June 30 / Exertion / PG / Open

[alyssa]

"Mayumi-chan~ You looked super cool playing!" Kettaro grinned at her and gave her two thumbs up. "Cooler than me, that's for sure!"

Mayumi looked down, playing with an already-fraying thread on her skirt and hiding her smile. It had been years since she'd played in front of more than one person at a time, and she had forgotten the rush it gave her afterward.

Her heart was beating a bit weirder than normal and she could feel little beads of sweat forming at her hairline. Despite knowing that she was one of the best, she was almost surprised at their reactions. They had liked it! Mayumi hadn't been booed off of the bench. Kettaro was giving her thumbs up and Yumiko, who she had been rude to in the beginning was applauding and smiling.

Now, for some unfathomable reason, Mayumi felt bad.

"I used to play it when I was mad at my mother," she told them, looking up from her skirt, all traces of a smile gone. "She and didn't get along well, so I played it often." There was a long beat of silence in the room, followed quickly by Mayumi patting the piano bench softly. She looked toward Yumiko, who was fiddling with a guitar, the girl's earlier words finally clicking in her head. "You have a twin brother?"

[megan]

"That's incredible! I've never met a twin before... Does he look like you? Wow--- it's like salt and pepper, haha!"

Hearing Kettaro talk so happily about twins made her smile to herself as images of Daisuke filled her head. I'm sure you would have gotten along with Kettaro, she thought. "Well, now you have," she said, glad that he wasn't annoying her at the moment. "Yeah he does.. I-I have a picture of him in my wallet." Yumiko pulled out the girly, pink wallet from her blazer's pocket. "Here," she said as she held out the picture for Kettaro to look at.

As Kettaro began to applaud for Mayumi alongside her, she watched as the girl looked up at them, looking all but happy.

"I used to play it when I was mad at my mother"

That explains the lyrics, Yumiko thought. Poor girl. Yumiko wanted to pat Mayumi on the back, telling her that it's okay. Then again, she had just met her, and was in no place to comfort the stranger. Still, her heart ached a bit for Mayumi. Yumiko couldn't relate at all, seeing as her parents were very close with her. I'm sorry, she sent. I'm sorry, Mayumi.

"You have a twin brother?"

Shaking off the need to hug Mayumi, she bobbed her head up and down. "Yes, yes I do!" Yumiko only ever felt comfortable talking about Daisuke, mainly because he was still a child in her eyes, despite the fact that they were the same age. His happiness and joy always comforted Yumiko in a way that only her twin could.

Walking over to Mayumi, she held out the photo she had shown Kettaro. Smiling down at the polaroid of her brother, she thought back to the day she had taken it. "We were buying him a new suit sort of thing for him to wear to an athletic banquet," she explained, seeing as she might have been confused by his surprised and somewhat annoyed face. "He hates dressing up."

Looking at both Mayumi and Kettaro, Yumiko put the photo back in her wallet. "Do you guys have any siblings?"

[kei]

After Mayumi's performance, she explained the song. "I used to play it when I was mad at my mother. She and didn't get along well, so I played it often."
Kettaro wanted to run to her and hug the female, but he didn't want to creep her out. So, he patted her on the head. "Mayumi, despite your relationship with your mother, you're still very talented! So, smile! You have the charm~"

Still full of excitement, Kettaro jumped when Yumiko said she had a photo of her twin in her wallet. Sibling love really attracted the blonde since it reminded him of his own familly. However, when Yumiko pulled out a girly, pink wallet from her pocket, he widened his eyes. He expected Yumiko to be a bit on the tomboyish side.

As the photograph was shown to Kettaro, he flashed a smile. "Hey, he looks exactly like you! Haha, how cute!"

Kettaro watched as Yumiko went to go show Mayumi the polaroid. He smiled, thinking how close the twins must have been. So, everyone's family relationship is different, but still kind of the same, huh? The blonde laughed at having learning something unexpected.

Yumiko's explanation of the memory made Kettaro listen in--
"We were buying him a new suit sort of thing for him to wear to an athletic banquet. He hates dressing up."
He laughed at the cute memory since it sounded a lot like fun.

When Yumiko asked, "Do you guys have any siblings?"
Kettaro jumped once more, excited to answer her question. "Ooo, me! Me! I have a family of eight, so me and five other kids! My older sister was the boss of us, so... But she was quite girly and oblivious despite being the boss of a wild crowd! I kind of come from a poor-middle classed family... But! We all loved each other very much, haha." He looked down a bit, remembering his family back home. Then, he looked over to Mayumi with enjoyment as it was her turn to tell them.

[megan]

"Ooo, me! Me! I have a family of eight, so me and five other kids! My older sister was the boss of us, so... But she was quite girly and oblivious despite being the boss of a wild crowd! I kind of come from a poor-middle classed family... But! We all loved each other very much, haha."

Yumiko smiled at Kettaro's enthusiastic description of his family. She was secretly jealous of the relationship he had with his siblings, especially since it sounded like that bond was still in tact. Closing her eyes, she allowed the faces of her older siblings fade in and out, causing her heart to ache. If only they'd come to their senses..

Yumiko had almost forgotten where she was when she opened her eyes, though it had only been mere seconds that had passed. Like Kettaro, she anticipated Mayumi's response, though she didn't take Mayumi to be one of a big family.

[caitlyn]

Even though he was a music major here, Hikaru hadn't even stepped into the music room once. Violin in a bag over his shoulder, he could already hear voices as he approached the door. Looking through a small window by the side, he saw two girls, and a guy. Probably music majors like me, Hikaru thought as he opened the door.

"Hey," Hikaru smiled first, gesturing to the room and the violin over his shoulder, "is it okay if I come in? Or are y'all doing some group practice thing?" Looking closely, the guy was blond, and Hikaru had never seen him or the amber-eyed girl, but recognized Mayumi, the smaller girl from the lounge. "Mayumi?"