I feel so bad for making this chapter so short! I'm really sorry :( I hope you still like it!
I DO NO OWN LA CORDA D ORO!
I left my house this morning happier than usual. My talk with Rui-onichan last night made me feel a lot better.
On my way to Seiso, I found Kaho-chan walking the on the same direction. She was really concentrated reading some flyer.
"Kaho-chan, wait up!" I called as I jogged to catch up with her.
"Good morning, Aika-chan. You seem lively today." She greeted back.
"I am! After you left yesterday..." and I told her the whole story.
"That's so great, Aika-chan! I'm sure your father would be very pleased."
"I hope so." I said, "By the way, what is that paper you were reading just now?"
"Oh this?" She handed me the paper. "It's the school's annual music festival notification."
"Really? I've never heard about it before." I read the paper carefully. "This looks pretty amazing."
"It is. Seiso Acedemy's festival is kind of a big deal. Since many famous musicians' kids attend to our school, it is a pretty important event." she explained.
"Wait, if this is meant for the musical department, does that means our department does not take a part of this? I asked. That didn't seem fair at all.
"It does take part, but only the relations council, though."
"What is the 'relations council'?" I asked again.
"Well, our school does not have a regular student council, instead, it has the R.C.. This council is in charge of the interaction between two departments. Since the music department is usually too busy practicing for future competitions and such, this council is in charge of the preparation of every event."
"So the musical department just gets others to do all the work for them?"
"The R.C. is really selective, as well. Only the top students of the general department are selected to join. In fact, today the school will announce who made it into the council."
This school is so weird. It's almost as if the general department worked for the music one. Well, if it were for the sake of a good musical performance, I wouldn't mind doing it...
"Good morning, senpais..." I heard from behind.
"Oh, Shimizu-kun. Good morning!" Greeted Kaho-chan. I did the same. "How are the preparations for the festival?"
"They are okay, I guess..." he answered. Then an awkward silence.
"Well, we better go to class now, Shimizu-kun. We'll see you later." Then we headed to class.
"Okay everyone. Here are the results of the new relations council of this year."
Everyone in the classroom groaned and sighted.
"Why do we even have to work for them?"
"They shouldn't even bother to announce the members. Only seniors get selected."
"Man, I hope I got in this year..."
Sensei opened the envelope and gave a surprised gasp.
"Looks like the president of the council is someone from this class!" Announced the excited sensei. "Congratulations, Hoshino Aika-san!"
WHAT? WAIT...
"Congratulations, Aika-chan!" said one of my classmates.
This isn't happening.
"You have the highest grades in our department? That's so cool!" cheered another.
O God, it is happening.
"Good luck, Hoshino-san!" And the congratulations went on and on.
But I don't have time for this! I have work and school and...
"You are the president of the R.C., Aika-chan! That is so amazing!" Kaho-chan hugged me, "I never knew you had the top scores!"
"Neither did I..." I muttered. I really didn't! I never checked up my test result since they usually turned out pretty good.
"Did you say something?" asked Kaho-chan.
"Not really..." Then I slumped my head on my desk and prayed for this day to end as quickly as possible.
"Why are you so upset? Once you are in the council you will be excused from all major tests and homework. That way you won't have to worry about work and school at the same time." Kaho-chan tried to comfort me while we walked out from the class.
"That's not it." I sulked. "Why do I have to get involved in something related to music again?"
"Maybe you are meant to. Oh God! I booked a practice room got today and I'm running late. See you tomorrow, Aika-chan!" Then she ran to the opposite direction.
When I got home, things didn't get any better.
"Aika! I'm so proud of you!" Rui-onichan ran to hug me. "You made it into the council! Seems like once again you have the highest scores."
"I think I'll turn down the position." I admitted.
"What? Why?" Asked oni-chan bewildered.
"Because I have the store to take care of! And you know the other reason,"
"You don't have to worry about the store! Tomorrow I'm going on a trip to Europe to study new merchandise possibilities. That means that for a whole month the store will be closed." He said as he showed me his plain ticket.
"YOU ARE LEAVING FOR A MONTH? When were you planning to tell me about this?" I was shocked that he didn't tell be before.
"Because I wasn't sure if I should leave you alone. But now you have a festival to plan, so you'll be really busy. I won't let you turn it down."
"But..." I tried to fight back.
"No buts!" Then he left to resume his packing.
Life just sucks sometimes. And the worst part was that I was actually looking forward to it. Fine, I'll do it. But just because I won't have anything better to do.
Who am I kidding? I wanted this really bad.
My brother left first thing in the morning just like he said he would. It turned out that the house felt pretty lonely without him. I had to prepare my own breakfast and do the morning house chores by myself. Then headed out for school.
"Hoshino-san," Called my homeroom teacher. "Today you have a meeting with the school's last year's concourse participants. The headmaster asked for them to do a performance as the main event of the festival, so you are in charge of preparations. The rest of the council members were all assigned different tasks, so you'll be going by yourself. Good luck!"
"I'll do my best." I smiled nervously. I have never done this kind of thing before! What was I supposed to do? I'm so nervous now...
And now that I think about it, I haven't even gotten the chance of talking to Tsukimori-kun about what happened back then. I really don't think he will tell anyone about the song I wrote. Oh that's right! I finally got to finish it the past few days, but I kinda forgot to give it to Hino-chan. I really hope she likes it.
Okay, focus! I have a concert to plan! Now what should I be doing first? Seating charts, decoration, or maybe getting the stage ready? I think I'll begin by-
SMACK!
