Yamano’s assignment was to analyze her classmates. She was also to reconcile with Matsui-san. I left it up to her discretion whether she wanted to stay friends with Matsui-san and her group, but she needed to apologize for crossing the line. According to Sakata-kun, she was already the odd duck out of the class, but it was still only the end of April. I wanted to believe that it wasn’t too late.
However, I couldn’t only take care of Yamano. There was another issue I needed to solve: namely, Mei. He was blatantly avoiding me, but it was inevitable that our paths would cross. After all, we worked at the same place. He could try to adjust his shifts to some degree, but our schedules would eventually overlap. And that happened the next day after school.
“Yo, Mei,” I said.
“Hello,” he replied reluctantly.
I had run into him in Café Mares’s break room. He was in the middle of changing out of his school uniform into our work clothes. I chased after Mei when he zoomed out of class. I felt like a stalker.
“I see you haven’t quit working here,” I said.
“It doesn’t hurt to have money,” he said after a small pause.
I also began changing into my work uniform as I spoke to him. “We’ve got plenty of time today, huh?”
“Yes, we do...”
Mei doesn’t look like he wants to talk, but too bad for him. No one can top me when it comes to not being able to take a hint! “Tell me why you quit the band.”
“You don’t need to hear it from me—you probably already have a rough idea.”
“I haven’t heard you say it yourself yet. That means it’s all speculation,” I responded.
Mei let out an exaggerated sigh. “It’s because it’s true that I lack the skills. Aren’t things better this way?”
“If that’s why, then I should be the one to quit first!”
Mei made a face that said, “Well... That’s true...”
Aw, come on, you’re agreeing?!
“Did you hate taking the band seriously?” I asked, my eyes fixed on him.
“No, what I hated was the way Yamano-san spoke,” he answered quietly. “I know that she’s right. I understand she said those things because my skills were falling behind. But I don’t want to be in a band with someone who talks to others like that.”
As Mei said, Yamano’s phrasing was wrong. But there was a problem with him too. That was why this whole ordeal was difficult to handle. I couldn’t simply pick a side. “That might be true, but of course she would criticize you for what happened at the concert,” I said, deliberately erasing any emotion from my voice.
Mei looked hurt. “Natsuki, so you’re going to say that too?”
“You chose the safe option without discussing it with the rest of us. Obviously, I’d be upset.” If he had done as we’d practiced and messed up, then it is what it is. But since he did something different, it’s only natural we’re dissatisfied with him. “You impulsively simplified the bass line because Funayama-san was there, didn’t you?”
It looked like I had hit the nail on the head, because Mei’s shoulders jerked up in surprise. Although there had been a lot of attendees, I could still recognize the faces of my classmates. Funayama-san had been there that night, though she was all the way in the back.
“You were scared of messing up in front of your girlfriend. Am I wrong?”
The bass line that Mei was supposed to have played was indeed difficult. But Yamano had pointed it out to him multiple times. Getting told off about the same part over and over meant that he hadn’t improved. When he had walked onto the stage, it was with the knowledge that he still had a high chance of blundering, so he’d gotten scared.
“’Cause I thought it’d be better than messing up...”
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe it is better than messing up. In actuality, we put on a decent performance. However...”
Mei averted his eyes. I knew it. He’s different from how he was during the school festival.
“We can’t call that being serious, can we?”
Mei, having finished changing into his work uniform, left the break room first. I decided that now was not the time to reinvite him to the band, not when he was trying to dodge the issue. However, I had no idea whether or not I’d said the right thing.