Izumi the brilliant
Izumi and I got closer because both of us were into witchcraft. We subscribed to a witch magazine, read our horoscopes, did magic spell on our crush, and collected witch items like cards, jewelry, and books. She also suggested we created pen names to write novels. I came up with a silly name and didn’t write anything, but Izumi did and wrote stories.
Her quick wit always impressed me. The time was the end of the 1980s. The teacher asked the class a question; which country is more powerful, the Soviet Union or America?
The two countries were amid the cold war. I thought both had mighty armies and of course, nuclear bombs, but because of the history of war and bombs, as well as the influence on post-war Japan, I couldn’t imagine the Soviet Union would beat America. When I was about to answer the teacher, Izumi raised her hand and said, “the Soviet Union!” When the teacher asked for her reason, she said, “because they are friends with aliens!” The space race between them had ended many years before, but we had the impression that the Soviet Union had led the space project at the time. I cracked up hard because only Izumi could say something both so intelligent and hilarious.