[CH.81] Introduction of Club Activities and Sudden Announcement
After parting ways with Yuta, I quickly finished the filming and returned to the dormitory. While I was on a separate path, it seems that Yoko-san was making rounds of greetings with Haruka.
"Since you've come all this way, you should at least promote yourself a bit, right?"
"Oh, I came here to study acting, you know?"
While Haruka seemed to resist being pulled by Yoko-san, who had grabbed her arm, she resisted with some excuses, but it seemed futile. In the first place, in the case of Haruka, she probably just didn't want to study for the proficiency test.
Hearing the story, I said with amazement, and Haruka mischievously smiled and stuck out her tongue. Somehow, I couldn't help but think that this comical expression suited the beautiful girl.
As for the filming of the drama, my role this time had only a few scenes, and it ended quickly, including tests and rehearsals, as long as no NGs (No Good) occurred. Among the three detective sisters, the one who was the best at acting was probably the second daughter. I chatted a bit during the film confirmation time and the little gap time. It turns out she belonged to a children's theater company until she graduated from elementary school. She steadily accumulated achievements as a child actor from that time, and this time, she got a main role for the first time. By the way, she's one year older than me.
I have a strong feeling that I might co-star somewhere again, and I keenly feel the sense of crisis as talented actors continue to emerge one after another. Although I was in a bit of a standstill, perhaps due to exams, I felt the need to firmly study acting, connect with people in the industry, and do good work to establish my footing.
The next day, fueled by the stimulation of new encounters and renewed motivation, today is the second half of the orientation and proficiency tests. Since explanations about the school were completed yesterday, today's schedule is entirely devoted to club introductions. While those like me who have given up on joining clubs due to external activities are exceptions, most of my classmates are excitedly waiting for the club introductions that will take place on the stage in the gymnasium.
"...Are you going to join any clubs, Matsuda-san?"
We are sitting in two rows in order of height, and the girl in the adjacent seat is Miu-chan, whom I chatted with a bit yesterday. Perhaps the unnatural break in her words towards the end was because she was about to use the polite form like 'desu ka.' Even so, it's somewhat heartening that she respects my words from yesterday when I said, 'You don't have to use honorifics,' and tries to talk to me normally.
"No, I prioritize work, so I've decided not to join any clubs. I consulted with the school even before enrolling, and I got proper permission."
"Yeah, that makes sense. Matsuda-san, you really don't have time for clubs. Hmm, I wonder which club I should join."
I want to give Miu-chan some advice as she ponders, but she probably isn't looking for a generic phrase like 'just do what you like.' In my previous life when I entered middle school, I vaguely thought I wanted to do something related to brass band, so I joined the brass band following that feeling. Well, personally, it turned out to be a mistake, and I regretted it later.
"Miu-chan, do you have any hobbies or preferences between sports and cultural clubs?"
Whether to join a club related to something familiar to oneself or to consider categories and choose the one that is not disliked. To my suggestion of conventional choices, Miu-chan, with a slightly embarrassed expression, responded.
"I'm not good at it, really not good at it... but, I actually like writing stories."
While thinking that she didn't need to preface it with being bad at it, I nodded in agreement while blushing at Miu-chan, who confessed in that way. Whether those stories are novels or picture books is unclear, but if it's that hobby, the literature club would probably be the closest fit.
Flipping through the straw-colored bookmark received at the entrance of the gymnasium containing club introductions, I searched for the literature club. Ah, there it is! I opened that page and showed it to Miu-chan.
"If you're interested in a club that writes stories, something like the literature club might be good, don't you think?"
"Wow, the handwriting is beautiful."
Seeing the neatly written characters resembling penmanship examples, Miu-chan exclaimed. However, whether the club president has a particular preference or not, the page had only text without illustrations, giving off a somewhat imposing vibe. Would a new student decide to join the literature club after seeing this? Or perhaps it's a display of a strict stance like 'We don't want superficial members.'
"Uh, it looks a bit intimidating. If someone like me, who's not good at it, joins, I might be kicked out."
"If a club that is actively recruiting new members ends up kicking out a first-year student who wants to join, I think the teachers would strongly reprimand them."
Because that would be too unreasonable, right? I still don't fully understand the club system at this school, but if the number of members decreases, and the club gets demoted to a fan club, they might lose their club budget.
Instead of discussing it here, I think it's better to consider things after actually looking at the club introductions. When I conveyed this to Miu-chan, she seemed to agree, as she subtly folded the top right corner of the literature club's page and began skimming through introductions of other clubs. Visiting and observing would probably be possible, and deciding after that wouldn't be too late, I think.
The lights brightened on the stage, and the teachers appeared from the wings. Following everyone around who had stopped chatting and turned their attention forward, I also adjusted my sitting position and directed my gaze to the stage.
The afternoon academic test also concluded smoothly, and since there were no plans for the rest of the day, I rode back to the dormitory with Haruka in Yoko-san's car. On the way, Haruka took out the club introduction bookmark from her bag.
"Our school has various types of clubs, huh? Was there any club that caught your interest, Sumire?"
"Hmm, maybe the public bath enthusiasts club. Going to public baths in Tokyo one by one, summarizing the experience, and presenting it at the cultural festival sounded kind of fun to me."
"Oh, you got interested in a weird club. Well, it's not even a recognized club, you know."
Haruka said with a slightly withdrawn tone, and I protested a bit with a 'That's rude,' puffing my cheeks slightly. After all, there were many conventional clubs that you find in other schools, like soccer and softball clubs. In the cultural clubs, there was not only the brass band but also an English conversation club, and if you listed up to your third preference, you could probably cover what everyone wanted to do.
