Double Planet Episode 12

Double Planet
Episode 12: Even in a year like this, Christmas still comes as Christmas
Tamaru Luka (Furuta Jun & Kanda Yota / Radio Shonan Personality)

The clubroom in December was colder than I'd imagined. Leaning against the electric heater, which was shaking its head helplessly, Natsuki's numb hands turned the pages of the script, and the only sound I could hear was the swish, swish of the pages. I sat in a daze, remembering that day. The stars we looked up at on the beach, the conversation we had, dawn, the morning glow, the first train, the Enoshima Electric Railway, the excuses I made to my mother. I don't know what inspires me to express myself. I wrote down the ideas that were overflowing with me, went to the library to do research, and worked every last bit of it into the script. I'm embarrassed to use this word, but if I may, it's total concentration. That's right, I concentrated completely and finished revising the script for "Sky and Puzzle."

Natsuki said trembling after finishing reading to the end.

"What is this... it's bad."

I was confident. Or rather, to be honest, I didn't think I could write anything better at that point.

"The character design and story development are great, I think it's really improved!"
"it was good"

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

"So, what do we do from here? How do we stage this piece...?"

As expected, I was at a loss for words. As usual, there was no clear outlook for activities due to the effects of COVID-19. Or rather, the situation may have gotten worse. Last month's school festival was canceled, and drama club activities have been suspended for a while. The rumor going around is that if things continue like this, the farewell party for the graduating class in February will also be canceled. It feels like a long time ago since we were allowed to carry out our activities freely. We've worked hard to write a script, but we have no opportunity or place to perform it. This is tough. Sigh. We remained silent for a while, and then Natsuki handed me a small folded piece of paper.

"Luka, can you read this for me?"
"What's that..."

I took the folded paper and cautiously opened it, to find the word "Operation" written in messy handwriting. It wasn't the Natsuki I knew. There weren't many characters that looked like letters, and I began to realize that it was a diagram of the streaming system that connected the camera and computer with a cable.

"You consulted your boyfriend the other day, didn't you?"
"Wait, wait. Boyfriend...?! Huh? Huh?"
"Oh, I haven't told you yet, Ruka. I've been dating someone since last month. Do you know Takemura-kun from the broadcasting club?"

Takemura Yuji. He was a boy in the same class as me in my first year. I knew he was knowledgeable about music, but that was the only impression I had. To be honest, he's not the type to be handsome. Natsuki, who admitted to being a looker, was surprised that she would fall in love with him.

"He kept coming on to me."

Natsuki said, bashfully, but not completely opposed. I'm sure there was something there that only the two of them understood. But rather than prying into it, I first wanted to know the meaning of the illustration on the paper.

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

It's true that the number of online performances has been increasing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. I've watched a few online performances by theater companies that I'm interested in. But I never thought we'd do it ourselves. Because I didn't know how to do it, and I'd heard it would cost money to do it properly.

"If we do it, the broadcasting club will help us out."
"Really?"
"It's a collaboration between the drama club and the broadcasting club, so the broadcasting club's club funds will be used."

Natsuki felt somewhat proud. She didn't know much about Takemura, but if he was willing to go to such lengths for his beloved girlfriend, she felt like she could trust him.

"A streaming performance might be a good idea!"
"OK! I'll meet you today and tell you about it. I mean, if that's the case, then we have to practice!"
"Yeah, it's going to be busy!"

I left the high school and headed towards Fujisawa Station, which was overflowing with people hurrying home.
I felt light on my feet. Taking the next step, a live streaming performance, was a big factor.

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

Launch LINE and scroll with your thumb.
I searched for the blue planet icon and found it right away.

"It looks like Sora to Puzzle will be performed as a streaming performance."

I pressed the send button.
1 minute, 2 minutes, ... 5 minutes.
It takes a while for the message to be marked as read.

I got fed up with myself waiting for the message to be read and started walking out of the station.

There was a sign accepting reservations for Christmas cakes. Even in a year like this, Christmas still comes. Natsuki might be spending it with her boyfriend, Takemura. They might exchange gifts. I've only ever seen that kind of Christmas in manga and dramas. I thought Natsuki was adding another dimension to her repertoire as an actress. Good, good, go for it Natsuki.

I heard the LINE message ringtone and quickly opened my phone.

"What time will you be back?"

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

Seriously, what is up with him?

Aono's reply came two nights later.

"Sorry for the late reply. I think a live streaming performance is great! Congratulations. I've finally finished a song. It's the first song I've ever written from start to finish by myself. It's the theme song for 'Sora to Puzzle'. I really wanted Maruyama-san to be the first to hear it."

After the truncated message, an audio file was attached.

Suddenly, my chest began to pound.
Before I knew it, my mouth was bone dry.

I tapped the play button and slowly closed my eyes.

"to be continued"

*Back issues can be viewed here .