Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Chamber Group ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

" Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo smiled as she stood up. " Early again!"
" By twenty minutes." Sakura glanced at her watch. " Funny. I was never early for regular school. In fact, I was always late."
" I guess you just like this school better." Tomoyo smiled. The girls sat down in the gray lobby. They weren't going to go down to the cafeteria because it simply wasn't worth it.

" Do you think I can do it next semester?" Tomoyo asked. " I mean, in that big hall."
" Hoe! Why are you thinking about that right now? It's months away! You're going to play in December, for heaven's sakes! And besides." Sakura leaned back. " You passed the competition. You won it. What's a little concert?"
" Well." Tomoyo smiled. " Oka-san was so proud, she actually stayed home all day last Sunday. And she actually ate dinner with me every night this past week!" She squealed slightly. " I'm so happy!"
" Hai, I'm proud of you." Sakura understood that Sonomi was very busy and Tomoyo was often lonely. " Look, there's Rika-chan!"
" Ohayo." Rika waved, as she came to join them.
" How are you?" Tomoyo asked.
" I'm fine. I still can't believe I did it."
" The note is still on the bulletin board, if you want to see it to make sure." Sakura giggled. " They announced the winners of those sixteen and up. Do you want to look?"
" Sure." Rika and the other girls made their way to the bulletin board, leaving their belongings behind. No one is lame enough to steal a used violin anyway, and everyone has music books. Not money.

" The pianist is someone named Hitoshi Ryou. Weird. Never heard of this person before."
" Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Someone called. Sakura turned around.
" Oh, Yuri, it's good! You made it."
" I always make it." Yuri sniffed. " Who won?"
" Someone named Hitoshi Ryou for the Piano competition. Another person named...I think he's a Chinese. Wang Xijin."
" Strings, right?"
" Hai." Sakura blinked.
" I never heard of them before." Yuri shrugged. " Wow. We're early. Want to wait here or start up?"
" It's too early. Down here is much more relaxing." Sakura laughed.

Just then, the door opened, revealing Syaoran and Eriol. There were a couple of other girls who started for the hallway in the same manner as Touya did.

" So she tried to get the tuner to tune the piano. The piano was just flat. And the pedal wouldn't stop creaking. The guy said that they had to change the whole action part because the brass in the hammers rusted-hey, they posted up the winners of the sixteen to seventeen year olds. Let's go see what it says." Syaoran gently pushed his way towards the bulletin board.

" Aw, too bad you sister didn't make it." Eriol said apologetically. " But at least you did."
" Hai." Syaoran sighed. " It's a good thing she didn't stop to look. Oh hello, Kinomoto-san, I believe."
" Ohayo Li-san." She bowed.
" I heard you play last December." Syaoran said politely. " You were very good."
" Arigatou." She blushed.
" It's nine fifty. I better get going."
" Nine fifty?" Sakura looked at her watch. " Oh. Me too."
" Oh." Syaoran held the strap of his bookbag as he and Sakura went off to the hallway.

Eriol and Tomoyo looked at each other. They don't know each other, but both had a funny grin on their faces.

" You come from Hong Kong?" Sakura asked as she waited by the elevator.
" Hai. I came here when I was ten."
" Wow. Your Japanese is very good." Sakura blinked, very impressed.
" Arigatou." Syaoran looked up.
" How long have you been in this music school?" Sakura asked.
" Two years."
" Wow. I've been here for five."
" Who's your teacher?"
" Mizuki Kaho."
" Mizuki Kaho! I've heard of her, even though she's a violin teacher. They say she's very strict."
" Hai. She is. But she is nice too. She never loses her temper."
" Well, for a winner like you, doubtless she wouldn't." Syaoran smiled. Sakura blushed.
" Who's your teacher?"
" His name is Wakabayashi Yuuki."
" Wakabayashi? I've heard of him too. They say that he's very very strict about getting to class on time."
" Well, if you're late only three to five minutes, that's alright. If you're late any more than that, he gets angry."
" I see."
" Is the elevator stuck again?"

At this time, a bunch of students were murmuring, some setting their backpacks on the floor, complaining as one elevator showed it was on the first floor but was not coming down to the main floor, and another showed that it was going up instead of down.
" I'm guessing that one is." Sakura pointed to the one on the first floor. " You'd think with all the money they earn in this place they could afford to have good elevators."
" Hai. I mean, with all the nonsense of Food festivals and all that." Syaoran wrinkled his nose. " And the secretaries all fat and growing."

Sakura giggled.
" Well, Kinomoto-san. Are you related to Kinomoto Touya?"
" You can call me Sakura." Sakura smiled. " And hai. I'm his sister."
" Wow. I've heard that he rivals Ma Yo Yo." Syaoran blinked, impressed.
" Well, maybe not that much." Sakura blushed. " Oh, Li-kun, over here. The elevator's here."
" You can call me Syaoran."
" Syaoran-kun." Sakura blushed.

