CommodoreZeke

"You weren't in class."
"I... wasn't ready."
So far, this was about as deep as Azusa and Jun's conversation had gotten. The awkwardness between them had been too great for either of them to make a real first move. They'd done little more than exchange trivialities.
Finally, Jun asked Azusa, "When did you find out?"
"Something seemed weird the whole time," she said. "But I didn't know for sure until you forgot your phone."
"What was suspicious about - oh! Oh! You read my messages, didn't you?"
"Well, excuse me! They were showing when I looked at it! Whose fault was that?"
Strangely enough, this broke the ice. The two girls half-talked, half-argued, going over each detail of the past month that either of them had been wondering about. Azusa was careful not to give away the existence of gimmicks, which wasn't just her secret, but otherwise they were completely truthful with each other. They were at it for a good 25 minutes, by which time they were both in a better mood.

The science teacher had just left, so Ritsu's class had a few minutes before Ms. Kawasumi would come back to teach history. The drummer glanced back at Yui. Yep - still at it. She got up and moved to Yui's desk.
"Hey Ricchan. Is it nice being able to walk around again?"
"It's exactly as nice as you bein' able to see again, if you get me."
"Ha!"
Ritsu pointed at the papers on Yui's desk. "So every time I've turned around today, you've been workin' on something. What gives?"
"Oh, this? It's a song! Take a look!"
Ritsu picked up the top sheet. "Hmm. Happy, jumping... kinda Mio-y so far... wait, 'study after school'? Since when?"
"That's the point! I was thinking about Mio's new song from yesterday. It was great, but taking a break is what got the principal so mad at us in the first place, right?"
"Right..."
"So I'm writing something he'll like better. If we play it for him, maybe he'll let Sawa-chan off the hook!"
Ritsu considered. "Could work. But when are we gonna do it? The big meeting

Chapter 11: What I Did For Love
"Our next category is high school pop and rock music clubs. This year, third place goes to... Yokozuna High!"
Sawako watched the club members take the stage to get their third-place trophy. They were over the moon, and they had a right to be. This category was one of the most crowded at Regionals - finishing third out of 15 schools was something to be proud of.
She sighed. Her club had things to be proud of, but this wasn't going to be one of them. Their moment of triumph had come and gone. Now it was time for the reckoning.
"In second place... Astraea Academy!"
Mio was okay. The rest of the band had brought her back around without too much trouble. Physically, she was none the worse for wear (except a small bruise where she had hit the floor), but she was absolutely mortified about ruining the performance. In the end, everyone had decided it was best not to make her stay for the final rankings. She would be sleeping over with Ritsu tonight, and S

Warmup room C was usually empty for about ten minutes between one band clearing out and the next setting up. This time, however, it was occupied a little early... though not by the intended users.
"Okay," said the first journalism club member, drumming her fingers. "You were right. We didn't need to rush to get here."
The second club member just nodded.
Suddenly a short-haired girl burst through the door and slammed it behind her. "Safe!"
Someone knocked frantically. "It's me! Let me in!"
"Oh!" The short-haired girl opened the door for the briefest of instants to let her friend in. As soon as she was inside, they both leaned back against the door, holding it closed.
A moment later, the door shook as someone tried to force it open. "We know you're in there!"
"It's our practice time!" the second girl called back. "You can't come in!"
"Oh yeah, 'cause that stopped YOU!" The door shook again, harder, but with no more success. "Well, fine! You've gotta come outta there sometime! We can wait

Chapter 10: Light Up the World
Sawako wiped the sweat from her forehead. There! Three costumes complete. That just left...
Huh. Was it two or three? All of a sudden she couldn't remember how many junior students the club had. This had all been simpler last year, when everyone was in the same grade and had a unique instrument. (Cramming a year's worth of emotional turmoil into the last two days hadn't helped either.)
Right, there were two juniors now. Azusa and Jun. She would need most of the remaining time for Yui's costume, so those two would have to be quick. Fortunately, Sawako already had a pretty good idea how to handle Azusa. As for Jun... hmm... well, she'd just see what was left over.
She set to work on Yui's outfit with gusto. This was just what she needed right now -- something to sink her teeth into. She didn't want to think about anything more serious than what kind of frills to use. This was simple. Distracting. Creative. So was it absolutely necessary that her phon

Chapter 9: Never Going Back Again
Sawako got outside, leaned back against the building, and took a deep breath. She'd taken care of the urgent matters: getting the band into Regionals and reclaiming her role of supervisor. Now she had time to think. And there was something very important to think about.
According to Tsumugi, she had quit her job at Sakuragaoka yesterday. Had she?
Sawako forced herself to remember the day in as much detail as possible. She'd woken up late because she'd been too excited to get to sleep the night before. She'd hurried out the door without breakfast, eager to get free of her responsibilities once and for all. She'd gone straight for the principal's office. And then... then what?
Oh! The sign! There had been a "Do Not Disturb" sign on his door. She'd decided to come back later.
Sawako's memory was clearing up now. All morning, she'd kept visiting the office looking for a chance, but that sign had always been there. At noon, she'd given up --