"I'm sorry, you want me to help with what?"
The tall young man standing in front of Luka eyed her with an expression one usually reserved for particularly dim responses from game show contestants, and it was all she could do to not immediately abandon her pursuits as she endured its sharp befuddlement. There was a certain poise that the man held himself with that only made his stare stronger, a sort of power in the very way he stood – Luka always thought that, had he never studied the violin, the guy could have made a top-notch opera singer.
"C'mon, Gakupo," Luka persisted. "I'm not asking very much of you."
"You're asking me to let you use the club room as a return address for a letter to a girl neither of us knows on the pretense that it's actually from a club that doesn't exist. I'd say that's actually asking quite a bit from me."
"But it's not like you'd be directly involved..."
"Yes, I would, actually," Gakupo countered. "If this girl became suspicious about why she got a mysterious letter in the mail, all she'd have to do would be to look at that return address, check the room number against the registry of clubs, find 'Calligraphy,' march in here asking for the president, and then ask me for my name when I stand up in the vain hope that she's a new member. Then, she reports me for sending strange letters, and who knows what could come after that."
Luka rolled her eyes. "You don't really think you could get in trouble for this, do you?"
"I don't know, it just reeks of some broken rule."
"Well, even if you could, it's not as if the return address would immediately lead back to you. We're not the only club that uses this room, you know."
"So why couldn't you have asked one of them to sponsor this absurd scheme of yours?" Gakupo asked, frustrated.
"Because you're the only club leader who I thought might take me seriously with this," Luka said. "Besides, letter-writing and calligraphy aren't that different..."
"They're different in that one is the activity of a registered club and the other is not," Gakupo said. "Might I also add that the matter of registration is a bit of an obstacle to what you have planned? What do you intend to do if your unmet recipient wants to investigate this 'Letter-Writing Club' and then inevitably discovers no such club to be officially recognized?"
"You're acting like every single student group on campus has to be sanctioned by the school officials to operate. There are plenty that are just too small or too new to be worth registering - why can't that be the case with this club?"
"I think you're still forgetting the part where your penpal-to-be could just follow the letter back here."
"And I think you're forgetting the part where no person in their right mind would actually go to all that trouble."
"What do you mean? I would."
"My point exactly," Luka said. "Now come on, Gakupo, please? All you have to do is give me the okay on this, and you'll never hear about it again. I promise."
Gakupo sighed and brushed a bit of his long, purple hair out of his face. "I'm sorry, Luka, but I just don't like how risky this feels. I really think I'd rather not get involved."
Luka couldn't say she wasn't expecting this kind of resistance. The violinist was stubborn and generally quite reluctant to overstep what he saw as his boundaries, but nevertheless she didn't have any other club leaders who she knew so well; she was certain anyone who didn't know her would dismiss the idea completely. Still, Luka didn't see reason to give up just yet. If nothing else, Gakupo had actually bothered to argue with her about Operation Letter-Writing Club, which was very likely a step up from most anybody else.
So, she didn't let this initial disagreement discourage her. She still had yet to bring out the big guns.
"What if I gave you Gumi's mailbox number?" Luka asked, lowering her voice.
Gakupo's questioning expression shattered. "Wha...What? Why would I want that?"
"You've been meaning to ask her out, right? I think it'd be sweet if you sent her something first."
The violinist glanced behind him at the green-haired girl sitting at one of the room's small tables, carefully brushing out a character with a deadly concentration.
"No, that wouldn't be right," he said, his cheeks visibly colored. "I'll just talk to her. It would be better that way."
"Doesn't she have a birthday coming up?" Luka asked knowingly. "I bet she'd just love to get a card from her senior."
"I'll... I'll just email her something."
"Really? I'm sure she'd appreciate an actual card a lot more..."
"Hold on," the violinist cut in. "All right. I know what you're trying to do here, Luka, and though I have to admit it is... tempting, despite an ethical qualm or two, your offering it does not change the fact that the plan you want my help with is still quite ludicrous."
"Maybe," Luka conceded. "But then, I guess it's fortunate that it isn't your plan. Like I said, all I need from you is the club room's address, absolutely nothing else. In the worst case scenario, I'd take whatever blame that got dished out."
"And if anyone ever questions how this room got used as a return address?"
"I'd just say that it was my idea, and that I did it without your knowing. Which I could have done, by the way. Really, the fact that I'm even trying to win you over on this should count for something, don't you think?"
"Well," the violinist murmured, "I suppose that's true. Though I don't especially appreciate your pointing it out."
"All I'm trying to say is that you can trust me on this. And besides," Luka added, "there's still that matter of surprising Gumi on her birthday."
Gakupo opened his mouth, then shut it, giving a quiet groan. "All right, fine. You can use this room for your little... Whatever it is you're doing."
Luka smiled. "Thanks, Gakupo. I knew I could count on you."
