Reaching for the Stars
Part III, Chapter 1 - Prologue
A beautiful lady in her early thirties walks briskly yet confidently through the hallowed hallways of Sakura-gakou in the outskirts of central Osaka. She wore a warm smile on her face and was greeted just as warmly by the girls of the exclusive girls-only school. Though she specifically only taught a few classes in the third year, freshmen and sophomores respected her as much as the third-year seniors did. This was the usual scene in the hallways at recess time just before third period, she told herself as she pranced through the scene. The only difference was that the students, on top of their usual greetings, were exceptionally lively. It made her feel happy somewhat, but also a little bit sad.
She turned a corner near the end of the hall and slipped into the faculty room. There, her fellow teachers and instructors immediately took notice of her presence and greeted her cheerfully when they wouldn't normally do so. This abnormality in routine, like the sugared greetings of the students, didn't bother her. She knew what it was all about. As soon as she reached her desk where most of her things had already been arranged into small boxes and parcels, she remembered the matter at hand. In less than a week, after the graduation ceremony, she was transferring out of the school.
It was the perfect job opportunity she thought as she read through her transfer transcript once more in her desk. She was going to get to move to a quieter place, and the pay at her new teaching job wasn't bad either. She was going to continue teaching music which had been her passion (a passion brought about by a failed love, but a passion nonetheless), and her long-time friend Yuri Koigakubo was a teacher in that new school as well. Though it was quite bittersweet to leave a teaching job at her high school alma mater, she was looking forward to it.
Everything was going smoothly and her transfer was pretty much underway. All she had to do was wait it out and she would be headed for Ohashi in no time. There was however a little kink in that plan... in fact there were two. Looking over at a list posted in front of her desk, she saw two names written; "Ritsu Tainaka" and "Yui Hirasawa". They were the last two seniors who haven't been able to submit their Post-Secondary Education Questionnaire, more popularly known as 'The Senior's Future Questionnaire'.
"At this rate, those two won't have a future..." The teacher sighed. Heading over to the announcement desk, she summoned the two girls to the faculty room to have a little chat with them. Hopefully, she could talk some sense into the two before she left. Talking any sort of sense to those two was easier said than done, but it was the least she could do.
"Nodoka-chan!" Yui Hirasawa groaned as she desperately looked for her friend in the classroom.
"Yui," a bespectacled girl said as she sat beside Yui who now had her face buried into her desk, "you were called by Sawako-sensei over the PA weren't you? What's wrong?"
"Argh... it's the Senior's Future Questionnaire!" She replied irritably, showing her friend a terribly crumpled questionnaire. Other than the name and ink smudges, the questionnaire was mostly blank.
"You still haven't decided huh..." Nodoka said rubbing her chin as she observed the empty paper, "Well, neither has Tainaka-san."
"Actually, I've already decided." Ritsu said, joining the two at Yui's seat
"Which college would you be going to then Tainaka-san." Nodoka asked curiously
"None." Ritsu replied firmly, "I'm not going to go to college."
"What?" Nodoka gasped, shocked by her response "You can't be serious!"
"I'm serious." Ritsu said, "I've been thinking lately, and that's what I planned to do."
"Riichan..." Yui said a little concerned, "Would it be because of Satoshi-kun?"
"Ergh... never mind that!" Ritsu lashed irritably, "Yui, let's go."
Without another word, Ritsu dragged Yui along with her to the staff room as Nodoka watched with concern.
"What's going on Nodoka?" Mio asked, having come into the room just then
"I don't really know Mio," Nodoka sighed, "but hopefully it's not anything too serious."
"Riichan..." Yui said fidgeting around as she and Ritsu sat outside of the staff lounge, "about college, were you really serious about what you said?"
Ritsu didn't reply.
"I mean, I still don't know where I'm planning to go and I don't really have any plans or whatnot..." Yui continued her worried monologue, "but I never wanted to skip college!"
Still, Ritsu remained silent, making Yui ever more worried.
"You know Riichan," Yui prodded one last time, "we don't have to be on tour for the whole year. The Fall term starts in September after all, we can stop at late August. We also have Golden Week in May - that's when we plan to start right? That'll be three whole summer months of touring!"
