It was pouring rain outside. I could hear the drops striking the ground from inside the garage.
“I don’t think this rain is gonna let up anytime soon,” Misuzu said, standing by the door and looking up at the sky.
Sousuke, standing next to her, followed her gaze. “Whoaaa!”
Misuzu had acknowledged that I was able to keep a basic rhythm, although I still had some problems with consistency. Nevertheless, she’d said I was ready to learn “fills” today.
A drum fill was an important technique used during transitions, which helped add a sense of polish. But since I could still only handle basic rhythms, it was all new to me.
“You can definitely manage if you practice a bit,” Misuzu said. But even after watching several examples online, it still seemed pretty difficult.
“Well, there’s no point in just staring at the sky like a bunch of idiots. Let’s get started.” She clapped her hands and walked over to me.
Sousuke picked up his guitar and sat on one of the barstools.
Since we had chosen the song we were going to play at the school festival, part of today’s practice would include drumming along with Sousuke’s guitar.
“Just hitting the snare like tat-tat-tat! can be considered a drum fill, even if you don’t do anything complex,” Misuzu explained. She then showed me a few examples. Each time, she moved gracefully, with no wasted movements, producing a powerful sound.
“You don’t need to go overboard in non-chorus sections. Just maintain your rhythm in the A and B verses. Honestly, as long as you keep up the rhythm, no one’s going to care.”
I followed her instructions and slowly learned how to do more than just keep the beat.
Sousuke strummed guitar chords to match my drumming. The fact that we were finally playing music together filled me with excitement.
“Wow, you’re looking a lot more confident now,” he said. “I know you can pull this off!” His words were oddly convincing, and I began to believe in myself more and more.
Misuzu gave me specific instructions for the drum fills before and during the chorus. I struggled a bit with practicing continuous snare hits and tom drum movements since I hadn’t focused on them before, but after a few hours of practice, I managed to improve.
“All right, let’s take a break. Yuzuru, try to relax your arms and rest.”
“Okay!”
“Sousuke, you’ve been playing nonstop too, haven’t you?”
“I could keep going.”
“That’s enough. You should take a break. You don’t wanna get tendonitis before the performance,” Misuzu said firmly. “Since my music club doesn’t have any drummers among the underclassmen, this is my first time teaching a beginner. It’s surprisingly fun.” She grinned and sipped at a sports drink.
I bowed. “Thanks for being such a good teacher. I really appreciate it.”
“Ha-ha. You’re fun to teach, Yuzuru.” She smiled, and Sousuke pouted.
“I think Yuzuru’s just got a way with people,” he said. “He gets along with everyone.”
“No, that’s silly,” I protested.
“Oh, I think you might be onto something,” Misuzu agreed, joining Sousuke in teasing me.
“Right?”
I was starting to feel flustered, but then the door flew open, and someone rushed into the garage.
“It’s pouring out there!” Nagoshi said as she came in. She wiped the raindrops off her head with her hand and flashed us a cheerful grin. “Still going at it, huh?”
She smirked at each of us in turn, then plopped down on the sofa. She was still wearing her school uniform. I realized I’d never seen her in anything else.
“Why do you always wear your uniform even during summer vacation?” Misuzu asked. I was surprised to find we’d been thinking the same thing.
Nagoshi waved her hand in annoyance. “Why bother picking out clothes when I’m on vacation? Plus, the uniform is easy to wash.”
“Oh, so you’re just lazy,” Misuzu said.
“Shut up. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”
Despite their harsh words, it was clearly a friendly exchange. I figured this was just their usual way of interacting with each other.
What’s more, the fact that Nagoshi was too lazy to pick out clothes on her days off seemed somehow very in character.
As I smiled at their conversation, I noticed Sousuke acting a little nervous. Uh-oh, is he gonna ask her again? I thought.
By the time I realized what was happening, he’d already opened his mouth. “Nagoshi… I’ve been thinking about it, and I really want you to play bass for us at the after-party.”
Nagoshi leaned back on the sofa and leisurely shook her head. “You don’t give up, do ya? I told you, I’m not doing it.”
“Please? I can’t imagine anyone but you playing bass.”
“Your imagination must be pretty busted if the only person you can think of is someone who hasn’t played in two years. Borrow someone from Misuzu’s music club. Was it Yushima? I’m sure Yushima’s better than me.”
Nagoshi easily waved off Sousuke’s earnest plea.
“But you used to enjoy it so much,” he said.
She snorted. “The past is the past.”
I could see Sousuke’s expression growing more heated.
“The reason you stopped playing bass…” He raised his voice, and the air filled with tension. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. “…was because of Yuugo Ichihara, wasn’t it?”
Misuzu gasped beside me. I turned to look at her and saw she was visibly flustered, her eyes wide and fixed on Nagoshi. I followed her gaze and felt a chill run down my spine.
Nagoshi’s expression was like ice and, beneath the coldness, I saw unmistakable anger.
But Sousuke didn’t stop. “Your idol got busted, so you quit playing bass, right? A musician you really admired wound up—”
“Hey.” Nagoshi’s voice was very low, and Sousuke trailed off. She jumped off the couch and grabbed him by the collar. “Don’t you ever say that name in front of me again!” she roared, her voice echoing through the garage, making the walls shake.
It felt like time had stopped.
“…!” Sousuke’s mouth flapped open and closed as she held him up by his shirt.
All of a sudden, Nagoshi seemed to realize what she was doing and stopped to take a breath. Then, she released her grip on Sousuke’s collar.
“…Sorry.” She apologized quietly, before turning around and trudging back toward the door. “I’m not playing bass, no matter how many times you ask. So just give up already.”
With that, she left the garage. A few minutes later, we heard the door to the main house close.
Sousuke stood there in shock, unable to process what had just happened. No one said anything for a while.
“Haah…” Misuzu sighed. “I’m hungry.” She patted my shoulder and said, “I’ll treat you to a meal. Let’s go eat. You too, Sousuke.” She invited him to come along, but he stayed where he was, quiet and motionless.
“Come on already, let’s go!” Misuzu forced the guitar out of his hands and put it back in its case. Then, she put the case on his shoulder and pushed him toward the door.
“…Okay,” he said at last, and Misuzu sighed with relief.
She looked at me, and I stood up and began gathering my things.
As we left the garage, the rain pelted our umbrellas noisily. Under a curtain of gloom, we made our way to the station and then headed to a diner.