"But, if this girl you're writing to doesn't like this, I want to be able to count on your taking full responsibility for it, all right?" Gakupo said. "I'd prefer not to take any blame if something ends up going wrong."
"You'll get full amnesty from me," Luka replied. She wasn't afraid of anything going wrong, of course. All she could think about now was how surprised her teal-haired Four-Thirty Mail Girl was going to be when she opened up her mailbox tomorrow.
"Good." Gakupo glanced about the room a moment, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Out of curiosity, do you think it'd be too much to put a poem in a birthday card?"
Luka gave a sigh. Maybe the big guns were a bit too big.
The mail room was almost completely empty as Luka entered it, the middle-aged woman behind the counter its only occupant. That wasn't surprising, given that it was still so early in the morning. Right now, most students were either rushing to get to their first classes or still fast sleep, and anyone engaged in something else probably didn't consider checking their mail anything an immediate priority.
Swinging her backpack off a shoulder and in front of her, Luka pulled out the envelope she'd prepared, still unsealed in case she wanted to make any last-minute changes to the message it held. Such changes might very well be necessary, given the care that the letter had to be written with. If it felt too impersonal, it would just be a piece of junk mail that everyone got sent and that Miku would surely be glad to get rid of. Except, if it felt too intimate, Miku would probably be too nervous from the sudden closeness to actually enjoy having gotten a letter at all. It wasn't easy to strike a balance between the two extremes, but Lily had helped Luka come close, she hoped.
She took the letter out of its envelope and unfolded it, deciding to read it over one last time.
Dear Miku,
How are you? I'm writing to you on behalf of The Letter-Writing Club here on campus! As you might know, we're a fairly new organization, but we still hope to spread the joys of sending and receiving mail to students all over the conservatory.
So, I'd like for you to tell me a little about yourself! Write back to me about your major, what classes you're taking this semester, what you like to do in your spare time, anything at all! Remember, our goal is to get students involved in the postal system and to encourage handwritten means of communication, so anything you'd like to write back is fine. Receiving mail is part of the fun, of course, so I'll be glad to read anything you might choose to respond with. Also, please remember that confidentiality is very important to us, so anything in your reply won't be shared with anyone else without your explicit permission. Of course, if you'd prefer not to respond at all, that's fine too. We realize that students are quite busy, so don't feel pressured to take the time to write back if it doesn't interest you. I just hope you enjoyed getting a letter, and that you'll get the opportunity to write to your friends or family and spread the joys of mail.
Hope you have a good day!
- M. L., junior member of The Letter-Writing Club
Luka scrutinized over the text, but couldn't find anything she felt uncomfortable or unsure about. The message was formal enough to seem official, but there was still enough use of the singular first person to it lend a bit of familiarity. It also wasn't very pressuring in its language, she thought, which she hoped would make Miku see the good intentions with which it was composed. The only thing Luka wished she'd come up with something more creative for was the signature; the use of romaji felt especially mysterious in this letter, and though it gave a bit of identity to its writer, there was still enough obscurity in the pseudonym to possibly make it come off as too authoritarian, too masked. Luka had considered just coming up with a false name, one actually written in kanji, but ultimately decided against it. She was already dealing in some considerable dishonesty, and she didn't feel right only adding to the inconsistencies she was deaing out. The short of it was, western-style initials were the best option either Luka or Lily could come up with, and much to her chagrin, Luka wasn't struck by a better plan now. Still, on the whole it worked, more or less. It wasn't a perfect letter, but it would be good enough to get its job done.
So she hoped.
Luka replaced the paper into the envelope and sealed it shut, then said her goodbyes to the letter as she slid it into the intra-campus mail slot. As it disappeared down the metal chute, a bit of relief washed over her. The message was finally sent. But she knew this wasn't the end of things. Receiving was just as important as sending, after all, reading as vital to communication as composing. Luka was confident that Miku would take the letter well – if she wasn't then she wouldn't have mailed it at all – but there was still a bit of anxiety of rejection mixed in with her anticipation of a joyous look of surprise on the teal-haired girl's face.
Then there was the issue of getting a response. She had intended for there to be a second letter, as was clear in the composition of the first, since a reply would serve as considerable evidence of success in this adventure. It was one thing for the message to have been well received, but another entirely to know of that reception. And Luka wanted to be sure she'd done as she'd hoped: that Miku was glad to get this sort of surprise attention through the mail.
The pink-haired woman turned around and headed toward the doors out. In any case, for now, she'd done all she could do.
Now, she simply had to wait.
Tick-tock, the clock on the mail room wall sang, the tempo of its song a long, painful grave.
