Slip of the Tongue

Slip of the Tongue - Part 10

Weeks after their Gold Symphony Tour, AAA were busy rehearsing for their new songs and dance choreographies. Another day has come, and instead of their rehearsal room, they were asked to go directly to the Audio Visual Room.

"Good morning." Shuta said as he walked inside the room. Nissy, Misako, Naoya and Shinjiro were already inside.

"Shuta, good morning." Nissy greeted back. "Have you received the mail I sent earlier?" He asked.

"Huh?" Shuta responded as he continued walking towards an empty seat beside Nissy. He got his cellphone from his pocket. A mail notification from his friend was indeed flashed on the home screen.

"Shuta!!!!!! We'll view this morning our last concert's video!" Shuta's eyebrow then wrinkled as he read the mail with confusion.

"Oi Nishijima, so what if we'll watch...our..." He slowly paused what he's about to tell his friend when he suddenly realized something. "Ah! My confession!" He thought as his heart started to beat faster. He suddenly stood up from his seat.

"Ah!" Shuta exclaimed. The members looked at him with surprised expression on their faces. "Ah, I'm sorry..." His face blushed as he slowly sat down. He saw Naoya and Shinjiro giggling but he didn't care enough to buy their teases when he thought of something.

"Ah, right, I shouldn't be worried." He calmed himself. "I already had a deal with staff-san. I know he won't let me down." He thought confidently.

"It's alright, Nishijima." He said, smiling. Nissy looked at him. He already knew what his friend meant by that. Shuta then got his Nintendo DS from his bag, thinking that he will have enough time to play while waiting for the other members to come. The door then opened.

"Good morning." Chiaki greeted. The members and the staff inside the room greeted back by bowing their heads. Chiaki then sat to an empty seat beside Misako and Naoya. "Why are we here?" She asked.

"We'll have a preview of our last concert's video, as usual." Misako answered.

"Hidaka's late again. I already want to start watching the concert." Naoya said.

"Maybe we can start without him?" Shinjiro suggested.

"I'm sorry, but we have to wait for him." The staff said.

"It's alright." Nissy said, standing up. "I'll just buy some food at the cafeteria then. I'm starving already. Haha. Let's go, Shuta." He looked at his friend.

"I'm not hungry. You can go without me." Shuta responded without looking at Nissy. He's already busy playing with his gadget.

"Hm. Okay. Uno-chan, wanna come?" Nissy invited Misako.

"Okay. But let's be quick. Hidaka might come anytime soon." Misako said, standing up. She and Nissy then walked out of the room.

"Let's go, too, Shinjiro." Naoya whispered, pointing at Shuta and Chiaki using his lips. Shinjiro chuckled.

"Haha. Okay." He said. Both of them then also went out of the room, leaving Shuta and Chiaki on the viewing area. The staff members inside the room were just on the side, watching the couple silently. Chiaki looked at Shuta, who is two seats away from her.

"What are you playing?" She asked. Shuta looked at her quickly then back to his game.

"Hm. Kingdom Hearts." He responded. His mind was still too consumed with the game. After a couple of seconds, he suddenly smelled something fragrant—lavender scent, his favorite. He tried to look again at Chiaki quickly and found her walking towards him. The girl sat at the empty seat beside him.