"You're right..." Ritsu sighed. Yui had discerned her motives so now she was at a loss.
"If Satoshi-kun were alive, he'd put school as a priority." Yui said, "At least that's what Francis tells me."
"Francis? You mean Suzuki-kun over in Canada?" Ritsu asked
"Yeah, yeah." Yui nodded, "We talk over on the instant messenger."
"Does he know about what suposedly happened to Satoshi-kun already?" Ritsu asked again
"Uh-huh." Yui replied, "But I told him not to believe it. He feels the same way as us - he thinks Satoshi is still out there."
"It'll take more than cold water to take down that kid..." Ritsu smiled weakly
"So keep your hopes up Riichan!" Yui cheered happily, "We'll find him before school starts, and everyone will be happy!"
"You're right!" Ritsu said regaining confidence, "I can't just throw away school like that... I guess my anxiety was getting the better of me."
"Alright!" Yui said with a grin. The moment she remembered the reason why they were there in the first place though, she deflated instantly. "Argh, the questionnaires!"
Yui's vociferous realization despirited Ritsu as well and the two of them took out their questionnaires to finally make a decision.
"What do we want to be when we graduate?" Ritsu read the questionnaire out loud, "What do you say Yui?"
"I have no idea!" Yui replied passionately, making Ritsu groan.
"Well... what's the thing you're most passionate about?" Ritsu probed, "Maybe that'll give you an idea."
"The thing I'm most passionate about?" Yui repeated rubbing her chin, "Ah! Gui-tah!"
"Music then." Ritsu said writing 'Musician' on both hers and Yui's sheets, "I've been into music for as long as I could remember... it's the only thing I can think of really."
"I feel the same way." Yui said in a rare moment of seriousness, "Without my guitar, I don't think I would've gotten this far."
"I see." Ritsu said with a smile, "Partners in crime then?"
"Of course!" Yui said determinedly. The two of them then marched into the staff room to face their teacher.
"Sawa-chan!" Ritsu greeted energetically, "How's the moving going? Are your things already moved?"
Sawako thought for a moment, considering answering the question Ritsu posed but decided not to. Knowing Ritsu, she was trying to avoid the topic at hand - she's done it before. Over and over.
"Let's get down to business, okay?" Sawako said, brushing Ritsu's delaying query aside, "It's my last week here you know, at least hand in those questionnaires... it's not only for my sake (though I'll get a salary penalty if I don't get all of them in), but it's for your futures too. That's why it's the 'Senior's Future' questionnaire after all."
"Ah, don't worry about that Sawa-chan!" Yui reassured, "Riichan and I already answered the sheet. Here!"
The girl showed the teacher their answered questionnaires and the teacher couldn't believe they actually filled them in. Readjusting her reading glasses, Sawako took the sheets and had a closer look at them. A moment of silence ensued, broken later by a mild snicker that grew louder the longer she looked at the answer.
"Musicians?" Sawako asked laughing, "Are you sure you girls didn't just write this on your way here?"
Actually, that was exactly what they did, but that wasn't the point.
"C'mon Sawa-chan..." Ritsu pleaded, "Yui and I put a lot of thought into that!"
"I believe you, I believe you..." Sawako sighed with suspicion, "But girls... being a musician isn't exactly an easy path to take. Just because Afternoon Tea Time is a successful band in Osaka doesn't mean you guys will hit it big... Music is a labor of love, you see, and the music industry right now isn't what it used to be. People with little or no talent are getting the spotlight while the talented ones either give up or starve trying..."
"But..." Yui said, wanting to reason with her too but their teacher would have none of it.
"No." Sawako said, handing them back their sheets, "Find something more productive to do... the real world isn't as pretty as you might think it is. It's different when you step out of these walls you know.."
Though the girls knew that she was saying this because of her history of punk-death metal in High School, they couldn't argue with her. Being a member of an indie band in the past, she knew what it was like in the industry whereas they did not.
"So please girls, give me something by the graduation ceremony." Sawako said regretfully, "That'll be your last chance to change your minds."
