****
It didn't even take 24 hours.
7:00 in the morning. My phone rang with the distinctive sound that indicated that I've received a personal message. Still in the bed and still feeling sleepy, I extended my hand to reach for the phone over the side table, refusing to get out of the blankets; I had almost no sleep these past few days!
What? What is it, so early in the morning? I don't deserve this!
As I flipped the bright phone screen toward me and read the message shown, I couldn't do anything else other than jump out of the bed and lose my breath seeing such big news:
"Hi, Miyuki! Good morning!-
Good news! Our HQ in the US has given us the green light to go ahead with the partnership with the event. I'll send you the details in an email and I still need you to send me those infos I've asked you yesterday. However, we are guaranteed to be present at the Academic Symposium of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro!!
We are glad to establish this partnership and hope we can work together soon!"
I brought my hands over my mouth and started crying. We fought so much for this and had already lost hope of securing any sort of sponsorship and our efforts were finally rewarded. That moment… It was just pure bliss.
I immediately phoned Lisa to tell her the news. She answered with a sleepy and irritated voice:
"What is it, Miyuki? I told you I'll send you the university protocols later this morning."
"L-lisa!!!..."
"What? Wait, are you crying?"
"It's the deal with Pineapple!! They accepted. They will fund us!!"
"..." - Lisa didn't respond immediately but shouted right after.
"WHAT!? YOU MEAN PINEAPPLE?? ARE YOU CERTAIN!?
"Yes…!! Pineapple!"
"IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS!??"
"Yes...!!!! They did!"
"ARE YOU LIKE, CERTAIN CERTAIN?"
"Yes...…!!!!"
"Oh dear" - Lisa's voice also became choked with emotion.
"We did it Lisa! We did it!!!"
"I TOLD YA! WE ARE GONNA HAVE A PARTY!"
"YES! We will!!"
I think we chatted and celebrated for more than 30 minutes over the line. We laughed and cried together and lost track of time, almost getting ourselves late to university. A truly joyful occasion.
Miyuki, manipulated or not, are you happy?
You are, right?
You are smiling by making other people smile. You want to continue like that, don't you?
Then yes, you are doing what you want. You are making your own decisions, choosing your own path.
I still wasn't entirely sure what I should make of Ricardo's words. But at least regarding the Symposium I knew that I truly wanted to make it the best possible event and that this will was of my own. I could share a laugh with Lisa with no guilt in my mind; this was real; these feelings were honest and genuine.
The celebration was scheduled for next week. It was to take place at a large hall inside university grounds that was generally utilized for conventions. Not very fancy, I know, but it was free to use. The students also organized among themselves so that each one would bring a savory or sweet plate, in an effort to avoid further costs with food. Even the University Band and members of its orchestra were invited to cheer up the party.
Although modest, everyone saw it as a major event and a big celebration, and as such, we wore our best clothes, dressing up as best as we could. It had been a long time since I wore something more formal, and I didn't bring anything of the sort from Japan, so Maria lent me one of her dresses. It was kind of her, but I must say that it was a bit loose…. On the chest region….
… Anyways!
Everyone was present that day: Maria, Ricardo, Oliver, Prof. Fukuda, all the Symposium committee organization, the band, other professors, and even Regina, who was our guest of honor that night.
All five of us from the lab plus Lisa were around a big table, near the wooden stage that was put in place for the special occasion.
Everyone in the saloon was pretty excited, so the background noise from all the gibberish going on was really loud.
"A toast for Miyuki!" - Maria raised her cup and the others followed.
"Cheers!"- Shouted the gang in unison.
"H-hey! You guys don't need to do that! You'll embarrass me!" - I replied.
"No need for modesty now! It's also important to recognize your accomplishments" - Said Oliver.
"I know, but….. Ricardo also played an important role in this. He was vital for this to work out."
"I've only passed you a phone number. It was you who did all the talk and was able to guarantee our funds. It was your action and your initiative to make the call, schedule and go to the meeting."
