Acceleration ✧ 2

The next day, it was time for the first dress rehearsal. I was most thankful that it was during the morning time—as it turns out, our dear friend Rudi had an even more packed schedule than we expected. He had two different places to be during evening time, one being a magazine interview and the other a charity event. Thankfully, it was a small one, and we just needed to show up for around half an hour.

The interview part did make me feel a bit nervous, but it was nothing compared to his entire monthly schedule. We could handle a couple tasks just fine.

“It's the least we can do to lift up his burdens, even a little.”

“Yeah… hope he won't mind when he finds out, though…”

He had been told that all his plans were cancelled for two weeks, while in truth we had taken over the ones we could show up for. For the ones that were timed around our circus performances, some other staff who happened to be free would switch for him.

To bring back the topic of the rehearsal… it was simply stunning. Seeing everyone's efforts come together in its final form was a highly emotional sight for me. Sure, I had seen most of the performances before as a spectator, but there was such a different quality to it when one’s own self was involved in things…

“Like baking a cake on your own versus the ones you get from a bakery.”

Surely, there was a different taste to both of these options. A bakery might have been looking dazzling from afar, but nothing would beat the warmth of one’s home, after all.

Despite this being a mere rehearsal, while introducing the performers, I had to try and stop my voice from shaking—I was just too proud of everyone. They were not just performers, but also my friends, after all. My admiration and respect for them, combined with my affection… my passionate, earnest heart would surely reach the audience! I could only hope that I was not being too extra with my overflowing emotions.

Since the little gentleman Adal had to stay in his hometown, this time the final music performance was by Roan. I knew he had been preparing something, but I hadn't heard it just yet. After speaking my memorized lines about his performance into the microphone, I excitedly took a seat and watched him.

He was wearing a faux leather jacket, and a shirt with multicolor butterflies attached to its surface. Under his black hat, his dark hair was sticking out with two small braids. He had also applied some dramatic makeup, which was glittery and colorful under the spotlight.

“Awesome look. The dramatic dark features combined with the splash of color looks very fitting for him, I have to say.”

“He looks like a rock singer you can see in the magazines… wow!”

He had composed a song, and hearing his singing voice properly for the first time practically took my breath away. Contrasting with his usual demeanor, his voice was deep and reached one’s soul with its haunting tone. While the lyrics were somewhat basic, his powerful and fierce delivery made one shiver. It was nothing like his nonchalant humming that he tended to do during daytime!

“The fires draw closer

Seemingly all is over

Your smile, turning bitter

The thorns, getting sharper

It doesn't matter

Eventually the days

Will all get better

Yeah, it's only a matter

A matter of time

Sun sets, sun rises

It’s all a process

Through all the twists

and turns, heights and lows

What keeps us alive

Will be our glittery dances”

After finishing the song with a powerful guitar performance, everyone applauded. His serious expression turned silly in the blink of an eye, and he stuck out his tongue playfully.

“My my, thank you everyone. I'm glad everyone enjoyed it, even if I realized halfway through the process that I have zero talent for lyric writing, unlike for composing, mahahaha!!”

Ivone, who was sitting nearby, shook her head. “Even that part is debatable. Ugh, it was torture hearing all the trials and errors of his song making process…” She left her seat immediately with the ending of the rehearsal.

“I can’t believe that he is capable of looking this cool on the stage. Look at him going back to his whimsical self, as if all that just now was a mere illusion.”

To my surprise, the subject of Mimi’s commentary started walking towards where me and Nilsu were sitting.

“Hi hi, ladies~ Do you think the audience will want an encore?”

Nilsu clapped very excitedly, it seemed like she really enjoyed his song. She said some things in her bubbly speech, and Roan nodded along, pretending to understand.

“Oh oh, you are saying I looked super cool and handsome and I'll totally get a fanclub of my own, I see~”

She furrowed her eyebrows and playfully hit his shoulders.

“Ow ow ow! Okay, let me know what you wanted to say in your notebook later, alright? Before that, though… there was something I sort of wanted to request from you.”

She tilted her head, as if she was confused about what she could possibly do for him.

“Perhaps he will ask for some additional decorations on his jacket? Or maybe on his hat?”

Mimi attempted to guess, but his request was nothing like it. What Roan seeked from Nilsu wasn't her tailoring talent, but her voice.

“It's… well. It's incrediblyyy late of me to request this, but…”

He brought his hands forward in a pleading motion. “Ever since I heard your voice, I just wanted to sing together with you! Won't you join me for a performance or two? Pleaseee?”

Nilsu was stunned, her aqua eyes turning wide. By instinct, she hid behind the closest thing available… which was me, of course.

“If you're worried about lack of practice, there's many days until the very last show… we can make it! Right?”

She hid her head further behind my back, mumbling some sounds. Despite her shyness, it looked like Roan didn't intend to give up just yet.

“Ah, you're worried about your lack of outfit? No worries, I'll pay for it! I'll get anything you want. I just… look, I think your voice is too precious to be hidden from the world.”

His voice had turned considerably softer, his sincerity undeniable. With his playful grin melting into a warm smile, he brought a hand forward.

“Miss Nilsu, will you give everyone the privilege of hearing your treasure of a voice?”

Nilsu didn't move for a while, as Roan patiently kept his hand up in the air. Then, she slowly let go of hiding behind my back, and raised her hand, but didn't let it touch his just yet.

As we both curiously watched her, she raised her other hand to tug on my arm. She looked at me with an adorably determined facial expression.

“N-nilsu?”

Witnessing this scene, Roan beamed with a grin. “Aha! You want Miss Mirai to join us! Mahahaha, excellent idea! Most phenomenal!”

W-wuh?!

“M-me?”

I looked at Nilsu, and she chuckled, the fresh watery sound of her voice landing on my face like the first splash of water in the morning. Her expression seemed to communicate ‘if you join me, then I'll agree’.

Roan extended his other hand, this time towards my direction, and wiggled his eyebrows. “Ooooh, you want to join us on the stage with your pristine voice, ohhh, you know you want to~”

After a few moments of consideration, his larger, gloved hands met with two smaller hands.

“With this, we added yet another task to our schedule. Bold.”

“We came this far only by taking every opportunity that appeared on our seemingly bleak path of future.”

“You're right. At this point, all I can say is a damn, I'm in~”

The details would have to be discussed later, though. We urgently needed to get out of our costume and prepare for the upcoming interview. Trying to ignore the tummyache of anxiety forming in my stomach, I waved everyone goodbye.

“It’s a good thing that Rudi is a clever one, he prepared some interview responses beforehand. There are so many things we don’t know about the organization yet, would be nasty to get stuck without a proper answer.”

“Right? It’s such a big help, Dr Moti finding the notes for us. I hope they won’t ask anything unexpected, though…”

“I think we should go have a talk with the Director as soon as we can. We shouldn’t do anything that would hurt the reputation she carefully built, it’s best to consult her.”

She was right, as she always was… but the tasks and expectations piling up on me were so foreign, that I was starting to feel like I was developing a fever. I took one last peek at the tent before leaving. I saw everyone chatting with smiling faces, some stretching their tired limbs. I spotted Nilsu with Ivone, as she rearranged something on her outfit. Everyone was so hardworking.

I couldn’t fall behind such bright, determined souls.