Next morning.
When I entered my classroom, Mei called out to me. “Good morning, Natsuki.”
“Morning, Mei.” It feels like it’s been a while since we chatted in the classroom.
“About what we discussed yesterday, what am I supposed to do, anyway?” he asked.
Last night, the café had been about to close, so the three of us had been kicked out. It was too late for high schoolers to be chatting on the side of the road, so we’d swiftly parted ways. Hence, I hadn’t explained anything to Mei yet.
“Right now, we’re in the middle of executing the Yamano Saya Reform Plan,” I said.
“That’s quite on the nose naming,” he remarked.
You people need to shut up! Names are best when they’re easy to understand! I summarized the plan to Mei. “So basically, the two phases are analysis and implementation.”
“It’s a simple plan. Are you sure it’s going to work?” He still looked dubious after hearing everything. “And hold on. By that logic, Yamano-san didn’t care about me whatsoever, right?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“That’s terrible! We’re bandmates! Not that I’ve rejoined yet, but still!”
“Which is why we need her to care about you. You need to show Yamano that you’re a really interesting guy.”
“I don’t feel like this is going to work at all!”
I couldn’t believe Mei had said that about my perfect plan.
“Then again...” he murmured pensively. “I’ve always felt like there was a weird sense of distance between Yamano-san and myself.”
Serika had recruited Yamano, while I had already known her. It was definitely true that she and Mei weren’t particularly close.
“She was something like a friend of a friend to you, huh. Even though you two have been in the same band for half a year already,” I said.
“Are you trying to tell me that I don’t have any social skills?! I already know that!”
“That’s part of it, but it’s also true that Yamano wasn’t interested in you.”
“I can understand how this happened, but you don’t need to state the obvious!” Mei half cried.
Forgive me. This is the important part.
“Well look at that,” somebody commented. “You guys made up already.”
“That sure was fast.”
Tatsuya and the boys made wisecracks as they watched us banter.
“Leave me alone!” Mei shot back, embarrassed.
Meanwhile, the gears in my head began to turn. Last night, I told Serika that Mei actually does want to rejoin the band. However, we can’t just let someone who once said they were going to quit back in that easily. At the very least, Mei should tell Serika that himself in person. That’s why he’s in limbo right now. And considering our future, it’s essential that Mei and Yamano get closer. I want to clue Serika in on the situation too. Therefore, it’d be better to gather everyone in one place.
“Okay, Mei. We’re going to hold our first band meeting!” I exclaimed.
He sighed and shrugged in resignation. “I don’t really understand what’s going on, but I’ll trust you on this.”
✦ ✦ ✦
After school.
The four of us gathered at a family restaurant in front of the station. We ordered french fries and the drink bar and settled ourselves in for a long stay. Mei, Yamano, and Serika were all awkwardly taking furtive glances at each other.
“Okay, let’s kick off our first band meeting!” I clapped my hands, but no one else joined me. Tough crowd.
“Um, Natsuki. Could you lay off the excited act?” Serika admonished me curtly.
“Sorry...” I hung my head. The three of them were being super awkward, so I was just trying to amp things up.
Serika disregarded my dejection and asked Mei, “Is it true you want to come back?”
“Yes. I’m sorry for frivolously saying I would quit,” he replied.
“Are you prepared to take the band seriously?”
Mei looked Serika in the eyes and firmly answered, “I am. At the very least, this time I’ll do it right.”
“Did Natsuki talk you into it?”
“No, I didn’t really say much,” I told her. It’s the truth. Funayama-san is the one who persuaded Mei.
“My girlfriend gave me a scolding. That’s when I realized that I was just running away, and that I was all talk about being serious. So I want to turn over a new leaf and give this another shot.”
Serika scrutinized Mei closely for a while. She was the leader of our band. In the end, if she didn’t approve, Mei wouldn’t be able to rejoin. I gulped audibly as I watched her.
“Dummy.” Tears spilled out of Serika’s eyes.
