#3 - Buying food

Chapter #3

"Oh yeah, Yuu, you know the recent pottery competition in our town?" Rinichi asked with a sparkle in her eyes during lunchtime, "I heard he's in this school! And he's our senior!"

"Really? I didn't know," he said, uninterested, drinking his packet of Milo, as usual. He always drank Milo during lunchtime without fail. 

"But... you know, even though we're in the Arts stream... our lessons seem pretty... normal, I should say. Except for art or music lessons twice or thrice a week, but that's all the changes they've made." 

"What do you expect? Both streams take the same subjects with a little change or two."

She sighed, but then, thinking about the new school's canteen food cheered her up. "Yuu, do you wanna go to the canteen and buy some food?"

"...Sure, let's check it out." Then he thought, I saw a girl earlier with a violin case. I wonder if she's around?

***** 
"B-Baked potatoes, again?!" Sekiya groaned loudly, looking at Kagari's millionth aluminium-foil-wrapped  potato ever since he had met her. "You already ate FIVE in the morning!"

She scoffed, her mouth full of crunched up potatoes and said, in an almost inaudible tone, "Please, I can eat like TEN per EVERY HOUR!"

"Ugh, just talking about it makes me sick..." Sekiya's a small eater. 

Kagari then bought four more, making it another five baked potatoes. She ate one, then two, while walking with Sekiya along the corridors. 

"Kagari, please don't spill crumbs all over. I'm a student councillor...my image is very important."

"Yes, yes, I know. At least I have manners!" 

Meanwhile, she juggled the three remaining potatoes in her hand for fun. Sekiya also warned her not to drop the food, earning himself an amused assurance from her that she "wouldn't waste this precious food". 

~End of Chapter #3~ 

#2 - A new school year

Chapter #2

 "Look! It's that famous pianist! The one who won the prestigious Young Pianist of the Year award!"

"Waahh... he's going to study in this school?!"

Hushed whispers and comments tickled their ears. It was early January, Yuuichi and Rinichi had just started their middle school life in Akiyama Middle School. As expected, the atmosphere felt totally different from elementary school with older seniors, together with greater freedom in curriculum but stricter discipline. They were just walking through the courtyard and heading to the main lobby, but already, people were staring intently at Yuuichi.

Wow, Rinichi thought. Yuu is *that* famous!

Ugh, can they just shut up already? Yuuichi frowned and narrowed his eyes. He had never felt so uncomfortable before.

"Yuu, I hope we can be in the same class this year..." she wished, clasping her hands together while walking.

"Me too," he replied, accelerating towards the bulletin board which held all the first-years' class lists.

And as expected, there was a huge crowd of first-years gathering in front of the lists, either happy or disappointed or neutral with their class allocation. Both of them pushed their way through, muttering "sorry" a number of times. Soon, they got to the very front and started nervously sorting through the dense forest of names for their very own one.

After fifteen seconds, they found their names and heaved a sigh of relief at the same time. Rinichi chuckled. "1A1, right? I saw your name too! YES!" She almost screamed. Yuuichi quickly grabbed her hand and ran away from the crowd. 

"Don't scream!" He scolded, before breaking into a neutral smile, "Yeah, we're in the same class!"

"Yes! Another two years of being in the same class! This adds to our six years of having been in the same class in elementary school..."

*****

Kagari pushed the pin into a piece of hand-drawn flyer and then into the hard but semi-permeable surface of the school's notice board, located near the first-years' classrooms. The flyer read:

Violin Competition

Looking for PIANO accompanist! (I will be playing the violin)

 Piece: Chopin Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23

 Please contact Toragi Kagari, class 2A2, by this Thursday! Thank you very much!

She stepped back, looking at her flyer. It was quite small in contrast to the other bigger, eye-catching club recruitment posters. Her minuscule flyer seemed like a fish out of water. "Seriously," she groaned, "Even if they aren't Arts students, they're pretty good at designing posters!"

Sekiya adjusted his spectacles. "Well, some students who are actually good in art joined the Normal stream instead. Perhaps they're just scared of being looked down on. And I hate that."  Then he looked at the violin and piano which he had drawn on the flyer. "But I'm sure it'll attract someone's eyes. You know," he then suddenly switched to whispering, "Being in the student council, I overheard that a famous piano prodigy is coming to our school this year. So, maybe he'll take up the job?"

"Maybe," Kagari repeated sadly. "At the very least, I'll get disqualified. It's not like I'm enthusiastic about this anyway..."

"You musn't say that! You love playing the violin, don't you?" Sekiya protested, looking at Kagari's violin case behind her. She nodded slightly, looking away sheepishly. "Then don't give up!"

