The Big Stage

Takahashi sat in the courtyard with a sigh as he wiped the sweat from his face with a towel. The whole morning, he had been helping out with setting up the big stage along with some construction workers and some of the male teachers. That wasn't the plan, but a scheduling mishap forced him to come to the school at 4:00 am so that the big stage could be put up in time for the last day of the festival.

As he leaned back in his chair, Ueda came by and handed him a paper cup. “Have some coffee, Takahashi-sensei. It'll give you some energy.”

“Thank you, Ueda-sensei,” Takahashi replied as he took a sip. The warm coffee felt like it was soaking into his body. He glanced back at the nearly assembled stage in the distance. It was truly massive; the auditorium's stage hardly compared. In just a few hours, Fukuda and the rest of his class would be performing their play for everyone to see, and Fukuda's father would be watching as well.

Thinking about everything nearly gave him a stomachache. After all of his tough talk from yesterday, he really had no idea what to do if Fukuda's father stormed up to him and demanded that Fukuda not take the stage or something like that. He had assumed Fukuda's father would be a rather unassuming middle-aged man, but if he thought about it, there was no way a politician would not be able to exude some measure of authority.

No, that didn't matter. Fukuda's father may be a politician, but all Takahashi needed to be was an ally to Fukuda. He needed to support her endeavors no matter what, and there was no need to go any further than that. After all, even Fukuda didn't seem to expect him to change her father's mind.

He chugged the rest of his coffee and stood up. “All right!” Takahashi shouted out while stretching his arms. “Let's get this big stage set up already!”

“You're all revved up now,” Ueda said with a giggle. “Was the coffee that effective?”

“There's no play without a stage, after all,” Takahashi said with a cheeky smile. Then, he remembered something and turned around. “Oh, right, Ueda-sensei!”

“Yes?”

“Could I ask your help with something?”

*****

Some hours later, the last day of the school festival was underway. Viewers flooded in from all over town, all for the big stage events that were supposed to take place. The principal had gone all out in full force in procuring headliners, hiring local bands and performers to come to the festival.

“Is this all right?” Takahashi asked as he watched the throngs of people come in through the entrance. “I thought this festival was for the students to show off their hard work.”

“Come now, nothing's wrong with a little community love,” the vice principal said with a reassuring grin. “Besides, look at the turnout! The stalls will definitely be booming with business!”

“Most of that money will be going to pay the performers, though,” Takahashi grumbled under his breath. However, the vice principal wasn't listening, as the sounds of cash registers were the only thing resounding in his head.

Takahashi pulled out the festival pamphlet and glanced at the schedule again. His class was set to do their play at 1:00 pm, in the afternoon. Even though his class had already performed the play several times yesterday, Takahashi couldn't help but feel nervous. After all, they'd be performing in front of way more people than they were yesterday. They might not think it'd have an effect on them, but it could.

Takahashi headed over to check on his students, who were using the time to prepare for the big performance. Since their classroom had been co-opted as a place for visitors to rest (ironically, considering a rest area had been suggested by the class before), Takahashi's students were using an unused classroom near the courtyard as a sort of dressing room.

“That stage is bigger than I thought it would be,” Kuroda said nervously as he glanced out the window. Currently, the stage was currently hosting a takoyaki-eating contest, with several hundred people watching. “I'm starting to get a little anxious here.”

“Hmph!” Nagasaki smirked as he put on his costume. “This is a much more suitable stage to display my splendor. I hope no talent scouts are sitting in the audience today. I'd hate to have to take time away from baseball practice.”

Takahashi looked around and found Fukuda sitting in a chair. She hadn't put on her makeup or wig yet, but she was wearing her costume. She had a rather absentminded look on her face, as if she was somewhere far off instead. Takahashi walked over to her and waved a hand in her face to see if she would respond.

“Sensei,” Fukuda remarked, nonplussed. “Did you need something?”

“No, not particularly.” Takahashi stared at the phone Fukuda was holding in her hand. “Is he here already?”

“Not yet. He's not going to be here until noon.”

“Is it all right if you aren't there to greet him?”

“Yes. I already told him where to go.” Fukuda looked down with a forlorn expression on her face. “I also told him that I would be acting in a play.”

