My Lie in October

Chapter 4

"So how was your first day? You better not have fallen for any girls already."

Tsubaki was in Kousei's new house. Both of them were cooking up some dinner when she asked the question.

"Pretty boring, actually. And I refuse to give you an answer for the second statement."

She decided not to kick him in the leg, partly because she was cutting up vegetables at the moment. "Well, Watari said he would be here after he finishes checking up on the girls soccer team. Word has it that they are cute and really good at soccer. I'm just glad he isn't checking up on my softball team. We've already started to bond really closely!"

"Mm-hmm, I bet."

"What's that supposed to mean? You jealous?"

"Yeah, actually."

A small gasp escaped from Tsubaki's mouth. She decided not to push the conversation any further. "So, uh, when does your dad get back?"

"Oh, he should be back in time for dinner. I think."

"We'll see if he can beat Watari here."

"Might be a close call."

There was silence for a bit (except for the knife hitting the cutting board repetitively), then Kousei surprised himself by talking. "There is this one girl. Name's Sakura Nakamura. She might be the only one keeping me from being a loner as a choir accompanist."

"Well that is a hard job for you. Hard because it is so easy, know what I mean? Even in a professional music school, I bet the music is easy for the accompanist."

"I got most of it today. Some of it provides a small challenge, but everything else is either easy or just rehearsal only."

"What's 'rehearsal only'?"

"It means I only play to help them learn it. For the performance, I won't be playing. Assisted a capella."

"Oh, I see."

It was quiet again (except for the cutting board and the boiling water). Several minutes later, Watari burst into the room, talking about all the "possibilities" for this year, especially since many girls he spotted were 3rd years. Only just after that quick eye-rolling conversation did Kousei's dad walk through the door. They all had a nice dinner and enjoyed a lot of laughter. But in the back of Kousei's mind, he could only think of Sakura's warm gesture to reach out to someone she didn't know was in need at that moment. How did that kid know that he needed her at school since Tsubaki and Watari weren't with him for most of the day?

On the other side of town, Sakura was thinking about Kousei at the same time. She cursed herself for hoping that Kousei was going to be a friend, her best friend, her only friend after a single awkward conversation like that. It would be awkward too if she seemed too clingy based on that conversation. Cursing herself again, she closed the book she was reading and fell asleep early.