One day until the music fest.
Today we ran through all three songs over and over and did our final checks.
“Nice, we sound pretty good,” Yamano said.
Mei hardly made any mistakes by this point. We had shaped up into a decent opening act. Yamano and Mei had continued their amicable streak from yesterday and were having a peaceful conversation.
“Um, Hondo-senpai? What’s wrong?” Yamano asked.
I’m also concerned about Serika.
“Sorry,” she said. She had barely said a word today, and her expression was gloomy too.
She’s not making mistakes or anything, but it still weighs on my mind.
“Oh no, do you feel sick?” Yamano asked.
“No, it’s nothing like that,” Serika replied weakly.
Strictly speaking, today’s not the only day she’s been acting weird. Something was off about her the entire time Yamano and Mei were having their feud. But the band’s mood is back to normal now, so why does she look even glummer?
“Maybe I’m nervous because tomorrow’s the big day.” Serika put on a strained smile.
Her default setting is deadpan. This isn’t like her at all.
Mei and Yamano, however, didn’t seem particularly bothered by it. “Huh, I didn’t pin you as the type to get nervous,” Yamano remarked.
“Hey, Yamano-san, that’s just plain rude,” Mei chided.
The three of them shared a laugh.
Something about this scene gave me a strong sense of discomfort. What is it? What’s so strange? This is nothing compared to the perilous atmosphere from two days ago. The band should be smooth sailing. So why do I feel so uneasy?
✦ ✦ ✦
After practice ended, we headed home together while discussing the plan for tomorrow.
“See you guys tomorrow, then,” Mei said. He parted from us once we were near Maebashi Station.
The three of us rode the Ryomo Line to Takasaki Station. Yamano and I had to transfer, but Takasaki was the closest station to Serika’s house, so she split off there.
“Cool, then eat lunch before you come to the music club tomorrow, okay?” Serika said. She’d remained listless the entire way home.
Is it really just nerves? Am I missing something?
“Okey doke, shall we? It takes forever to get home from here,” Yamano lamented. She was making her way to the Joshin Dentetsu Line ticket gates when I spoke up.
“Sorry, Yamano. There’s something I need to do. You go on ahead,” I said. My gut tells me I have to act now. Something isn’t right; I feel it in my bones. Whatever it is, I can’t ignore it, and I probably need to talk to Serika to find out what that is.
“Huh? Senpai?!”
“Sorry! See you tomorrow!”
I quickly weaved my way through the stream of pedestrians coming and going, leaving my surprised underclassman behind. I had already lost sight of Serika in the sea of people. However, I had a general idea of which direction she lived in. She had given me some lessons near there, after all.
I ran down the station stairs, shot past the roundabout, and veered down the main road in front of the station. Takasaki’s downtown area comprised the largest city in Gunma Prefecture. Even though it was getting late, there were many streetlamps, and building lights were still on. I ran around searching for Serika among the rush of people and cars. Eventually, I left the business district and entered the residential area.
I was panting by that point. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. It’s hard running with a guitar on my back. I’m dead tired. Pretty sure she lives in this direction, but I haven’t caught sight of her yet... I guess acting on impulse and dashing off was a mistake. Such thoughts filled my head as I strolled through the empty residential area. Then, I happened to pass by a small park.
Given how late it is, of course no one’s out... As soon as the thought went through my mind, a flutter of blonde hair caught my eye. The only playground equipment in the entire park was a swing set, and sitting on one of the swings was a girl wearing a familiar uniform.
“Serika,” I said.
“Huh? Natsuki?” Serika had left her bag and guitar case next to the swing set. Tears cascaded from her eyes as she swayed back and forth.
✦ ✦ ✦
A cherry blossom tree next to the swing set scattered a handful of its petals. The sakura season was nearly over, even though they had been in full bloom only a short while ago.
“Why are you out here?” I asked. I sat down on the swing beside Serika’s.
She remained silent for a while.
When she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, I spoke up again. “Serika, I was looking for you.”
“Why? Did something urgent come up?” she asked.
“No.” I paused. “Nothing critical.”
“What, did you miss me? Gosh, did you fall for me?” she said in a forced teasing tone.
Our eyes met, and she immediately turned away.
“Can I ask a question?”
“No.”
“Why were you crying?”
“I told you no...” Serika pushed her lips out into a pout.
At such close proximity, I could tell even in the darkness of the night that her eyes were red.
“I don’t know either.” She shook her head. “Why am I crying?”
A beat passed. “Was there something wrong with today’s practice?” I asked.
“No. Shinohara-kun and Saya made peace, and the vibes were good.”
“Then why? You’ve been acting weird lately.”
“I know, right? Something’s been wrong with me for a while now.” Her agreement sounded self-deprecating. “Natsuki, I told you this before. Since middle school, I’ve been in a ton of bands and experienced just as many breakups. I was anxious it might turn out the same this time too... I was scared.”
“I figured it was something like that.” Serika looked terrified of something whenever she was trying to be considerate of Yamano and Mei. What she says checks out with my conjecture. Still, if that’s why she was acting off, I don’t understand why she’s still crying. “But the mood was better today, right?”
“Yeah, you’re definitely right about that, but...”
I feel like the source of my discomfort is reflected in Serika’s tears.
“Nothing’s really been solved,” she finished.
However, I couldn’t follow what she was getting at. “What do you mean? Mei and Yamano have reconciled.”
“But Saya didn’t say anything about his mistakes, right?”
True. Yamano didn’t pay attention to other people’s performance. She focused solely on her own part...because I advised her to.
“Natsuki, what did you say to her?”
“Oh, uh... I told her to try concentrating on the drums.” As a result, our band’s atmosphere has improved. The prickly relationship between Yamano and Mei has smoothed out, and now we can practice peacefully.
“That’s not our goal, though.” Serika shook her head and stared at me dolefully. “Isn’t our goal to change the world with our music?”
I finally understood what she wanted to say. Did all my worrying make me lose sight of our goal?
“Saya is right,” she said.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to speak so harshly,” I countered.
“That might be true if we were an ordinary high school band, but...” Serika gazed up at the night sky.
Drawn by her gaze, I did the same. There was not a cloud in sight, and the stars were twinkling brightly.