Luka stared at it intently, drumming her fingers on her desk as rapidly as possible, as if to conduct the troublesome timepiece to pick up the pace. All her past experiences of waiting in this room were failing her now, the silence of the place a weight in the air instead of the simple absence of labor. Her anxiety for what was about to come felt palpable, as if her worry could come to life and throttle her for ever bothering to mail that letter at all. She didn't regret taking up the plan, of course, but now that it was in motion she couldn't help but feel worried that its results would be less that what she'd hoped for. There was only so much in this scenario that she could control, and the possibilities she'd opened up were nerve-wracking.
The mail room was as quiet as snowfall, the air almost suffocating. Luka wished she'd installed a game or two on her phone to pass the time, to distract herself from the waiting now that she could no longer stand the looming quiet. If she would ever actually let herself stoop to playing with her phone while on her shift, that is. She decided to play her aria on loop in her head and began analyzing every single note in its melody, trying to decide how best to sing it after five o'clock finally hit.
Finally, the wooden doors at the far end of the room creaked open, and Luka glanced back at the clock to discover its longer hand pointing straight at the floor. It seemed the guest of honor had finally arrived, whether she knew her station or not.
Miku hastened into the mail room, her teal hear fluttering behind her in the rush of her motion, and immediately stopped in front of her mailbox. She reached far up to its knob and gave it a few quick turns, opening the door with a familiar click. She peaked up into it, seemingly about to slam the door back shut, but as she peered into the metal box her eyes suddenly went wide and her lips sank into the tinniest of puzzled frowns. Slowly, she reached inside and pulled out a single white envelope, closing the door as she lowered herself back down to the floor. For several long moments, she just stared at the front of the envelope, seemingly enamored by the very sight of it. She turned it over a few times, rotating it in her hands as if in disbelief. After another moment or two, she glanced up at Luka, her eyes two deep wells of confusion. Luka smiled back at her with as much cheerful friendliness as possible, hoping to hide her knowledge behind a facade of congratulations. The teal-haired girl gave a small smile in return and, just as hurriedly as she entered, left the mail room.
In the renewed silence, Luka stared awhile at the wooden double doors, as if by doing so she could see into the head of their opener. Miku had seemed surprised, certainly, but it was difficult to say what else. She mainly just radiated an incredible nervousness, one even stronger than usual.
Luka sighed. Or maybe she was just over thinking things. She hadn't gotten the look of joy she'd been hoping for, but the fact was, she couldn't really know the teal-haired girls' feelings on the matter until she got a response from her.
If she got a response from her.
She drummed her fingers on the desk again. It seemed her waiting wasn't over just yet.
Tick-tock, the clock continued to call out. Passively, Luka let its measurements fill the air.
The soft notes of brushes swiffing against paper rang about in the club room, its sparse occupants all hunched over their own little canvases as they each set ink in motion. Luka swept across her paper with a few short, final strokes, leaving behind the finishing marks on the character. She sat up straight and set her brush down, scrutinizing over the raven-streaked paper. The piece seemed off, somehow, like it was missing a crucial bit of focus in its lines. She couldn't bring herself to feel anywhere close to satisfied with it, the character looked so unprofessional. Not that that bothered her very much. If nothing else, drawing it had been good practice.
Gakupo, noticing the change in Luka's pose, walked over to her seat and peered over her shoulder at the paper on the desk.
"Is it any good?" Luka asked. "I think I rushed a few of the earlier strokes, and those made the later ones a little more sloppy."
The club president examined the ink strokes a moment. "It's not your best work, no, but 'sloppy' isn't the word I'd use. The main problem is that you're a little stuck between styles – see, your 'heart' radical looks quite cursive, but the rest is closer to standard script. I'd say to put a bit more feeling into it, but more importantly to make it more consistent."
"Ah, thanks," Luka said, giving a short laugh. "I've just been a little distracted lately, with everything that's been going on."
"I should think so," Gakupo said. "You have that recital tonight, don't you?"
"Seven o'clock," Luka replied. "I'll probably end up dashing out of here a little early to get some food beforehand, if that's okay."
"I'd prefer a bit more discipline in my members, but in this case, I think we can make an exception."
"I'll try to pretend you meant that as a joke," Luka said, rolling her eyes.
"And speaking of things that we wish were jokes..." Gakupo pulled an envelope out from his jacket and presented its front to Luka. "This arrived in the clubroom mailbox today. Since it's addressed to that imaginary 'Letter-Writing Club' of yours, I assume it's from that girl you've been hunting down."
Luka's eyes lit up and she snatched the letter out of Gakupo's hands. "She wrote back!" she whispered happily.
She tore open the top of the envelope, relishing in the satisfying crunches of the paper as it split into its jagged two edges. The opening of a letter was always a kind of anticipatory ceremony for her, a kind of wondrous suspense preceding the actual message, like unwrapping a gift on Christmas morning. She finally drew the letter out of the envelope, but paused in unfolding it.
"Do you mind?" she said to Gakupo, who was still staring over her shoulder.