Dejectedly, the girls took back their sheets and walked out of the staff room a little disheartened.
"What are we gonna do now Riichan?" Yui said pleadingly, "Music is the only thing I can think of! If Sawa-chan won't accept it, then what'll happen to us?"
"Don't worry Yui," Ritsu said, "I think I have a plan."
Back at the clubroom of the Light Music Club, Mio, Tsumugi and Azusa were assembled around a small table by the window having tea as they normally would on days like this. An unusual guest sat among them there as well; Nodoka Manabe. When asked why she was there, she simply replied that Yui asked her to drop by. Other than that, she too was clueless as to why she was there in the Light Music Club's room. Just then...
"We're back!" Ritsu called as she and Yui came back with smiles on their faces
"Oh," Mio said as she noticed their smiles, "did Sawako-sensei accept your questionnaires?"
"Nope." Yui said showing them their rejected papers, "She said Riichan and I had to give it more thought."
"But the thing is, we have given it a lot of thought already." Ritsu said, "We're already decided on this path... Yui and I just have to show Sawa-chan just how determined we are."
"How exactly do you plan to do that?" Mio asked doubtingly, "A no means no, you two. You can't make her change her mind about something like that..."
"Well, that's where Nodoka-chan comes in!" Yui reassured, "You're the student council president right? Could you possibly do us a favor?"
"Ah... so that's why you called me up." Nodoka said, "It depends on the kind of favor you're asking Yui... it won't violate any rules now will it?"
"We're holding a coup d'etat!" Yui said cheerfully, as if the word 'coup d'etat' didn't mean anything, "It's a surprise for Sawa-chan!"
"What!" Nodoka gasped. Being the student council president, hearing that word frightened her. She then started looking around the clubroom, looking for any weapons they might have stored away there illegally.
"Not a literal one." Ritsu reassured, "A guerrilla concert."
"Yeah!" Yui cheered, "A guerrilla concert! Let's do it! Let's do it!"
Nodoka then sighed with a smile. Seeing such passion in Yui's eyes, she knew she wouldn't be able to talk her out of whatever she had in mind. Arguing with Yui at that state was futile, and she personally was curious about the crazy idea of the two anyways. Tsumugi served the student council president some tea and Yui and Ritsu explained the plan to her. After negotiations here and there, they were finally able to strike a deal with Nodoka and the specific planning commenced. Azusa, though she wouldn't be able to participate, was glad that her seniors were finally starting initiative of some sort, unorthodox as it might be. She would be with them in spirit, she thought. That was enough.
Three days later, on the day of the graduation ceremony, the seniors of Sakura-gakou, now bearing the golden flower pin on their blazers, entered the school auditorium in single file, filling up the rows of seats that had been set up for them. Among them were Ritsu Tainaka, Yui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Tsumugi Kotobuki and Nodoka Manabe who, despite not being alphabetically arranged as prescribed, were seated together. Yui seemed terribly jittery as she walked and as they passed through, a number of seniors from the student council acknowledged their presence with a nod and sometimes even a salute. Sawako and the rest of the staff watched this take place with confused looks on their face, innocent of their impending takeover. The students were seated and the graduation ceremony proceeded without too much disruption.
Before the names of the seniors would be called out and before the certificates given to the new graduates, it was a tradition of the school to have everyone present sing the school song accompanied by piano. Sawako stood up from where she sat to announce that to the attendees, talking about the values of music in Sakura-gakou and it's importance in the school. When she walked over to where the piano usually was, it wasn't there. A moment of awkward silence fell upon the room as she stood there looking for the non-existent piano. Thinking it was a logistics error, Sawako kept her calm and walked over to the secondary stage of the auditorium. When she was halfway though, the lights flickered on and off before going black.
"Go." Nodoka said to her companions, standing up to let them pass, "Now's your chance!"
The four girls then sneaked onto the secondary stage and crept behind the curtain. There, their instruments sat prepared and amped, most prominent among them being Yui's Gibson Les Paul guitar affectionately known as 'Gui-tah'.
"Gui-tah!" Yui squealed as she ran up and embraced her guitar, kissing the fretboard lovingly, "I missed you so much!"
