My Lie in October

Chapter 7

Before Kousei even attemped to call Sakura, he called Tsubaki and explained everything, hoping she would know how to handle the situation.

"Ok, so the first thing you want to do is text her asking if this is the right person," Tsubaki said over the phone. "Then when you are ready to call her, text her first to make sure it is a good time for her."

"That's all there is to it?" asked Kousei.

"That's all there is to it!

"Ok, I think I got."

"Then I'll leave you to it. Good luck!"

"Goodbye."

Kousei hung up and stared down at the phone in his lap. Then he looked to his right at the piece of paper that Sakura gave him. Hesitantly, he typed the written number into the recipient for a new message.

Hey is this Sakura Nakamura's phone? This is Kousei Arima.

Kousei put the phone down on his futon and went to go get dinner ready with his dad.

When he returned to wash up before they ate, there was a new message waiting for him. Kousei opened his phone and read:

Yeah this is! Just call when ur ready ✌

He decided to wait until after dinner to call her. It was a mistake because it only made him more scared and tense at the table. His father seemed to notice and asked what was wrong.

"Oh, it's nothing."

Kousei's dad sighed. "That's the biggest crap I've heard today, even with all the stuff that happened at work today. Obviously it's not nothing."

Sighing, Kousei said, "Someone asked me to be their accompanist, but they made it sound really hard. Even though the music will most likely be easy for me, I'm still worried because of how she asked me. After dinner I'm supposed to call her so she can explain why the job might be too hard. She also said it's ok to say no after explaining."

"Um, well, I don't really know how to help you music-wise, but I would just save the worry for when she calls. You could very well be worried for nothing."

"Ok, thanks dad. I'll try not to worry." After a quick bite, he said, "Don't know if it's gonna work though," he chuckled.