The next day at work, Akiko found herself drinking coffee almost constantly in a bid to stay awake. She couldn’t understand why she was so sleepy; a couple of disturbed nights shouldn’t have such a strong effect. As lunchtime approached, she frowned at the screen yet again, as a decision that ought to have been easy took far too long because she just couldn’t get the request straight in her mind.

“Lunch?â€ It was Satomi. Akiko shook her head quickly, trying to break the reverie she had fallen into, and then smiled and nodded.

“Of course.â€

“Chinese today.â€

“That sounds great.â€ Akiko was genuinely pleased; the Chinese restaurant, although a bit noisy because it was directly under the railway, was both good and inexpensive, unlike most of the other places her colleagues tried to take her.

Megumi started interrogating her as soon as they were in the restaurant.

“You’re looking very sleepy, Akiko. Naoyuki keeping you awake at nights?â€ Akiko almost wished that she had never mentioned her boyfriend to them, but this was still better than Megumi needling her about not having a partner.

“He’s on a business trip. I just didn’t sleep well.â€ Megumi looked disappointed, but didn’t pursue the conversation. In the silence, Akiko chose to study the menu.

Once they had ordered, Satomi took the lead.

“Well, what do you think of Tanaka’s promotion?â€ She looked at the two of them, obviously expecting an answer. Akiko had been surprised, but she’d always thought that Tanaka was the best of the new recruits, even though his university was some place up in Tohoku. She glanced at the other two, looking for a hint.

“He was at Mountain Cottage University, wasn’t he?â€ Megumi was almost sneering.

“It wasn’t actually called that, you know.â€ Akiko felt safe defending him that far.

“Well, some place in the back of beyond. Nowhere anyone’s heard of.â€

“Mm, well.â€ Akiko certainly didn’t want to try to defend his university.

“They didn’t promote his university,â€ Satomi said. “I think it was a good choice.â€

“Hagiwara graduated from Waseda,â€ Megumi pointed out, sulkily.

“Yes, but Tanaka is much better at his job,â€ Akiko said, more confident now.

“How would you know?â€ Megumi seemed to realise that it was a silly question as she asked it, but Akiko still felt the need to defend herself.

“You can tell just from the documents he gives us to photocopy, even without thinking about the meetings. I mean…â€ She stopped herself. Was she being too effusive? She tried to gauge Satomi’s reaction.

“He’s certainly a good worker,â€ she said, “and Mr Kanayama seems to agree.â€

“But his <em>accent!â€</em> Megumi protested. Satomi grinned.

“The advent of email has done wonders for his promotion prospects. ‘Oi be repperzenting yore inneressets’…â€ Megumi laughed aloud, and Akiko joined in, even though Satomi’s Tohoku accent was not very convincing.

“‘Proices are hoi this yerr.’â€ Megumi’s attempt was, if anything, even worse, but Akiko laughed along with Satomi, and the conversation devolved into making fun of the mannerisms of their co-workers.