"But--- Gah! Damn it, I won't argue with you!" She twirled around in a huff then walked in the other direction, her violin case ever swaying so slightly. "Today they're selling baked potatoes! I can finally eat those delicious potatoes after three months of no school..." 

~End of Chapter #2~

Tea time #1 with Yuuichi!

Characters' tea time~

Okay, this "tea time" is where I'll ask the characters in a interview format and we get to learn more about them. Today, we'll be interviewing Yamazaki Yuuichi-kun! (Btw, this is a great way to do character developments!)

Also, this is how he roughly looks like(created by anime character maker, I don't have any tablet pen):

Blue hair and black eyes! =)

***
italics -- Me
normal -- Yuuichi 

*nervous* Hello Yuuichi! This is your author. How are you doing? Shall we get started? 

Hi! Don’t be so nervous. I’m your character. And yes, I’m doing fine. We can start now.

So you’re a prodigy in piano. That’s awesome! How did you do it?

Thanks. Well, I started learning the piano when I was five, so… I guess you could say… I had it in my blood? I’m not entirely sure about that, because my mom was quite a renowned artist. Wait, I mean, in the visual arts. She’s retired now, though.

A renowned artist?! Wow! Did it have any impact on your relationship with Shizuha Rinichi? I mean, Rinichi’s pretty good in art…

Huh… Rin? I guess so. Her mom’s a retired musician, who also plays the piano. Seeing that both of our mothers are basically the opposite of us… she keeps saying that it “is fated to be that way” and somehow, it seems to strengthen our relationship? Although I still stand on the “coincidence” side. I just… find “fate” to be too cheesy.

I see… Oh, do you realize that your name, ‘Yuuichi’ sounds pretty similar to ‘Rinichi’?

Yeah, duh. You’re an idiot if you haven’t realized that already. People sometimes point it out, but I don’t really mind. Oh yeah, and this is another reason to let Rin think that our whole relationship was to be “fated”.

That blue hair of yours… 

What? Don’t touch it.

Okay, I won’t. *laughs* Are you the type who does well in academics but is pretty shit in real life skills like cooking, or vice versa?

I’d say… the first one. I… well…

Is there anything wrong?

Er… if you look at my results yourself you’ll know how well I did in school. About real life skills, I’d say I’m pretty shit in cooking. But I know how to bake. My mom taught me.

Hm, okay. Then… hmm… what do you think of… Rinichi?

Her? She’s my best friend. A very annoying one, because she’s full of puns and horoscope stuff. But that’s why I like her. One of the good things is that she helps me to relax when I’m tensed up practicing on the piano. When I forget stuff, she’s always there to remind me. Besides, she lives just beside me. Overall, she’s a really dependable and loyal friend. Our friendship is priceless. I hope we’ll still keep in touch when we’re adults.

Wow… Okay, but do you think about… going *deeper* into your relationship??

D-Deeper…? You mean *that*?! *raises eyebrows, looks at you intensely*

Uh… if we’re thinking of the same thing… then yes, a boy-girl relationship…

… Okay… okay… *long pause* *looks away* *shrugs*  I don’t know. But… maybe… MAYBE. That’s all I can say.

*giggles* Alright. What do you like and dislike?

I like playing the piano. There’s this little room in my house dedicated to my piano and my playing. All my music sheets, trophies from competitions are all stored inside. My repertoire consists mostly of classical music, but I do play pop songs from time to time. When I play the piano, I enjoy hearing each note weave harmoniously together to form the melody. It’s also important to know what the composers were thinking when they composed this, so I can fully convey the feelings of the piece. And I dislike cucumbers. They taste simply revolting and awful! I also dislike people who aren’t very hardworking.

Wow, that was a long one! Say, what’s your attitude to your family, friends, strangers and enemies?

I treasure my family. I love my parents, especially my mom, and my younger brother. I really enjoy spending time with them because they give me a sense of belonging. As for friends, if I have time, I would definitely make it for any outing which is organized. They are precious to me, after all. Next, I wouldn’t try and talk to a stranger without being prepared. Unless they threaten me or my friends, then I’ll give them a good punch in the nose. And lastly, enemies? Taste one of my kicks, assholes!

A very protective friend, I should say. If you’re making new friends, which type of people do you prefer?

Hmm… People who also play musical instruments like me, and won’t be easily bored with. I like being adventurous, so I’d hate it if someone were to… hmm… control me. But Rin is an exception.

*****

And that's all for today, folks! Stay tuned for any chapter updates!

#1 - Everyone

Chapter #1

Yamazaki Yuuichi stood up from his chair, exhaling in relief before turning to face his judges. Bowing, he swiftly left the hauntingly quiet concert hall. I did it, he told himself mentally in the backstage, gripping his black suit with overly sweaty hands. I hope I didn't stain the piano with my sweat. 

