The Light Music Club

"Takahashi, want to go to Palette Cafe together today? Lots of people in our class have been, and they all liked it." After school, Toba Shigeru came over to Takahashi Ren's desk.

Takahashi Ren looked up, slightly apologetic. "Sorry, I have to report to my club today. Ask Ishida."

"Ishida has club activities today too," Toba Shigeru said.

"Then there's nothing we can do. You'll have to head back alone today."

Toba Shigeru sighed. "Ever since you two joined clubs, the three of us haven't had nearly as many chances to go home together."

"Yeah," Takahashi Ren answered quietly.

"Oh, right. What days does your Light Music Club meet? Ishida's meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays," Toba Shigeru asked.

"Mine meets on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays."

"Saturdays?" Toba Shigeru paused. "You have activities on weekends too? Doing what?"

"No idea. I'm not happy about it either."

Toba Shigeru fell silent for a moment, then reached out and patted his shoulder.

"Thanks for your hard work. See you."

Takahashi Ren pushed open the door to the Light Music Club's room. Inside, a girl with short purple hair stood along the wall, carrying an instrument case on her back. Like him, she seemed to be a new member reporting in today.

Then several pairs of eyes turned in unison from the girl to him.

"All right, everyone's here. Let's officially get started." The speaker was an older girl with her hair in a neat high ponytail, her tone bright and breezy.

"First, let's introduce ourselves. I'm Kato Rin from Class 2-B, president of the Light Music Club. I play rhythm guitar and sing lead vocals. Nice to meet you."

"Ishikawa Saku, Class 2-C. Drummer. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Yamada Kazuma from Class 2-A, the bassist. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Watanabe Ryunosuke from Class 3-B, a former club member. I've already retired. I'm just here to have a look today, so no pressure."

"I'm Kobayashi Wakaba from Class 1-B, and I play lead guitar. Nice to meet you."

"Takahashi Ren, Class 1-A. A rookie keyboardist without much experience. Nice to meet you."

"Let's welcome our two new members!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the two older boys produced party poppers as if by magic. With several muffled pops, streamers and glitter burst into the air and drifted slowly onto their shoulders.

Then Kato brought over two cups of hot tea and handed them over with a smile.

Takahashi Ren had expected nothing more than a little applause. He hadn't imagined such a grand welcome.

"Next is a simple test to get a sense of our new members' skill levels. We've put sheet music on the table for you, and you can use the club's instruments too. Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go first," Takahashi Ren said.

Although he had a foundation in piano, as a beginner who had never touched an electronic keyboard, he inevitably made mistakes all over the place.

He couldn't find the tone he wanted and accidentally pressed something that produced a strange sound. The unfamiliar feel compared with a piano left his touch alternately too light and too heavy. As for adjusting the volume or adding accompaniment, he had no idea where to start.

But he wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. He simply stumbled his way through the piece.

To him, this wasn't a performance to prove himself, just a novel experience.

"That's my current level."

"Not bad." Kato Rin nodded in praise, and applause followed around the clubroom.

"You don't have to spare my feelings, Kato. I know I still have a long way to go."

"I'm not just being polite." Kato Rin looked at him earnestly. "For someone who's only just started, making it through the whole piece is already impressive."

It was Kobayashi Wakaba's turn. She picked up the guitar she had brought and played a piece fluently.

When the piece ended, Kato Rin exchanged a few brief words with Watanabe.

Then Watanabe waved goodbye to them, turned, and left the clubroom.

"All right, now let's talk about what you new members are most interested in." Kato Rin clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention back to her.

"The school doesn't have a live music venue, and street performances aren't allowed either. But after negotiating with businesses, our Light Music Club got permission from the school to hold one or two performances a month. We play forty-minute sets at our partner establishments, and each person gets paid three thousand points."

"Performances are usually on Saturday evenings. We currently have three partner establishments: Cat and Moon House, Onemubako Specialty Restaurant, and Stardust Cafe Terrace."

She paused. "Any questions?"

"When's the next performance?" Takahashi Ren asked.

"This Saturday."

Seriously, girl!

That's way too soon.

"Are you sure I won't drag everyone down with my current skills?"

Seeing that he had taken her seriously, Kato Rin gave a mischievous smile. "Just kidding. Next Saturday."

"Got it." Takahashi Ren breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Kato Rin suggested, "Although the club provides instruments, you could also buy a keyboard that suits you better, Takahashi."

"Okay," Takahashi Ren agreed aloud, but buying his own couldn't beat using one for free. It was his first time using either, anyway. There was no difference.

Beside him, however, Kobayashi remained silent, her hands slowly clenching at her sides. There was no telling what she was thinking.

Kato Rin noticed too and called gently, "Kobayashi, is something wrong?"

Kobayashi seemed to snap out of a daze. "N-no, I just zoned out. Sorry."

Kato Rin glanced at her without asking any more questions. She simply nodded, then turned to everyone. "Well, let's start practicing."

The clubroom soon filled with notes, the sounds of different instruments weaving together into a musical movement of youth.

Time flew by, and the day's activities came to an end.

"Thanks for your hard work." Everyone said their goodbyes.

On his way back to the dorm, Takahashi Ren faintly heard someone calling him from behind.

He turned around. It was Kobayashi Wakaba. Her voice was as soft as a breeze, nearly swallowed by the evening wind.

"Kobayashi, did you need something?"

"Um..." She kept her head slightly lowered. "When you were playing, you made mistakes, but you weren't nervous at all."

Takahashi Ren didn't understand what she was getting at, but explained anyway. "Oh, that. Probably because I've performed a few times before."

"Could you teach me some techniques for overcoming nerves?" She raised her head, a hint of expectation in her eyes.

"Didn't you play really well just now? You didn't look nervous at all."

"Because that was just a test. I knew it would be okay." Kobayashi's voice grew quieter. "But at an actual performance... I'm afraid I won't play well."

"You've never been onstage before?"

"No."

Takahashi Ren understood.

He thought for a moment, then said gently, "The only way to truly get past this hurdle is to keep trying and get used to it yourself. I think you must have prepared yourself for that before deciding to join the Light Music Club, right?"

"Yes." Kobayashi nodded lightly, then lowered her eyes again.

"I want to change myself. I want to stand onstage. None of that was just a passing whim. But whenever I imagine the audience looking at me... I can't help wanting to back out."

"The audience really will be looking at you. But you need to understand that they aren't there to judge you. They're just there to listen to music. In the end, you're not that important."

He looked at Kobayashi, his words unhurried. "Since you've already come this far, trust the person you were when you made that decision. What do you think?"

Takahashi Ren knew full well that no one could ever truly feel exactly what someone else felt.

So he merely passed the ball back to Kobayashi, neither answering for her nor rushing her, leaving her all the room she needed to think for herself.

What he was waiting for had never been a "You're right," but her own answer from deep within her heart.

After a long while, Kobayashi raised her head, her gaze firm. "I'll do my best. Thank you, Takahashi."

"It's nothing. We're in the same club now. Let's both give it our best."

The two walked away together beneath the setting sun.

As Takahashi Ren walked through the sunset's afterglow, that person's figure surfaced in his mind.

The person who had poured his youth into a band, who was always talking about "the joy of playing music with friends."

Let me experience it for myself, big brother.