Previously
"The second one. I'm gay…" Eri said, smiling a bit. Mugi gave her a dreaming look, while Yui looked confused and Azusa scared. Mio had a poker face, but her heart started to beat faster. She looked again to Ritsu and caught her blushing, staring at Eri with her mouth half open. "You don't have prejudice, do you?"
Azusa and Ritsu denied with their heads. Yui still didn't understand, but gave an assuring smile at Eri. Mugi stared at Mio's blank expression, realizing how frightened she was inside.
"We never imagined… that's all…" Mugi explained, and Eri agreed.
"I'm used to it. All my life I've known I'm different… Not everybody understands what I feel." Silence filled the room, together with awkwardness. Everyone was visibly uncomfortable or thoughtful.
"Let's play gohan wa okazu!" Yui suggested with her air-head talents. Possibly to break the ice, the girls agreed and the music started.
4- The Drum Lessons
The music room calendar woke up with a new note on it. The selection of the cultural festival bands was going to start on the end of the month. Competitors should sign up until the end of the week. There would be one day, probably in two weeks, where all bands should perform to four judges. The five best would be chosen to play again, in two weeks, for the whole school (Mio trembled as she heard this) and so, in one month, three bands would be selected to play to students, fathers, and whoever they wanted to on the cultural festival. Mugi explained it to the girls as soon as they gathered at lunch.
"Then we have two weeks…" Azusa repeated.
"It's a small time…" Mugi said, concerned.
"We should practice at all our free time. We'll waste our weekends…" Mio said, trying not to feel nervous.
"Maybe we should do another summer camp!" Yui suggested.
"We have classes. And besides, we don't practice much on those camping anyways…" Mio turned her down.
"Then we shall give our best!" Ritsu said, standing up. She put extended her hand to the middle of the group "Who's going to play at the cultural festival?"
"Hokago Tea Time!" The other girls said, in different times and enthusiasms.
The weekends had finally approached again. Ritsu wanted to read her manga and watch T.V, but she found herself walking to the school entrance.
"Hurry Ritsu! We still have to stop a taxi cab" Mio said, with a sleepy Yui, an excited Azusa and a patient Mugi, all by her side.
They we're going to their high school Sakuragaoka to practice because the music room of college was always reserved for a band. There we're eight bands on the competition, and all of them wanted to practice on the weekend. With a call to Sawa-chan, they were able to get the light music club room available for practice for the next four weeks.
" Girls!" A voice called on the college grounds. Everyone looked. "Can I go with you?"
It was Eri, sounding tired of running to catch up with them.
"How did you know?" Mio asked, not sure if her voice was aggressive.
"Yui told me." She said, catching her breath. "You're gonna practice in your old school, right? Can I go with you?"
"Sure." Answered Azusa and Yui hugged Eri very tightly screaming: Eri-chan!
Ritsu noticed that immediately Mio started to ignore her again. She took a deep breath and felt tired. Another strange day was on its way…
As soon as they arrived Sakuragaokas ground, Sawako Yamanaka came to greet them.
"Couldn't stay away from me, could you, girls?" She bragged as everyone passed by her. She noticed a short haired blond "Who are you?"
"I'm Eri Shinozaki. You must be Sawa-chan…The high school professor of hokago tea time" She introduced, not being scared of being so intimate (because of the chan) with the women.
"And adviser of the light music club" Sawako added, happily, as they walked to the school music room, on the third floor. "By the way, I'm Sawako, and the girls developed a strong bond with me. If the girls are anything now, I guess it's because of me…"
"You didn't help that much…" Azusa accused.
"Who taught Yui to sing and play at the same time?"
"You left her voiceless. We couldn't use her that festival…" Mio remember, feeling shame for those events.
"Who gave you girls cute outfits?" She tried again.
"We never asked for them. And even you agreed that it was better when we used our school uniforms…" Ritsu said.
"You girls wouldn't open the light music club without me…" Sawako said, now being aggressive. Eri looked a bit surprised, as if she didn't know that the beautiful women could be violent.
"In that, I agree…" Mio said, giving shoulders up.
"That's right!" Sawa-chan celebrated. "I'm very important for the band. Indispensable, I would say"
Mio, Ritsu and Azusa looked at each other disapproving. Mugi and Yui didn't care.
"Are you a new member of the band, or something?" Sawako asked, noticing the girls denial in her brag. How ungrateful, she thought.
"No. I'm just a fan" She explained. "I'm a freshman at college and I approached myself to the band."
"Oh, so you were friends with Azusa? Cause she is also a freshman…" Sawa-chan deduced, as they got to the music room door.
"Actually, Ritsu." Eri said. "It's a long story…"
Actually, it wasn't. But finally they entered the old club room and their talk didn't matter anymore. Mio, Ritsu, Azusa, Mugi and Yui got excited to see their old practice room exactly as they left it. Nostalgia hit them and they got into a state of daydreaming.
"And it's only because of me that you are allowed to practice here…" Sawa-chan added, noticing the girls excitement. "I persuaded the director to let you girls in if I came along…"
"Thanks Sawa-chan!" Yui said, extremely glad. All the girls looked pleased at the teacher.