Takahashi nodded sympathetically. “Did he say anything about that?”

“No.”

An awkward silence ensued, halted immediately by Takahashi slapping his cheeks loudly.

“Sensei, what are you doing?” Yada asked with a confused expression on her face.

“Just pumping myself up. It's the big show today after all, so let's make it our best performance yet!”

The students cheered in response to Takahashi's impromptu pep talk. Even Fukuda seemed to cheer up a bit. He knew that it wouldn't erase the intense nerves that must be weighing down on all of them, but at least they could focus their minds on something else for a bit.

*****

Three hours seemed to vanish into thin air, and the time for Takahashi's class to perform on the big stage arrived. They were now standing in a small space behind the big stage as they frantically made last-minute preparations. To their consternation, they realized that the set pieces looked far too small against the backdrop of the stage itself, but since there was no time, they simply had to leave it as is, despite Yagami's singular protest.

The students' nerves were also on edge; in the classroom, they seemed fine, but now that they were backstage, the sounds of the massive audience were starting to get to them. Nagasaki was putting up a strong front, but he was clearly the most affected by it all.

“I'm just fine, you know?” Nagasaki said, holding up a shaky thumbs up. “I-It'll be all right! No problems at all!”

“You're not convincing anyone like that,” Takahashi groaned.

Fukuda walked up and held Nagasaki's hands in hers. “Just focus your eyes on me and don't think about anything else, okay? If you can tune the audience out, you should be able to get over your nerves.”

Nagasaki froze, but not because his nerves were calmed. In fact, he looked even more like he was going to explode now. Takahashi quickly pulled Nagasaki away and took him to another corner of the backstage area. “All right, Nagasaki-kun! Let's do some quick relaxation exercises to get you geared up for the play!”

“Takahashi-sensei,” Nagasaki whispered as tears began to well up in his eyes. “I think I could die happy right now.”

“Not until after the play, okay? All right, deep breaths, deep breaths...”

There was no more time for delays. The set had already been put up, and the backstage crew was standing below the stage, ready to change out the pieces when necessary. The curtains had not been drawn yet, but the sound of the waiting audience was as loud as day. While checking on the set, Takahashi noticed Fukuda peeking out of the curtain at the audience.

“Looking for your father?” Takahashi asked in a low whisper as he walked up to her.

“Yeah. I can't see him at all, though.”

“Did he message you?”

“He did. He says he's here.”

Takahashi sighed and pulled Fukuda away from the curtain. “Come on now. The play's about to begin. If you keep dwelling on your father being here, you're not going to be able to perform at your best, right?”

Fukuda hesitantly nodded. “I guess you're right. There's no postponing things at this point. I just have to do it, right?”

“Right!” Takahashi clenched his fist. “Knock his socks off with your acting!”

The sound of mic feedback echoed from behind the curtain, and Takahashi heard the MC get on stage to announce the start of the play. “Hello, everyone! How are you doing?!”

The audience roared in response to the question.

“Good! Now, next up we've got something really special for you: an original play called 'The Knight with the Black Mask'!”

Takahashi turned to Fukuda and gave her a reassuring nod. “Break a leg out there, okay?”

Fukuda nodded in response, and Takahashi descended from the stage. Fukuda stood from the side as the narrator began to introduce the main story. Eventually, the curtains pulled aside to reveal the set, and Fukuda stood alone in front of an audience of almost a thousand people.

The sight was unbelievable. It was as if the whole world was looking at her. Even so, she didn't feel the slightest bit nervous or anxious. Instead, she only felt an exhilarating boost of adrenaline that filled her body with boundless energy. As the narration came to a close, she raised a hand into the air and launched into the first line of the play.

It was almost like a miracle. Though the entire class had been nervous up until the play began, one line from Fukuda was enough to make it all wash away. All at once, they remembered how much time and energy they'd put into the performance, all for this one day. Though it was a lot of pressure, each student seemed to realize that this was the chance to display just how hard they worked, and for that one hour, they wouldn't have given that up for anything in the world.

