You Know What's Exciting?

An earthquake during a test. The voice on the tape had just said, "It's no laughing matter," when my chair started shimmying. It took me a moment to realize what was happening... an earthquake.

The three students taking the test paused, their eyes wide, amazed smiles on their faces.

My question is... was this a tremblor we were feeling because someplace else got hit harder, a shaky-shake because we were having a localized minor quake or a precursor of something big and deadly sometime tonight or in the next few days?

I've experienced a tornado on Christmas Eve, but never an earthquake.

Tomorrow is my last day out at Maisaka. It's not a real lesson, just a "talking class," where I'll referee as they discuss whatever they want.



I'm going to take a box of Melty Kiss. Melty Kiss is a range of chocolates sold only during the winter- they have plain chocolate and strawberry chocolate... and I think mint chocolate as well. They're tiny squares of delicate chocolate deliciousness dusted with cocoa, and the story is they would melt in any other season.

Hence the name and the winter-only sales.

This may be true. I was recently addicted to Meiji's gigantic dark chocolate bar. During the summer, it was of normal candy consistency. Now that the temperatures are down and the winter wind is blowing, the bars break into shards of glasslike density. It's like putting brown plastic into your mouth before it finally starts to melt.

Or, if you chew it, it crunches.

Not a problem with Melty Kiss.