"You're welcome. I like to see the band exceed." She said, sitting on her usual chair, on the table end. "Now, Mugi…"
"Yes, Sawa-chan…" The girl answered, and everyone thought she was going to give a helpful advice. Even Eri.
"I would like a delicious tea of yours. I brought earlier a cake. It's in the closet. Serve it for us, please" She relaxed on the chair, smiling satisfied.
"You only wanted to eat, Sawa-chan?" Azusa inquired, getting angry at the lazy professor. "That's why you're here, right?"
"I thought that that's why we are all here" She answered sincerely.
"No one came here for that! We are really here to pract…" While Azusa was speaking she noticed Yui and Ritsu taking their place at the table.
"I'm hungry." Ritsu explained. Yui nodded, making a sad face.
"We can't have lunch!" Azusa confronted. "Me, Mio and Mugi aren't gonna move, right?"
She looked behind her and only saw Mio, with a very miserable face. "Where's Mugi?"
"Tea is almost ready." Mugi's voice was heard, from in the room. Azusa tasted defeat in her mouth as she heard those words. Eri pushed a chair from the closet to sit next to Ritsu. Mio
and Azusa sat, disappointed, on their usual places. After a while they were drinking tea and eating Sawa-chan's cake. The teacher, by her expressions, was in heaven. She probably missed those afternoons a lot.
"Eri-chan, you could be the mascot." Sawa-chan said, as she finished her lunch. "You're really cute for that"
"We're not a sport team" Ritsu said, bored.
"I can already imagine all types of cute outfits you could wear" She completed. Her eyes glowed dangerously.
"We know you imagine" Ritsu accused. "But it's not going to happen."
"A maid outfit or cat ears? I can't decide which one will look better…" Sawa-chan said as her thin hands approached Eri's face. A rape expression shinned on the old women's face. Eri seemed a little surprised, but not scared.
"Don't, Sawa-chan." Ritsu warned, smacking the teacher's hands. Sawa-chan got them back defensively, looking annoyed at Ritsu.
"Perhaps cat ears…" Sawa-chan said, not giving up her pedophile glares at Eri.
"So, let's play?" Azusa asked, noticing certain awkwardness around the table. Everyone agreed.
Three songs were played repeatedly, all with huge mistakes. By the time Yui simply sat down, letting the tiredness fulfill her, everybody was already fed up.
"We can't perform like this…" Mio assumed, nervously. "We were awful"
"You need to improve…" Sawa-chan said, looking at the girls like a mentor.
"Improve what?" Yui asked, from the floor. Her heavy Guita on her lap.
"Improve everything!" Sawa-chan stated and the girls let out a moan.
"We know that!" Azusa said. "How are we gonna improve in two weeks?"
"Maybe we need Mugi to buy the cake, not Sawa-chan…" Yui suggested, moving slowly towards the table. There was still cake there.
"Yui! Cake is not the problem!" Azusa shot, making Yui stagnate where she was.
"We have to practice more. Even alone." Mugi said, also with a sad face. "We have been so worried about college that we didn't practice much, did we? For an amateur presentation, it's ok, but we'll never play at the college festival like this…"
"True. Then let's practice more" Azusa said, trying to make a tired Yui stand again.
"We're tired Azusa! Let us rest for a while…" Ritsu said, making a pitiful face.
"Fine…Five minutes break." Azusa conceded, and Yui dashed to the table. Mugi started to make more tea. Sawako seemed pleased and gradually Mio and Azusa sat on the table too, both with worried expressions. Ritsu, too tired to get up, simply let her head fall back and took a deep breath.
"Want a piece of cake?" Eri asked, standing by Ritsu's side with a plate. The drummer startled as she didn't hear Eri approach her.
"Yes, please." And Eri filled a fork with cake and took it to the girl's mouth. Ritsu was expecting Eri to give her the plate, but accepted the girl's offer as well.
"Is it good?" Eri asked, mother-like.
"Yep. It's delicious." Ritsu smiled, still chewing.
"Want me to get some tea for you?"
"No. I'm fine. Thanks"
Ritsu noticed Eri making another fork of cake and waiting patiently for Ritsu to finish.
"Hum… So, have you ever drummed?" Ritsu asked, trying to start a conversation.
"No, but it looks wonderful." Eri said, looking at the instrument.
"Want to try?" Ritsu asked, standing. Eri looked surprised.
"I can't. I don't know a thing about drums…" Eri excused and Ritsu shook her head.
"Nonsense. I also didn't know a thing before I started." And she pointed Eri take her seat. Eri gave the plate to Ritsu and sat down. Ritsu put the plate on the floor. On the table, the girls
seemed to be chatting excitedly. Mio, however, kept looking at Ritsu and Eri. Mugi also gave some glimpses.
"Hold the drumstick." Ritsu said, handing them. Eri held them tightly. "Not like that…"
Ritsu held one and showed to Eri.
"Hold like tweezers. Only with your thumb and forefinger" The girl obeyed. "Now, you set your three fingers lightly on the drumstick. Try to move the drumstick only by the movement of these three loose fingers, not with your wrist."