In what almost seemed like no time, the performance was done. The entire class was on pins and needles the entire time they were gearing up for the performance, but now they wished that it would never end. It did end, and the audience erupted in applause, with some of the students' parents even trying to start a standing ovation. The entire class emerged from the backstage, including the ones that worked behind the scenes, and bowed for the applauding audience. Every single student was blushing with pride, a sight that nearly brought Takahashi to tears.

And then it was over. The students cleared off of the stage and took their set pieces and costumes with them. The audience settled back in their seats and cheered for the next performance to come on stage. The world continued to revolve as slowly and surely as it ever did.

But something had changed, at least in Fukuda's mind. Though the play had already ended quite a while ago, her heart hadn't stopped beating like a drum, and she felt as if fireworks were setting off inside her mind. It was as if she was experiencing a rush like she had never felt before.

This feeling was so strong that she had nearly forgotten that her father was there to watch her act for the first time in her entire life. But when she saw him standing at the entrance to her classroom, she suddenly came back down to Earth.

He was dressed in an expensive, grey brand-name suit, which obviously made him stand out in the middle of a school festival filled with students and casually-dressed family members. Two men in black suits stood at his side with intimidating expressions, causing the visitors to avoid the area altogether.

“Who is that guy?” Yada asked, looking apprehensive. “Why's he waiting outside our classroom?”

“He's my father,” Fukuda answered quietly.

Izumi stepped forward with a hard expression on his face. He seemed intent on starting an argument with Fukuda's father, but he was quickly stopped by Takahashi, who abruptly came up from behind. “You guys go on in. I'm going to speak with Fukuda's father.”

“Takahashi-sensei!” Fukuda called out with worry, but Takahashi put a finger to his lips.

“It'll be fine. Don't worry about it and go on ahead.”

Fukuda's expression was still full of worry, but she ultimately relented, and followed the other students into the classroom. As Takahashi approached Fukuda's father, he turned to his bodyguards and waved them off. The bodyguards seemed hesitant, but they ultimately moved some distance down the hallway, giving the two of them privacy.

Takahashi cleared his throat and did his best to present himself as authoritatively as possible. “Hello, Fukuda-san. I'm Takahashi, your daughter's homeroom teacher.”

“Of course,” Fukuda's father nodded in acknowledgment. “I'm sure my daughter has been relying on you quite a bit.”

“It's actually the opposite,” Takahashi said wryly. “She's a very self-sufficient girl. If I'm not too careful, I might end up relying on her too much.”

Fukuda's father seemed unamused. “Did you need to speak to me for any reason? If not, I'd like to speak to my daughter.”

“Right.” Takahashi took a deep breath to calm himself. “But before I let you do that, I need to ask you something first.”

“What is it?”

“You watched Fukuda... er, Shizuku-san's performance earlier, right? What did you think of it?”

“The play, right? Yes, I did see it. I'm afraid I'm not well-versed in the arts, but judging by the audience's reaction, she performed very well.”

“I see. And are you fine with that?”

Fukuda's father seemed confused for a moment, but realization dawned quickly on his face. “Ah, I see. She told you about what happened in the past.”

Takahashi nodded silently in response. Fukuda's father let out a sigh and folded his arms.

“I won't try and mince words. I was in the wrong for that, and I always knew it. I apologized as soon as the words came out of my mouth, but the damage was done. I realized that when she stopped talking about acting after that moment.”

He seemed sincere. It didn't seem like he was the type of person to lie just to save face.

“To be honest, Takahashi-sensei, I was relieved when Shizuku told me she was acting in a play, though I doubt she'd have believed me even if I said it to her.”

“Is that the truth?”

“It is. I had always wanted her to go back to acting, but I didn't have the right to say that to her. I was the reason she stopped in the first place, after all.”

“I suppose I can understand that perspective.”

“Well, even if that's the case, I realize that it sounds convenient. I'm an awkward parent, and I couldn't express myself well to her. Ultimately, the fault lies with me. That's why I'm thankful that a teacher like you was able to reach out to her.”

“I wouldn't take all of the credit,” Takahashi said awkwardly. “In the end, it was Shizuku-san's own initiative that let her take that first step.”

“Even so, I'm grateful,” Fukuda's father said as he bowed respectfully. “To think that Shizuku would find such a teacher is a great relief to me.”

