Grilled Meat and Drama Club

Mr. Kita sat behind the desk in his office, hands folded in front of his face as the four of us – Ruri, Yoichi, Kaori, and myself – stood, silently awaiting his judgement. Abruptly, he let out a long sigh.

“Look, I don’t want to be here any more than any of you. I’m sure you already know that I don’t really care what happens around here, as long as it doesn’t trouble me and no one dies. But there are times when I can’t just look away, especially when Mr. Ogawa complains…our class is already at the top of his long list of grievances, after all.”

“Well, technically,” Yoichi mused, “we didn’t do anything wrong. I mean, what rules did we break, exactly?”

Kaori, nodding along vehemently, agreed, “Yeah! If anything, we followed the Law of the Wild; it’s all about survival of the fittest out there, you know? Mr. Deer was just repaying me for sparing his life, after we duked it out in one-on-one combat.” She punctuated her words by jabbing a fist at the air.

She fought a deer? With her bare hands? Well, I suppose with her superhuman strength, nothing’s impossible. It explains at least a little of what happened…I guess. Honestly, I still felt a bit dazed after the events of that morning, which had felt more like a fever dream than real life.

Mr. Kita stared at the two of them with his usual lackluster expression, and slowly replied, “You’re right, but I have to tell Mr. Ogawa I did something. So, I’ll let you off with a warning; in the future…refrain from riding deer to school, I guess? Never thought I’d have to say that.”

“It won’t happen again,” Ruri assured him, and the rest of us murmured our agreement. Mr. Kita nodded, and with that, the matter was finally settled.

---

The rest of the week saw me slowly managing to settle back into my old routine. I walked to and from school with Ruri and the others, endured the antics of the class throughout the day, and even began to pick up the occasional evening shift at the convenience store. However, it very quickly became clear that my old life had been anything but normal.

Setting aside the hundreds of deer swarming downtown, and as if my interactions on my first day back hadn’t been enough to cue me in, the entire rest of the class was filled with unique individuals, each with their own unique quirks, and it seemed they had no issues making them known.

This began to truly dawn on me during my third day back. I rested my chin on a fist, staring out the open window at the bright, warm sunlight of late-spring, absently listening to Mr. Kita drone on in a monotone while he read from the textbook he carried and slowly made his way around the room. My mind began to wander, and soon enough my head was filled with thoughts of barbeques and meat sizzling on an open grill.

Perking up, I realized, Wait, that’s not just my imagination. I definitely smell something cooking. I briefly wondered if the smell was wafting in from somewhere outside, before realizing that I could even hear it, too.

A whisper on my other side from Souta drew my attention. “Hey, TK! You want some?”

I looked over to see him holding out a kebab of grilled meat and vegetables towards me, the sight alone making my mouth water. “Where did you get that?” I wondered, and he leaned back so that I could see past him, to where a bearded man with long, spiky blonde hair tied back by a lime green bandana sat, an electric skillet sizzling away atop his desk in place of a textbook.

It took me a second to recognize him as fellow classmate and back-row student, Isamu Abe, who looked much older than any of the rest of us. Seeing my look of confusion, he shot me a cheeky grin and a thumbs-up, deftly flipping his barbeque over with the tongs held in his other hand.

Just then, Mr. Kita happened to pass by, and without even looking up from his book or breaking his stride, he snatched one of the wooden skewers for himself! The man merely continued on with his lesson without a word of acknowledgement, pausing occasionally to chew.

Turning back to Souta in disbelief of what I had just witnessed, I sighed and snatched the kabob out of his hand. “Thanks,” I mumbled back, tearing off a bite of steak.

Instantly, my mouth was filled with the flavor of caramelized seasonings, perfectly balanced by the light sweetness of the peppers and mushrooms. Wow, this is great! The meat’s tender, and juicy…not to mention flavorful! Isamu must be a really good cook.

The thought had no sooner entered my head, than a barrage of scattered memories poured in upon its heels. Souta burning his tongue on hotpot, fondue cheese getting stuck in Jin’s hair as he slept through everything, Isamu getting upset when people thought he was a grown man, despite the fact that he had only been held back by a single year...these and dozens more resurfaced in the span of a few seconds, and left me reeling.

I took a couple deep breaths as the memories settled into place, and turned to look out the window, a nostalgic smile rising to my lips as I took another bite. That’s right. They’ve always been like this. It’s ridiculous, sure, but honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

---

Later in the week, I decided to stop by the drama club after school, for the first time since the accident.

Saying my farewells to a crestfallen Ruri, I made my way to the first-floor auditorium, and paused for a moment outside of the closed doors to take a deep breath. I had no idea what I might be in for, and I was unsure whether my acting skills – whatever they might have previously amounted to – remained or not.