"I always thought it was with the wrists…" Eri said, amazed at what Ritsu taught her.
"Everyone thinks that… We eventually use the wrists, but the fingers in synchronism do the hard work." Ritsu said prudently, fancying the attention. "Now place the drumstick on the drums."
Eri just leaned the drumsticks towards the instrument and Ritsu laughed.
"What? Where did I go wrong?" Eri asked, smiling as she saw the drummer's happiness.
"You have to cross your arms" Ritsu said. "If you are right handed, that is…"
"I am." Eri said, crossing her arms foolishly. "Like this?"
Ritsu decided to try a new way to explain and got behind Eri. She put her hands on her wrists and crossed her arms correctly, putting her right hand next to the hi-hat and her left next to the snare drum.
"Your foot has to be on the pedal." She said, putting her hand on Eri's knee and showing her the bass drum. "Now, let's play a simple rock melody"
"Already?" Eri asked, stunned. She leaned back to see Ritsu.
"It's easy." Ritsu explained, putting her face next to Eri so she could see her assuring smile.
"You're going to play the rhythm with the hi-hat. Doing like this…1,2,3,4.1,2,3,4. Can you do that?" And Eri continued the beat, carefully. "You better count it loud or in your head. Always 1,2,3,4."
Eri did that for a while, counting audibly. Ritsu put her hand on the girl's knee. "Always on one, you will play the bass drum. Like this…One…One" And she played the bass drum with the hi-hat. "On three, you will play the snare drum…"
"Wait…" Eri said, apprehensively. "I can't do that on this speed. Can I slow down?"
"Of course. Do it as you wish" And Ritsu left the girl to do it on her own. She did it slowly.
"One…" And she did the bass drum and the hi-hat.
"Two…" Just the hi-hat.
"Three…"Hi-hat and snare drum.
"Four…" Only hi-hat.
"One…" And bit by bit, she gradually got better and faster.
"Wow! I'm playing the drum!" She celebrated, as she already did it without counting. "It's fun!"
"That's incredible!" Ritsu praised. All the girls chatting on the table stopped to look and applause Eri.
"Now, you only have to learn this…" And she caught Eri's wrist again and moved them rapidly along the drums, beating the cymbals and toms with passion. Eri gasped as the sound got loud, but laughed as Ritsu let her go. Drums weren't that easy. She hadn't learned anything yet.
"It wasn't good because I couldn't play the bass drum with it…" Ritsu excused her solo, nervous.
"Ritsu, this was perfect!" Eri exclaimed, standing up. "Thank you for this wonderful lesson!"
And before Ritsu could even say anything, the girl jumped on Ritsu's arms and pressed her tightly.
"Yo..You're welcome" She managed to say, feeling the beautiful girl constrained against her. Ritsu tried to keep her eyes down, trying not to look at the girls on the table. She knew they were paying attention since Eri started playing. She could feel Mio's mad eyes at them, even though she didn't see it.
Finally, Eri let go of her. Ritsu started breathing again, feeling her heart slow a bit. She hadn't even noticed, but she was blushing furiously.
"You are like an angel…what can I do to pay your kindness?" Eri asked, laying her hands on Ritsu's shoulders. They were inches apart and it looked like Eri didn't care about anything but that moment.
"Oh, you don't owe me anything…" Ritsu started, being cut off by Eri's sweet voice.
"You are giving me the best times… I'm having fun every day I spend with you…" Eri said, making Ritsu blush again. Ritsu started scratching the back of her head, feeling embarrassed and flattered.
"I didn't…I don't…."
"I think I know what to do…" Eri almost whispered and Ritsu caught Eri's eyes closing and leaning in. After that, she felt something soft and wet on her lips, pressing them tenderly. Ritsu dropped her hands immediately, letting her shoulder down. She closed her eyes on instinct, feeling hands pass gently on her hair and press her tighter in the kiss. She didn't know what to do with her hands. Should she push the girl away? Or should she pull her in? Her heart was impatient. Before she could even react, she heard a loud sound echo in the room followed by fast footsteps. The door was opened energetically and left open.
Eri separated their lips, alarmed by the sudden sound.
"What was that?" Eri asked the girls behind her. No one answered. No one needed to. Ritsu could perfectly see a chair on the floor, pushed vigorously moments ago. One girl was missing. One girl wasn't with them anymore. Ritsu felt her head spin as she noticed that it was her best friend. Mio wasn't there anymore. She couldn't stand what she saw.
A/N: I have been so busy this past week. And next week will be even worse. But I will update the next chapter soon. Deadline: One week.
Sorry for the BIG CHAPTER!
I'm wondering if I shouldn't rate this drama/friendship/romance...
So, this chapter has some logic problems. Technically, the girls got a taxi cab that fits five college girls with safety. And Mugi's stuff to make tea is still in the room, and I have no idea where she makes it… Also, Ritsu explains that drumsticks are moved by fingers, and that is true. It's not as hard as to move a guitar or piano finger, but it's accurate. Let's just guess that when she says that she hates finger instruments, in the anime, she doesn't consider her movements to be finger-like, since they are in synchronism…
Thanks for all the reviews! I truly appreciate them! I wish you all a nice weekend!