Takahashi scratched his neck anxiously as he laughed. He wasn't used to being praised, so this sudden onslaught of compliments was about to make him cry.

“In any case, I shouldn't take up your time any further,” Takahashi said as he stood aside. “Go ahead and talk to your daughter.”

Fukuda's father gave him one more respectful nod, then walked into the classroom. Most of the other students had already left by the time their talk ended, but Fukuda waited behind, knowing that her father would want to speak to her. As Fukuda's father entered the classroom, Izumi walked over to Takahashi with a concerned look on his face.

“Is this okay?” Izumi asked.

“It's fine,” Takahashi said as he peeked into the classroom from behind the wall.

“You sure don't look convincing like that.”

So he was curious to see what Fukuda was going to say to her father. Could you blame him?

The two of them exchanged the usual greetings, then fell into an awkward silence. After what felt like an eternity, Fukuda finally spoke up first.

“Father... what did you think of my performance today?”

“It was very good. You made a very good princess.”

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

“So, you're acting again.” Fukuda's father cut right to the matter.

“Yes.” Fukuda's expression fell immediately. Takahashi could tell she was nervous about what her father was going to say next.

Fukuda's father cleared his throat before answering. “I know you've been pushing yourself a lot, but... I want to tell you that you don't need to worry about me.”

“Huh?”

“Well... If you want to become an actress, I won't stop you. In fact, I'd be happy for you.”

“Really? But...”

Fukuda's father let out a remorseful sigh. “I know. What I've said still haunts you even now.”

“No, that's not true,” Fukuda interrupted. “I didn't want to bring up painful memories, so I-”

“But you only did that because of what I said, right? There's no need to be so reserved. I should have realized that you were hurting because of what I said, but I never did. That was wrong of me. Even when I realized, I never did anything to make things right.”

Fukuda looked as if she was about to cry. She didn't want her father to take the blame like this, yet the fact that he was finally able to open up to her must have been such a relief. Fukuda's father put his hands on her shoulders reassuringly and gave her a slightly sad smile.

“From now on, you can pursue your dreams as much as you like. Okay?”

Fukuda sobbed as she nodded in response. Takahashi quietly turned away and pulled Izumi with him. “Come on. We should give them space.”

“You're gonna say that when you were the one eavesdropping? And don't pull me!” Izumi pulled himself loose and straightened out his uniform.

“Things worked out,” Takahashi remarked with a wistful gaze. “Let's just leave it at that.”

*****

The rest of the festival seemed to go by in a blur. Takahashi's class, now freed from the burden of having to perform on the big stage, ran off to enjoy the remaining festival events in full force. Even Takahashi, who had been on chaperone duty for the majority of the festival, was given a chance to relax and let his hair down. There was still a lot to see on the final day of the festival, such as the performers hired to perform on the big stage.

For the final performance of the day, the chairs were taken out of the courtyard to make space for the students and visitors to dance as the last act, a local rock band, set up for their performance. It was a very energetic ending to incredibly packed school festival, and the vice principal laughed with glee as he imagined the money the school had made off the festival alone.

Takahashi enjoyed the concert for a while, but eventually he decided that a break would do him some good, so he decided to go to his classroom, which would surely be empty. The festival would also be ending, so it was a good time to make sure everything was cleaned up and put away.

When he arrived at his classroom, he was surprised to see Fukuda, Izumi, Yada, and Nagasaki there. They had been talking there for a while, though they had stopped when he entered the room.

“Hey, Sensei!” Yada called out. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing. You aren't going to watch the final concert.”

“It's too crowded,” Fukuda replied. “I didn't really want to get caught up in that chaos.”

“Same here,” Izumi concurred. “I was thinking of heading home early, honestly.”

“And you?” Takahashi looked at Nagasaki. “I honestly expected you to be the first to want to show off your dance skills.”

“Someone wanted to be alone with Fukuda-san, didn't he?” Yada said teasingly.

“N-Not at all!” Nagasaki said indignantly. “I just wanted to congratulate the leading actress on a job well done, that's all!”

“Is that so?” Yada was unconvinced by Nagasaki's poor attempt to hide his embarrassment.

