually hoping that something would happen. While it would be interesting, we didn’t want anyone to get injured or killed. We were simply indulging in immoderate fantasies. When lunch break ended, each of my classmates headed towards the gym.
The gym had no air conditioning, so the air within was hot and humid, but since all the doors and windows were wide open, a cool breeze would occasionally blow in. Not that bad for June.
A navy blue was draped over the stage of the gymnasium, and a vertical banner with the words “Speech by Mr Shima Taiga” was hung at the side. Yesterday, some students on duty from other classes were apparently roped into helping with preparations for the speech. The vertical banner must have been hung up by some unlucky students.
The gym was abuzz with chatter. Third-year students were in the front, first-year students were at the back, and we second-year students were in between. As students who’d queued up for ten years since the start of our mandatory education, we were professionals at forming neat lines. My ears caught someone’s voice.
“Are they really doing this? The objet was destroyed, wasn’t it?”
I tried searching for the voice’s source, but I was unable to find them. A response to those questions also reached my ears.
“It was caused by the earthquake, so it was just an accident, right? There’s no helping it.”
“I wonder if the principal will get down on his knees and apologize.”
“Shouldn’t it be Koumura? He was the one in charge, right?”
I was quite astonished by how fast the rumor had spread. One of Shimai-san, Sawami-san or Aotagawa-kun must have made sure that everyone was informed by using their class’s mailing list.
A teacher I didn’t know the name of stood below the stage and barked an order while holding a microphone.
“All classes, sit down at your designated locations.”
I sat down. Though the air was hot, the ground was cool.
The entire school sat down, and the chatter died down. As a winch sounded, the stage curtain started to rise.
A lectern was set up on stage, with a folding table next to it, and on the table…
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
There was the sphere, in its immaculate whiteness. And next to it was the white piece of driftwood. Those two objects were placed on top of the white platform that we’d moved the day before.
A low murmur filled the air. Someone spoke.
“Where’s the damage?”
But it wasn’t damaged. From what I could see, there was not even a scratch on the sphere.
At first, I wondered if the sphere was turned upside down to hide the damaged part. But that couldn’t be it. Sure, the damage at the top was so severe that a hole opened up, but there was also supposed to be an enormous crack from that hole. The platform’s depression was shallow and should not be able to hide that crack.
What if the sphere was rotated such that the broken parts were facing the back of the stage?
That would also be wrong.
The white ball had meridians extending from one pole to the other. But the sphere on stage looked to have the same lines as before. If the damaged parts had been turned to face the back, the lines would look different.
In other words, it wasn’t possible to hide the damage I’d seen the day before by utilizing some creative placement. Yet the objet on stage was unharmed.
Was it fixed? In just one night? As if that was possible!
I felt like I was being cheated. I even wondered if that was a hologram. How could an object that was destroyed the day before be restored to its original state in the next?
Even as I was unable to hide my agitation, the ceremony proceeded. A teacher read us Shima Taiga’s profile, then called the artist himself to the stage.
“Shima-sensei, please come up to the stage.”
A man appeared from the stage wing. He walked towards the podium at a measured pace. Shima Taiga was short, had messy hair and eyes that darted around. I assumed that he was the type to be uncomfortable at speaking in public, but he turned out to have a confident, clear voice.
“Hello, I’m Shima Taiga. I came back to Japan this morning. It’s great to see all of you juniors.”
The speech started. No matter how much I looked at Shima Taiga’s objet, I could not find a single scratch on it.
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Editors (Tier 2): Dedavond, Pearl H Nettle
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