“Fine—go find this clinic yourself,” she snapped, storming away.
As she reached the corner of Tominokoji Street, she turned back and saw that Aoba had come to a halt in front of a store halfway down the block. She was looking at Megumi and pointing.
“Mom, there’s a narrow alley over here.”
“What are you talking about? There’s no path that goes through here.”
“But look!” Aoba stomped her feet childishly. “There’s a path!”
Megumi walked briskly up to Aoba. “I’m sure it’s just a parking lot or something. You can’t just walk onto someone’s property…”
And there, indeed, was an alley. A dimly lit narrow path stretched before them.
“See, I told you. There is an alley. I was right,” said Aoba triumphantly.
From the main street, it looked like nothing but a small gap between buildings. It was no wonder they’d missed it, she thought as she peered in. An old building stood at the end of the alley. It gave off a sinister feeling that made her pause. Aoba took off running.
“Mom, I’ll go check it out.”
“Hey, don’t go into that strange building.”
“But you said, ‘Go find this clinic yourself.’ ”
Aoba ran cheerfully inside. Megumi hurried after her.
The door to the clinic was awfully heavy. “This door!” complained Megumi. That was off-putting enough, but once inside, they were met by a nurse who avoided eye contact and seemed somewhat crabby. Then, in the examination room, there was only a single chair for the patient, leaving Megumi no choice but to stand.
It was almost five o’clock. If they dawdled any longer, her son—a middle schooler on a growth spurt who thought only about food and always came home with a mountain of laundry from his extracurricular activities—would be home before them.
Megumi had planned to drop by the supermarket but now decided against it. What do we have in the fridge? That reminds me—what should I bring to next week’s tea party with the moms? I’ve run out of things to bring. She drifted away in thought. Aoba, on the other hand, was clearly excited to be at the clinic.
“That nurse just now was so beautiful. I feel like I’ve seen her before somewhere. Maybe she looks like a celebrity.”
“Be quiet, Aoba.” Megumi shot a look at her daughter. Aoba hung her head.
The curtains flew open and a man in a white lab coat entered. It was Megumi’s first time encountering a doctor with such youthful, delicate features.
“Wow. What a surprise. You’re such a handsome doctor!” said Aoba cheerfully.
Megumi was shocked to hear her daughter express exactly what she was thinking.
“Aoba, shhh, don’t be rude.” It came out more coldly than Megumi had intended, and Aoba once again looked down at her feet and sulked. She was a mother who scolded her child in front of the psychiatrist. She felt uneasy. In today’s world, people made a fuss about the smallest things and labeled it abuse. She glanced over at the doctor.
The doctor was smiling.
“The wrong person’s in the chair.”
“What?”
“Shouldn’t you be sitting? You’re the patient, after all.”
For a second, Megumi didn’t understand what he meant. Then her face turned bright red.
“No, not me. My daughter is the one who’d like to speak with you.”
“Oh, really? Your daughter?” The doctor peered into Aoba’s face. “She doesn’t seem to have any issues. Will you tell me your name and age, miss?”
“Aoba Minamida. I’m ten years old.”
“What brings you in today?”
“Well…”—Aoba tilted her head and swung her feet—“there’s something troubling me at school. Can I talk to you about it?”
“Of course. Please go ahead.”
“Do you know what cliques are, Doctor? We have them in my class.”
Megumi’s eyes widened. “Aoba, don’t bother the doctor with such—”
“It’s fine,” said the doctor. “You know some difficult words! Yes, I know what cliques are. I’m a doctor, after all. So, what’s the deal with them?”
“Right now, there are two queen bees in my class, and I have to pick which clique to join. But if I don’t choose either, I’ll end up with no friends. I’m seriously struggling with this decision. My friends Lize and Tomomi said they’ve been talking to their psychiatrist about this, so I thought I’d talk to you about it as well.” Aoba’s tone was bubbly, as if she were discussing cartoons.
Megumi covered her eyes. She’d noticed Aoba had been moody lately and she had brought her here hoping to cheer her up. She never expected her daughter to bring up such frivolous matters.
“Aoba, this isn’t the time or place to chat about silly things. The doctor’s busy, so please bring up something more serious. This is where you can discuss your worries and concerns.”
“Oh, it’s all right,” the doctor said. “We never intended to be that kind of place, but people started coming here based on some rumor or another. We actually only usually see patients with appointments, but it looks like no one’s coming today.”
