murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood

early." "Wait a minute, I thought you were tired." "For something like
this, I'm just fine." "Oh boy."
And she was right. We went to a disco, and her energy came back
little by little as we danced. She drank two whisky and cokes, and
stayed on the dance floor until her forehead was drenched in sweat.
"This is so much fun!" she exclaimed when we took a break at a table.
"I haven't danced like this in ages. I don't know, when you move your
body, it's kind of like your spirit gets liberated."
"Your spirit is always liberated, I'd say."
"No way," she said, shaking her head and smiling. "Anyway, now that
I'm feeling better, I'm starved! Let's go for a pizza."
I took her to a pizzeria I knew and ordered draught beer and an
anchovy pizza. I wasn't very hungry and ate only four of the twelve
slices. Midori finished the rest.
"You sure made a fast recovery," I said. "Not too long ago you were
pale and wobbly."
"It's because my selfish demands got through to somebody,,, she
answered. "It unclogged me. Wow, this pizza is great!',
"Tell me, though. Is there really nobody at home?"
"It's true. My sister's staying at her friend's place. Now, that girl's got
a real case of the creeps. She can't sleep alone in the house if I'm not
there."
"Let's forget this love hotel crap, then. Going to a place like that just
makes you feel cheap. Let's go to your house. You must have enough
bedding for me?"
Midori thought about it for a minute, then nodded. "OK, we'll spend
the night at mine."
We took the Yamanote Line to Otsuka, and soon we were raising the
metal shutter that sealed off the front of the Kobayashi Bookshop. A
paper sign on the shutter read TEMPORARILY CLOSED. The smell
of old paper filled the dark shop, as if the shutter had not been opened
for a long time. Half the shelves were empty, and most of the
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