Double Planet Episode 12

Double Planet
Episode 12: "Even after a year like this, Christmas will still come as Christmas."
Ruka Tamaru (Furuta Jun & Kanda Yota / Radio Shonan personalities)

The clubroom in December was colder than I'd imagined. Leaning against the weakly oscillating electric heater, the only sound was the rustling of Natsuki's numb hands turning the pages of the script. I was lost in thought, reminiscing about that day. The stars we looked up at on the beach, the conversation we had, the dawn, the morning glow, the first train, the Enoden train, the excuses I made to my mother. I never knew what would inspire my writing. I jotted down the overflowing ideas, went to the library to do research, and then, as if possessed, poured it all into the script. It's embarrassing to use this word, but if I may, I'd say it was full concentration. Yes, I finished revising the script for "Sky and Puzzle" with full concentration.

Natsuki, trembling, said after finishing reading to the end:

"What is this... This is crazy."

I was confident. Or rather, to be honest, I felt that I couldn't write anything better than this at this point.

"The character designs and the story development are great, I think it's gotten so much better!"
"it was good"

I replied briefly, trying to contain my excitement. It meant that the script revisions for "Sky and Puzzle" had gone well. Natsuki and I had taken another step forward.

"Now, the question is, what do we do next? How do we stage this production...?"

As expected, I was at a loss for words. Our activities are still uncertain due to the effects of the coronavirus. Or rather, the situation might be getting worse. Last month's cultural festival was canceled, and the drama club's activities have been on hold for a while. The rumor is that if things continue like this, the graduation ceremony in February will also be canceled. It feels like a long time ago that we were allowed to do whatever we wanted. We've finished the script, but there's no opportunity or place to perform it. This is tough. Sigh. After a while of silence, Natsuki handed me a small folded piece of paper.

"Luca, could you read this for me?"
"What's that...?"

I took the folded paper and cautiously unfolded it, finding the word "Operation" written in messy handwriting. It wasn't Natsuki's handwriting I knew. There weren't many proper letters, and I realized it was some kind of diagram illustrating a streaming system connecting a camera and a computer with a cable.

"I talked to my boyfriend about it the other day."
"Wait, wait, wait. Boyfriend...?! Huh? Huh?"
"Oh, right, I haven't told you yet, Luca. I've been dating someone since last month. Do you know Takemura-kun from the broadcasting club?"

Tomoharu Takemura. He was in the same class as me in my first year. I knew he was knowledgeable about music, but that was about the extent of my impression of him. To be honest, he wasn't exactly the handsome type. It was surprising that Natsuki, who admitted to being picky about looks, would fall for him.

"He was really pushing his feelings on me."

Natsuki said, blushing but not entirely displeased. I'm sure there was something only the two of them understood. But rather than prying into it, I first needed to understand the meaning of the diagram written on this paper.

"This plan is..."
"Takemura-kun suggested, 'Why don't you just stream it?'"

Certainly, online performances have increased during the pandemic. I've watched several online performances by theater companies that caught my interest. But I never imagined we'd try doing one ourselves. That's because we didn't know how to do it, and I'd heard it would cost a lot of money if we did it properly.

"If we do it, the broadcasting club will help us out."
"What, really?"
"Since it's a collaborative performance between the drama club and the broadcasting club, they're going to allow us to use the broadcasting club's funds as well."

Natsuki seemed somewhat proud. She didn't really know what kind of person Takemura was, but if he was willing to go this far for the girl he loved, she felt like she could trust him.

"A live stream performance sounds good!"
"Okay! I'll talk to him when we meet today. But now that it's decided, we have to practice!"
"Yeah, it's going to be busy!"

I left high school and headed towards Fujisawa Station. It was overflowing with people hurrying home.
My steps were light. The biggest factor was taking the next step: a live-streamed performance.

Suddenly, I stopped in the train station, leaned against the wall, and took out my smartphone.

Open LINE and scroll with your thumb.
I found the blue planet icon right away.

"It looks like 'Sora to Puzzle' will be performed as a streamed show."

I pressed the send button.
One minute, two minutes, ... five minutes.
It's taking a long time for the message to be marked as read.

I got fed up with myself for waiting for the message to be marked as read, so I started walking through the train station.

A sign was up advertising Christmas cake reservations. Even in a year like this, Christmas is still Christmas. Natsuki might be spending it with her boyfriend, Takemura. They might be exchanging presents. I've only ever seen Christmases like that in manga and dramas. I thought to myself that Natsuki is adding another role to her repertoire as an actress. That's great, go Natsuki!

I heard a LINE notification sound and quickly opened my phone.

"What time are you coming back?"

It was from my mother.
Try tapping the blue planet icon.
It hasn't been marked as read yet.

Seriously, what's wrong with that guy?

I received a reply from Aono two nights later.

"Sorry for the late reply. I think the online performance is great! Congratulations. I've finally finished my song. It's the first song I've ever written entirely by myself from start to finish. It's the theme song for 'Sky and Puzzle.' I really wanted you to hear it first, Maruyama-san."

After the incomplete message, an audio file was attached.

Suddenly, my heart started pounding.
Before I knew it, my mouth was completely dry.

I tapped the play button and slowly closed my eyes.

"to be continued"

*You can view back issues here .