(Sep 1, 2011, 13:56)
Lizbeth got up as she stretched a bit. "I hate this..." She said as Mark snapped his head back to the present moment, bringing his attention to what Lizbeth was saying. "I feel like I have no control! You must feel that way too!" Lizbeth said.
"Yes... I have ever since the situation started... But after this letter was sent to us... How can we tell her?" Mark asked though it was partially rhetorical. Mark leaned forwards towards the coffee table and took the letter from the edge. He opened it once more as he leaned back into the couch cushions.
"Read it to me again, there must've been something we've missed that can fix this!" Lizbeth said with a frustrated tone for the third time.
"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Williams. I regret to inform you that in the new school year your child, Elizabeth, will be with the same teacher who had been changed to a teacher of the second-grade level. The reason for this is because all of the other classes are already full and she cannot be transferred without extensive paperwork, which would be extraneous for you and other parents.
- Regretfully; Ametsuchi Shimazoku"
"Didn't he originally say he was unable to switch the class that the teacher was teaching due to contractual obligation?" Lizbeth asked.
"Yeah, but as I said before, I already contacted him about that, he said the teacher decided to change what grade she was teaching and due to the nature of the contract he had to oblige." Mark responded. After a brief pause, Mark stood up. "You know... When I went and met with him, he used my first name and no honorific... Was he... Looking down on me?" Mark asked.
"Some native Japanese are actually like that with foreigners, in fact... That could feed into the problem here..." Lizbeth said as she trailed into thought.
"Well... Going back to the problem of telling Elizabeth the news... What approach should we take?" Mark asked. Lizbeth thought for a moment.
"It'd probably be best if we told her on the way home... We should both be there... Today would be optimal, otherwise, she may think we wanted to keep this information from her..." Lizbeth said as she continuously went into thought, thinking of potential problems and solutions.
"That makes sense, but we can't just break it to her in a cold-hearted way... We should be straightforward yet gentle. I know for a fact we shouldn't beat around the bush... And we can't oversimplify it... She doesn't like being spoken to in that way, she finds it condescending..." Mark said.
"Let's plan this for a little bit, then at least we can have a general idea as to how we should go about this." Lizbeth said as she sighed.
...
Elizabeth buckled her seatbelt as Lizbeth looked back at her. "Why is mom picking me up with you?" Elizabeth asked as she adjusted her posture to fit in the seat better. Mark's eyes flew in thought for a few moments.
"We have some things to talk about." Mark said with a gloom-filled tone
"You see... The school decided some things without consulting us..." Lizbeth said with a slightly sad expression.
"What did they decide?" Elizabeth asked with a confused expression.
"You're beating around the bush, Lizbeth..." Mark said. "Elizabeth..." Mark said with a sigh. "The school decided to put you with the same teacher due to several coincidences." Mark said bluntly.
"They do understand that the well being of their students should come first right? Logically they sho-" Elizabeth started trying to reason things, but was interrupted.
"Elizabeth... Not everything works off of logic..." Mark said. Elizabeth went into contemplation for a few moments.
"School structure should, especially if their students are suffering or failing to improve... You would think they would at least hire more capable people..." Elizabeth mumbled to herself as her eyes began to shake a little.
Elizabeth's eyes began to tear up a little as she moved her hands to the side of her head.
"I don't... I don't get it... I've tried my best... I-I study... I answer as best I can... I don't get it..." Elizabeth mumbled. "Why... Is it... Emotions...? Is their judgment clouded by emotions?" Elizabeth asked as a tear trickled down her cheek.
"We have no way of knowing... I wish we could do better..." Mark said quietly.
"Don't worry... I-I've..." Elizabeth paused as she wiped her face of tears. "I've gotten stronger. I can handle anything that's thrown at me...!" Elizabeth said with false confidence. "Figuratively or literally..." Elizabeth mumbled. Lizbeth looked forwards at the windshield.
"Elizabeth... Thank you for being brave. You are far braver than me." Lizbeth said gently.
...
Elizabeth entered into her room as her parents were entering the house. She went directly to a drawer and opened it, then applied pressure to the side of the inside, which immediately cause a small cardboard piece to pop up. She walked over to the end of her bedframe and pushed the piece of cardboard into a small rectangular hole.
A small click was heard as a part of the left bed leg pooped up, revealing a hole just barely big enough to hide a book. Elizabeth took the book and grabbed a pencil, then opened it. The book is written in a mostly unknown language and alphabet.
'I get it!' Elizabeth thought to herself as she wrote in the book. 'I think I know what Koyuki was talking about that one time!' Elizabeth thought to herself. After a few minutes, Elizabeth finished two pages and closed the book, then placed it back in its hiding spot, placing everything back to its original position.
'Looking at the dreams I've been having, they're memories! Mathew's memories to be exact!' Elizabeth thought to herself. 'Well... Sort of... I've only partially wrapped my head around it, but Koyuki said 'other versions of' and I can determine the next word started with y, which means I can assume it was the word, you. Essentially, odds are I am... Him...?' Elizabeth thought to herself. 'Dang it! Right when I thought I was getting somewhere!' Elizabeth thought to herself as she slouched in disappointment. "I should probably take a nap before my emotions take over again... If I cry now, it would be unfortunate..." She mumbled to herself as she climbed into bed.