"Well, don't you think I have a right to know what this girl wrote, too?" the violinist said. "What if she's telling you to back off, or if she's threatening to turn the president of your little club in? There's a very real chance I'll be affected by this."
"If you are, I'll let you know," Luka replied. "But this is still a personal letter, and I'd like a bit of privacy. Besides, I promised her I wouldn't tell anybody else what she wrote in here."
Gakupo sighed. "Fine, fine. I should be working on a new character now anyway."
He walked off to another corner of the room and Luka, now content to read the letter, unfolded it.
The first thing Luka noticed about the letter itself was just how cute the stationary was. The border around the message itself was a soft shade of pink, with a few pawprints scattered about and cartoon cat faces here and there and in the corners. The inside of the border, where the letter was written, was a faint bluish-white, with a few more cats rolling around on its surface. Luka couldn't help but grin as she saw the design. She'd always had a soft spot for cats, and it was somehow heartening to see that Miku apparently did too. Except, as she thought about it more, Luka found it a little strange that the teal-haired girl had stationary at all – if she hadn't received any letters all semester, it didn't really follow that she would have sent any, meaning having a stack of stationary around would be pointless. There was the possibility that she had ran out and bought some after receiving Luka's letter, or maybe that she'd just borrowed a sheet from someone. But there was also the chance that Miku had kept a stack of the papers with her all this past semester in hopes that she'd one day get a letter to write back to. Although that seemed unlikely, not to mention horribly tragic, what little Luka knew about the teal-haired girl almost made her inclined to believe it. Or at least more willing to believe it. The thought made her feel a lot better about going through with this plan, in any case.
She turned her attention to the letter itself.
Dear M. L., it read, apparently keeping the romaji of the previous note,
I'm well, thank you. How about you? I have to admit, I was pretty surprised to get your letter today (or yesterday... sorry, this probably won't get to you until the day after I write it!). I had no idea our conservatory has a Letter-Writing Club, but I'm really glad that you wrote me! None of my friends have heard of you though – are you planning on writing to them later, too?
Anyway, I think it's really cool that you're doing this, so sure, I'd be glad to tell you about myself! I'm a first-year student, and I'm studying voice. This semester I'm taking a composition class in addition to the core courses of the voice major, which has been pretty fun so far (even though I'm terrible at music theory!). Right now I'm in the cooking club and the literature club, but I'm looking at other ones, too. As for free time...well, I don't always have a lot of that, to be honest! But when I do, I just hang out with friends, watch movies, maybe read a book, that sort of thing. Although, I also really like photography, so sometimes I just walk around campus and try to find stuff to take a picture of. I know there's a photography club here, but I'm a little nervous about joining. I'm really just an amateur when it comes to taking photos (sometimes I'll even use my cellphone instead of an actual camera!), so I guess I'm worried about not being as good as the other members. Plus, I don't know much about the technical parts of it, so I'd be a little lost if people started talking about cameras and stuff. But maybe I'll join next semester, after I've gotten a bit better at it. Anyway, what about you? What do you like to do outside the Letter-Writing Club? Also, what's your major? If you're doing voice, maybe you can give me a few tips!
I'd just like to say again I'm really glad you sent this. I hope you get lots more letters in the future!
- Hatsune Miku
Luka looked up from the message, satisfied. From the very start, the letter had confirmed what she was most anxious about succeeding in: Miku was, in fact, glad to get mail. The thought elated Luka. She imagined the teal-haired girl rushing back to her dorm with the letter dearly clutched in her hand and then opening the envelope with an even greater excitement than Luka had approached this response with. Then she thought of the way Miku's eyes must have lit up as she saw the friendly, personalized tone with which the letter was composed, how a sunny grin must have spread across her lips as she realized she could find the joy of writing back to someone. The girl must have an adorable smile, Luka decided. There was something in her demeanor that demanded it.
And then, Luka's euphoria was washed away by a troubling revelation. In her response, Miku had asked almost as many questions as she'd answered. Luka had noticed them at first, yes, but she was too caught up in the giddiness that the warmth of the writing inspired in her to see their full implications. Miku expected a response of her own. She had no intentions, as Luka did, of letting the lines of communication fall apart so quickly.
Had she been writing under almost any other circumstances, this would've been cause for further joy for Luka. Not only had her partner in this written dance accepted her hand, she'd asked her to stick around for another song. It meant Luka could once again go through that satisfying process of composition, that there'd be another envelope for her to seal and send on its merry way. And it meant that Luka could once again receive that wonderful surprise of a new envelope, that she'd get to again tear open the thick paper and gorge herself on the message within. She wanted to keep writing Miku. She wanted to learn more about her, to feel as if she truly understood the teal-haired girl.
But Luka knew all too well how risky that was. With every letter "The Letter-Writing Club" sent out, the more opportunities for questions would arise. There could be more inconsistencies between what Luka claimed and reality. The lie would have to become more complex, more unwieldy, and that would only allow for more dents to show through.
