A/N: This chapter's theme is #1 - unexpected news, and the pairing is
Tamao/Tsubomi. Enjoy!
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Singing Poetry
Nagisa thought the announcement was quite unexpected. Students
from Miator could write a new song, then Lulim students would do the
judging, and finally the winning entry would be sung by Spica's Saintly
Choir at the graduation ceremony. This was surprising to Nagisa because
there was an intense rivalry between Miator and Spica; would students
from Spica be all right with singing something written by a Miator
student?
Nagisa could be such a worrywart, Tamao thought. Now she, on the
other hand, was already composing a poem in her head. She had a few
friends in the Saintly Choir; they would sing her lyrics beautifully.
As Nagisa and Tamao stood in front of the Strawberry Dorms
bulletin board that had the announcement, Yaya and Tsubomi walked up to
them. "Hey you two," Yaya greeted, grinning widely.
"Hi," Nagisa replied, turning with Tamao to face the two Spica
girls. "Where's Hikari-chan?"
"Skipping with Amane-sama," Tsubomi answered, crossing her arms
over her chest. Her lips thinned and eyes narrowed. "The student
council president is pissed, so we're trying to avoid her."
"Watch your mouth," Yaya whispered harshly to Tsubomi.
Tsubomi ignored Yaya. "Hey, are you two interested in that
song-writing contest?" the younger girl asked Tamao and Nagisa.
"Y'know, I'll totally be okay with singing a Miator song if it's written
by you."
"And you can be sure that it will be," Tamao said with a smirk.
Yaya also smirked. "Such confidence," she began, "or is it
arrogance? But we can debate that later. The cafeteria is serving
strawberry cupcakes today, and since Hikari-chan really likes them, I
wanted to get some for her before they're all gone."
Tsubomi started giggling under her breath, but a glare from Yaya
silenced her. Tsubomi turned her face away and blushed brightly, much
to Yaya's satisfaction. The older girl then began heading in the
direction of the cafeteria, and Tsubomi and Nagisa quickly followed.
Tamao, however, lagged behind, as she was mentally composing beautiful
line after beautiful line.
A gorgeous poem lingered within Tamao's mind, and all was going
well until she actually had to put her thoughts to paper. She was now
in literature class, and she was working on yet another draft (she had
lost track of the exact number). The verses sounded wonderful in her
head, but once they were on paper, they sounded mundane and uninspired.
Tamao heard very little of what the teacher said, as she was too
occupied with her own problems. This material was probably going to be
on an exam, but that paled in comparison to Tamao's "crisis," and that
just distressed her even more. Nagisa glanced over a few times, and it
was quite obvious she was concerned about her best friend. However,
this was something that Nagisa couldn't help with. Tamao had to do this
alone, unfortunately.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and Tamao hadn't come
up with anything new. One would expect a literature class to provide
the best inspiration for poetry, but apparently that wasn't the case.
Tamao let out a heavy sigh. "Nagisa-chan, can you head back without
me?" she requested of her friend. "I have a few things to do first."
Nagisa appeared crestfallen. "Sure," she agreed, her voice quiet.
She picked up her school bag and took one last glance at Tamao before
leaving the classroom.
Once the rest of the students had left, Tamao got out the first
draft of the poem from her school bag. She gently placed it on the desk
and read it over carefully. It was entitled "Lilies," and while it
wasn't horrible, it was missing something. Tears welled up in her eyes,
and out of frustration, she crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it
across the room and into the trashcan. She then picked up her bag and
stormed out of the room.
In her anger, Tamao unknowingly passed Nagisa, who was standing
outside the door and had seen Tamao throw away something. Nagisa then
entered the classroom and headed toward the trashcan. While she
wouldn't be able to help Tamao, she knew a few girls who just might be
able to, and she would find one of them quickly.
That evening, Tamao was alone in her dorm room. She didn't want
Nagisa to worry, so she had sent the red-haired girl out with Shizuma,
and Nagisa, while happy to spend time with her girlfriend, had been
reluctant to leave Tamao alone. But Tamao had insisted and eventually
Nagisa had agreed.
Now, Tamao sat at her desk, her chin in her hands. What was
missing? She had written beautiful poetry before, so why not now? She
ran her fingers through her hair and then pounded her fists on the desk.
She felt tears ready to escape, but this time she was able to suppress
them. Frustrating as this was, she had high expectations and she was
not going to fail herself.
A knock at the door pulled Tamao out of her thoughts. She stood
up and opened the door, revealing Tsubomi standing outside. The Spica
girl was holding a crumbled piece of paper. "Hey, is that-" Tamao
began, but was interrupted.
"Nagisa found this in the trash, and she gave it to me," Tsubomi
said. Her voice was an awkward calm, and her hands shook slightly.
"Why did you throw it away?"
"Because it's no good," Tamao answered, escorting Tsubomi into the
dorm room.
Tsubomi inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I think
it's beautiful," she disagreed as Tamao closed the door. "May I sing
it?"
Tamao thought it would be cruel of her to allow anyone to sing
such garbage, but as Tsubomi was being unusually polite, she decided to
be a little bit hopeful, if only to see Tsubomi be her usual confident
and outgoing self again. "Sure," the Miator girl said. Maybe this
would help her figure out what was wrong.
Tsubomi smiled broadly and began singing the poem entitled
"Lilies." She carefully sung each word, each line, and each verse in
that gentle but sure voice of hers.
Tamao could not believe her ears. Tsubomi was absolutely
stunning. She truly belonged in the Saintly Choir. Her voice would now
stand out from the rest of the singers whenever Tamao listened to them
in the future. Tamao now knew what she had been missing: a loving
voice that could give life to each and every word she wrote.
Once Tsubomi had finished singing, she found herself locked in a
passionate kiss with Tamao. How unexpected, Tsubomi thought. But
certainly what she had wanted.
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