"Yui, stay focused..." Mio said as she put on her bass, "We don't have a lot of time... and we're not really supposed to be here."
"It's alright Mio, we'll be fine." Ritsu said as she got behind the drum set, "Do we have 'it'?"
"Yes, it's right here." Tsumugi said, pointing to the familiar Flying-V guitar sitting beside her keyboard, "Let's go."
"LET'S GO!" Yui seconded, now wearing Gui-tah over and ready to play.
On that signal, the curtains opened and the spotlights to the second stage came on with a series of loud clicks. Everyone turned to the second stage, seeing the Light Music Club assembled with their instruments. The seniors were very much amused, but most of the staff didn't share that sentiment. Sawako, for instance, was totally aghast.
"Girls..." she tried whispering, "You guys shouldn't be up there! Mugi-chan! Give me back the keyboard!"
"Everyone!" Yui said on the microphone, largely ignoring their instructor's evacuation orders, "We are the Light Music Club! All of us standing here today are going to graduate and in the future, we will look back to these days as 'the good old days' right? Well, we at the Light Music Club, with permission from the Student Council..."
"Don't mention me!" Nodoka gestured quietly, but it was too late. Sawako was already glaring at her from a distance and she knew there was no turning back now.
"With permission from the Student Council, we decided to present the school with a farewell gift!" Yui continued cheerfully. She then turned to their fuming instructor and called her up on stage.
"Sawa-chan... I mean Sawako-sensei," she said picking up the Flying-V guitar, "This performance is also our farewell gift to you, our favorite club instructor of all time!"
Seeing her old guitar being offered to her and hearing the determination in Yui's voice, her frown slowly crumbled into a smile.
"You told me and Riichan to make a decision by the graduation ceremony," Yui said as she gave her the guitar, "Well, we've made our decision. We'll show you we're decided on being musicians!"
"Very well," Sawako said putting on the guitar and plugging it into an amp, surprising the rest of the staff, "What song did you have in mind to convince me then?"
"Cagayake! Girls, our carrier single!" Yui said
Ritsu then tapped her drumsticks in tempo and the song began with all five instruments in rock melodic tandem.
Cagayake! GIRLS/Shine, Girls!
Musicians: Yui Hirasawa (Gt-1, Vo), Mio Akiyama (Ba), Ritsu Tainaka (Dr), Tsumugi Kotobuki (Ky), Sawako Yamanaka (Gt-2)
Disclaimer: This is an interpretation of the song, and I therefore do not own this song. Credits to the music directors of K-ON!
Notes: Gt-1 = Lead Guitar, Gt-2 = Rhythm Guitar/Second Guitar
(Chatting now) "Hey, it's really lively - it's never ending girl's talk!
We can't wait for the bell to ring at the end of class!
Though we may be late, leaving early is a no, no, no!"
"We'll go out and study hard after school!"
"Come on seniors! Get on your feet!"
[Instrumental Break - Gt-1, Ba, Dr, Ky, Gt-2]
"There's no stopping this heart of mine!
It's on full-throttle everytime!
We've all got our dreams and desires,
All wrapped in ribbons, hey, ain't that nice?"
"We'll get better, just wait and see
We're not NEETs, we're lively and free!
A published work will have all our names,
After it all, we'll still be the same."
Bridge 1:
"If we cut our skirts a bit,
I'm sure that we can fly
Further out than yesterday
An octave higher in this song we call life!"
Chorus:
(Jumping Now) "Hey, it's really beautiful; the never ending girl's life!
We're looking forward to that daily live!
I don't want to miss it, not attending is a no, no, no!
We're shouting out with all we've got!" (WAHOO!)
"Hey, it's truly splendid; the never ending girl's song!
The afternoon tea for me is just right!
We know life is hard, but hey, we just won't give up (Here we go!)
We'll just go and sing for you after school!"
...
"We live lightly everyday
Smiling brightly whatever we face
There's more to life than equations and arcs,
I'll give them a lesson with my own guitar!"
"My feet take me where I want to go,
Where that is, i don't really know
It's like strumming an unfretted bar,
There's no degree to follow your heart!"
