The Bench: Jon Takada

"Hey there, I'm Zoe Madison," the Goth girl said sullenly, holding out a hand to Jon. He took it, shaking it enthusiastically. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Jon Takada." "Takada? What kind of fucked up name is that?" Zoe asked. "Zoe!" her mother exclaimed. "You know very well that Jon is from Japan." Linda turned towards Jon. "I'm sorry about my daughter, Jon. She can be very ..." "No need to apologize. My name probably sounds as strange to you as your name sounds to me," Jon said. For a brief moment, however, something about that seemed odd. As if Takada *wasn't* his last name or something. But that was ridiculous, right? Of *course* Takada was his last name. "Can I go now?" Zoe asked her mom.