Where There's Smoke...

"Alright, listen up, shitheads! We're going to the beach!"

Jacob's pronouncement echoed off the walls of 2-7 with thunderous force, and yet, the reaction from his 5 clubmates was one of unanimous confusion. He might as well have just said that he saw a UFO flying over Ota City, for all the excitement his out-of-nowhere statement had incurred. Haruka was the first to break the awkward silence.

"U-Um, which beach, Yangu-san?"

"Why, I'm glad you asked!" Jacob said cheerfully, eager to get the ball rolling, "This Saturday, on the 17th, we'll be heading down to Keikyuu-Kamata Station to hit the crystal-clear waters of Isshiki Beach! Hell yeah!" He pointed with both hands, held skyward, in a triumphant pose.

"But, um...but why?" Emi asked, looking somewhat startled by the suddenness of Jacob's declaration.

Jacob clenched both his fists and his teeth in frustration. "Because summer vacation is still a month and a half away, goddammit, and I wanna grill some burgers on the beach right goddamn now!!"

At this, Chinatsu immediately perked up. "You mean, you know how to cook, Jake-kun?!"

"'Course I do!" Jacob grinned confidently, "An' I'm a damn good cook, I'll have you know! Haruka can vouch for that, can'tcha?"

Haruka smiled and nodded. "It's true! Those onigiri you made me the other day were really good!" Jacob looked back at Chinatsu (and Yuuko, who sat right beside her), positively radiating with vindictive confidence.

"And that was just somethin' I learned how to make recently. Meanwhile, I've been the king of the grill for over a decade, now!"

Shinji-kun seemed to be catching Jacob's excitement, like it was an infection. "This means I'll get to sample an authentic American hamburger! I've always wondered how the real thing would differ from what you find around here."

Jacob gave him a thumbs-up. "I'll admit, the cooks 'round here can whip up a pretty good burger, but I tell ya what, nothin' beats the original!" He clapped his hands together, rubbing them eagerly. "So! Are there any objections?"

Chinatsu smiled broadly. "A day-trip to Isshiki Beach? Like hell I'd have any objections! In fact, by the power vested in me as the President of the Calligraphy Club, I hereby sanction this trip as an official Calligraphy Club activity!"

Emi nodded, looking tentatively excited. "My weekend is free, as well. Taking a trip to the beach before the start of summer vacation? I almost feel bad for all the other student clubs who don't have an adult member to organize something like this."

Haruka and Shinji-kun were, of course, on-board.

"I've seen pictures of the nearby park online. I'd love to see it for myself!" Haruka chimed in.

"And there's a monument in the park that's been there for over 200 years," Shinji-kun added, "Even the smallest historical artifacts are worth seeing, at least once in our lives."

Even Yuuko seemed intrigued by the idea. "There is that swimsuit I bought last year that I never got to use..."

"That's right, kiddos, swimmin's on the menu, too!" Jacob proclaimed, sounding more and more like a used car salesman, "So don't forget to bring some suits for those refreshing ocean waves! Blue waters, great food, fun and games--that's what being young is all about!" His voice suddenly took on a conspiratorial tone. "And perhaps, because this is an official club function, we might even be able to get Shimada-sensei to join us..."

Suddenly Jacob's face was positively indecent with undisguised desire. "Oh, yes, I'll definitely have to get her on-board. And she'll need to know that a swimsuit will be required..." He then cackled quite maliciously, leaving the other members with little doubt that this was, indeed, the real reason he had cooked up this day-trip scheme in the first place.

"Hmm, so Shimada-sensei's the kind of woman Jake-kun's into..." Chinatsu mumbled quietly, looking down at herself. "Looks like I'll have to try a little harder."

***

And so, on Saturday, June 17th, Jacob arrived at the Keikyuu Main Line terminal around 9:45am, bearing a positively gargantuan backback on his back with an array of folding chairs duct-taped onto it, carrying what appeared to be two large suitcases. It had to be somewhere in the ballpark of 50 kilos in weight, and yet, he didn't seem encumbered in the least. Underneath all that luggage, he sported his usual attire of a blue bandana, denim vest, black shirt, and, strangely, regular denim jeans, which surely was a death sentence in the sweltering Japanese summer sun. Also, a dark pair of sunglasses. Because hey, why not. Sun's out, buns out, or something like that.

"Well, no one can accuse you of not being prepared..." came Shimada-sensei's voice as she approached the fairly empty platform. In stark contrast to her usual work outfits, today she wore a long, violet dress with white cherry blossom patterns and a violet pair of dress shoes with white ankle socks. Even when she was being casual, there was still a measure of proper decorum. Shimada-sensei was also smiling quite warmly. Maybe it was the prospect of a school-sanctioned trip to the beach, but she appeared to be more amiable than usual today.

