Let's Keep the Beat
The vibration of Yui's guitar faded away as she finished the final phrase of Fuwa Fuwa Time. As she sighed a breath of exhaustion and relief, she scanned the faces of her fellow club members. As usual, Tsumugi, the keyboardist, looked quite pleased with the performance. The underclassman that provided the harmony guitar, Azusa, bounced up and down a little in a futile attempt to hold in a more extravagant expression of exuberance. The drummer, Ritsu, and the bassist, Mio, gave each other high fives as congratulations.
"We played well, didn't we?" Mugi said, smiling.
"Yeah, we did. Yui, I was really surprised that you kept on-beat with us this time." Azusa concurred,
"It was all thanks to Ricchan and Mio-chan! They're the ones that keep the beat." Yui praised her friends and gave them the thumbs up sign. Mio blushed and Ritsu laughed shyly as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Now that I think about it," Azusa began, "aren't Mio-senpai and Ritsu-senpai always the ones that are on task the most?" The two girls in question looked at each other and then at Azusa, confused.
"We are?" Mio asked,
"I never really noticed." Ritsu added.
"It's because they have mind reading powers! Ricchan, what am I thinking right now?" Yui got up close and personal in Ritsu's face, much to the drummer's annoyance, and received a well-deserved bump on the head.
"We don't have mind reading powers!" Ritsu held up her fist, vein throbbing, "Even if we did, you don't need to be so close for your mind to be read." Suddenly, Mugi gasped and began rushing to pick up her things,
"I'm sorry, I just remembered that my family has an event this evening, so I won't be able to walk home with you guys. Please forgive me!" Without even waiting for a reply, she bowed deeply and dashed out of the clubroom. The rest of the girls stared at the door for a short moment of silence.
"That's our Mugi, I guess." Azusa laughed. She was putting her guitar in its case, but before anyone could ask why she was packing up so early, she answered, "I sincerely apologize, you guys, but I have to leave too. Lately my parents have been getting angry when I come home late, so I'd prefer not to push them any further."
"Ah, I'll come with you, Azu-nyan!" Yui suddenly chimed in, "Ui's said she's making a new cake tonight and I want to smell it baking!" Mio and Ritsu blankly watched their friends as they left.
"You know, wanting to smell a cake baking is one of the worst excuses to leave early, senpai…" Azusa softly scolded her senior.
"Then I'll just have to capture some of the smell to show what you're missing!" said Yui. Azusa laughed, "How will you do that?"
"It's easy, I just have to…" The two students' voices trailed away as they walked down the stairs from the third floor. Suddenly, the remaining club members found themselves alone, and simultaneously jumped when the quick silence startled them both.
"Looks like it's just us now." Said Ritsu, surveying the room for something else to look at. Her gaze fell upon the six desks grouped together where she and her club-mates, as well as their club advisor, Sawako, would relax, discuss life, and have tea, cakes, and sweets.
"Yeah, I guess it is. This means we can listen to ourselves, though." Mio decided. Her stomach growled.
"You're hungry," Ritsu nudged her friend's tummy.
"That's not what I mean!" Mio hugged herself, blushing, "I'm on a little diet, but that's beside the point! I mean that we can each play our part of the song and give each other tips on how we can improve individually." Ritsu scratched her head with her drumsticks.
"Aw, that's boring. Can't we just play video games or something?" Mio bashed Ritsu on the head.
"No, we can't! We don't have a console, anyways. I'll go first." She picked up her Fender Jazz Bass Guitar and shouldered it at the ready. She began strumming Fuwa Fuwa Time's bass-line while Ritsu pulled up a chair and sat backwards on it, her head resting on her arms.
Mio's long, dark hair bobbed as she tapped her foot along to the music, shining in the slightly setting sun. Her deep, dark bluish-gray eyes looked intent on her finger movements as they danced from string to string, note to note, all in flawless form. That idiot, Ritsu thought, she doesn't need to work on anything.
'Futo shita shigusa ni kyou mo HAATO ZUKIZUKI…'* The words of the song's second verse resonated in Ritsu's mind. She smiled slightly, I know that very well. Mio was certainly amazing. She was the one who had always kept Ritsu in line when she got testy. From childhood, Mio had grown to be a beautiful girl with a well-sculpted face; a beautiful womanly body, and a polite but playful demeanor that Ritsu loved. The drummer had barely caught herself thinking that when she noticed Mio had stopped playing at was staring at her apprehensively.
"Yo, Ritsu, are you there?" Mio waved her hands in front of her friend's face. Ritsu snapped out of her trance and fell out of her chair in her surprise. Mio began cracking up. "Haha, that's what you get for spacing out!"
"Yeah, keep laughing and see what happens," Ritsu grunted as she got up, "That was good, Mio. I don't think you've got any problems. It's my turn now!" She energetically sat at her drum set and tapped off the count,
"One, two, one, two, three, four!" The familiar rushed rhythm of the drums filled the room, and as usual Ritsu seemed oblivious. Mio saw her nod her head as she progressed quickly through the music, but then her mind began to wander. I never thought about it before, but Ritsu looks kind of cute playing the drums…Everything disappeared in front of Mio's eyes except Ritsu and her drums. Beat, boom, clang. Beat, boom, clang. Beat, boom, beat. Beat, boom, beat. Beat, beat, beat. Beat, beat, beat, beat, beat… That's not the sound of the drums anymore. Mio held her hand over her heart. Why hadn't she felt this before? Ritsu had been her friend since, what, Kindergarten? Suddenly a wave of emotions was washing over Mio. Ritsu's golden brown hair, her ever-electric attitude, the way her headband kept her bangs back so perfectly, and even the way she could be belligerent and rude at times. It's just amazing. Mio thought. The beating stopped.
"What's amazing?" Ritsu asked.
"Oh, no! Did I say that out loud?" Mio gasped. A mischievous smile crept over Ritsu's face,
"Oho, was Mio entranced by my feminine charm? Then, here, Mio, let's kiss." Ritsu puckered her lips in an exaggerated fashion, only to cause Mio to invent a new shade of red on her face.
"Uh, I have to go!" Mio suddenly picked up her bag and bass and ran out of the room, taking no care to close the door behind her. Ritsu crossed her arms behind her head,
"I was just kidding…" she said to no one. But it would have been nice for her to think I was serious.
Mio was halfway home when her thoughts caught up with her.
"Geez, that Ritsu. Why does she always have to play around like that?" the bassist whispered into the cool autumn air. Or rather, why can't she ever be like that with me seriously?
"Ritsu…" Mio turned around to see no one, but made herself an illusion of Ritsu running after her.
"Mio…" Ritsu stared at the empty desk where Mio usually sat, imagining her friend staring at her with glistening, lovelorn eyes. Both of their minds inadvertently synced with each other at that moment as they projected the same exact thought in their minds,
I think I just may like her.
*These lyrics mean "And again today, just being your causal self makes me squee."