It would mean Miku might find out the truth, sooner or later.
Luka took a deep breath and set the letter aside. Now would be an excellent time to redraw that character from before, she decided. She picked up her brush and lost herself in the thick raven lines with which she decorated the paper in front of her.
"It was terrible," Lily groaned out the moment the can of beer in her hand was off her lips. "You know what she said to me? 'Sorry Lily, but I think I like guys more after all.'" She slammed her bottle down on the floor. "Who the hell ever says that? Okay, I'm not sayin' I haven't gotten that before, but, you know, why? I mean, it's freakin' insane, is what it is! Show me one guy who can do what I did last night, just one. I'll bet you ten thousand yen you can't."
"Do you even have ten thousand yen?" Meiko asked dryly.
"Of course not! That's just how confident I am!" The blonde raised her can up to where it was almost vertical and took a few long gulps. "Really, she's the one who should be upset right now, not me. I mean, it's her loss, you know? She's the losing party here. All I lost was time and whatever that one six-pack of Sapporo cost." And another long gulp. "Even if she did have such great thighs. And breasts. Okay, pretty much everything in between, too, but it's not like this means the world's ending or anything."
Luka shook her head at the sight. It always seemed to fall out this way with Lily after a break-up, no matter who initiated it. In some ways, it was a response Luka could appreciate, despite the copious amounts of liquor involved. If nothing else, no one ever had to tip-toe around her love life in fear of bringing up the issue of estranged lovers, since Lily never gave anyone the chance to - she never needed an invitation or even a related topic to start bemoaning her newest loss. And after she'd started talking about it, she'd hit the bottle, hard. Of course, that only made her more vocal about the issue, leading her back to the comfort of alcohol, and on and on it went. She'd also write a deeply sorrowful haiku from time to time. Never an outright poem, nothing so long, just three lines of despair at the latest maiden with whom the blonde had parted ways. Of course, all this grief flew in the face of the considerably more lax attitude Lily normally took towards relationships, meaning it couldn't represent that deep a pain. Really, she was usually more angry than outright bereaved, but it still bothered Luka to see her roommate go through this as often as she did.
"Oh prickly first-year," the blonde called out lyrically, "gone from me now are those thighs, fragrant as this beer."
Not one of her better compositions, but then again the night was still young.
"Lily, maybe you shouldn't go after the girls who say they're just experimenting so much," Luka said. "If you want something that's long-standing, I mean."
"Hey, I never said I wanted it to be long-standin'," Lily slurred out. "Long-standin' means you're done with flings, you're anchored, you know? I'm young, I'm fit, all that good stuff – I mean, I can get variety, so why not? And anyway, variety's easier."
"Not on roommates," Meiko muttered.
"No, what gets me," Lily continued, apparently unperturbed, "is them not seein' it like I do. Them not takin' it anywhere close to seriously, I mean." She took another long swig from her bottle. "Like this girl. If she's just goin' back to guys, then that means I'm not 'the real thing' to her. I mean, sure, to me she was two dates and a romp in bed, but that's still more than whatever she's twisted this into. Hell, I'll bet you right now she's off trying to win over some guy by saying she did it with another girl. 'Cuz they'll do that, you know, I've seen it. They act like it's a show or something, like it's just to turn men on."
Luka frowned. This part was new, and considerably more troubling. Even Meiko looked concerned.
"Come on, Lily," Luka said, trying to reassure her. "Not all of them are like that. Maybe this girl still thinks well of you, but just realized she doesn't swing that way."
"Try gettin' dumped by half a dozen, then say that," Lily mumbled. She took another long gulp – Luka wondered just how much drink could possibly be in one can – then let out a loud sigh. "Sorry, I'm just a bit drunk and I'm ramblin'. You two oughta talk about something."
"Are you sure?" Luka asked, still concerned.
"Yeah, it's all right. I'll be fine, really. I bounce back, you know? Look to the future, not the past and all that."
"If you say so," Meiko said. "So Luka - did your Four-Thirty Mail Girl write you back?"
"Ah, that's right!" Lily cried out. "Yeah, that's still goin' on. How 'bout it, huh Luka?"
Luka lowered her head a little. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you two about that..."
"I knew it," Meiko groaned. "She was angry, wasn't she? I told you she wasn't going to take this well, Luka, we're talking about a random letter sent from some club no one's heard of and–"
"That's not it," Luka cut in. "She liked the letter, Meiko. She wrote back saying she was glad she got it."
Meiko's hung open for a moment, a word or two (of disbelief, her eyes told) dying malformed before she closed it again. "Ah. Well... That's surprising."
"I knew it!" Lily cried. "That's it, Luka, you're on your way now! You can bed 'er in no time, you'll see!" She clapped Luka hard on the shoulder, making her eyes go, as impossible as it seemed, a tad wider.
