“Whew, that’s all for today,” I said, humming to myself, and put my notebook into my desk in the classroom.
“You sure seem happy today, Asuka. Did something good happen?” Misaki cocked her head.
It sure did! We outsmarted Hibiki!
I know, I know. Red’s not about winning and losing. But it’s different when it comes to Hibiki. He’s our age, so I don’t want to lose to him!
…I can’t talk to Misaki about that, can I?
She continued to watch me curiously.
Hmm, what am I gonna say? I’m a bad liar.
“It’s nothing special, Himuro,” Kei interjected, lending me a hand. “Asuka is just excited for dinner tonight because it’s one of her favorite foods.”
Wait…is my mood really affected by what’s for dinner that much?!
I shot Kei a glare, but he ignored me and continued to pack his things.
“Oh, really? Asuka would be happy about something like that,” said Misaki.
What?! That actually worked?!
I guess that’s all that matters, though.
“What’s wrong, Asuka?” Yuzuki came over, holding a bag in her hands.
She’s gotta go to the home ec club after this, huh?
“That reminds me! I gotta go too!” I picked up my bag and stood.
“Huh? Are you going to help out another club again?” Yuzuki asked, but I shook my head.
“No, it’s Yukimura. She wanted to see me about something.”
“She’s the leader of the theater club, right?”
Yup. Not sure what she wants, though.
“Maybe she’s going to ask you to be in another play, like during the school festival?”
No way! That play was no walk in the park! Besides, the person I replaced in the play is already healed.
I guess I’ll find out when I see her.
✦ ✦ ✦
I said goodbye to Misaki and headed for the gym, where I was supposed to meet Yukimura. I could see her standing there from behind as I approached.
“Yukimura!” I called out as I ran up to her.
“Asuka. I’m glad to see you didn’t forget.”
Me? Forget? I’d never forget a chance to see you.
Although I do wanna ask…
“Why is President Shiori here?”
For whatever reason, President Shiori was standing next to Yukimura.
“Am I not allowed to be here?” President Shiori said. Her face was very stern.
O-of course you’re allowed!
President Shiori was the president of our junior high’s student council.
Her strict manner of speech and charismatic leadership had earned her the nickname “the Ice Queen.” She was actually super nice, though.
“I’m here to see the theater club.” President Shiori shot Yukimura a glance.
“Yeah, let’s talk about it inside.” Yukimura nudged me from behind into the gym.
There was a basketball hoop set up smack-dab in the middle of the court. The basketball club was using half of the gym floor, with the theater club taking the other half.
There were about thirty people practicing their enunciation, split up into two groups that faced each other and saying lines back and forth.
If my memory serves me correctly, about seventeen or eighteen of the members are performers, and everybody else works behind the curtain. All of them do the vocal warm-ups together, though.
They’re all so focused that they haven’t even noticed I’m here.
Hm…?
Something seems off, though. Back during the school festival, they seemed so much more passionate and enthusiastic about rehearsal…
Maybe I’m just overthinking…? No, I doubt it.
“Did you notice already? Our club is actually facing a bit of a problem right now,” Yukimura told me.
“What kind of a problem?”
“You know how a theater club needs a theater? The culture festival is one time of year when we get one, but only performing once a year wouldn’t make for much of a club, so we usually borrow an auditorium outside of school to have more plays.”
Oh, really? So does that mean people who aren’t students also come to see your plays? That’s pretty neat!
“There’s a theater hall our club has always used, but about two months ago, a storm damaged the roof. Nobody got hurt, but the hall ended up closing down.”
“It did?? Then what are you going to do about the next play?”
“We have to reorganize all our future plans. We’ve done our best to find a new stage, but there’s nowhere we can afford with our budget. At this rate, we might have to cancel our annual play…”
No… You guys were so great during the culture festival. It would be terrible if you didn’t get to throw another play…
If I was in the club, I’d be down in the dumps, too. All that practice, and nowhere to show it.
“Is there anything you can do about it?” I asked, and Yukimura answered with a big smile.
“I think so, now that our savior has arrived.”
Y-your savior?!
“Let’s gather up over here, guys!” Yukimura called out to the theater club members, and they all stopped rehearsing to join us. “I have great news!”
Yukimura stood in front of the entire club, holding out both of her hands.
“What’s going on?” a second-year asked, raising his eyebrows.
“You guys know how there’s a big new theater hall being built nearby right now?”
“The one by the station, right?” said a third-year. “I heard it was for hosting the big stage productions in our town… Why?”
Actually, I remember seeing a big construction site near the station in in the downtown area.
A teasing twinkle appeared in Yukimura’s eye as she answered. “Wouldn’t it be awesome if our club could perform there?”
“Y-yeah, but it’s not like we would ever have the money for it.”
The rest of the club nodded in agreement, but Yukimura was still grinning.
“Heh-heh… Here’s the thing: Our club is actually going to be able to perform there!”
““Whaaaaaat?!””
The entire club erupted in shock.
“What’s that supposed to mean, Captain?”
“I’ll let Shio—er, President Shiori take it from here.”
Yukimura took a step back, and President Shiori stepped forward.
“The company that’s going to run the theater hall has reached out to our school. They’ve invited our theater club and band clubs to perform there. And they said we can use the hall for free.”
““Wooo!””
The cheers in response to the announcement were so loud it almost hurt my ears. And they practice projecting and stuff, so I mean loud.
Although I’m not sure I understand what they’re so excited about…
“I think we should celebrate by writing a new play for the event. What do you guys think? We have until the first Sunday of June to get ready, so about a month and a half!” Yukimura said with a big smile. You could tell she was excited.
“I-isn’t that a bit soon, Captain?! A new play…”
“We would only have time to rehearse during lunch and after school… Do you think we can pull it off in time?”
The club members, on the other hand, were not so sure.
Still, Yukimura was grinning. “Why do you think I called the president of the student council here?”
The members didn’t know; instead they all looked to President Shiori for an answer.
“The student council has decided it would be appropriate to allow the theater club to hold an overnight summer camp at school, using the upcoming weeklong vacation. We’ve already received permission from the school, and we’re allowing the band club to do the same. All that’s left is to decide whether or not you all want to.”
President Shiori looked out to the members, who nodded among themselves.
““Let’s do it!!””
They all agreed.
“I thought so,” said Yukimura. “And wouldn’t you know it, we already have a script! Kaho, if you would.”
With that, she signaled to one of the theater kids to come up to the front. The girl named Kaho, a second-year, was holding a stack of paper.
That must be the script.
“I actually started writing this script with the captain awhile back…”
“That’s right! And she wrote it with specific casting in mind for the roles.”
So they already know who’s gonna play who?
“Some of the newer club members might not know this, but occasionally, we write roles for performers to make use of their personalities and abilities. There will be no auditions for this next play, which means we can start rehearsing today! I’m sorry for going behind your backs, but you’ll thank me when you see how good the script is.”
While Kaho was talking, Yukimura started passing out some of the scripts, and the members began flipping through its pages.
“I’m not worried about the script if Kaho wrote it, but… Oh, is this one me? This is gonna be fun!”
“Whaaat, I have to play a girl?!”
“But look, it’s the perfect role for you!”
The actors all laughed together.
I guess they all trust Kaho with the script.
“I’m glad you guys like it. There’s one more thing…,” Yukimura said before turning to me. “I actually had you come here for this play, Asuka.”
Who, me?
I wasn’t sure why I was being called up all of a sudden, but I shuffled over next to Yukimura. She placed her hand on my shoulder before continuing.