There were still other pianists who had yet to take their turn. They were either sticking their heads onto the wall, hugging their knees or staring intently at their music score. Of course they would act like that, it's the annual piano competition after all. A distinguished one, at that. Everyone would be tensed up, internally breaking down with pressure.

But all that didn't seem to matter anymore to Yuuichi. He had already completed his piece flawlessly, all according to the score. As he stepped lightly out of the concert hall's lobby, he held his head high, taking in the fresh air outside, smiling slightly. 

He was certain he could clinch the grand prize.

Yet, I don't feel satisfied. I need to achieve even more.

*****
Shizuha Rinichi finally dropped her 2B pencil after an hour of sketching. She turned her right hand to the right. As expected, black stains of the pencil's graphite were stuck onto the left side of her right hand. Quickly, she ran to her sink and washed it clean. Then she came back, sat down on a comfortable sofa, took her artwork and admired for a few minutes the pencil strokes, the tone, light and shadow... It was an artwork of a structure made out of stationery due to her boredom.

After that, she ran to Tranquil Cafe, which Yuuichi's family has owned ever since she could remember. She opened the door and a tiny bell tinkled.

"Ah, Rin-chan!" Mrs. Yamazaki called out, in the process of putting her newly-baked chocolate cake into the showcasing tray. Despite being a mother, with sufficient makeup and proper clothing, she appeared to be always young and lovely. Today, she tied her hair into a side ponytail. Usually her hair would be let down.

"Hello," Rinichi greeted, bowing politely. "Your hair looks great! Oh yeah, I just completed an artwork! Would you like to see it?" She asked, showing her artwork to Mrs. Yamazaki.

"Oh, sure! I always love seeing budding artists' works!" Mrs. Yamazaki chirped with a smile, untying her apron and quickly taking Rinichi's artwork for a quick look. Then, her eyes widened slightly, her mouth slowly opening. It could be better with more experience, but it was realistic enough for her to be surprised. "Rin-chan, how did you draw this?!"

"I..." Rinichi looked at her hands, almost like they were magical. "I don't know. I just did it?"

Mrs. Yamazaki froze for a while.

"...I have an idea." She observed Rinichi carefully.

*****
Toragi Kagari stared at her violin case as she laid down on her bed, both hands behind her head. It's been a year since she had participated in a violin competition. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself in a long, black, elegant dress, standing in heels on the stage, resting her violin under her chin and in her fingers was her bow. Then within her imagination, she imagined that the audience---instead of her judges, it would be Sekiya sitting there, smiling at her. She smiled. As she proceeded to move the bow to the violin's strings, a voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

" 'Gari-neechan! Mom says she's signing you up for a violin competition," Kagame, her little sister, burst the door open and announced.

"Stop calling me that! And don't come in without knocking!" scolded Kagari, facepalming. "Tell Mom that I don't want to enter any competitions!"

"... She will cut all your meals' amount by half..."

"..." Kagari wasn't budging. 

"...no, 90%, she said this time." Kagame chuckled evilly.

"...Okay, FINE."

*****
Kamika Sekiya pushed two fingers gently at the side of his sculpture, creating a shallow indent. He was in school, working hard to finish his holiday assignment, along with some other schoolmates. Then he spun the blue, clay-dirty spinning platform---it was similar to the spinning wheel used in pottery, just that this one was smaller and you needed to spin it by hand. His sculpture was cylindrical-like, and at the top was a hand-like, abstract-ish design.

"Working hard, huh," Takayama-sensei, the art teacher at his school, commented, looking at his sculpture. "Keep it up," he then walked away, monitoring other students.

Sekiya nodded. He looked at his hands, almost fully covered in dry clay. Smiling, he took a break for a while and admired his sculpture. 

"Hahaha..." Some random schoolmate walked past the art room. "Those lousy art students won't accomplish anything..."

Sekiya's ears picked it up, and so did others who were sculpting. They frowned bitterly at the guy's words, nevertheless, continued working. Takayama-sensei assured everyone that they weren't "lousy" and would someday accomplish something.

Then again, Sekiya couldn't stand this anymore. He had bottled all the anger inside him since the start of middle school, and now it was almost full. Normal stream students despised Arts stream students, simply because being in the Arts was seen as "weak", "unable to achieve anything in life" and other hateful comments. The teachers did their best, yet, without the principal's actual support, all of their efforts would be in vain.

He realised that he needed to change this situation for him and for everyone. How would he do that? Which students had the most power in the school?

Entering the student council might help persuade the comittee that we aren't weak. We can definitely achieve something!

~End of Chapter #1~