"Look, Lily," Meiko said, "I know you're a little... unbalanced right now, but I think we should lay off the whole 'Luka should date the Four-Thirty Mail Girl' teasing for a bit."
"Who's teasin'? Luka, she's cute, right? You never said if she was cute."
"That's really not the issue here," Luka said flatly.
"She's talking about the letter, not the girl," Meiko reiterated. "How cute she is isn't important."
"So you say," Lily scoffed. "Just because you're not interested in the good stuff doesn't mean it's not on Luka's mind."
"I'm sorry, 'the good stuff'?"
"Can we get back on topic, please?" Luka said, forcing down her bewilderment. "I was saying there's a problem with what she wrote back."
"And that it wasn't that she was mad," Meiko said.
"So, what was it, then?" Lily asked. "You said she was glad to get the letter. That sounds to me like everything went according to plan."
"Not exactly," Luka said. "See, when she wrote back, she sorta... well, she asked a lot of questions in her response."
"You mean questions like 'Who are you and how'd you get my mailbox number?'" Meiko asked.
"No Meiko, I already said she wasn't angry," Luka reiterated. "She asked... Okay, the thing is, I can't really tell you everything she asked, since I swore what she wrote would be confidential, but suffice to say she brought up more things to talk about."
Lily looked puzzled. "That seems pretty natural, doesn't it? I mean, somebody talks to you, you're probably gonna talk back a little."
"Except I think she wants me to write back another letter," Luka said. "And then she'll probably write another letter to me, and after that she'll probably want another response, and so on. It's almost like she wants to keep up some kind of correspondence."
"So?" Meiko asked. "You said you wanted to get to know her better. Isn't some kind of correspondence generally required for that?"
"Yeah, but..." Luka trailed off, struggling to find her protests. "But if I keep writing to her, don't you think she'll find out the truth, eventually?"
"If you keep it up, I guess," Lily said. "But c'mon, this is just one more letter. That's not gonna hurt anyone. Things don't hafta get like you said, you know."
"Besides, you ought to think about her feelings, Luka," Meiko chimed in. "She's clearly invested in you writing back, so what's the point in not?"
Luka stared at the brunette a moment. "Hold on," she said. "You're saying I should keep writing her? This girl I haven't even met, Meiko?"
"Well, I mean," Meiko stuttered, "now that you've actually gone and sent that first letter..."
"But I don't want to come off as a stalker or anything," Luka said slyly.
"All right, all right, I get it, you win," Meiko said. "Yes, Luka, you're not a stalker."
"Thank you," Luka said, grinning in satisfaction. It was a pretty rare thing to get Meiko to change her mind, especially when she thought her friends were doing something questionable. Luka had to stop herself from gloating more, but she was going to make sure to remember this.
"But anyway, like I was saying," Meiko resumed, "if you don't write back, she'll probably be disappointed, and I don't think that's what you want."
"No, it isn't," Luka conceded. "But if I write back, won't she just want another response?"
"I still don't see the problem," Lily said. "If you keep writin' her, won't that make an actual relationship, you know, more likely? I mean, you'll find out more about each other, see what you have in common, that sorta thing."
"But she won't know she's writing to me. She'll think she's still writing to M. L., junior member of the Letter-Writing Club. And if I suddenly reveal myself as the one behind it all, she'll know something's fishy, since I see her check her mail everyday. Eventually, she'll probably learn there wasn't any 'Letter-Writing Club' in the first place, and I doubt she'll want much to do with me then."
"That's exactly what I told you before," Meiko sighed. "But now that you're in this, you can't just back down at the first problem. Just write her back, but try to wrap things up in the letter. Don't do anything explicit, but try to politely bring the conversation to a close."
Luka thought a moment. "Well, I guess that makes sense. I just don't want to seem too cold with this, is the thing, and I'm worried at how to do it right."
"Hey, I can help you!" Lily chirped as she clapped Luka on the back. "I've got plenty of experience with turning people down! Well, then again, this'll be my first time doing it to a girl, but I doubt that'll be a problem."
"Sounds great!" Luka said, smiling. She held it a second until it slowly faded. "But, this can wait till tomorrow, right? There's still that test coming up, and... well, you know."
"It's fine as long as you don't talk about studying for the next half-hour or so," Lily said, cracking open another can of beer. She took a few long gulps and dramatically wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Now then, have I ever told you about this one girl in my composition class?"
Dear Miku,
Thanks so much for your response! I'm always glad to know someone enjoyed getting a letter from us, which of course is why I joined the Letter-Writing Club in the first place. To answer your question, though, we only write to students on our mailing list, since we realize not everyone on campus would appreciate a message from us. It's a bit strange you seem so surprised about getting this, then. I suppose your name and mailbox number somehow got here on accident, but at least that doesn't seem to be an issue for you.