"If you put it like this…. It diminishes the fact that we only had this opportunity because of you…"
"Let us not stress ourselves with something so trivial now, guys! We have reason to commemorate and to rejoice! These details little matter now" - Like always, Prof. Fukuda had a wise word to share with us, and we shook our heads in agreement.
While we were joking and goofing around, Lisa, who was beside me, poked me with her elbow and whispered in my ears,
"Hey, Miyuki, I need to get to the stage now. As the president of the committee, I'm responsible for all the talking."
"Oh, of course! Even today you have responsibilities as our president. But, don't worry I'll keep your seat for you!"
"Actually…. I was planning to call you to share a few words with us on stage."
"What!? No, no, no, no. You know how I hate public speeches! And when I need to do one, I thoroughly prepare myself, going over and over the topics I'll talk about."
"Just relax, Miyuki! Ok? Just thank the audience!"
"O-okay."
Without giving notice, Lisa quietly left our table, while Maria kept entertaining the group with her silly and loud jokes. As swift as a shadow, Lisa proceeded to take the center place at the stage, picked up the microphone, and called for the attention of the whole saloon,
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. It's my pleasure to be your host here today! Although we still have much work to do. Today we'll set aside the formalities and enjoy our time to celebrate what we have already achieved."
"Feel free to pick a drink or something to eat. We have enough for a whole army battalion. Today is your day guys!"
"Without further delay, it's with great pleasure that I announce that our team, via our dear sponsors, was able to secure 2,5 times more funds than our original goal!!"
It was amazing. When we had no longer hope of securing any sort of sponsor to the event, Pineapple showed up and presented itself as a sponsor better than any of us could dream of.
Although I don't remember discussing with Regina such high values. I thought the final value to be received was lower, barely what we needed. Did something happen? Or have I already lost it completely?
Thunderous applause followed Lisa's announcement, as the audience stood up to cheer the work that had been done.
If you looked closely, despite her elegant and mature aura, a small, discreet, almost imperceptible tear could be seen shed from her eye. Much has been put under her shoulders and Lisa was a very ambitious woman. She wanted the best for the event; she didn't care for personal status, as she truly believed in the potential of this country's education and research, and wanted to take part in it, and develop its full potential. I admired her for that.
"Yes, thank you! And all of you were responsible for this. However, I want to call up to the stage some people who really ran the extra mile to make all of this possible. First…."
Oh boy, here we go… I really don't wanna make a public speech right now. Please Lisa, have mercy.
"Joana Gomes!"
Wait, what? Who?
"Gianluca Tony!"
I'm confused.
"Ramon Ramirez!"
….
Lisa kept calling different names, and as each one of them was called, a line behind her extended, full of people with happy smiles and congratulating each new student that had its name announced. It was all a bit too fast, and I didn't understand what was occurring. What exactly did all these people represent?
"And last, but not least, a very special person to me and the committee: Miyuki Kashiwagi!"
Oh ...I got called… Finally?
A bit confused about what was happening, I directed myself towards the stage. You could hear the loud applause from the public behind me. I didn't like receiving excessive attention, for me it was just annoying, like speaking in public. But, because we were celebrating something special, which I was part of, I couldn't deny that I felt proud of myself, and the happiness of these people around me, was also my happiness.
As I got to the stage I was already heading to the line behind Lisa, to take my place with the others. However, before I could do that, she grabbed my arm and pushed me to her side, withholding me.
"H-hey, Lisa, what's up with you!?" - I whispered to her.
"Just stay put right here by my side!" - She whispered back, making me quiet down as she approached the microphone again to resume her speech to the public.
"You know…." - Lisa said over the microphone - "All of us, part of the 15th Academic Symposium organization committee, are here for a reason. Some of us want to have a good record on their report, so they can achieve something higher later. Some want to become a professor in the future and need some prior experience in the backstage. While others are here just because they thought it'd be a fun experience… Yeah, there are people who thought that" - The audience responded chuckling.
