II
The clock on the little bedside table was showing 10 AM, which meant that she woke up almost one hour later than planned, as was to be expected, since she forgot to set it last night. After some stretching, she got up and opened the window.
Considering the coming heat of a summer day, though, she thought it would be best to close it later, and turn on the air conditioning for a while. Lisa was a bit tired after staying up late yesterday, trying out a bunch of new recipes from a newfound book. She felt that she could've afforded that, since she already had most of the university assignment done, which she deliberately tried to get over and done with quickly, to take it easy for the rest of the summer break.
Taking it easy part, however, might've escaped her after a girl from the café, where she worked to cover part of the university expenses, recently called with jarring news. She was forced to quit her job temporarily over family concerns. Lisa was now supposed to take some shifts handling all the tables on her own. It was to stay like this until the owner found somebody to help Lisa, or her colleague returned to work.
She did have extra time on her hands currently, but she was waiting to meet with other band members, all of which she hasn't been seeing much outside of band practice. Suffice to say that Roselia was active, but the girls now had various circumstances of their own and they had to cut down severely on the sessions. It was a success already if they managed to meet and play together once a week.
Outside of training, only Yukina and Sayo could always talk in person whenever they wanted to. They were both admitted to Kunitachi College, so they frequently saw each other at the campus or around the place. Rinko chose a different route and took exams to the Tokyo University of the Arts, where she was currently doing very well. Ako was the only one to join the workforce, after failing the entrance exams to the same university as her best friend.
Lisa wanted to somehow make it possible for them to meet more often. It was already very difficult for all five of them to arrange time for Roselia on the same day, so something like this might've very well been impossible, but it was just what Lisa was always trying to accomplish. She had a shift only later on that day, so she started preparing a healthy breakfast, but soon a phone call interrupted her. Bassist was surprised to see who was calling.
"Hey, Yukina, I didn't quite expect to get a call from you first thing in the morning." She said with joy. The surprise was a welcome one.
"First thing in the morning? Did you just get up?" Snarky response was to be expected here.
"You nailed it, but it's summer break, so forgive me!" Lisa sniggered at the start.
"I actually forgot to set up the clock last night. So, you have something you wanted to talk about?" She was genuinely curious what the reason might be.
"I was thinking about how you asked me to help at your part-time job the other day and… I think I can do that, I already finished my research for university classes and have the time." She came across as slightly embarrassed.
"Ah, but Yukina, won't you be busy with your own job? I was sure you told me you'll be working in that music shop." She was happy to hear it, but also worried.
"I will be, but I arranged it with the manager so that I will be going there on days when you probably wouldn't need my help anyway," vocalist responded quickly.
"For example, maybe I can help you on Fridays, you'd have it the toughest just before the weekend, no?" There was some bashfulness in Yukina's voice.
"I see, but… weren't you against it back then? I remember you saying it wasn't something for you." Bassist was teasing a little.
"Do you want me to help you or not? It might not be something I'm used to, but with some practice I should be able to do it." That was like her, in a way, but Lisa was a bit taken aback.
"Of course I want you to help out! Don't get so upset, I'm sure you'll grasp it in no time with your dedication to the task at hand." Patching things up quickly was her forte.
"Thank you. I still have to talk to the café owner, since he must accept my application. Would that be okay for me to call directly?" Yukina got straight to the point.
"Well… I think I'll say that I have someone to fill in for the time being and explain everything. We'll get to details, but probably if you'll be there an hour before the shift starts, it'll be fine." Referring someone she knew made gyaru certain about the outcome.
"No worries, I'll introduce you and tell you when you start." Lisa was getting more excited about the turn of events.
"Ah, alright, I guess that's fine too. I just thought I wanted to take care of things, but you ended up taking care of it instead. I know you're busy nowadays so I hoped to… make it easier for you." Yukina sounded different from usual.
"Hey, I'm already super excited that I get to work with you in a café. I was sure that you wouldn't agree, so I'm really, really glad that you took me up on this in the end." She said almost instantly.
"You sure are the same as always. Hopefully everything will work out and I'm not going to end up holding you back there." Said in a bit more relaxed tone.
She managed to convince Yukina it was alright, and would ease her way into a new job. It was not supposed to be that much hassle one way or the other. Lisa was very enthusiastic about it, and the fact that it was an unexpected call made it even better.
This totally made my day — to think she would actually go for it! I wonder if she chose the timing specifically because of something, though. It's not very like her to just start doing things on impulse.
Lisa didn't dwell over possibilities for long, however, but instead finished preparing the breakfast in high spirits. She wrote about Yukina's call to her friend from work, Natsu, so she wouldn't feel pressured into getting back as quickly as possible. They only got to know each other at the café, but Lisa knew that it was an emergency, and that she felt responsible for leaving the owner short-handed.
She got a reply from Natsu, saying she's happy with the development, but still wishes to resolve her matters soon to get back. Lisa understood very well what she meant. After the meal she made plans to have an online lesson with a guitarist she's gotten to know on the internet, something that she started doing not too long ago to try to get her overall technique to a higher level.
Lisa also saw this as an opportunity to create more possibilities for herself, just in case she would have trouble finding work after graduating from university. She was setting things up, but her phone distracted her again with a text sound. This time it wasn't Yukina, but, even more surprisingly, Rinko. The message just asked if Lisa read an article of some kind and gave a link to the preview.
Intrigued, as this must've been something out of the ordinary, considering Roselia's keyboardist wasn't the kind of girl to send out random links to friends, she tapped on it. The article summarized the recent performance of their band and included an overview of their style, as well as their recent activity. It started off with praises, describing their live as "stunning, polished performance", but the tone changed in the later part.
The columnist emphasized lack of new ideas and a general stagnation, even with a chance of the band simply breaking up. The sensation she felt while reading it was akin to feeling a thorn sticking right under the fingernail. To be fair, it wasn't bashing. You could come up with nastier words and overall tone — Lisa realized that.
It was just that a certain part of the article resonated with what she's begun to feel recently. Roselia might be fading away as they take on all the various tasks and new paths. It was inevitable. Of course nobody is just going to dedicate themselves solely to the band and do nothing else, now are they?
There was a time in the past when Yukina would say the opposite. She did request that of us! And now, aren't we five musicians again, rather than a band?
She stopped herself right before her thoughts would get into a spiral of negativity. Lisa didn't want something insignificant to overwhelm her and make her imagine problems that didn't really exist. That was a single article, hence a single opinion, most probably. It did sprung to her mind, though, that Rinko must've also felt worried, which was why she sent her the link.
She wrote her back exactly the same thing she just used to calm herself down — it's just a one text by one person. That being said, something stuck to her, and she wasn't as overjoyed as right after hearing Yukina agree to a part-time job offer. She cleaned the apartment up a bit and prepared for a scheduled lesson.
It wasn't an in-person tutoring session, but even with a webcam it was still worthwhile, since she was always learning some little details. Lisa used her ability to get along with others quickly to build bonds, so that she could later on teach others as well. The session ran a tad late so she had to hurry to make it for her afternoon shift at the café. As she arrived, the thoughts swarming in before seemingly cleared up, and she began to think of how it's going to feel like working there with Yukina.