they come after him. He can do really amazing things; for instance, he can read a book in less than a minute. He just goes through it like this”—Hiroshi mimed riffling through pages—“and he can store everything that’s in the book.”
“I’m not allowed to see films like that,” Charlotte admitted. “My mother says I’m too young.”
“I even saw it in the theater,” Hiroshi said. “When I get good grades in English, my mother sometimes takes me to the movies over in Shinagawa. They show American films there in English. That’s where I saw this one. It was pretty funny.” He squatted down in front of his shelves, shuffled through a stack of papers, and then showed her a gaudy leaflet with colorful Japanese writing and a picture of a chunky toy robot with a dome-shaped head and sturdy pincer arms.
“I’d like one of these. It’s an Omnibot. It can carry things around, pour you a drink, and other stuff. It costs fifty thousand yen, though, so I’d never be able to afford it.”
“What would you do with it?” Charlotte asked.
“I’d modify it, of course, so that it can do more things. I’d make it a real mechanical servant.”
The idea clearly fascinated him. Charlotte thought it was strange. But then again she’d always found boys a bit strange. “You could pour me a drink, you know,” she said. “That’s what you do when a lady visits.”
“Ah,” Hiroshi grunted. He hurried to the fridge and took out a can of soda, which he passed to her. “Here you are.”
Charlotte wasn’t actually thirsty, and she didn’t much like soda, but there was no refusing it now. She took a sip and looked around again. How tiny everything was here. There was one more sliding door. Charlotte wondered where it led. Probably to the bathroom.
“We could arrange a signal,” she suggested.
“What kind of signal?”
“For when my mother’s not home. Sometimes she goes out in the afternoons.”
“And your father?”
“He’s always at work. Anyway, I don’t think he cares very much if you come.” Charlotte went to the window. “Do you see the window of my room? The one with the yellow curtain? When the coast is clear, I’ll put the doll you repaired behind the glass there.”
“Okay,” said Hiroshi.
She handed him the can, only half-drunk. “I think I’d better go back now before anybody notices that I’m gone.”
Two days later Charlotte’s mother asked her whether she wanted to go downtown to go shopping and maybe get an ice cream. “You need another dress for summer, after all.”
“Can we go to a museum as well?” Charlotte asked.
Mother rolled her eyes. “No, most definitely not . We’re going to a nice , new shopping mall.”
“I won’t join you, then, thank you.”
Later, Charlotte watched from the window as her mother got into the car with Madame Chadal and an interpreter and drove out through the main gate. As soon as they were out of sight, she ran to her room and put Valérie in the window.
Hiroshi was there in less than fifteen minutes. “I’ve had an idea,” he said, taking a piece of dark metal from his pocket. The way he held it, it had to be heavy. It turned out to be a magnet—strong enough to send the paper clips skittering around on top of Charlotte’s desk when he held it underneath.
“I was reading today that human blood contains iron. Did you know that? There’s this stuff called hemoglobin. It’s what makes the blood look red, and it has iron in it.”
“Really?” Charlotte asked, surprised, and looked at her hands. “Iron?”
“Yes. Not much, of course, or the magnet would just stick to you. But I thought that it had to be possible to stop the hemoglobin from going round if you held a magnet to a vein.” He put his left forearm on the desk, his palm facing up so that the veins were visible, and then held the magnet just below his wrist. “It should get darker soon.”
Charlotte found it a strange idea but somehow fascinating, too. She
“I’m not allowed to see films like that,” Charlotte admitted. “My mother says I’m too young.”
“I even saw it in the theater,” Hiroshi said. “When I get good grades in English, my mother sometimes takes me to the movies over in Shinagawa. They show American films there in English. That’s where I saw this one. It was pretty funny.” He squatted down in front of his shelves, shuffled through a stack of papers, and then showed her a gaudy leaflet with colorful Japanese writing and a picture of a chunky toy robot with a dome-shaped head and sturdy pincer arms.
“I’d like one of these. It’s an Omnibot. It can carry things around, pour you a drink, and other stuff. It costs fifty thousand yen, though, so I’d never be able to afford it.”
“What would you do with it?” Charlotte asked.
“I’d modify it, of course, so that it can do more things. I’d make it a real mechanical servant.”
The idea clearly fascinated him. Charlotte thought it was strange. But then again she’d always found boys a bit strange. “You could pour me a drink, you know,” she said. “That’s what you do when a lady visits.”
“Ah,” Hiroshi grunted. He hurried to the fridge and took out a can of soda, which he passed to her. “Here you are.”
Charlotte wasn’t actually thirsty, and she didn’t much like soda, but there was no refusing it now. She took a sip and looked around again. How tiny everything was here. There was one more sliding door. Charlotte wondered where it led. Probably to the bathroom.
“We could arrange a signal,” she suggested.
“What kind of signal?”
“For when my mother’s not home. Sometimes she goes out in the afternoons.”
“And your father?”
“He’s always at work. Anyway, I don’t think he cares very much if you come.” Charlotte went to the window. “Do you see the window of my room? The one with the yellow curtain? When the coast is clear, I’ll put the doll you repaired behind the glass there.”
“Okay,” said Hiroshi.
She handed him the can, only half-drunk. “I think I’d better go back now before anybody notices that I’m gone.”
Two days later Charlotte’s mother asked her whether she wanted to go downtown to go shopping and maybe get an ice cream. “You need another dress for summer, after all.”
“Can we go to a museum as well?” Charlotte asked.
Mother rolled her eyes. “No, most definitely not . We’re going to a nice , new shopping mall.”
“I won’t join you, then, thank you.”
Later, Charlotte watched from the window as her mother got into the car with Madame Chadal and an interpreter and drove out through the main gate. As soon as they were out of sight, she ran to her room and put Valérie in the window.
Hiroshi was there in less than fifteen minutes. “I’ve had an idea,” he said, taking a piece of dark metal from his pocket. The way he held it, it had to be heavy. It turned out to be a magnet—strong enough to send the paper clips skittering around on top of Charlotte’s desk when he held it underneath.
“I was reading today that human blood contains iron. Did you know that? There’s this stuff called hemoglobin. It’s what makes the blood look red, and it has iron in it.”
“Really?” Charlotte asked, surprised, and looked at her hands. “Iron?”
“Yes. Not much, of course, or the magnet would just stick to you. But I thought that it had to be possible to stop the hemoglobin from going round if you held a magnet to a vein.” He put his left forearm on the desk, his palm facing up so that the veins were visible, and then held the magnet just below his wrist. “It should get darker soon.”
Charlotte found it a strange idea but somehow fascinating, too. She
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