“Ooh, good one. Let’s see. I’d like to …” Zaniel trails off, absent-mindedly stroking his lower lip in deep thought. “I need to learn how to swim. To be honest, I’m terrified of water. I don’t think I even know how to float. So, learning to swim would be first on the list. Second, hmm, I don’t want to say travel the world, everybody says that. I guess it’d be neat to see what Southeast Asia is like. I definitely want to check out Thailand and Cambodia someday. And, for the third … let me think … I’ve never really explored Japan much, so I guess I’d like to take a road trip somewhere. My grandma has this scooter she’s always bugging me to put to use.”

Bucho and Manager marvel at his “sugoi” answers. I can tell Bucho is restraining herself not to clap for him. I have to admit, even I’m feeling flabbergasted. I must look it, too.

“Is that a good sign?” he asks me.

“Oh, yes! Very good, very good,” Manager nods several more times. “Okay, let’s ask question number three, Cybelle-sensei!”

“All right. Do you —”

“Ah — Cybelle, you are, not taking notes?”

“Am I supposed to be?”

Across the table, Zaniel coughs. I think he’s trying not to laugh. Underneath my jacket, the armpits of my shirt feel like sponges soaked in brine. I hope this is all a nightmare, but it’s too real to be. I skip down to question five and look him dead in the eyes. They must be coloured contacts. “If you could be any kind of fruit, what would you be and why?”

“Ha, ha. Well, my boss would tell you I’m a banana,” he grins again, “but I like to think I’m more like a pomegranate. A little baffling when you encounter it for the first time, but once you figure out how to get inside, you find it’s sweet, charming, and really not so bad.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. That was a damn good answer. “What would you do if one of your students wet himself your first day on the job?”

His smile grows wider. “I think I’d come to you for help, so the real question is, what would you do?”

I push any possible answer back down my throat. I’m not the one being interviewed here. I already got this job. “What are your thoughts on corporal punishment?”

“I’ve never been a fan, and it definitely doesn’t belong in schools.”

“How would you describe yourself in one word?”

He searches the room. “Resilient.”

He’s good. Too good. I narrow my eyes at him. “What gets wetter as it dries?”

“Um … a towel?”