Of Cats and Crows (Sugawara Koushi)

Piano Frenzy

Mitsumi was trying to work double time on her competition piece. But she couldn't find the motivation to even sit in the booth. She stared at her music for a few minutes before slamming her hands down on the keys. She took a deep breath and began to play from the beginning. She needed to win against Oyami and get that piano concerto.

Two hours flew by. She was lucky that she hadn't gotten any accompanying job notifications. She worked through as many difficult passages as she could. A knock on the door caught her attention.

"Sorry to kick you out, but the other booths are taken and I need to warm up for my lesson." Reiko pulled the booth door open.

Mitsumi stood up and scrambled to get her things together. "Not a problem. Everyone is pretty determined to do their best this semester." She tossed everything in her bag and moved out of the booth.

Reiko nodded in agreement. "There's a big prize at stake. A huge career kickstarter. Don't think any of us will be going easy." Her grey eyes hardened into a glare as she stepped into the booth and shut the door.

It was well known that Reiko held a few major piano awards under her belt. Mitsumi's mother never put her in any major competitions. There would be an occasional small one here or there she would be entered into. But nothing to the scale of what her classmates have been in. Her mother claimed that it was because music is subjective. But, she just didn't want to expose her daughter to the relentless critics at a young age.

Mitsumi sighed heavily and trudged down the stairwell. Her head was hurting. She looked at the time with another sigh. If she had paced herself better, she would be doing homework. However, she had decided to plow through it. So, she decided that she would aimlessly wander around campus for a little bit. She sat inside the music building and decided to continue reading her book.

"Mitsumi, I thought you were supposed to be off campus today." Dr. Tanaguchi was walking out of the building when she spotted her pupil.

Mitsumi shook her head, "Nope. That's tomorrow. And practice is this evening. I got kicked out of the booth, so I'm killing time."

"I was about to see if you could meet with me now. I had something come up during our usual Friday spot." Dr. Tanaguchi slipped her phone back into her pocket. She knew there shouldn't be any conflicts, but she had to ask as a formality.

Mitsumi nodded with a smile, "Now works! I was going to tell you that I would have to move it anyways because I have an exam that I don't know how long it will take." She noticed the band room was empty and followed her professor there. She opened the lid to the piano and plopped on the bench.

"Do people ever act surprised when they see you open the piano lid?" The older woman pulled a chair and music stand over next to the piano bench. "It happened all the time when I was younger." The question was rather sporadic. Mitsumi's blank stare as she processed the words made the professor turn her head to the side slightly. It was a genuine question. 

Her pupil gave her professor her black binder and started to think. She shook her head slowly. "Not that I've noticed. I didn't have a grand piano at home growing up. My teacher had one, but the lid would be open from the student before me." Mitsumi had taken lessons in someone's living room her whole life. Her family couldn't afford to send her to a fancy studio.

"Must've just been me then." Dr. Tanaguchi chuckled, "I don't know if Kimi told you anything, but she made it into Tohoku Prep. She's been going to volleyball conditioning. According to Kaori-chan, she has been doing really well thanks to you and Mei."

"That's really good to hear." Mitsumi cracked her knuckles and rolled her wrists. "Oh, before I forget. Can you get me a list of local music festivals?" She needed to move forward musically somehow.