One of the students brushed in as the doors closed.

" Took this thing long enough." He muttered. Syaoran and Sakura looked at each other, then shrugged.

" Alright, settle down." The conductor stood on the podium, or rather, sat on the podium, since his famous little stool was there again. " Everyone, take out Carmen! We didn't get a chance to look at it last week. I'm hoping it's better now, since you have two weeks to practice."

Sakura shrugged and flipped the pages. Tomoyo whispered beside her.
" Did you get a chance to talk with that Li kid?"
" Hai. He's very nice. Very polite."
" Kawaii." Tomoyo reminded her. Sakura blushed. " Tomoyo-chan!"
" Just kidding." Tomoyo giggled.

" Alright. We'll start from the beginning. Cellos, are you ready?"

There came a chorus of ' Hai', and then Terada gave an upbeat, and the cellos began. Sakura leaned back. This was not for the violins; it was for the trumpets, anyway.

Yusuke, who was the trumpeter of the moment, was the one who was playing. After a while Sakura and the rest of the violin section started plucking at the strings; pizzicato.

It was rudely stopped when the cymbals fell clattering onto the floor. The drummers gave a look of nervousness and annoyance at the two metal plates. The music stopped.

" Alright, put that thing in the safe place where it wouldn't go falling all over the place." Terada waited as the percussion section picked up the pieces sheepishly.
" Is it broken?"
" Iie." Said one boy.
" Good. We'll continue from letter G. Violins?"

They all nodded.

" Alright, alright, arigatou!" Terada looked down, slightly amused, as the orchestra continued playing for a brief moment even after he had given the cut off sign. " Arigatou! Wonderful concert. Now, remember to watch me. If I give the cut off sign, that means you stop. Now, we won't look at Rachmaninov today. Take out Prokofiev! It was very good sight reading you did last week. I'm hoping you would keep that up."
" Sure." Sakura muttered. " After we stopped and had a lecture for about thirty minutes or so." Tomoyo giggled.

" We'll start from the beginning and see how far we can go." Terada sat up straight, still not willing to get off that stool, and gave an upbeat. Soon, after about two pages or so, the conductor gave a cut off sign. This time, everyone did stop, because there was a long moment of rest where the pianist plays.

Sakura took a look at her watch. Eleven forty. She sighed.

" Steadier, violas. You have to be more secure. Flutes, back there! Tune up! One of you is flat. Percussion, don't go racing away at your own rhythm..." Sakura sighed. Here goes one of those commands again. Briefly she thought of one of those cruel jokes on conductors.

' You have Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and a conductor stored inside a room. You are given a gun, with only one bullet in it. Which one would you shoot first?'

' Answer: Conductor.'

" Alright! Measure twenty four! I want this concerto done in a month. In April the pianist is going to join us." Terada flipped through the pages. " One more time and we're done for today."
" Thankfully." Sakura muttered under her breath, so only Tomoyo heard her. " I've had enough of this."

" Another concert." Syaoran sniffed as he sat in theory class at ten thirty. " Another concert. I'm having another concert next week, Eriol-san. I'm going to die."
" Don't be a baby." Eriol slapped the boy on the back.
" But seriously! A concert every two weeks. It use to be once a month and I couldn't handle that, seriously. And now, two every month. No, seriously!"
" Now now, don't be a wimp. After all, that's what happened for the few months before."
" This is exactly what I said to every one of them."
" You should have gotten use to it by now, Syaoran-san. I mean, it's happened for the past semester already."
" A concert every two weeks! How the heck am I supposed to prepare a new piece for each concert?"
" Relax. And besides, sensei lets you do repeats."

Syaoran banged his head into the desk at that, just as the door banged against the wall as the teacher came in.
" I hate it when he does that." Eriol muttered.
" Mm." Was all Syaoran said.

" Lunch! My favorite time of the day!" Syaoran practically rushed down the stairs. " I'm starving! What are they having, fried chicken?"
" Syaoran, calm down! Why are you so excited about lunch today?"
" Because Music History was horrible! I practically died of boredom!" Syaoran literally threw his bookbag onto a spare chair and rushed to get a tray. Eriol and Yamazaki looked at each other.
" I don't know what he's talking about." Eriol and Yamazaki don't take Music History.
" Let's just go get lunch." Eriol sighed. They each got their own trays.

