Chapter 6
I can't believe what I got myself into. Now I actually have to get up onstage and sing in front of people at the culture festival! Maybe I'm trying to prove to Sakura that I can actually do something, but what if I screw up?
Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. After I got my food, I was walking to find an empty table when I heard "Ayumu-san, over here!" I looked to my left and saw this girl I recognized from history class. She had straight chin-length black hair and blue-green eyes. She was really pretty. I walked over to her table and sat down.
"Hi." I said to her shyly.
"Hi, Ayumu-san." she said back.
"You're in my homeroom, right?" I asked her.
"Yeah. My name's Hiromi." she responded.
Ryouta came and sat down next to me.
"Ryouta, this is Hiromi." I said.
"I know. She's my sister." he replied.
"Really? I had no idea you had a sister!" I said surprised.
"We're actually fraternal twins." Hiromi said.
"Really?" I asked, my jaw dropping. I can't believe Ryouta has a twin!
"I was born first!" Ryouta mentioned. Hiromi threw a small handful of rice at Ryouta.
"Ack! Hey! And that was for?" he asked.
"Does it matter who was born first?" she said, glaring at him. She must have some sort of complex about being younger...
I looked at Hiromi and then at Ryouta. They actually looked like twins! They had similar facial features and black hair. The only difference I noticed was that Hiromi's eyes were bluer while Ryouta's were greener.
"I never would've thought that you would want get up onstage and sing at the culture festival, Ayumu-san!" Hiromi exclaimed.
"You're singing, Kasuga-san?" Ryouta asked. He wasn't in my homeroom class.
"Yes. I'm a little nervous about it, though. Knowing me, I could totally blank out onstage!" I said.
"You know if you're that nervous about it, you could back out." Hiromi suggested.
"No. There's no way I'm backing down." I said with a determined look on my face.
"I've never seen you look so determined, Kasuga-san!" Ryouta said.
I looked down and smiled. Then I looked over my right shoulder. Across the cafeteria I could see Sakura standing with a tray of food in her hands, shooting me a look that conveyed that she was epically pissed at me. I immediately turned away.
"You okay, Ayumu?" Hiromi asked.
"Hm? Oh yeah, I'm fine." I replied, smiling.
"So do you know what you're going to sing yet?" Ryouta asked, slurping a soba noodle.
I thought for a moment, then answered. "I'm thinking 'Pride' by Ayumi Hamasaki."
"That's a really beautiful song! She's my favorite singer, Ayumi Hamasaki!" Hiromi said.
"Yeah. I'm just worried about forgetting the words." I said nervously.
"That's totally normal. Hey, if you want, I could help you prepare for it. We could get together sometime!" Hiromi suggested.
She reached into her book bag and got out a small piece of paper and a red pen. She scribbled something on it, then handed it to me.
"That's my cell number, and below it is my home number. Give me a call sometime, okay? Oh, only if you want to, that is." she said.
"I'll call you. Thanks!" I replied.
I was silent the rest of the period. Ryouta went on eating his soba while he and Hiromi were talking about something. Me, I had detached myself from reality and started thinking about the upcoming festival. Today's Friday, and the festival is on Tuesday. I'm leaving in only five days.
Hang on. Today's Friday?
That means tomorrow's Saturday.
The day Ryouta is supposed to go out with Sakura.
But he doesn't have her number.
Because I ripped it up...
Sakura's gonna kill me...