“In any case, if you aren't going to the dance, then help me clean this place up,” Takahashi declared. “I'll let you kids go home early if you do.”

“Really?” Yada jumped up almost immediately.

“Yeah. There's not too much left,” Takahashi said as he assessed the room. “We'll have to move the set and return the costumes, but that's about it?”

“What'll we do with the set?” Izumi asked.

“I'm not sure,” Takahashi replied. “I assume that it'll get broken down and thrown away or something.”

“Aww,” Yada groaned as she picked up some of the costumes. “That's such a waste.”

“A waste? What do you mean?”

“Well, we worked so hard on it, and now it's going to get thrown away. It kind of feels... empty, I guess.”

Yada's expression was wistful, and Takahashi could tell that she was sincerely starting to feel lonely.

“It was a lot of work for just two days,” Izumi said. “But it was absolutely worth it.”

“I agree,” Nagasaki chimed in. “I'm glad I got the chance to be the lead.”

The classroom suddenly fell silent as a gloomy mood began to take over. “Well, it's not like that's all there is,” Takahashi said, trying to brighten the mood.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, before our performance today, I actually asked Ueda-sensei to do something for me.” Takahashi pulled out a tape from his shirt pocket. “She recorded the entire performance with a camcorder.”

“Really?” Yada looked surprised. “You didn't tell us you were gonna do that!”

“Well, I didn't want you guys to get nervous. We were recording it for prosperity, after all.”

“Are you going to make copies, Sensei?”

“That's the plan. It's gonna take some time, though.”

“I want a copy!” Izumi suddenly cut in enthusiastically.

“Oh, me too!” Yada chimed in. “I have friends who couldn't come to see the play!”

“I'll make a copy for anyone that asks later,” Takahashi said with a laugh. “There's no need to fight for one.”

The group continued to chatter for a bit until the room was clear of all the set pieces and costumes they had brought in. With that done, Izumi, Nagasaki, and Yada decided to take off, leaving Takahashi and Fukuda behind. Takahashi gave the classroom another once-over to make sure that they hadn't missed anything, then gave Fukuda a reassuring nod.

“Looks like everything's been taken care of. Is your father still at school?”

“No. He had to leave a while ago.”

“I see. Were you able to talk with him properly?”

“Yes.” Fukuda bowed deeply in appreciation. “This is all because of you, so... thank you.”

“There's no need for that,” Takahashi said awkwardly. “Honestly, I kind of feel like I'm been troubling you this whole time.”

“That's right. You have been causing me trouble ever since the festival became a thing.”

“Hey now.”

Fukuda giggled. She'd been a lot brighter recently, and Takahashi would bet that it had everything to do with the weight of her father lifting off of her shoulders. He stretched his arms and looked out the window at the festival coming down to a close.

“The festival's finally over. Did you enjoy it?”

“Of course.”

Takahashi grinned. “That's good. That's all that matters, right?”

“You're not going to leave it at that, are you, Sensei?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, what about next year?”

“Next year?”

“Sure. I'll still be a student here, after all. There'll be another festival next year too.”

“You wanna do a play then?” Takahashi sighed. “I might not even be your homeroom teacher next year.”

“That's fine. I'll do it without you.”

“Ack! How cold.”

Fukuda giggled again. Takahashi shook his head with exasperation.

“Anyway, shouldn't you be trying for bigger roles? Why are you only thinking about next year's festival?”

“Well, it's not like I'm going to go straight into acting all of a sudden. I'm going to look for an performing arts school to go to, but I still want to go to university.”

“I see. Well, you're a responsible young woman, that's for sure.”

“In any case, you better be prepared!” Fukuda said with her hands on her hips. “Next year, I'm going to put on a play that's even better than this year's!”

“That's the spirit!” Takahashi grinned. “If I end up your homeroom teacher again next year, I'll definitely support you.”

“You better!” Fukuda shouted as she ran off. “You're the reason why I can't get acting out of my mind, after all!”

Takahashi smiled a bit as he heard the concert outside hit the climax with the band's final song. The students would all go home soon, and classes would resume like normal tomorrow. His class would go back to being the unmotivated students that they were before. At least now, however, they would have memories that they could take with them for the rest of their lives.