" Orchestra passed a lot quicker today." Tomoyo observed as she and Sakura entered the elevator. " He even let us out early. Sensei never does that."
" Before, that is. He must be in a hurry. He said something about going to some kind of concert after class."
" Good thing he is. I need some rosin, my bottle has run out. Do you have any spare ones?"
" Sure." Sakura took out a bottle of the white powder and handed it over to Tomoyo as the elevator opened.
" Arigatou." Tomoyo held the bottle as they walked through the hallway. " I'm glad they place lunchtime at twelve. It seems so appropriate."
" I know. You rarely have that. Doubtless next year it'll be different." Sakura started down the stairs into the cafeteria. " Gosh, I'm hungry. How much money do I have? I only have...urgh, I have to ask Oni-chan for money."
" There he is. Want to go?"
" Sure. Oni-chan!" Sakura called, rushing towards her brother. Touya looked up and smiled.
" What now, kaijuu? Need some money?"
" Oni-chan!" Sakura stamped on his feet. Touya winced. " Come on. They're selling fried chicken today."
" The chicken is so expensive." Touya grumbled as he handed his sister the money. " Don't bother buying any soda, kaijuu. Otherwise you'll bloat."
" Oni-chan!" Sakura huffed, then grabbed a tray. She slid it along the shelf up to Eriol.
" Oh, konnichiwa, Kinomoto-san." Eriol blinked, and smiled. At the name Syaoran turned around.
" Oh, Sakura-chan! Wow, I didn't know that we have the same break time."
" Well, don't speak too soon." Sakura laughed. " How long is your break?"
" An hour. Then I have to get to conducting."
" With Yoshihara?" Sakura blinked. " Ugh! That guy's tough!"
" Tell me about it." Syaoran waited with his plate of french fries and fried chicken, as Eriol took his sandwich. " I have him for Music History too."
" Fried chicken." Sakura told the chef, as the woman took four strips and put them on the plate.
" Anything else?" She asked.
" Ano...can I have corn, please?" She asked. " You have him for Music History? Which class?"
" Eleven to Twelve."
" Ugh!" Sakura grimaced. " Double the dumps, eh? Do you want to sit together?"
" Sure, no problem." Eriol smiled. " By the way, congratulations Daidouji-san. I forgot to say that earlier today."
" Hey, I practically forgot myself." Tomoyo giggled, as the group made their way to the table where Eriol and Syaoran threw their stuff.
" Where's Yamazaki?" Syaoran asked.
" Probably up there. He decided he didn't want lunch, so he went to the lobby to do his homework."
" Naughty! He doesn't do his homework during the week!"

Eriol laughed. The four sat down.
" So, how's it like being the best of the best?" Sakura asked Syaoran.
" Weird, no doubt. Of course, the fame fades quickly."
" Terada-sensei is killing us with your Prokofiev, Li-san." Tomoyo joked.
" Gomen." Syaoran smiled. " They say that Terada is as tough as Yoshihara. Terada is Yoshihara's student, did you know that? Or was, actually."
" Hai. He always joins Yoshihara's conducting classes." Tomoyo nodded. " Rika takes conducting."
" Oh. The first one, right?" Syaoran asked. " Is she the one that was the follow up?"
" Hai."
" Oh. Say congratulations to her for me. I am not in her conducting class, so." Syaoran smiled. " Is she conducting Haydn?"
" I don't know. I never asked." Sakura swallowed. " Whose cello is that?"
" Oh," Eriol blushed. " That's mine. I'm a cello major."
" Oh." Sakura blinked.
" Hai." Syaoran elbowed Eriol. " Told him to become a piano major. He wouldn't listen."
" What are you talking about?" Eriol pouted. " I like the cello."
" Hai. He wants to be Ma Yo Yo. Not happening Eriol."
" Ugh!" Eriol pouted even more, as the girls laughed. " Watch it, you."
" Are you a full sized or a three quarter sized?" Tomoyo asked.
" Full size. The cello is brand new. So don't touch it."
" He's an only child." Syaoran grinned.
" Oh! You gaki!" Eriol protested.
" Selfish as always."

They laughed.

" Oh, by the way, I got a new piano." Syaoran said to everyone.

Eriol choked. " You said that five times in the car."
" I'm just so happy!" Syaoran protested. " After all, seven years with an upright Kawai-that's not a nice experience."
" In any case, the Kawai is new, and you won a competition through it."
" I know, but still, grands are the best. Although you always have to tune them."
" Oh." Sakura blinked. " Is it ebony or..."
" A walnut." Syaoran answered proudly. " Fits my living room perfectly!"
" Is it yellow teeth or white?"
" What are you talking about?"
" The keys, you baka." Eriol elbowed Syaoran. " They use to make ivory keys, until the whole thing with elephants came up."
" Poor elephants. If only ivory was a metal." Syaoran frowned. " I never touched ivory keys."
" You didn't? I went to Germany once. You know, where they sell Steinways?"
" Hai. They have a factory in New York too. So what were you doing in Germany?"
" The truth is, I was there for a cello competition. They had a Steinway piano made in the nineteen...twenties, I think. The keys were so great. They're yellow, of course. But they have a nice confirming feel to them. I don't know how to explain."