Jacob grinned. "Of course! You know, once upon a time, I bought all this stuff in case of a worldwide pandemic, to tough it out inside a steel bunker." He sighed, shoulders slumping slightly under the weight of the backpack. "Well, that pandemic apparently came and went, with no bunker required, so I figured I might as well put this crap to some good use, right?"

He briefly remembered the conversation he'd had with Shimada-sensei about the beach trip. Jacob had prepared an entire speech on the cultural and spiritual values expressed in calligraphy, and how the spirit sometimes needs to be nourished with an injection of modern culture like, say, a trip to the beach. He never got to use it, however, because his spiel had been interrupted:

"Before you go any further, Young-san, I have two questions," Shimada-sensei had asked that Wednesday evening, the day Jacob had broached the subject to the club at large. "Am I going to have to beg the treasurer for funding? And have you already planned and organized this trip?"

Taken aback, Past Jacob replied, "Oh, er, yeah. I've already taken care of the fees and scheduling--all we need now is to pay the standard station fees and get our butts down there."

Past Shimada-sensei then seemed to have a great deal of stress sloughed off of her shoulders. "Then I have no objections. I will, indeed, accompany the rest of you on this trip. That reminds me, there's a swimsuit I bought last year that I haven't gotten to use yet..."

Back in the present, Chinatsu and Yuuko made their appearances at the station--the former in a tattered Slayer t-shirt with black tank top underneath, faded jean shorts, and tacky yellow sneakers, the latter in a pink blouse with luxurious ruffled layers over her chest accented with tan khaki shorts and white sandals. The contrast was almost whiplash-inducing.

"See? We're not the last ones here," Yuuko said in an I-told-you-so manner, "You worry too much sometimes, Chi-chan."

Chinatsu, however, was nearly bursting with excitement. "I know, I know! It's just, I almost feel like we're breaking the law by hitting the beach before summer vacation. It's such a great feeling!"

Jacob smirked nervously. "Heh, it's nice you're excited an' all, but I wouldn't go pursuing that law-breaking high, if I were you, Peanuts. You're no mastermind, and jail cells aren't fun."

"Hmm? And how would you know, Jake-kun?" Chinatsu asked with a sly grin as Haruka approached the platform.

"Sorry, sorry, I got held up packing my bag," Haruka apologized with a small bow, her brown handbag swinging at her side. "I couldn't find our sunscreen anywhere! I'll have to tell my father that I took a bottle from the pharmacy..." She opted for a simple blue t-shirt with a splashing marlin print, brand-new-looking jean shorts, and an immaculate pair of blue sneakers. Evidently, her family pharmacy's resurgence came with a resurgence in her wardrobe, as well.

Emi appeared shortly after, with Shinji-kun in tow. "Oh, thank goodness," Emi said with a sigh of relief, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, "I was worried I'd written down the wrong station." Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore a red Udon042 t-shirt (no doubt given to her by her father's business partner) with plain black-and-white sneakers under a pair of black...skorts, Jacob thought they were called? A short pair of shorts with two long, skirt-like frills front and back. An unusual choice, but he supposed he didn't yet know Emi well enough to make a judgement call on whether her choice of clothing was out of the ordinary or not.

"Well, unless I'm much mistaken, I think everyone's here now," Shinji-kun said, wearing a white button-up shirt and black trousers ending in black dress shoes--a look that wasn't all that dissimilar from their school uniforms. "By the way, Jay-kun, are you quite alright? I could help carry some of that, if you'd like."

"What, this?" Jacob readjusted the straps of his filled-to-bursting expedition backpack, "Nah, I've got it, Shinji-kun. All you kids need to worry about today is having as much fun as is legal." He side-eyed Shimada-sensei with a mischievous expression. "I'm obligated by our supervisor to discourage any of the really fun stuff, though."

A few seconds later, a voice rang out over the intercoms, "The Keikyuu Main Line train bound for Isshiki will be arriving at 10:12am and departing at 10:16am. I repeat..." And so he did. The station clocks read 10:09.

"Alright, folks," Jacob said, squatting down to pick up the two suitcase-like objects with a grunt, "By noon, we'll be the envy of every student in Japan! You ready?!"

With nods and shouts of affirmation, the group was in high spirits as, a few moments later, the sleek white train bound for Isshiki pulled into the station.

***

There it was. Isshiki Beach. Waters sparkling brightly under a clear blue sky. After enduring over an hour on the train and a monotonous 15-minute bus ride, a short trek through wooded walkways led the group to the clear blue waters of their destination, with convenient restroom facilities nearby!