"But all of us can agree that we wanted the best for the event, and that it wasn't easy. As president of the council, I've stated to all of you from the very beginning that I wanted this symposium to be the best this university ever had. But… Dreaming big means working hard, and, in this case, on top of that, we needed money…"
"We are all a bunch of penniless guys, so we had to ask for help outside. But…. You know… It is an even harder task to ask someone if they want to "give" you money. Some may even find it humiliating."
"But as you know, we are here for a celebration. And we are celebrating this achievement!"- The audience applauded once again - "And all of you, but especially those who are with me here now on the stage contributed to this!"
All of these people? What does this mean?
"Every single person here, be it by securing sponsors or giving as little as they could from their own pockets, contributed to us achieving 2.5 times our financial goal!"
I was totally blown away. That explained a lot. I thought it was strange us having such a big commemoration for what we had secured with Pineapple. I mean, it was important, sure… But it was barely what we needed, let alone being 2.5 times what we had in mind. However, unknowingly to me, there were other people also working behind the scenes. Other people who in their own way made some contribution to the project, be it small or big, but all of them good willingly.
I truly thought that Alberto and I were the only ones who were searching for and achieved funds for the project. I don't know if it was arrogance on my part, or just a complete lack of hope in the rest of the group, but it didn't cross my mind that other people were also looking into it. Also, strange that Lisa didn't talk to me about it.
"Hey, Lisa. What it's the meaning of this? You didn't even mention to me that other people were searching for and securing any sort of financial assistance for the symposium" - I whispered to Lisa while she waited for the audience to stop applauding.
"Sometimes silence works in our favor, my dear friend. Stay put, and you'll see what I mean" - Lisa whispered back.
"Wait, what do you mean-"
"Yes, ladies and gentlemen!" - Lisa didn't let me finish my sentence, as she took the microphone again to speak to the audience - "Every single one of these guys up here are heroes in their own way. But! If you allow me, I'd like to make a special mention to someone who really gave her all to the project and was responsible for motivating us and scolding us when we had no hope of achieving our goals!"
"Because of her, we were able to contact and establish a very important partnership with one of, if not, the most important technology company in the world: Pineapple, which we thank for believing in the future of the education of this country and this university. And because of her actions and her words to the team, each person here that is present in the stage also decided to try and make the difference in their own way and capacity, which made us achieve our goal multiple times. And now, please, give a round of applause for the one who was responsible for this, to a brilliant interexchange student from Japan, a very capable person, and someone who became a personal friend of mine. Please, welcome Miyuki Kashiwagi!"
I couldn't believe it. As Lisa stepped back for me to take the center spot, the audience started applauding vigorously, getting up from their seats to congratulate me. The whole saloon was on their feet, and it was loud. I didn't know how to react as this was a truly surreal scene. I could only remain with my mouth wide open. What was happening?
As I passed my eyes over the saloon, on one of the tables at the rear side, I recognized this familiar face. More discreet than usual, Alberto was sitting at a very distant place from the stage, sat down and clapping for me. Being that far… Maybe he didn't want Maria to see him that night? Hard to tell… But he definitely wanted to be present, even if he needed to distance himself from the spotlights like he usually preferred. Even though many things occurred and so much history there is between him and Maria, I was happy that he was there. He really supported me and the project in the search for a sponsor, worked hard and was a gentleman all the way through. I was able to learn so much from him....
Even from afar, I think he noted that I saw him as he discreetly smiled and waved for me. I blushed in response and turned my head away. That day, in a full suit, he was… Just too classy. And there was something about his smile that I couldn't explain but that was just different, and somehow sincere. I really hope we can continue working together during the symposium.
On the other side of the saloon, closer to the stage, I could see the whole gang from the lab cheering me, as Maria climbed the chair while she kept screaming my name and violently shook little Oliver with her hands. Yeah, she was like that, she embarrassed you in so many ways, but I loved her for that. Even the more discreet Ricardo was on his feet to congratulate me. Things were still a bit weird between us, I won't deny it, and my head is still recovering from what he said to me. I still have much to learn with myself, and even though the experience may have been a little traumatic, I was happy that he was direct in his message to me. In the end, he cares for the ones close to him, even if in his own harsh way and it was a trigger for me to pursue with even more dedication what I needed to do.
