“Oh… You’re still here.”
When I heard Nagoshi’s voice, I realized it must be almost dark outside. I took out my phone and saw that it was just before 7 o’clock.
“Oh! Sorry for staying so late. I’ll leave now.” I quickly jumped up from the chair, but she laughed and waved me back down.
“It’s fine. You can even stay over if you want. You can use the bathroom and the shower.” She smiled and sat on one of the bar stools in front of the counter. “I never imagined you’d start playing the drums, though. I guess you never know where life will take you, huh?”
I chuckled awkwardly. “Tell me about it.”
“Ha-ha. Couldn’t say no to them, huh? You’re too nice. Still, if you practice every day from now on, you’ll probably get the hang of it before the festival. You seem like a hard worker.”
“I don’t know. I don’t even have the basics down yet.”
“Well, of course not. It’s only your first day. The fact that you’ve been practicing all this time, despite thinking you couldn’t do it, means you’re a hard worker.” Nagoshi kept smiling and tilted her head to the side. “Are you having fun?”
Her question surprised me. It was hard to put into words, but there was something about her tone of voice that felt different from usual.
“I’m not sure yet, but I’m enjoying trying something new.”
She laughed. “You always give such complicated answers!” she said as she twirled around on the bar stool. “I’m sure those drums are happier with someone playing them, instead of just gathering dust. You can come and go as you please. You don’t need to ask first. Just do your thing.”
“I can’t do that. I’d rather let you know when I’m coming by,” I said, but she just smirked.
“First, you barge in uninvited, and now you’re asking for my number, huh? Talk about pushy.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“I know, I know. Fine.” She took her phone out of her skirt pocket and brought up her QR code for the messaging app. I walked closer and scanned it. “You can contact me, but I probably won’t reply.”
“As long as you read my messages, it’s fine. But let me know if it’s not a good time to come over.”
“I don’t think that’ll happen,” she said.
All of a sudden, she grabbed my arm. The unexpected contact startled me.
“Wh-what?”
“Your arm feels really tense. You should stop for the day,” she said, looking down at it. “Don’t soak in the tub tonight. Just take a shower. That’ll help your arm recover faster.”
“Oh… Thanks. I’ll do that.”
“Heh-heh. I used to be the soccer team’s manager, so I know a thing or two about sore muscles.” She flashed me a mischievous grin and made a peace sign with her fingers.
When she brought up the team, I couldn’t help myself.
“You quit, didn’t you?” I blurted out without thinking.
She nodded casually. “Yeah.”
“Why?”
Her eyes narrowed slightly, but then she plastered a fake smile on her face. “I got sick of it.”
I could tell she didn’t really mean that, but I didn’t feel like pressing her any further. The expression on her face seemed to say, “Don’t ask.”
“Well, I’m gonna close up the garage now,” she said. “Feel free to come and go as you please. I’ll drop by to check on you if I’m bored.” She walked over to the drum set, unplugged it, and headed for the door.
I quickly shoved the drumsticks back in my bag and left the garage.
She pulled down the shutter and sighed, “Phew!”
“Um…” I still had one more thing I wanted to ask. I knew it would probably bother her, but I decided to go ahead.
“What?”
“Sousuke told me you used to play bass.”
“Oh…yeah,” she said impassively.
“He said he fell in love with your playing.”
“Oh yeah? So, what’s your point?”
“Why did you stop?”
Her eyes narrowed, and she turned to look at me. Even though she was smiling, it felt like she was glaring at me. “What do you want to know that for?”
“Um, no reason, really…”
“Digging into other people’s pasts isn’t a good look, Asada.”
“…Sorry.”
Her tone was so firm, all I could do was apologize.
I could tell she had no intention of sharing her thoughts or feelings. Besides, we weren’t close enough to discuss that kind of stuff, anyway. At this rate, there was no way I could ask her to play bass for us.
“Well, thanks for letting me play the drums.” I bowed.
Nagoshi muttered, “So serious,” before poking my forehead with her finger. “Keep up the good work!” she said and waved.
I bowed again and left.
Walking by myself through the rice fields made me feel a little lonely… I glanced back once toward Nagoshi’s house. With the door and garage shutter closed, it appeared just as it had when I first arrived—all alone, out of place and uncertain, like it didn’t belong.