Already, the beach was fairly well-populated with locals and tourists alike, lawn chairs, umbrellas, and occupied towels sprinkled all along the coast. A large tent-pavilion was erected halfway up the coast, with even more guests chatting and relaxing under its shade. Nearby, some rock formations peeked out from the water's surface, rugged and stoic in the face of eons of erosion.

"It's so pretty," Haruka swooned at the sight of the coastline, and she was the first to break rank from the group and charge headlong onto the shore and its rich, tan sands.

"What the--you get back here!" Chinatsu yelled, "Don't think you're allowed to have fun before your club president can!"

"Too late!" Haruka shouted back, laughing as she kicked up great plumes of sand with each stride. It was almost hard to believe this was the same person Jacob had met just over a month ago, looking so forlorn and hopeless.

Yuuko followed excitedly in their wake, seemingly unfazed by the sun-scorched sands running along her exposed toes. "I'm gonna go look for seashells!"

"Those rock formations look rather interesting," Shinji-kun noted, seemingly being drawn slowly towards them. "Maybe I'll investigate those first before visiting the shrine..."

"Alright, everyone, let's go get changed before we start getting our feet wet!" Emi called out, apparently exercising a great deal of self-control to not be carousing out there with the rest of them.

Chinatsu just proceeded to strip her clothing off right then and there, revealing a rather immodest black bikini that she'd been wearing underneath. "Way ahead of ya, Emi-chan!"

Everyone else, however, headed for a nearby changing tent, exchanging words about their club president and her...unusual proclivities. Shimada-sensei among them.

"I hope you don't mind if I count on you to be the reasonable adult for today?" Shimada-sensei said to Jacob as she made for the tent, to which he agreed readily.

"Hey, you keep the kids in line and I'll handle the rest!" Jacob called after her before beginning the process of unpacking all the stuff--the suitcase-like objects turned out to be a small table and a portable grill, and the contents of his backpack contained no less than a small propane tank, a cooler, a sack of potatoes, buns, cooking tools, paper plates, and all manner of additional grillin' supplies. He had even squirreled away a lawn umbrella of his own into that bag. Before long, their little corner of the beach was turned into a comfortable little sanctuary.

Shinji-kun was the first to reemerge from the changing tents, donning a simple pair of black swim trunks, resuming his journey towards the rugged rock formations. Minutes later, the girls all began to stream out, with Emi and Shimada-sensei favoring one-piece suits while Yuuko and Haruka wore bikinis that were nonetheless far more modest than the little number Chinatsu brought with her. It's a good thing Shimada-sensei went for a one-piece, Jacob thought, because she might've knocked somebody's eye out in something more revealing, and so far at least, she wasn't aware that Jacob could barely keep his eyes off of her. The beach was definitely the right call, alright!

As 1:00pm approached, Jacob took a seat in one of the 7 lawn chairs that had previously been taped to the side of his backpack, content to watch the others engage in their shenanigans. Shimada-sensei and Emi were primarily concerned with tanning on a towel, Shinji-kun joined Yuuko in her search for seashells after getting his fill of the rock formations, and finally, Chinatsu and Haruka were far out in the water, splashing each other and laughing like their age had suddenly been halved. Good times, good times.

Having felt as though she had gotten crispy enough for one day, Jacob was soon joined under the beach umbrella by Shimada-sensei. "I've gotta say, Young-san," she began, "I've had the wrong impression of you all this time."

"Ohhh?" Jacob ohhh'd.

She shrugged as she took a seat in a lawn chair next to him. "I took you for being little better than a common street thug or an unambitious fool. But, ever since Haruka-san's induction into the club, I've begun to rethink that appraisal. After all..." She turned her gaze pointedly towards Chinatsu and Haruka cavorting about in the water, trying to swim up to the top of the incoming waves and generally having the time of their lives. "...if you truly were a lowlife thug, as I had believed, I don't think she would've been able to pull herself out of the darkness as swiftly as she has."

Jacob crossed his arms in a confident sort of manner, grinning broadly. "Well, it's only natural, Shimada-sensei. I'm a goddamn good influence on these kids!"

She chuckled. "We're not on school property. You can call me 'Shimada-san'."

He lowered his sunglasses in a showy, semi-flirtatious way, saying "What about 'Kumiko-san'?" as he waggled his eyebrows.

She responded with a genuine laugh of surprise before catching her breath to ask, "Are you hitting on me right now?"

"Well, we're not on school property, are we? Sooo..." Jacob replied with a smirk.

