Chapter 3.0: School -- Classes
Chapter 3.1: School -- First Recital
The door at the back of the auditorium opened and I looked around from my seat
near the stage. Two people entered, and one of them raised a hand in a wave.
As they moved beyond the bright outside light flowing in the door, I
was able to recognize Atsuko, and I raised a hand in response. She was with a guy that I guessed was her boyfriend, who looked like a typical West Texan --
lank, cowboy hat, naturally faded jeans, boots, cotton tee screen-printed with some graphics
from a local band.
As they approached the front row, I stood to meet them.
"Nobody here yet?" Atsuko asked.
I smiled lopsidedly and indicated the row behind where I was standing, which was sparsely filled. "It's the middle of the morning, and it's just the first recital of the semester, just for us beginners. We're doing good to get a few family and friends."
"Oh. So, uhm, Joe, this is Tim."
"Nice ta meecha, Tim," I nodded and extended a hand.
"Yeah." He reached out and slapped his palm against mine and gripped, testing my strength.
I grinned and returned the grip, just enough to let him know we didn't need to
put each other in pain, and he grinned back.
A door at the side of the auditorium opened, and my mother came in. Julia followed her. I released Tim's hand and waved them over.
"Your mom?" Atsuko asked.
"Yeah."
"Is that your girlfriend?" Tim's voice had an edge of something a little sharper than curiosity.
「きれいだわ。」 (Kirei da wa. -- She's pretty.) Atsuko's
words were sub-voiced, and I barely heard them. I looked over at Tim, and I
couldn't tell whether he had noticed that she had spoken, much less understood
the Japanese.
"A friend of the family," I explained as they joined us. "Atsuko, Tim, this is
my mom, and our friend Julia. Atsuko is a friend from the English lab, and
Tim," I glanced back at Tim and Atsuko without pausing, "is her boyfriend." Neither
of them contradicted me.
We made small talk for a minute, then the bell rang and we sat down.
I was the last to sing. A piano students named Becky had volunteered to be my
accompanist for the recitation, and I had spent some time with her transposing
the tune to fit my range and working out an arrangement within her playing
abilities, so neither of us were pushing our envelopes too far. She played the
intro, and I began:
枯れ葉散る夕暮れは来る日の寒さを物語り…
(Kare ha chiru yū-kure wa kuru hi no samusa wo monogatari ... --
A leaf-blown evening tells of chilly days to come ...)
When we finished, I took my bow and signaled to Becky, and she stood and took hers. There was the obligatory applause from the small audience, and that was that. We descended from the stage and sat down, and our teachers debriefed and dismissed our group.
After thanking Becky, I rejoined my personal audience.
"Thanks for coming Mom." I exchanged smiles with Mom and grinned at Julia. "You, too, Julia. It was a nice surprise."
She smiled back. "Your dad said it wouldn't hurt me to skip the first part of his class today. Nice singing. I wish I could understand it."
Atsuko laughed. "Yes, nice singing. But it's a woman's song. Next time you perform it, rearrange the lyrics, too."
"You're the only one besides me who knows." I raised my eyebrows at her and grinned. Then I shrugged. "And I'm not sure my Japanese would be up to the necessary changes."
Atsuko and I both laughed.
Julia touched my arm. "Teach me what the lyrics mean sometime."
"Sure."
Tim looked at me doubtfully. "Is Japanese hard?"
I gave him a sharp look. "Hard, but it's much harder if you don't learn it. Cross-cultural relationships need every advantage you can give them. Let Atsuko coach you."
He gave me a surprised look.
"Seriously, it'll be way more fun than watching MASH reruns together."
Atsuko looked sideways at Tim, and Tim and she both laughed.
Mom nodded. Julia looked a little puzzled, but didn't say anything.
Atsuko took Tim's hand and looked him in the eyes. "We can't give up. I'll give up some of my English study to help you."
Tim ducked his head. "Okay. I ... I'll ... we'll keep trying." He turned towards me. "Thanks for letting us come listen, Joe."
"Thanks for coming."
(I can only wish the real me could have been this with-it at twenty-one.)
"I'd better get back to class," Julia said with a bit of something I couldn't decipher in her voice, and she and my mom left.
"Not your girlfriend?" Tim repeated as the door closed behind them.
"No," I shook my head. "We aren't even talking about dating. Just a friend of the family."
「もしかして？」 Atsuko tilted her head slightly.
Tim gave us both a questioning look.
"Moshi ka shite," I repeated for him. "Meaning, maybe, as a question. I think
Atsuko thinks I should pay Julia more attention."
Atsuko opened her mouth slightly and let out a breath of patient tolerance. "I really think you should."
I smiled wryly and raised my eyebrows, half shaking my head. "Who knows? Maybe so."
[Current backup at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2020/01/bk-33209-school-first-recital.html.
Developed January and February 2021, notes at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2020/01/notes-33209-school-basic-vs-pascal-vs.html.
Extracted and expanded from
https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2020/01/bk01-33209-school.html.
Earlier backup at
https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2020/01/bk-33209-school.html.]
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