I think it's fantastic you're pushing yourself to branch out like that. Your first year is a good time to look into some other areas of study that you might not have thought about before, and introductory composition is something that's useful for any musician. Don't worry too much about the theory, though – most people struggle with it at first, but it really does get easier once you get the basics down. It's good that you've looked into some clubs, too. They're a really great way to meet people and become better acclimated to the campus. I would encourage you to look more into the photography club, though. I'm sure that they want new members, and they're going to care a lot more about you being interested in photography than what technical knowledge you have. If there are things you ought to know about, I'm sure they'd be happy to teach you!
As for myself, I'm a voice major, too. That's why I understand what you're going through with music theory – often it doesn't feel as applicable for a singer as it might for an instrumentalist. Chord structure was something that took me a while to really get down, for example, since I've never really had to make use of it outside composition work. Anyway, I'd be happy to give you a few pointers! I suppose the main thing is just to practice every day, with warm-ups. I hope your instructor already tells you this, but it really is important. The more used to singing and vocalization you can make your voice, the better performer you'll be. Of course, you also need to keep you throat healthy, so if you're ever losing your voice or you're sick or anything, don't force yourself. You might get a bit more practicing done in the short run, but in the long run you'll just wear yourself thin. And don't worry, your instructors know this too – they'll be much happier with you if you just tell them that you're not feeling well than if you push yourself too much and make things harder as a result. Hope that helps!
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed hearing from us. Hearing back from our correspondents is the most satisfying part of this club, after all. We hope you continue to write more letters in the future! Write to old friends, family, current friends – mail is a fantastic way of brightening someone's day!
- M. L.
"Think that sounds all right?" Luka asked.
"It'll probably get the job done, sure," Lily replied. She winced and clutched the side of her head. "Sorry, I can't really think too hard about this right now."
Luka sighed. "I told you to drink some water, you know. You'd feel better now."
"I know, I know," Lily groaned. "It's just, water wasn't going to make me stop thinking about... Well, all that happened. With her."
Luka rolled her eyes. She'd ended up writing the letter entirely by herself this time, owing to the fact that her options for further input were either drunk Lily or hungover Lily. Experience had taught her neither was particularly helpful, but since Meiko still wanted as little to do with this as possible, Luka decided her best bet would be to get a second opinion from Lily in the morning. She'd hoped a brief critique of her work wouldn't be too much of a strain. Thinking back on the mountains of empties Lily had left in her wake, that hope seemed more than a little naïve right now.
Not that Luka was particularly frustrated at her roommate. It was hard to be, considering she'd have to go through classes like this. None of her voice instructors would appreciate another sudden absence, let alone on a Friday. It would reek far too much of starting the weekend early, as so many less responsible students were wont to do, and despite the impression she might give, Lily was too smart to not see the rather drastic repercussions of that.
"My head's not splitting open or anything, right?" the blonde asked.
"Not from what I can tell, no."
"Well, there's a comfort." She gave a half-smile, then reached into her pocket and knocked back an aspirin.
"So, this really seems fine to you?" Luka asked. "It's polite, but it still sends the right message, right?"
"I guess, sure," Lily said. "It sounds friendly enough to me, and you made your point just fine with that last bit there. Should be all right, I think."
"But, what if it doesn't get through? What if she writes back again?"
"Then you'll have another letter from her. We can worry about that when and if it actually happens." The blonde tilted her head back and vigorously rubbed her temples, shifting forward a bit as she put her hands back down. "Are you really this hung up about hearing from her again? I thought you wanted to know about her."
"I do," Luka said." But, the most important thing was giving her mail. I mean, I told you how happy she was in her letter. You remember that, right?"
"Mostly I remember a lot of cheap booze and a clock that wouldn't turn back two hours," Lily replied, "but yeah, I get it. Only, what I'm wondering is, wouldn't she be happier if she got more letters? And won't she be disappointed when they stop coming?"
"That's why I've got to pull the plug early, Lily," Luka said. "If this becomes a regular thing, she'll find out what's actually going on sooner or later, and that'll make things worse than before. I mean, wouldn't you feel kinda resentful if someone you thought you knew only first talked to you out of pity?
"I think that's kinda harsh. You wanted to do something nice for her, so you did, and she seems appreciative. I don't really see where this ill-will you're so worried about is supposed to come in."
"Well, she couldn't be very happy if she figures out this 'Letter-Writing Club' isn't real, right? Especially someone as timid as her. It could be unwanted attention, if seen all together."
Lily sighed. "Okay, fine, whatever. I don't really want to debate this right now."
"You're the one who brought it up," Luka pointed out.
"Well, I didn't think you'd argue back."
"Fair enough," Luka said. "So, you're sure this is fine?"
"I'm only sure that I've got drills boring holes in my skull, but I think it'll work okay, yeah."
Luka swallowed. "All right." She folded the letter and slid it into an envelope marked Campus Mail – 3724.