Shimada-san laughed once again before saying, "Sorry, sorry, but I'm gonna have to say 'no' this time. Nothing against you, specifically--make of that what you will--but I'm just not in a good place to even begin thinking about a relationship right now, y'know?"

Jacob would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed, but he held out his hands in a gesture of understanding. "I totally get what you mean," he said, "There's a lot I don't know about goin' on under the hood, but, uh, if anything changes..." He gave her the ol' finger-guns. "My door's always open. And I do mean 'always'--you have any idea how rough the dating scene is, here, when you're my age and look like this?" He gestured broadly to himself. "Good thing I never got tattoos when I was a kid, or else there'd be panic in the streets every time I went outside!"

The both of them got a chuckle from that comment, but now Shimada-san seemed curious about something. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask..." She sat up a little straighter in her chair. "What is it that brought you here, to live in Japan?"

Once again, Jacob comically lowered his sunglasses. "The ladies~" he crooned.

Shimada-san laughed and replied, "Okay, aside from that, then."

Jacob straightened his sunglasses back up and leaned forward. "Well, to be honest, it's probably because everyone here's so damn reserved and respects privacy an' shit. Generally speaking, of course. Back home in small-town Texas, I already didn't have the best childhood you could ask for, and on top of that, there was always somebody breathin' down my neck, tryin' to control what I can or can't do. So, I decided I'd leave. But no matter where I went, there's always somebody wantin' to give me a piece of their mind." He then pounded the arm of his chair, lightly but still frustratedly. "And the thieves! God-damn are the States full of thieves! Can't keep any of your nice shit in your yard without some kids or trailer trash grabbin' it the minute you look away!"

Shimada-san smiled. "So, you decided to come all the way out here, where we still breathe down your neck and steal your stuff, but we're just really polite about it?"

Jacob simply shrugged. "Hey, an improvement's an improvement. I'm also a little bit of what some people might call a 'doomsday prepper,' since one of the first things I did when I moved here was buy a piece of land in Narusawa, over in the Yamanashi prefecture."

Shimada-san was surprised and a bit incredulous at this statement. "You didn't!"

"I sure did! Found a nice little plot of land, about 760 square meters, for a little over 10 million yen. It's pretty close to the town, and you can even see Mount Fuji from there! It's a great spot for building a bunker."

"But, why would you even want to? And where'd you even get the money for that?" She seemed more intrigued than anything else, curious as to why a rugged American would be so interested in buying land in Japan, of all places.

Jacob rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it sounds dumb to say it out loud, but I've always been fascinated by the idea of building an underground bunker to wait out a catastrophe, or to just be alone for a while. I figured Japan would be a good place to build one, and I was well on my way to getting it constructed, but then, well, the pandemic happened. I was actually afraid for a while that I'd be a goner without the bunker finished and that this would be the world-ending disaster I was meant to be planning for. But, well..." He looked back out at his club members, splashing in the ocean, hunting for shells, touring the local park, and building sand...mounds. "If this is what the end of the world looks like, then what the hell was I so afraid of, am I right? Maybe Russia or China will do me a solid and unleash nuclear armageddon one of these days."

It was Shimada-san's turn to shrug. "Everyone needs a hobby, I suppose. As long as we're sharing, I like to spend a lot of my free time writing screenplays for Martin Scorsese crime movies that'll never get made."

"Whoa, really?" Jacob was taken aback. "I never would've pegged you as a fan of American movies, let alone those gritty crime dramas. Wasn't he the guy who did The Godfather?"

"No, no, that was Coppola," she corrected, "Scorsese did Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas--"

"Goodfellas! That's the one I was thinkin' of! Now I feel stupid. The Godfather? Seriously? I think my brain's fryin' in this heat."

As the early afternoon hours passed, the two became absorbed in talk of movies and American culture. It was the kind of scene that could've just as easily happened back home in Ota City, but for some reason, idle conversation always seemed to be more pleasant and meaningful in front of a seashore backdrop.

*** Jacob's watch read 4:57pm, so that meant it was time to start getting the portable grill fired up. The kids oughta be running low on energy right about now, so what better time to get the burgers going than now, right? So, he turned on the propane, took the food out of the cooler, and got to work forming burger patties with a pair of rubber gloves, tossing the beef back and forth between each hand, clearly handling the meat with gentle, loving care.

The grill was getting hot, and he looked up to see what everyone was up to: Shimada-san and Yuuko were tanning, Chinatsu was being turned into a sand sculpture by Haruka and Shinji-kun, and Emi was chatting up an unfamiliar girl who also appeared to be a high-schooler, and Jacob assumed she must be an Isshiki local. Yep, the collective energy was winding down, alright.

