A Light In The Town: II

Sunday.

I had checked and there would be another "showcase of talented local musicians" next Sunday.

She probably wouldn't be performing again. I don't know if you even could double up for these sorts of things, the demand to perform probably outpaced the available time-slots. But there was a chance that she could show up to support another group. Plus, it would be nice to support local up-and-coming musicians. Yeah, that was what I wanted to do. It wasn't like I had anything else to do on Sunday. School would be starting back up next week, but I was already well ahead of the homework I needed to complete. The weather was still cool, the forecast seemed clear, and the stage was near plenty of seating areas and food vans. There was even a cafe with a balcony that overlooked the stage. I would go and observe and if I happened to see her again I would simply explain that I saw her last week and was interested in checking her out and—

"Kiricchi!"

"Hm?"

Mari was staring at me from across the table.

"What's the point in studying together if you're just gonna space out like that? This was your idea, too."

"Ah… Sorry. I just..."

"Oh?"

Her eyes lit up and she leaned forward.

"Has the love bug finally bitten my little Kiricchi? Did that movie ignite something in ya?"

"Huh? What? No. That's— No it's something else."

She kept leaning forward, staring into me.

"Are ya sure?"

I pushed her shoulder lightly.

"Yes, so sit back down."

"Good. I got enough of this lovey-dovey nonsense with Kaede's gushing about him. And you know how Yuri gets when she sees a pretty boy."

I giggled at her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You haven't got anything to worry about here just yet. I was thinking about the stage. Y'know, the one outside of BIBLIO?"

Mari sat back and grabbed her drink, taking a sip of her tea.

"Hmm? Oh! The one where they sometimes have little street performances? What, you thinking of doing it? I mean, I suppose if you have an electric piano you could hook up there you cou—"

"Ah, no, nothing like that! It's not like I could, well… It's just I read that they're doing weekly performances for the spring highlighting a bunch of young musicians, high schoolers and university students and stuff. Just thinking it might be nice to go and support them."

Mari stared at me quizzically, as if she couldn't quite process what she had heard.

"I mean, I don't mind but, since when were you interested in the local music scene?"

"Hey! I like all sorts of music. Plus, I think it sounds like a cute day out. Last Sunday I felt like I didn't have time to relax until we were sat down in the cinema."

Mari's eyes had returned to the homework in front of her, as she scratched away at a problem with her pencil.

"Yeah, I suppose. This mean you inviting me?"

I decided I should also probably make some progress on my own work and picked up my own pencil.

"Uh huh, just the two of us. I already know Kaede and Yuri are going to be scrambling to finish their homework, so it would be best if we gave them some space."

Mari giggled.

"Then it's a date."

***

We sat on a table outside a cafe which overlooked the stage below. It was a little chilly but I didn't mind. Mari was certainly more sensitive to the cold, and she had been holding on to her drink as if it were a hand-warmer. It had been a nice day. We arrived in the morning, around ten, which I discovered was the High School bloc. A band would play for around twenty minutes and then there would be a twenty minute break to set up the next band. In the afternoon the high schoolers gave way to the university students. Later in the afternoon was usually open to anyone who wished to perform and was selected, but today they were apparently closing early for another event.

Much like last week, barely anyone was able to hold a crowd. The best anyone seemed to get were a few times when some shoppers would stop and listen for a couple of minutes before heading back on, or perhaps a child with their mother staring at the stage. Sometimes there would be a handful of people giving some enthusiastic support and some trying to engage the performers in a back-and-forth during the song breaks, but these were always certainly classmates and friends of the performer, and they never stuck around for too long after the set. I had been slightly hopeful that the girl from last week would be around to back up her friends, but the University bloc was winding down and I was fast giving up this hope.

"Are you expecting someone?"

"Huh?"

It seemed I had allowed my mind to wander a bit too much.

"You look like you are looking for someone. Is there, like, a band you are a fan of?"

"Oh, no no. Just people watching."

I took a sip on my latte, which by now was lukewarm, and tried to shift the conversation.

"The performers are pretty amazing, huh?"

Mari nodded slightly at my question.

"Yeah, I guess I wouldn't be able to do something like this, even if I could play an instrument."

The conversation died down again, before Mari came back with more questions.

"Are ya sure you aren't looking for anyone? You don't need to hide that stuff from me if you fancy some random band hottie, y'know."

"I said I wasn't looking for anyone and I'm not, so jus— Oh."

The band on stage was currently clearing up, and the announcer had called an end to the day's performances. Seemed like my plan to wait around until someone randomly decided to show up was not, in fact, a brilliant plan. I saw the volunteer who was staffing the tent on the stage pack something up, so I decided to make a move.

"I'll be right back."

Before Mari could respond, I was down the stairs and at the stage.

"Um… Excuse me! Would you happen to have information about the musicians who perform here?"

The older gentleman looked a little confused at first, but he smiled and gave me an answer.

"Sorry, I don't get anything more than the schedule listing the names of the performers, and any requests for backing music they may have made."

"Oh…"

I must've looked pretty pathetic, because the man responded with genuine concern.

"Ah, if you want, I could check to see if anyone did leave some promotional material behind. Some of them do. Which performer today were you interested in?"

"Thanks, that would be great if you had anything! But, I was actually wondering if you had something from last week?"

"Last week, last week…"

He dug through some papers on the table and handed me a schedule for last Sunday. It was as he said, only times, stage names and their organisation, and a couple of numbers which I guess were referring to CD tracks.

What time did we watch the film? I think it was around five, but we had lunch before so…

I scanned the page.

3:00-3:20 — ALYX — City University of the Arts.

Figures. Not even a full name. But it was better than nothing. I bowed and thanked the man profusely before returning to a rather confused Mari.

"So there was someone you were interested in?"

I gave her a smile.

"Maybe."