And so was readied another brave sailor, ready and able to ship off. Every hesitation from before still rang clear in Luka's head, but they were tempered now by logic and even a bit of trust – in herself, in what her friends had offered. She took a long breath. Every once in a while, things had to be left to chance, she reminded herself. The lack of control bothered her, but she knew she had to grit her teeth and go with it. If nothing else, she owed Miku the kindness to see this plan through to the end.
"Goddammit," Lily softly groaned. "I still have classes today..."
Tick-tock, the clock hanging on the mail room wall spoke in a slow, mechanical voice.
Luka barely noticed the sound as she heaved a box of books over onto the counter, pushing them towards the the student who'd finally come in to claim them. The box had sat with other, newer packages for about five days now, just barely within Crypton's time limit on package claims. And of course the guy who'd ordered them just had to come in on Luka's shift to actually pick them up. Not only that, but he'd done it so late that Luka had almost forgotten how heavy the box's contents were, or indeed that it had ever existed at all, which made lifting the thing all the more unpleasant.
"Here you go," Luka said as she took a step away from the counter, quickly recovering from the unexpected strain she'd undergone.
The student said a word of thanks, heaved the box up himself, then went off on his merry way out through the mail room's wooden double doors, staggering a little under the weight of the package. Luka briefly wondered just what kind of books the guy had ordered in the first place; it was too far into the semester to just write them off as textbooks, and even then a music student wouldn't need so many as to make the box they'd all arrive in heavy enough to make your arms scream. Maybe he was just an especially enthusiastic bookworm. A bookworm who only read encyclopedias the size of laptops.
She brushed the thoughts off. Some student who'd been late to claim a package wasn't who she was supposed to be wondering about.
As she'd considered all that had happened with Operation Letter-Writing Club so far, Luka started to feel somewhat content with the way things had fallen out. What Lily had said finally started to ring true: this was just one more letter. And even without much of her roommate's input, Luka was fairly confident that this one more letter would be able to do its duty. It was disappointing, in a way, to have to end this relationship so early, but then again Luka couldn't really say she'd actually carried on with Miku or anything. As fun as letters were, they didn't amount to an actual meeting or an actual conversation, and more importantly there were so much smoke-and-mirrors play involved with those letters that even the words they shared through post felt a little less than genuine. But still, the plan had succeeded; Luka had pleased her Four-Thirty Mail Girl once, and now they would both move on.
No wonder Lily approved of this plan so much.
The wooden doors began to groan a low creak, and a glance at the clock showed the awaited time had arrived. In walked the teal-haired girl, straight for her mailbox as usual, though maybe a bit slower than normal. She reached up, turned the dial, sounded the familiar click, swung open the door, raised herself a bit higher to peak inside. But then, suddenly, there it was: that very look Luka had waited for. As she looked into the mailbox, Miku's eyes glimmered for a mere second or two, her entire face brightened as she broke out into a small smile. It wasn't a wide grin, not the look of unbridled joy, more the smile of hearing birds sing again after a long winter, one far more genuine than the nervous, sideways glances Miku had obliged Luka with before. Even so far away from that expression, Luka couldn't help but grin at it, though she wiped the look off her face almost instantly for fear it'd be seen by its prompter.
Miku reached into her mailbox and slid out the single white envelope from inside, staring a few seconds at its front with a calmer reprint of that first smile on her face. Almost inadvertently, she broke off from the letter, her eyes again nervously greeting Luka's, and the pink-haired woman replied with the politest smile she could manage. The look of joy jolted a little from some bit of shock, Miku's gaze darting to the floor, to a nearby wall of mailboxes. With a less candid smile, she finally pushed the wooden doors back open and walked out.
And in the resulting silence, Luka found even more satisfaction at the way it all had worked out. The look of joyful surprise had finally come, even if it was a bit more subdued than she first imagined. It was a look that had cut straight through her, a look that had enveloped her like the heat of an autumn bonfire. Suddenly all the worrying she'd gone through the past couple of days felt worthwhile.
Only, she couldn't quite shake the anxiety of what might happen with another letter, what problems might arise if Miku went against this letter's intentions. It really would be better for everyone if this correspondence ended quickly, Luka was still certain. Fewer letters would mean fewer complications, and fewer complications meant more believability. Shorter would be easier, and in this case surely easier was healthier.
But, nothing more could be done by now. For the moment, Luka thought it best to shut up the worrisome little voices in her head.
Tick-tock, cooed the clock on the wall. Absentmindedly, Luka followed the soft clicks, wading in the calculated, predictable sound.
A/N: So, I'm very, very aware that this update was delayed far more than it should've been. I really don't have any excuse for that, but if it's any comfort, I can promise that the next chapter will come much, much sooner than this one did, and furthermore that this story will see completion. Trust me, I hate dropped fics just as much as you do.
