Waterloo

Loud guitar chords resounded through the live house as the band started playing their first song. When the vocalist sang the song’s first line, the audience lit up with excitement. They all began to sing along with her - they seemed to know this song rather well. Masaki, however, had never heard of it. Not that he focussed much on the music itself, since all his attention was pointed at the band’s lead singer. Could this girl really be Ishihara-san from his high school? She always seemed kind of - standoffish, not someone who would like to be the front of attention like this. Sure, she wasn’t the type that let others walk over her, Masaki could recount a time he saw her yelling at a teacher for grading her too low on a test. But usually, she seemed rather sweet and yet totally unapproachable for a nerd like him. Definitely not the type that would be the singer for an indie-rock band like this.

As the set continued, Masaki’s anxiety seemed to intensify, preventing him from fully enjoying this otherwise stellar performance. Did he really have to go up and approach them at the end of the concert? Wouldn’t be that a lot like.. confessing your love to the band? He started sweating more and more intensely. He didn’t have the courage anymore to look at the singer's face, so he looked at her feet instead. I think my dad was right, I am not ready for this yet.

“Alright everyone, thank you for coming.”

“This is Maid in Melodies, and this will be our last song Rainclouds!”

Masaki could hear the band really put their heart and souls into this last song. Their instruments perfectly blended together with the singer's voice to form a powerful melange of sound. They must have practiced this a thousand times. Masaki thought to himself. During the last chorus, he finally regained the guts to look the singer in her blue-sparkling eyes. She must have spotted that - because she turned her head towards Masaki and glimpsed. I must be imagining this right? Masaki’s head turned red - he started moving toward the back of the concert venue. There is the exit! As he walked through the door, the band strummed their last chord. The business card was still sitting in his pocket - there was no way he was offering it to them. He just didn’t have the courage for it…

Back at home, his dad asked him how he felt about the band.

Masaki tried to shrug it off.

“They weren’t any good live.”

His dad scratched his head - he seemed a bit confused.

“On the videos, they sounded really good - especially for their age.”

His dad paused for a second.

“So that means you didn’t offer them the business card”

Masaki shook his head.

“I can’t work with that.”

His dad sighed.

“I guess I have to trust your judgment here”

He put his hand on Masaki's shoulder.

“Don’t feel down because of this. We’ll find something else okay?”

Masaki nodded his head. He felt relieved about his dad not trying to push this any further.

I guess it will be best to just forget about any of this happening.

But that was easier said than done.

X

Wearing a blue backpack, Masaki entered the gate that led to the schoolyard. There he found his friend and classmate Kazuki waiting for him. They usually hang around here for a bit before classes started.

“Yoh, Masaki!”

Kazuki waved enthusiastically at Masaki.

“I was waiting for you in the FireWakers lobby last night, but you never showed up.”

“Were you busy working on your music again?”

Masaki nodded.

“Something like that.”

He did his best to forget about the concert.

“Pfff, I admire the amount of effort you put into your stuff. You spend hours tweaking some stuff and no one can hear the difference.”

A big sigh escaped Masaki’s mouth.

“The world would surely collapse if everyone had the same mindset as you, Kazuki.”

Kazuki chuckled - after which he suddenly turned around.

Masaki tried to see what he was looking at.

A group of girls had entered the schoolyard. At the back of the group was Akane Ishihara, which beautiful red locks danced in the wind. She really does look exactly like the girl at the concert. Masaki shook his head and looked the other way. He must forget about what happened last night.

“Don’t you dream of having a girlfriend like one of these?”

Masaki sighed.

“They have a name Kazuki - you only like them because of their looks.”

Kazuki got a little aggregated.

“You know I have had a crush on Kitamura-san for a long time!”

“Look at how her - she is like a princess.”

Masaki rolled his eyes.

“Why don’t you tell that to her…”

“I will when the time is ripe”

“Which will be when exactly..”

Masaki said with a sarcastic tone.

“There is no way popular girls like that will go out with total nerds like us.”

“They don’t even see us - they look right through. We are totally invisible.”

“You are always such a downer Masaki. Have some faith!”

“We will eventually meet. She’ll lose her handkerchief and I’ll hand it to her. Then we will marry.”

“Stuff like that only happens in the manga, Kazuki.”

Masaki didn’t feel like continuing this stupid conversation.

“Let’s head inside.”

X

The boys sat down in their usual seats at the back of the classroom. Masaki put down his back and grabbed his book. Yet another boring day at school. Since he wanted to be a music producer from a young age, he saw most subjects at school as a waste of time. When does any of this ever come in use? He’d rather spend time in his bedroom, learning about new production techniques while listening to music in a wide array of genres. His dad always taught him that it was important to have a big repository of musical knowledge like that.

While Masaki was still daydreaming, the teacher walked into the room.

“Alright, students please open your books on page 173. Today’s lesson will be about the Napoleonic wars in Europe.”

Masaki sighed, he couldn’t care less.

“In the last lesson, we talked about Napoleon trying to conquer Russia, can any of you recall what we learned about that?”

The teacher looked around the class.

One of his classmates reached out his hand.

“Napoleon tried to conquer Russia, which was really stupid since there was no way he would have won that.”

The teacher glimpsed and applauded the student.

“Thank you, Russia would indeed have been way too big for Napoleon to conquer.”

Masaki rolled his eyes, he looked quite annoyed. Unfortunately, the teacher seemed to notice.

“Do you have anything to add about this subject Masaki?”

I know I should my mouth shut - I should keep my opinion to myself.

But Masaki failed…

“I think your answers are stupid - there is no way Napoleon would have been able to keep his control of Europe without subjugating Russia.”

He could hear some of his classmates sighing - they must have had enough already of these discussions Masaki always seemed to start with his teachers.

“Thank you for sharing your opinion Masaki. For this lesson, however, we’re going to follow what was written down in our lesson plan.”

But Masaki wasn’t having it, he didn’t like the teacher dismissing his answer.

“I refuse to just brainlessly follow whatever is written down in the book - especially when it’s clearly wrong.”

“Masaki, please, if you have issues with the curriculum please discuss it with the teacher faculty leader.”

The teacher tried to calm down the class.

“Let’s continue with the lesson, everyone open your book on page 173.”

“After Napeolon lost his Russian campaign, he was banished to the island of Elba…”

But the teacher suddenly stopped and looked at Masaki again.

“Masaki, please stop daydreaming and open your book.”

But before Masaki could do or say anything, Kazuki opened his mouth and tried to make a witty remark.

“Teacher, Masaki is still strategizing about how he would conquer Russia - please give him some time so he could change world history.”

Some classmates chuckled, the teacher however was not amused.

“Mind your own business Kazuki.”

He now looked at Masaki again - who still hadn’t opened his book.

“Masaki, if you refuse to cooperate in this lesson, please leave the room and report yourself to the administration office.”

Masaki sighed - grabbed his books and left the classroom.

X

Footsteps echoed through the school’s empty hallways. Masaki was angrily walking towards the administration office. Why do the teachers never want to listen to me? The anger rushed through his veins - he just couldn’t think straight anymore. He leaned against a wall to catch a breath. He grabbed a bottle of water out of his backpack and took a sip. He tried his best to regain his composure. What am I even angry at, really? Is it okay to just feel - angry? Masaki wept some sweat off his face. I don’t even care about that Napoleon guy at all - all I should be caring about is my music!

At that exact moment, he heard a sweet voice talking to him. He looked up and looked right into a pair of sky-blue eyes.

“Are you doing okay?”

The girl that was talking to him was no-other than Akane Ishihara!