"Damn it!" I cursed while rubbing my forehead. Apparently, I just managed to walk straight to a wall and not even notice. I felt drops of warm liquid running down my face. Am I bleeding?
"Hoshino? What are you doing staring at that wall?"
"Tsuchiura-kun!" He was dressed in a soccer uniform and had a muddy ball under his arm. "Wow! You are bleeding!" he gasped.
"Well, yeah. I kinda ran into this wall."
"How do you even run into a wall? Never mind that. Let's go to the infirmary." he held my wrist and began dragging me towards the school building.
"I-It's fine! Really!" I tried to resists, but it was like trying to stop a bulldozer.
"No, it's no. This kind of wounds have to be treated or otherwise they could get infected." he scolded.
"Okay, but, um, could you let go of my hand?" I said in a low voice. I could feel my face getting hotter.
"Ack!" He let go as soon as he realized. "Sorry about that." He scratched his head and averted his eyes. I couldn't help but giggle.
The nurse was nowhere to found at the infirmary, so I just cleaned the wound with a damp cloth and covered it with a band-aid.
"All set, Tsuchiura-kun! Sorry for the trouble." I apologized.
"Don't sweat over it." He chuckled. He looks kind of cute when he is embarrassed. "Hey, Hoshino, I heard you were elected as the R.C. president. Congratulations!"
"Thanks..." I murmured.
"You don't seem too happy about it. Is it because of all the work? I heard we are having a meeting after school."
"Shoot!" I had forgotten completely about the meeting. "I have to go now. I still have a ton of things to prepare! Sorry, Tsuchiura-kun, and thank you!" and I bolted out of the room, leaving the guy sitting alone with a confuse look in his face.
That afternoon, when I got to the room appointed for the meeting, the only one there was Hino-chan. Oh, right. She was one of the participants.
"Looks like we are a little early." yawned Hino-chan.
"Seems like it." Then I remembered something important. "Hey, I finally finished my last composition!" I took the scores out of my bag and handed them to Hino, who was already standing next to me.
"Let me see! Let me see!" She jumped in excitement. After looking at it for a while, Hino-chan muttered, "I really want to try playing it..."
"Go ahead. I wrote it for you after all. It's not that hard either." I smiled, a little proud of my work.
But Hino-chan just stared at me for a moment. Her eyes looked watery and a smile appeared on her lips. "I can't believe you wrote a song for me. That's really, I mean..." It was funny to see Hino-chan at lost of words.
"Don't worry about it. You gave me something better."
"Thank you, Aika-chan, I'm really glad that my good friend is a composer." She gave me her best smile.
"Who is a composer?" asked someone from behind.
Oh God. No, please. No, no, no. When I finally gathered the courage to turn around, everyone was standing by the door with shocked expressions.
"Is that true, Aika-chan? That's so great!" exclaimed Hihara-senpai.
"Well..." I didn't know what to say.
"Why wouldn't you say anything before?" Asked Fuyumi-chan.
"I'm sorry." I whispered.
"There, there, everyone." intervened Yunoki-senpai. "I'm sure Hoshino-san has a good reason." he smiled. Something about that guy seems off. I felt it at the store, too. Hm, when something is too good to be true, it's probably because it's not.
Once again, I apologized.
"I'm sorry for keeping it a secret. It's just that, as Yunoki-senpai said, I have my reasons." There was a silence.
"I would like to here a piece composed by Hoshino-senpai." Said Shimizu-kun. "And played by Hino-senpai."
What a selfish little-. Ugh, it's impossible to get mad at him. He is just too cute.
"I can't deny I would like to hear it as well." Smirked Yunoki-senpai.
"Let's hear it!" Shouted Hihara-senpai.
I glanced back at Hino-chan and waited for her answer.
"I wouldn't mind playing, but only if Aika-chan wants me to." Everyone turned their eyes to me.
Should I let them hear it? I would really like to hear someone's opinion, and these people really know about music. Guess I can't help it.
"O-okay." I agreed. Everyone was looking forward to the presentation.
Hino-chan prepared her violin and took a deep breath. Then the music began flowing.
-No one's POV-
The room was filled with music as soon as Hino began playing. The song was a gentle one. Filled with joy and excitement. But, then it turned completely sad and melancholic. Feelings and emotions overflowed each note. The ones hearing it could not help but feel drawn by it.
At the end, the music turned warmer and softer, really gentle, until it disappeared completely. Hino placed down her violin and looked at everyone else.
Everyone was completely silent. Aika didn't know what was going through any of their minds. She just stood, clutching her hands together, waiting for the other's reaction.
"It was...so pure." Fuyumi-chan was the first to speak.
"Definitely different from anything I've heard before." nodded Yunoki-senpai.
"Beautiful!" Smiled Hihara-senpai.
Then Aika turned to Tsukimori-kun. Tsukimori-kun saw her looking at him with expectant eyes. He just cleared his throat and said:
"It was good." he looked away.
"I want to hear more, Hoshino-senpai." Shimizu-kun was smiling like an angel, making Aika's heart skip a beat.
The author of the piece took a step forward. Tears rolled down her cheek. Then she bowed deeply.
"Thank you so much for listening!" she said with her head still down.
"No, Aika-chan," Hino said, "thank you for letting us listen to your piece."
Aika raised her head and wiped her eyes. Then took a deep breath.
"So, are we ready to start the meeting?" She asked cheerfully. Her heart felt lighter than ever.
"Yes!" Everyone else agreed in unison.
So what do you think? Personally, I didn't like this chapter much :S Maybe because is kinda off topic. I really really really need your opinions right now. I'm feeling discouraged with this fanfic. Please help! It's fine if you don't like it, just say so.