...
Bridge 2
"When I cut my hair today,
I'll part it to the side,
Cause once we graduate,
I know that things will be alright!"
...
Chorus:
(Jumping Now) "Hey, it's really lively - it's never ending girl's talk!
We can't wait for the bell to ring at the end of class!
Though we may be late, leaving early is a no, no, no!
We're out to study to enjoy!" (Enjoy!)
"Hey, it's truly splendid; the never ending girl's song!
The afternoon tea for me is just right!
We know life is hard, but hey, we just won't give up" (Here we go!)
"We'll just go and sing for you after school!"
By this time, the entire auditorium was on it's feet. Nodoka, the student council and the seniors were already cheering them on and singing along with them prodding the performers onwards. The guitar solo came, followed by the keyboard, then the bass and finally the drums. Amazed by what was going on, even the staff members were starting to get into the performance. Their shock had been chiseled down into excitement as they found themselves clapping to the beat of the song. Sawako saw this and grinned.
"Seems they're gonna let them off easy this time..."
A loud drum phrase then kicked in, bringing Sawako's attention back to her guitar and the last part of the song began.
"It really is an endless loop,
Our lives go down, up, down then up,
But when it comes down to it
We just have to look up, up, up and up!
Laughing as the years roll by
Never getting older
That's the best way to live life,
Always happy, always smiling, is it not?"
Chorus:
(Jumping Now) "Hey, it's really beautiful; the never ending girl's life!
We're looking forward to that daily live!
I don't want to miss it, not attending is a no, no, no!
We're shouting out with all we've got!" (WAHOO!)
"Hey, it's truly splendid; the never ending girl's song!
The afternoon tea for me is just right!
We know life is hard, but hey, we just won't give up" (Here we go!)
"We'll just go and sing for you after school!"
"So shining, shiner, shinest; girls be ambitious and shine!
shining, shiner, shinest; girls be ambitious and shine!
shining, shiner, shinest; girls be ambitious and shine!"
The song ended and was greeted by a standing ovation from everyone, and the principal herself applauded the girls. The girls took their bows and returned to their seats and Sawako got back to the staff panel so that the ceremony could finally continue. One by one, each other girls were called up and received their High School diplomas and ended with an orderly exit procession.
"You girls could've been in trouble there..." Sawako whispered to Ritsu as she walked beside her during the procession, "You were lucky the principal was liberal enough to replace the school song with J-Pop!"
"Well, I wouldn't mind if we got into trouble." Ritsu said, "The real world is tough for musicians right? We have to be willing to take risks."
"This one was a little too much though..." Sawako laughed dryly, "But, I guess you guys really want to do this."
"We really do." Ritsu said, handing her's and Yui's papers a second time, "So please accept it."
"Yeah!" Yui said cutting in line to join them, "Come on Sawa-chan..."
"Alright." Sawako said, finally taking the papers, "There's some good universities around the country with music courses - I suggest you and Hirasawa-san start choosing."
"Will do." The two girls said happily
"Oh, and one more thing." Sawako said, "Good luck with your tour, I'll be rooting for you."
"Thanks." They replied as they got back into line. The procession ran through the entire school one more time then ended at the gates. From thereon end, Yui Hirasawa, Ritsu Tainaka, Mio Akiyama and Tsumugi Kotobuki were High School graduates. Their whole lives are ahead of them, and so is their tour. They couldn't be more excited. The flower pins they wore on their blazers shone in the sunlight, sparking with the liveliness of youth. Each and every one of them, especially Ritsu, hoped that that light would reach Satoshi's eyes someday. After such a concert though, they didn't think they were that far off. They had a chance.
To Be Continued
Live - Pertains to a live show, or a concert.
Author's Notes: College has started and luckily, the workload is still light enough for me to pump out a few chapters. This is one i've been wanting to do for a long time - my interpretation for Cagayake! GIRLS. As a guy, my head is already aching a bit, having to write about girly stuff in first-person, but the song is too good to pass up. There is the fruit of my sacrifice :D. With Part III officially started, I will do my best to continue developing the story from here. Thanks for staying with me!