Talk about crazzzzzzy

This entry isn't a personal experience but one of my friends whom I met during training. While I'm experiencing all the sugar and everything nice of Japan, he seems to be getting.... well, you'll see after reading this.

The story of the week:

Crazy StoriesRound 2
Place: My Apartment
ComplexTime: 9:15 a.m., this morning
Scenario: Craziness

My doorbell rings, jarring me out of a sound sleep and out of the arms of one Ms. Jennifer Garner. My first thought: "Aww hell, I overslept...now my crazy manager is going to dine on my face." Surprise surprise, I look at the clock and see that I still have 3 hours before I have to be at work. Well who the hell would be at my door then?

Groggy and confused I open the door in my boxers. But let me tell you, nothing breaks that haze faster than seeing 7 men in blue uniforms and masks standing outside your door screaming in Japanese. They point down the corridor to my neighbour's door 20 feet away and after a completely useless interchange in Japanese, one man runs up and makes "get your shoes" and "get downstairs" gestures. At this point things seem important, so I just run back in to grab some pants and bolt downstairs, coming across 7 more uniformed men running in the opposite direction. At the bottom of my apartment, in the street, there are at least 10 more uniformed figures, all in masks, a fire truck and an ambulance. As they usher me into a nearby building, I see the other tenants fleeing the building, barely dressed and all wearing the same expression of confusion and concern.

Shortly after, a police car arrives, carrying four police officers in Kevlar vests...and after that another truck with 5 men...all in full yellow hazmat suits. Just one of those days I wished I had paid more attention in Japanese class. Thank goodness that two of the JTs live in my apartment, and soon one comes hastily into the adjacent building.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Your neighbour committed suicide"

"Huh." pretty much all I could muster at that point.

After a brief silent interlude.

"So why are they evacuating the building?"

"They think she used a very dangerous chemical, and they can't get into the room where she opened the container"

"Right."

At this point, the JT is noticably shaking, while the rest of the room is coated in a preternatural silence. Tiana comes down after about 15 minutes, somehow managing to sleep through the noise and officials banging on her door.

We wait for an hour and a half, eventually finding out that the girl didn't make it and that it may be just gas that she used...but they're not sure. They urge us to open our windows and to call the ambulance service if we feel the slightest bit sick.

By the time they clear the apartment, it's 45 minutes before I have to be at work. I bathe, dress and rush down...just in time to see the parents as they get the news from the police. It was one of the most heart wrenching things I have seen in a while. They looked so reserved and stoic for a second...then the mother just collapsed into a heap in the street, bawling and crying while the father just stared into nothingness.

I gotta say, I could really use this weekend out of my city.

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I don't know if any of my stories can ever top this one.