A Light In The Town: IV

By now my head was rushing. I decided to just walk to the venue. It would still be early, but I figured I could just walk around a little. At this hour the pubs, restaurants and other establishments were starting to open their doors and the streets were getting busy. There was a surprising number of people in suits. Office workers unwinding after work, presumably.

Does Papa do this, too?

I did feel quite out of place, a child amongst adults. It was definitely my imagination, but I felt seen. As if all eyes were on me, every head turned to look my way. And I still had fifteen minutes before I could retreat to the inside of the venue. It would probably be dark in there, and I could hide in some corner. I circled the block. And again. Still ten minutes. Again and again. I checked my phone. 6:56pm.

Surely they won't mind?

Slowly I made my way down the staircase to the venue. I knocked on the door, no idea why I did that, and tried to push it open.

"Ah, just a moment!"

Someone shouted over. Immediately I let the door swing closed and stood there, anxiously. A moment later, it swung open and a lady appeared behind it.

"You can come in n— Now."

She hesitated for a moment.

"Do you have a ticket?"

I nodded and pulled out my phone, bringing up the email with the e-ticket attachment. I had assumed she would scan the bar-code, but she seemed to just trust it was fine. The website had said that an ID was required for discounted student tickets but, again, she just seemed to trust it was fine. I suppose I was in my uniform. It would probably be too much to imagine someone dressing up in their old high school uniform just to save 1000¥.

Inside it was quite bright. The walls were mostly black, plastered in posters, but the lights were on, and the wall behind the stage had the venue's name, "VIBEZ", lit up. As for the space, it felt a little cramped. The bar seemed like it would be cramped if any more than one person was working behind it, and about half of the floor space was dedicated to the stage. The lady who greeted me was sat at a stool by the door, and besides her there seemed to be two people who were also working, one behind the bar and one setting up the stage.

"First time here?"

I jumped, startled at the sudden question. It was the lady on the stool. She giggled.

"Don't be frightened dear, we don't bite. But it must be your first time, I'd have remembered that cute uniform. High school girl, eh?"

"A-Ah, yeah. That is okay, isn't it?"

"Of course! Of course, as long as you don't try and sneak any drinks."

"I wouldn—"

"You don't look the sort though. You wouldn't wear a school uniform if that's what you were gonna try."

I straightened my back, before bowing.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am. Kirika Komori. Please take care of me."

She laughed me off.

"No need for such formalities, Kiri-chan. I'm Chizuru. Kid behind the bar is Aya-chan, the lad lifting those heavy speakers is Kou-kun."

"Yes, understood! Thank you, Chizuru-san."

"Just Chizuru. We're all friends in this place, right?"

I bowed again and she laughed again, so I scurried away to the bar. The menu was simple. 500¥ for alcoholic drinks, 300¥ for soft drinks or snacks. The girl behind the bar, 'Aya-chan', couldn't have been too much older than me. First year of university? She smiled a gentle smile at me.

"Some lemon and soda water, please."

"Sure, do you have a ticket?"

Huh?

I took my phone out and showed her the e-ticket I had shown Chizuru, which caused some amusement. She then pointed off to my right.

"Over there. We don't take cash at the bar. Buy drinks tickets from the machine and hand them over when you order."

"O-Oh. Sorry."

I suppose it made their lives easier, especially if the place was full, considering the small room they had to work with. The ticket machine was like something you'd see at a ramen shop. Sure enough, the prices were listed as 500¥ and 300¥ for alcoholic and non-alcoholic respectively. There were also some other options, such as four non-alcoholic/snacks for 1000¥, or three alcoholic drinks for 1350¥. I didn't have any change, so I decided I would just take the 1000¥ option. I would be here for a while, so it seemed like a pretty sensible thing to do.

'Aya-chan' had been nice enough to prepare my drink while I had been away buying the tickets. I had been here for a short while and I was still the only customer. I know I had arrived early, but I expected at least some people to be milling around. 'Kou-kun' by now had been joined by who I assumed were members of the band helping to adjust things the way they liked. Seeing them, I wondered if they were nervous. I had performed at some recitals and school events before, and it always terrified me. I wouldn't know what I would do if I had sold tickets to an event and no-one showed up. They, however, seemed totally fine. They were laughing and joking with 'Kou-kun', which meant they probably played here a lot.

"It'll pick up in about twenty minutes."

"Hm?"

"If you are worried about this turning into a private performance, I mean. Most people tend to roll in just as its about to start, or even a bit after."

'Aya-chan' had unexpectedly started a conversation. Maybe this was a friendly place to be, as Chizuru had said. I forced out a chuckle.

"I guess I was a bit early, then? Say, do you know A— Ah, never mind."

"Ah? A what?"

"It's nothing, I just thought, you get a lot of local performers? Such as the ones that were performing outside the department store near the station?"

"Department store? Ah! I guess so. Why'd you ask? Is that how you found out about this band?"

I paused slightly.

"Yeah, in a way, I suppose."

"I went to my first performance around the same age as you. I'm guessing, second year high school?"

"Yeah! How'd you figure."

'Aya-chan' had a sly grin on her face.

"It wasn't a guess, I saw your ribbon. I went to that school, too. I'm Ayano, by the way."

"K-Kirika! I'm Kirika Komori, nice to meet you!"

I bowed again, instinctively, which was received with predictable mirth and handwaving.

"Come on, come on, none of that here. Just Ayano is fine. Or 'Aya-chan' if you want to be like Chii-chan."

***

Ayano was right. The crowd had picked up considerably, such that I had to stop talking to her as she focused on her job. The room wasn't at capacity, but there were a couple dozen people. A handful were lingering near the stage, talking to the band members as they were preparing and performing their soundchecks. A few more were hanging around the bar, ordering drinks and chatting amongst themselves. There was still no sign of the blonde girl.

I disliked the smell of beer. I disliked the smell of tobacco even more. This was a no-smoking venue, but that didn't stop people from smoking just outside, and the smell stuck to their clothes. I could hardly complain, since I was the one who had decided to come to a place where people would smoke and drink, but the smell near the bar really was overwhelming me. I retreated and found a quiet-ish place in the corner. I wondered if coming here was a mistake. Just then, there was some movement on the stage and the lights dimmed.

"Good evening VIBEZ!"

A few cheers went up from the small crowd. Who I presumed was the main vocalist was speaking. She was wearing a frilly black dress with black tights and thick black platform shoes. The eye-makeup was black, too. Obvious what sort of style she was going for.

"I know most of you already know us, but we are Gerakuten and we're gonna, I guess, rock this place tonight!"

Louder cheers this time.

"And if you think you hear me start to lose my timing, you didn't, kay?"

And some laughter. I scanned the room as the drummer counted the band in.

She isn't coming, huh?