When Kimiko later saw her daughter listed as second alternate, she immediately thought this "feminist" attitude might have kept Maeko out of the selected fifteen. Had Kimiko been too outspoken? On the other hand, Uemura was a coed school. They obviously believed in equal opportunity. Would they have allowed Maeko in even as an alternate if Kimiko's views were really out of line with their own? Poor performance in the final interview was the only explanation for failure she could think of. But what was the deciding point between selection and designation as an alternate?Alone with her thoughts and the dishes, Kimiko wrestled with her conscience and considered every possibility until she came upon what had to be the missing element. If her husband had been correct, all else being equal, only the family could make the difference. The third part must have been the determinant after all, but the failure was not Kimiko's.
"Yusuke," she said aloud, as she heard the apartment door open.
"Tadaima," Yusuke called out from the vestibule. "I'm home."
"O-kaerinasai," Kimiko replied. "Welcome back."
"Where's Maeko?" he asked as he entered the kitchen.
"Asleep already. Have you eaten yet?"
"Yes. There wasn't time to go out, so we ordered in some noodles at the office. It wasn't all that good, but at least it was filling."
Kimiko dried her hands with a towel and looked down at the sink as she began what she had to say.
"I've got some bad news, I'm afraid. Maeko wasn't chosen."
Kimiko paused and turned to see her husband's reaction. Disbelief passed like a shadow over his face.
"What? Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes, the names were posted this afternoon. I didn't recognize most of them, except Noriko's son, who was among the selected group. Maeko was listed in the section below them. She's the second alternate."
"Second alternate? What does that mean?"
"If a selected child doesn't join the program for some reason, the alternates are called up one by one to enter the class. Maeko is second in line, so it takes two drop-outs for her to be eligible."
"Second." Yusuke said the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Who was listed first?"
"Some boy from Suginami Ward. I don't know his family."
"A boy? Did they take only boys then?"
"No. In fact, of the fifteen selected, seven were girls."
Yusuke looked puzzled. "I thought you said the examination went well. You said Maeko learned a song there, right? You were confident in the interviews. And I helped you fill out the application myself. Everything was in order. What could possibly have gone wrong? Was it Maeko?"