And how could I forget about Prof. Fukuda? If not for him, I'd never be here. Along with him being a great person, he was a respected scientist, and gave me the opportunity of my life. I was learning from one of the best in the world, it was no small feat. He received me here in this distant country with open arms and even helped me get around in the beginning (I must say, I'm a bit too addicted to Colombo's pineapple cake. It's starting to worry me).
I turned my head to Lisa in awe: my mouth opened, and my eyes widened in disbelief. She smiled back at me in response, put her arms around my shoulder, pressed her chest against my arm, and whispered closely in my ears in a sexy voice.
"You need a… R-e-w-a-r-d..."
"W-what!? What are you talking about? W-what kind of reward? I think I'm good."
"Oh, you don't want a Pineapple cake from Colombo's?"
"..."
"N-no, I mean, I want, but…!"
"Ha-ha-ha! I know why Maria likes teasing you so much! You are cute, Miyuki!"
"Hey! Stop it!"
In the end, I think I just said, "thank you for your support", or something like that. I really don't remember. I was too shocked to say anything more on the stage that day.
As the crowd calmed down and Lisa asked us to take our seats, the groups formed up again at the tables, but, contrarily, I decided to take the back exit from the stage and have a glass of water away from the crowd. I was sweating from anxiety after having been in the spotlight for the last few minutes and needed just a bit of space to be able to breathe. It was too much for such a short amount of time, and my brain needed to rewind before being able to work again. I just needed a few minutes away from all the confusion.
On a quiet corridor, away from the saloon, I leaned my back against the wall and slid down till I touched the floor, sighing in relief for such an intense moment being over. The dress was already wrinkled, my hairdo was starting to come undone, and the back of my heels were hurt from the high heels. The celebration was definitely intense.
"Ugh… My head hurts. I was not made for dealing with big crowds" - I spoke out loud to myself.
CLICK!
Uh?
A strange mechanical sound echoed in the empty hallway, arousing my curiosity, and prompting me to look in the direction of the sound.
Surprisingly, or not so much at this point, there he was, Carlos, with his camera pointed at me, looking for his artistic shots. I didn't think about it sooner but being with the university newspaper it was pretty obvious that he'd be present to cover major events that happened at the university.
"Hey, you have this bad habit of not asking people first. I think people would appreciate it if you asked in advance for permission to take the photo." - I said to Carlos, while giving him this mild smirk.
"I search for genuineness." - Said Carlos, with his stiff expression while adjusting the focus of his camera- "And well, if the object of interest is aware of the camera's presence, the picture is likely to lose its shine."
"You really are serious, aren't ya?"
"If I don't take my job seriously, I'll only take trash photos."
"Hmmm…."- I got up and started walking in his direction - "Do you think it's possible I'd do trash photos? That I wouldn't have this 'shine' that you are searching for?"
"N-no, it's not what I meant! I'm just saying I may do a poor job if I don't take it seriously enough. Not that you'd be a bad model, it's quite the opposite and-"
"Chiiiiiilll" - I said while pulling both of his cheeks away, forcing a wide smile.
"W-wu-what?"
"See! You can smile! It's not that hard and it won't hurt your job."
"Right…"
"Take a bit off your shoulders and try to enjoy more life!"
"..."
"Uh…" - He mumbled after we stayed like that for a brief time.
"Miyuki? Could I ask you to release my cheeks, it's hurting now"- Said Carlos, a bit embarrassed.
"O-Oh, right!!" - I rapidly pulled my hands from Carlos' face, as I looked away, while blushing.
"Well then….." - Carlos scratched his head while looking away- "Would you mind if I take some photos of you, Miyuki?"
With one eye open and smirking sideways for him, I responded:
"With pleasure!"