I pushed open the double-doors, and was immediately cast into darkness, with the only light in the large room coming from the spotlights that shined upon the stage. There, stood a tall boy with windswept black hair and a sparkle in his eyes, clad in a heroic costume and clutching a folded script in one hand and a toy sword in the other.

He paused his performance when he noticed me approaching the stage, and a toothy grin split his face as he pointed his sword at me and emphatically called out, “Hark! Dost mine eyes deceive? For I am met with a vision most fortuitous, an ethereal embodiment all of my hopes and dreams!”

I certainly wasn’t sure how to respond to his strange words, but thankfully Arei, who stood across from him on the stage, added excitedly, “TK, you made it! Don’t mind him; he’s always like this.”

The boy made a noise of hurt, and bowed low towards me. “Forgive the lady her jest. For I am merely elated by your return, Takashi.”

“Ah, right…” I said unsurely.

Arei rolled her eyes at him and hissed, “Aoto, he lost his memories! He has no idea who you are, anymore.”

Feigning a look of hurt, he exclaimed, “Oh my, how dreadful a turn of events! My apologies. You may call me Drama Club President, Aoto Kobayashi, the Rising Star of Obihiro!”

“Don’t call him all that, Takashi,” Arei cautioned, “Just ‘Aoto’ will do, for him. Otherwise, he’d let it go straight to his head. For a third-year, he’s awfully prone to flights of fancy.”

With an indifferent grunt, Aoto mused, “Life is but a stage, my dear. And Takashi, I can’t tell you how happy I am to have you back! I’ve been filling in for you to help Arei practice her lines, but I’m afraid the two of us have little in the way of the natural chemistry that the two of you share on stage.”

Arei spluttered some wordless protests at his grand praise, turning away as her face began to turn bright red. Still, Aoto either did not notice her reaction or merely ignored it, continuing a bit more seriously, “But this loss of memory does present a problem. If my shining prince can’t remember his lines, I’m afraid we might have to cancel our performance. It’s too late now to find a replacement, and I can’t play every role myself.”

Casting a questioning glance towards Arei, who apparently still hadn’t recovered, I thought, She mentioned I was the club’s star performer…but I didn’t realize that meant I was literally the star of the upcoming play! Gingerly, I told him, “I’m not really sure about that, either. I mean, I don’t even know what the play’s about, or what my role in it is, anymore.”

Aoto clicked his tongue before insisting, “Well then, you have perfect timing! Up, up I say!” Gesturing for me to join him on-stage, I hopped up, and grabbed the folded manuscript he shoved into my hands. “We’re doing a variation of the classic story of Sleeping Beauty, based on Perrault’s version of the tale and adapted by yours truly. You, Takashi, play the part of the dashing prince, and of course Arei has the role of Sleeping Beauty herself.”

“And what part do you play?” I wondered, recalling his comment about not being able to fill every role himself.

With a flourish of his hands, he proclaimed proudly, “Narrator, king, servant, cook, and fairy, at your service.”

Wow, he really is playing a ton of different parts! I thought, impressed that he could manage to keep all of the lines straight in his head. Although, he did write the script himself, so I guess it makes sense he’d remember everyone’s lines. It’s still pretty impressive, though.

I spent the next two hours stumbling over my lines with Arei, while Aoto provided feedback on our performances. With his unique sense of showmanship, I was oftentimes unsure whether he was berating or praising us, but the advice he provided was, admittedly, solid.

As the session went on, I began to have a strong sense of familiarity with the lines, and to my surprise I discovered that the words felt almost as if I had read them before. By the end, I actually noticed a substantial improvement in my ability to navigate the complex sentences, and was starting to really get into it when Aoto finally clapped his hands together loudly and announced, “Alright, let’s call it there for today, shall we? I daresay that you might actually be able to come back in time at this rate.”

“It really seemed to be coming back to you towards the end, there,” Arei complimented, taking the dry towel Aoto offered and patting her forehead. “But I have my reservations. I mean, the play is only two weeks away…and you only recently got released from the hospital. Are you really going to be okay?”

I frowned, asking myself the same question. In response, I said, “The doctor gave me a clean bill of health, and I feel fine, so I don’t think it will be an issue, but…” But, is it wise to go up on stage in my current state? I feel like everything will come back to me quickly enough, but if I forget my lines or freeze up in the moment, it’s not just me who’ll be affected.

Retrieving another fresh towel, Aoto shrugged off our worries with a lighthearted chuckle. “Takashi’s always pulled through for us before, right, Arei? I say we push forward and trust that he can do it again this time, too! Besides, everyone else will be disappointed if we have to cancel after having practiced for so long.”

Arei gave me a look that said she was still not convinced, and I took the towel Aoto offered me, craning my neck to stare into the bright lights overhead as I dabbed the sweat out of my eyes.

It really does get hot up here under the spotlight, huh?