If I hadn't met Cathy Sensei and started learning English from her, I think I might have been drawn to the English conversation club. However, thanks to the teacher, I became able to converse naturally at a speed similar to speaking in Japanese, so if I could join a club, I might choose a different one.
Haruka expressed interest in the basketball club, and indeed, they looked cool as they demonstrated their movements in a light game format. Particularly, the sight of the senior skillfully making three-point shots into the goal made me think, "Wow, that's amazing."
Haruka, being energetic, mentioned considering joining a sports club, and I thought she was joking, so I just went along with the conversation, laughing without saying much. However, there was someone in this car who picked up on the significance of Haruka's words. Yes, it was Yoko-san.
Yoko-san parked the car in a safe spot, turned to face the back seat, and looked at Haruka with a serious expression. In response to the intensity of that gaze, Haruka showed a slight sign of uneasiness.
"Haruka, is joining a club the thing you most want to commit to right now? If so, you could have done that at a local middle school, even without coming to Tokyo. More than that, you didn't have to attend a flexible private school, a public middle school would have sufficed. Honestly, how do you feel about your job? You've been saying things like 'I'm still not confident' or 'I need a bit more time' since elementary school, so I haven't been pushing you. But I'd like to hear your true feelings soon."
Her tone wasn't harsh, but there was a certain weight to her words, making me, who was just listening to the conversation beside her, feel somewhat tense. Actually, I never thought that Haruka herself had put a halt to her work. Ms. Azusa's lessons and her self-practice at the rehearsal studio were diligent, so it was even more surprising.
In my case, I just happened to have a series of substitute jobs, and I thought this might be the usual workload for a recently debuted child actor.
"The agency wants to focus its efforts on children like Sumire, who can handle large-scale projects and are sincerely committed to their work, rather than those who only handle a small number of one-off jobs. Because the return to the agency is greater, and Sumire's visibility is increasing, leading to more job opportunities. I believe that benefiting both sides is the ideal relationship between the agency and actors."
"...That may be true, but."
"Just so you know, we waited until your exams were over, thinking that you might share your future plans with us. But if there's no movement on your part, we have no choice but to consider our options, right?"
Yoko-san's words, spoken with a sigh, seemed intentionally vague in terms of the subject, and even though I was just listening next to her, I felt a vague sense of anxiety. Haruka, who actually received those words, seemed uncertain about how to respond, her expression clouding over.
Furthermore, Yoko-san delivered another blow by mentioning that "Ms. Azusa has also brought up the topic" to Haruka. However, talking in such a logical and cornered manner to a girl who was an elementary school student until recently made me feel like even the vague image of her future was being erased.
Of course, considering my past experience on the adult side, I think what Yoko-san is saying makes sense, and I understand Ms. Azusa's concerns. It costs money to nurture a person, and perhaps the agency had been making offers to Haruka that I didn't know about, only to be rejected each time. Through several of these misunderstandings, the trust in Haruka from the agency side may have significantly diminished. It's just speculation, but I think Yoko-san's stern approach probably indicates that there are very few chances left.
However, the way Yoko-san is putting pressure on her, intending to shake her up, might cause Haruka to shrink back, making it difficult for her to foster a positive mindset. Instead of thinking, "Let's do our best," she might feel more like giving up and shrinking away. That's because the part where the pressure is applied doesn't seem to be effectively conveyed to Haruka.
"Yoko-san, let's leave it at that for today."
I know I'm an outsider, and it's not my place to interject. But even with a harsh tone, if Yoko-san pushes Haruka, who couldn't come up with an answer for two years, into a corner now, I can only see a future where she gives up everything under the pressure from her surroundings. Yoko-san is usually with me, so she might not understand what a typical newly-turned junior high school girl is like.
It might sound presumptuous, but having been reborn and redoing my life, I'm already deviating from the norm, right? But precisely because of that, Haruka and I are different individuals, so I want them to properly see her and engage with her sincerely.
"Hey, Haruka. I may not know anything about your situation, but I think it's crucial for you to solidify your own feelings first. If you're okay with it, I'm here to listen, so let's talk about things when we get home, okay? If we don't move the conversation forward even a bit, the next step might involve calling your parents and proceeding with the contract termination process."
Since Yoko-san has verbalized it at this point, we can't afford to take it easy anymore. I express the sentiment that there's no other time but now to construct the blueprint for our futures. Then, I turn my gaze to Yoko-san and say:
"Yoko-san, even for you, isn't it better if Haruka puts in her best effort rather than terminating the contract and bringing in a new child to start from scratch?"
"That's true, but forcing her to stay when she's not motivated will only make both parties unhappy."
"If she lacks motivation, she might not be putting in much effort into the lessons... Anyway, I'll talk to Haruka, so I'd appreciate it if you could give us a little time."
Forcibly wrapping up the conversation and bowing my head to Yoko-san, she made a reluctant face but nodded in agreement. Perhaps she thought it was a good time to bring up the topic given the flow of the conversation, but today was not supposed to be about such heavy discussions. If I had known about such plans in advance, Haruka's expression would probably have been even darker.
This is just speculation, but the fact that the agency didn't resort to strong measures until after the entrance exams suggests that Ms. Azusa and Yoko-san probably don't intend to terminate Haruka's contract immediately. After all, if they were planning to forcefully remove Haruka right away, they probably wouldn't have let her take the entrance exams in the first place.
I'll be sad if my same-aged friend leaves the dorm, and I don't want to see Haruka succumb to pressure from adults, unable to grasp her own feelings, and giving up on her dreams without resistance. Let's start by talking to Haruka thoroughly. If even a small part of our conversation can be a catalyst for her to reconsider herself, that would be great.
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