Of Cats and Crows (Sugawara Koushi)

Strike a Pose

It was a busy day. A horribly busy day. Mitsumi absolutely hated Mondays. Her life was just nonstop. Memories of her date with Sugawara Koushi plagued her mind the entire night. Which made her incredibly exhausted in the morning. She sat in a chair in the back of the band room with a large cup of Dr. Pepper. Caffeine was the only way she was going to make it through the day. Her lecture classes had gone really well, and work was quiet as usual. She was even able to finish most of her homework for her piano literature class and log in her practice hours for the day. Now, she just had to play for the masterclass. It was nothing new. She had already done this a few times this semester.

She sipped on her soda and scrolled through the notifications on her phone as students came into the classroom. Dr. Tanaguchi walked in and took a seat next to her in the accompanist section. She placed the binder in her arms on the floor beside her. "Eh, is everything okay?" She watched her student pound at her phone screen at a rapid rate.

"I am in a bit of a pickle right now." Mitsumi was seeing if someone could go grab her makeup from her apartment. "I forgot we are taking team and roster photos today. And I left my makeup at home." She was cursing herself in her head for forgetting about something so important.

The professor crossed her legs and arms. Her fingers drummed against her knee in thought. Tanaguchi was planning on going straight home to pick up her lunch that she had left."Well if you want. I can drive you to your apartment after this. You'll make it to the gym in time to get ready." She offered with a smile. "You really don't want to mess up roster photos. Those last forever."

"I know." Mitsumi sank into her seat. "I'll take you up on your offer." Nobody was responding to her texts. Or if they did, they couldn't help her out. Which had already been anticipated. "I honestly don't know how you did this back then. My calendar looks like it puked the rainbow." She put her phone in her backpack with a defeated sigh.

The older woman laughed a little bit as she thought back on her college volleyball days. "You just do it. When you are passionate about something, things will always work out." Tanaguchi encouraged as she pushed her silver-framed glasses up on the bridge of her nose. "So, who are you playing for today?"

"Yuna, Kazuhiko, and Chizaki." The last name came out with an elongated tone. Mitsumi was not happy to be his accompanist. The cellist was always changing his music and putting the blame on her for not being able to keep up. He had been assigned to her because all the other pianists who needed accompanying credit were already booked. And so it fell on the first-semester student. "I won't be surprised if he switches his piece as he announces it."

"You got this kid." The older woman slapped her hand on Mitsumi's back. "Just do good enough that Ito won't grill you during piano masterclass." She had a devilish look on her face as she tacked on the last statement.

And surely enough, Mitsumi wanted to strangle the musicians she was playing for. Her prediction about the cello guy was right, and so now she was tired and pissed off. The best mix. Tanaguchi was babbling about her latest gigs and some of the cool opportunities she had coming up. Mitsumi admired her professor for being young and forward-thinking. Even if young meant that Tanaguchi was old enough to be her Mom. Which in a way, she was. The random snacks at work and rides to and from places were always a lifesaver. She was heavily involved in her piano studio's personal lives and took the extra time to get to know them all personally.

"You know Mitsumi-chan, you need to stop scowling all the time." Tanaguchi unlocked her car with a click. "It makes you look like an old fuddy-duddy."

The student drew out a long sigh. It wasn't the first time she had heard that. "I can't control what my face decides to express." Mitsumi felt another hit of the caffeine hit her system as she climbed into the passenger seat. The scowl still hadn't left her face. "I'm ticked at how Mr. Cellist thinks he can just switch things up without notice. How unprofessional." Her scowl shifted into a frustrated pout that made the girl's cheeks puff out ever so slightly.