Sakura smiled as envy became apparent in Syaoran's eyes. " Lucky!" He pouted.
" I would like to try one of those ivory keys." Tomoyo said sincerely, " Even if I don't play the piano, I at least know where the middle C is."

This made everyone at the table laugh.

" Every musician has to know that." Eriol got the better of his mirth. " At least one key, anyway. Because if there's a piano nearby you need to tune to it. Speaking of tuning, you know what happened to me one time? I had my cousin over for about a week during the Christmas vacation. He's what, six years old? So of course he got bored with my practicing the piano and cello, until he found the tuning fork."
" Oh!" Sakura blinked.
" His cousin decided to take it away from Eriol once he finished using it." Syaoran chuckled. " We thought six year olds weren't supposed to play with fire! The guy went to the kitchen and turned on the fire in the stove, and decided to melt his tuning fork."
" That didn't work," Eriol wiped his glasses, " So he decided to turn to the oven. That worked. And it was a majorly white Christmas, with blizzards to call for the count, so all the music shops were closed. Plus, the piano got sort of messed up. I couldn't play for four days."
" The good thing was, the tuning fork made a really nice dish." Syaoran chuckled, ignoring the glare from Eriol.
" It's a good thing tuning forks are not that expensive." Sakura cocked her eyebrow. " But that cousin of yours sounds really naughty."
" He is. I can't count the times when I had to get my cello restringed."
" He even spilled rosin all over the floor." Syaoran answered. " One time he even dumped the powder into the piano. Another time, he poured water into it. The technician had to get all the rust out."
" Whoa, that's a bad boy." Sakura raised her eyebrows. " How do you manage to cope with him?"
" I honestly have no idea." Eriol laughed. " Let's see, twelve fifteen. I'm done."
" Me too." Tomoyo answered. " We're all done."
" So, do you want to go practice?" Syaoran asked Sakura.
" I'm not practicing!" Eriol quickly backed out.
" Oh come on, we'll look for the room with a large area." Syaoran dragged Eriol to his feet. " Are you coming? We can play Stravinsky, and scare everyone out of our room whenever they hear us."
" Sure. That can really call for a high level of concentration. Tomoyo-chan?"
" I'm coming. Let's dump the trash first."

" He wants me to play Toccata next week." Syaoran sighed. " Ugh!"
" At least we know it's ready." Eriol answered, tightening his bow. " Come along. Let's have our A. You're using an electronic keyboard-the only thing those things are good for is their pitches are always correct."

Syaoran frowned, pressing the key, and then came a chorus of tuning.
" Amazing. That sounds like the orchestra." Syaoran blinked.
" Don't." Tomoyo and Sakura began.
" You know, I find this strange." Tomoyo began. " I never saw you in the orchestra. Are you in Terada's class?"
" Hai. I was sitting in the second row this year, because," Eriol blushed. " I flunked the audition."
" Sitting in the second row doesn't say flunking." Sakura said gently. " Ugh! Mizuki-san wants the Bach to be ready next week!"
" I'm so dead." Was all Eriol and Tomoyo said, in unison, actually, as they began.

" So how was your day?" Syaoran asked as he and Sakura met up again.
" Tiring." Sakura answered. " Every single day is tiring. Today is just more so, since I have so many classes. Who would have known listening takes so much energy."
" I don't think it's so much the listening. It's the fact that you actually hear the sound that is exhausting." Syaoran sat down. " I'm waiting for my sisters. Probably caught up talking with some friends again. They're always late."
" Oni-chan always has a hard time with the cello."
" Tell me about it! Carrying that thing around. It's hard not imagining him as a hunchback of Notre Dame when he gets to thirty five years old."

Sakura giggled. " Well, if we were on flat ground, he could use the wheels."
" Lucky." Syaoran pouted. " My sister doesn't have wheels on her cello. She's getting that kind though-is it expensive?"
" It costs more then the other one. But it depends on which case you get. Some are better than others."
" Well, I'm glad I play the piano. Don't have to carry that thing around."
" Forget it! I don't even know how they manage to get those things into the practice rooms. And the stupid thing is, every one of the rooms have a sign saying, ' Do Not Remove The Piano. It Belongs To This Room.'"
" Well, they take off the legs and the pedals..."
" Hai, sure, we're going to take the legs and the pedals off the piano, and then just carry that big thing out the door without being caught. Seriously, Syaoran-kun."

Syaoran laughed. " Ah, there are my sisters. See you next week!"
" That's oni-chan. Ja!" Sakura laughed, as she and Syaoran parted ways for the day.