“Huh? Uh, Serika-senpai?!” Yamano exclaimed, taken aback by our leader’s reaction.
“Do you know how distraught I was?” Serika asked.
Mei blinked at her in surprise. “Wh-Why would you be? You’re only losing someone like me...”
I knew how Serika felt about our band. She was more sensitive than those around her thought, and I was aware of how terrified she was of the band breaking up. But I also knew how badly she yearned to play music seriously regardless of all that.
“Don’t put yourself down like that,” she told Mei.
So I knew that Serika had been miserable when Mei had said he would quit.
“Shinohara-kun, of course I’d be sad without you.”
Mei often puts himself down by saying “someone like me” because he thinks that even if he were gone, it wouldn’t cause any problems. But he’s wrong. Mei is an important friend of mine. And Serika feels the same way.
“You’re our precious friend. Get that in your head first,” I said. I knew that excessively low self-esteem could breed friction, so I urged Mei to realize what he meant to us.
“I’m sorry. I’m reflecting.” Mei lowered his head once more.
“Serika,” I prompted.
She wiped her tears with her sleeve and replied, “Yeah. I’ll allow Shinohara-kun to rejoin.”
Mei raised his head, visibly relieved. “I look forward to playing with you all again.”
That’s one issue settled...is what I wish I could say, but that’s easier said than done. “Yamano. Don’t you have something to say to Mei?”
Her shoulders trembled with a start. “Um... Shinohara-senpai, I said too much that night. I’m sorry,” she said and bowed.
“No, it’s fine,” Mei answered. “Everything you said was right. I was wrong for changing the bass line in the middle of the concert. It’s a fact that I did that. I was wrong for running away from your words.”
“But... I shouldn’t have phrased it like that.”
Surprise colored Mei’s face. He likely hadn’t expected her to admit that herself.
“I want to change too,” she said. “I don’t want to stay like this, hated by other people.”
“Right then. Yamano, did you do the homework I assigned you?” I asked.
“I did as much as I could...” Yamano pulled her smartphone from her skirt pocket and handed it to me.
She had a note-taking app open on her screen. Written there was an itemized list of her classmates’ names, personalities, hobbies, and so on. She had filled all of that out, in detail, for forty people.
“Isn’t this way too much?!” I exclaimed.
“Huh? But you told me to investigate my classmates,” she replied.
Oh yeah. Unlike me, Yamano’s not bad at socializing. That’s why she doesn’t struggle to talk to others when she needs to.
“Senpai, I sort of understand what you meant now. When I chatted with my classmates to learn about them, I noticed our conversations lasted longer than before.” Yamano smiled in earnest, recalling what had happened then. “And when people realize that you’re trying to get to know them, they’re happy to talk more.”
“Trying to learn about the other person is a fundamental conversation skill,” I said. Looks like she’s easily completed phase one of the plan. “Did you reconcile with Matsui-san?”
“About that... It didn’t work out. I tried to apologize, but...” Yamano’s face fell.
Looks like that was a bust, huh. Well, Yamano did say too much. At least she understands that it’s not something anyone would easily forgive her for.
“Wait, are you getting into arguments with your classmates too?” Serika asked quizzically, unaware of what had been going on.
“Well, you see...” Yamano explained her situation to Serika.
Once she’d finished, Serika wore a dismayed expression and groaned. “Hmm. If I had to say, you’re in the wrong here, Saya.”
“Yeah, figures...” Yamano said.
“But what you said isn’t exactly unforgivable... How did you apologize to her?” Serika asked.
“How? Uh, normally?”
Her reply gave me a bad feeling, so I cut in. “Can you reenact what you did?”
“Reenact it? Sure, I guess... Senpai, pretend you’re Matsui-san.”
“Okay.”
I faced Yamano, and she cleared her throat with a cough. Then, she suddenly closed the distance between us and enthusiastically exclaimed, “Matsui-san, I want to get to know you more! Also, I’m sorry about the other day!”
“I see...” I glanced at Serika. She was making a baffled expression. I glanced at Mei. He was clutching his head.