He placed the burgers on the grill, seasoning them with his proprietary spice blend, before he sliced the tomatoes, chopped the lettuce, diced the onions, sheared the potatoes, and set out the ketchup, mustard, cheddar slices, and a jar of dill pickles on the small white table. Classic burger stuff. The immaculate distillation of what it means to be American, or something like that, Jacob thought. Soon, the smell of grilling meat will reach their noses, and then, ladies and gentlemen, we'll have entered burger paradise.

"Maybe 5 pounds of beef was a little bit overkill," Jacob mumbled to himself, rubbing the stiffness out of his neck. "But hey, that's okay. I like Overkill. Hah! Good joke, me. Good joke..."

Just as he had planned, almost as if on cue, Shimada-san and Yuuko abandoned their tanning posts and approached the umbrella, both commenting on the wonderful smell. And not long after, the others began to trickle in, as well. Now'd probably be a good time to start stickin' some of those shoestring(-ish) fries on the grill, too, he thought.

"Step right up, kids, step right up!" Jacob proudly proclaimed, flipping burger patties left and right on his portable grill, "There's plenty to go around, so don't be shy!" He even set up little cards on the table to guide them on which toppings to add:

The Classic: Lettuce, Tomato, and CheeseThe McRoland: Pickle, Onion, Cheese, Ketchup, and MustardThe Plain Special: Nothing!The Mostly-Plain Special: Cheese, Ketchup, and/or MustardThe Grazing Cow: Cheese, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Ketchup, and PicklesI Like It Tangy: Cheese, Pickles, MustardThe Whooper: Pickle, Onion, Lettuce, Tomatoes

It was...a little much, one might say, to go this far, but Jacob had clearly been looking forward to this trip, and went a little overboard with the preparations. Sometimes a man's just gotta go the extra mile. And in the end, or so Jacob thought, it was all worth it, as the classic American summer meal of burgers and fries was a smash hit among the other members of the Calligraphy Club.

"Damn, Jake-kun," Chinatsu said between mouthfuls of burger, "This is shockingly good!"

"Hah! 'Shockingly' nothin'!" Jacob scoffed, "I'm a master of the grill!"

"No, seriously," she insisted, "Mom took us to America once on a business trip, and none of the burgers we had there were anywhere close to this!"

"Well, if your stop wasn't in Texas, I ain't surprised!" Jacob proclaimed. "When it comes to grilled meats, Texas is where the real magic happens!"

"I'm not usually one for something so salty and tangy," Emi said, a McRoland held firmly in both hands, "But it really is remarkable." She then went in for another bite, oblivious to the dab of mustard now resting on her cheek.

"So rich and complex," Shinji-kun was musing, almost to himself, "...and yet, so simple and accessible..."

The consensus was clear--Jacob unquestionably reigned as the hero of the day for organizing this trip--and after a few more hours of beach shenanigans, including partaking in the classic watermelon smashing that seemed to be mandatory on Japanese beach trips, the group reluctantly made their way back on the bus to Zushi-Hayama Station.

"That really was a wonderful trip you arranged for us," Shimada-san said, regarding the once-again-overloaded Jacob rather warmly as they rode the train back home. Most of the other members, having worn themselves down with oceanside shenanigans coupled with digesting a food-baby, promptly fell unconscious once they found a seat. It appeared Shimada-san and Chinatsu were the only group members who resisted the temptation of sleep.

"Well, there's gonna be more where that came from," Jacob said confidently but quietly (there were quite a few fellow passengers all around them). "Once the proper summer vacation begins and we win that Shodou competition, there'll be plenty of opportunities for trips like this! Great food, great scenery, walkin' out in the great outdoors...it's everything a man like me lives for!" He got a little loud at the end, there, prompting glances from the surrounding crowd. "Er, sorry, sorry, don't mind me~"

Chinatsu, however, looked a little spooked, like she had just realized she'd forgotten something important. "We're...we're really gettin' close to the competition, aren't we?" she asked nervously.

"Feeling nervous?" Shimada-san asked in an understanding tone, but Chinatsu hurriedly shook her head.

"What, me? Nervous? Nahhh. I don't get nervous!" But Jacob could tell that that was a bald-faced lie, but decided that it was nothing to worry about.

Hell, he was feeling a bit nervous about the performance, too, but that's only natural when you're taking on a challenge you've never undertaken before. 'Itai doushin,' after all--though the two of them were different in many ways, Jacob and Chinatsu were nonetheless the type of people who pushed through adversity with sheer determination--so if he could rise to meet the challenge, then so would she.