“...Are you prepared to become a delinquent boy?”
“...Huh?”
I frowned, not understanding the meaning of the question, so Kanno-san followed up.
“Why do you think I work at the studio?”
“Because you like music...?”
“No, well, that’s true, but that’s not it... Don’t say things that are hard to deny...”
“Then, because the studio was just there?”
“Am I a mountain climber...? Hey, what's with that smug face?”
She sighed in exasperation and shook her head. “No, that’s not it.”
“It’s because I can practice the drums for free. I told you that the other day, didn't I?”
“For free? Like an employee discount?”
“Well, that’s half-right. On weekday midnights, almost none of the rooms are filled. And if I don’t turn on the lights, I don’t use electricity, so the shop doesn't lose a single cent while I'm practicing. Plus, the staff who finish their shifts at midnight don't have any trains anyway, so they let us practice to kill time until then.”
“I see...!”
That certainly seemed to make sense.
“I practice drums like that four or five days a week. Thanks to that, I can practice almost every day. I mean, if I didn’t do that, it’d be impossible for a high schooler to practice on a real drum set every day with just their allowance.”
“That’s true...”
I was still able to practice because I could use the brass band club room in middle school and the Rock Club room now, but even so, I couldn't hit a real drum set every day.
While hitting rubber pads is a legitimate form of practice, what you can learn by hitting the real thing is something else entirely.
“Wait, so that means you're practicing in the middle of the night almost every weekday?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Kanno-san, when do you sleep...?”
“If I take the first train from Kichijoji, I can be sleeping in my bed at home by 5:30. If I sleep for about two hours, get ready, and then sleep like a log during class, I can get plenty of sleep.”
Kanno-san answered as if it were nothing when I tilted my head in confusion.
“Can you even graduate...?”
“I’m smarter than I look, okay? Except for Music, PE, and English, I have a D in every subject, but I haven’t gotten grades bad enough to repeat a year.”
“Is that considered being smart...?”
“Ah, shut up, shut up. Are you Yuri-bou or something?”
She waved me off with her hand as if I were a nuisance. If it were Azuma, she would probably have even more to say...
“I mean, so that’s what you meant by delinquent...!”
“No. If you think sleeping in class makes you a delinquent, are you really okay? Are you some kind of sheltered 'Botchan'? Or Noguchi Hideyo?”
...Botchan is a work by Natsume Soseki, and Noguchi Hideyo isn’t even a novelist.
“Then, what do you mean by delinquent...?”
“Going out late at night.”
Kanno-san returned to a serious expression.
“If Takuto enters with me, you should be able to use it without paying. I don’t need a lesson fee either. I learn things by teaching, too. So, come to Octa Studio in the middle of the night. Anyway, I’m busy with part-time jobs all evening, so I don't have time to give you lessons then.”
“Are you serious...!”
If I took that offer literally, it meant that as long as I could get to the studio at night, I could learn drums for free.
“But it's bad news if a high schooler is wandering around late at night, right? Well, that applies to me too... For all intents and purposes, you’re staying over at a friend's house. As of today, you’re friends with the manager. Got it?”
“I don't mind, but... is the manager okay with it?”
“The manager is rooting for your band. Besides, if we took money, then the 'staying over' excuse wouldn't work anymore. Well, I’ll talk to him about it. Sorry if it doesn't work out.”
“Don’t say sorry, that’s... Thank you very much, for going out of your way for us.”
Before coming here, I thought she might flatly refuse, saying, 'I don’t take disciples!' But she’s trying to train me under overwhelmingly favorable conditions. How grateful I am.
“Well, the rest is what your parents will say. Is Takuto's house strict?”
“No, not really... If I tell them in advance that I’m staying at a friend’s house.”
“I see, I see. Then do that. I take the first train at 4:53, so it’ll be six hours from 10:30 PM to 4:30 AM. We’ll take breaks, though.”
“Understood. No, but, if that's the case...”
At that time, by the time I got home, it would already be time to wake up, so I’d just change clothes and go to school after a genuine all-nighter.
“Hm, what’s wrong?”
“...No, it’s nothing.”
...It doesn't really matter. Kanno-san has gone this far for me. I won’t throw away an opportunity for growth just for the sake of some sleep.
“I see. Sorry, somehow, I feel bad for making you do something so troublesome.”
“No, I should be the one saying that. Thank you.”
“Alright, tonight is impossible, so let's start tomorrow night.”
After school.
“Heh. Staying out with another woman, I see.”
When I told Ichikawa about the midnight practice at the school studio, she gave a flat, expressionless reaction, just like Sako.
“No, 'staying out' is a bit of a strong way to put it...”
As I stammered, Ichikawa's cheeks relaxed.
“Ahaha, just kidding, just kidding. So that’s the special training? But you're quite a delinquent, aren't you?”
“I guess so...”
“But Konuma-kun, won't you have no time to sleep? It takes three hours round trip, doesn't it?”
She placed her index finger on her cheek and tilted her head slightly. As usual, she's naturally calculating.
“Well, that’s true, but I can't really complain. An opportunity like this doesn't come often.”
“Hmm. That might be true, but will your physical condition hold up?”
“Ah...”
As I fell silent, unable to reply, Ichikawa continued.
“I'm worried about you not being able to sleep at night, and if you can't sleep at night, you'll have to find a way to sleep between the end of school and the midnight practice, or it won't balance out, right? You can't stay awake forever just with willpower. Won't it affect your practice too?”
“You’re making a lot of sense...”
“What about food? If you eat McDonald's for dinner, you might get sick.”
“Ah, yes...”
Wait, is she telling me to stop staying out from a different angle...?
“...Hey, Konuma-kun?”
“Yes...?”
“The studio is in Kichijoji, right?”
“Ah, yeah...?”
I looked up at Ichikawa, who had started saying something obvious now.
“Um, so about that,”
Her cheeks flushed red, and she fidgeted awkwardly as she whispered in a small voice.
“...My house is in Kichijoji, too.”