[Vol. 2] Chapter 42: The Table Read
Sasaki saw us from the back and came over to greet us.
"Aika-san, Yuuna-san, Mei-san. I'm glad you could make it. I've been waiting for you."
"Sorry for the delay," said Mei, giving a small bow.
"Don't worry. Come on, it's this way."
The three of us followed him through the small studio, looking around with curiosity, until…
Flash.
"Huh?"
Click. Click. Click.
"What?!"
I spun around.
A camera was pointed directly at us.
"Smile! Just one more!"
Flash.
I went completely still.
Mei too.
Yuuna blinked a couple of times.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"What is he doing?" Mei asked slowly.
"Sasaki-san!"
The photographer kept taking pictures like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"This lighting is perfect! And the composition is incredible!"
"What are you doing?!"
Sasaki brought a hand to his forehead.
"I told you not to start photographing them without warning!"
"Sorry!"
The man lowered the camera.
"But, Sasaki-san…"
He pointed at us with complete seriousness.
"You brought three genuinely beautiful girls and I couldn't help it."
Mei's eyes went wide.
Then she looked at Yuuna.
Yuuna looked at Mei.
They both nodded at the same time.
Mei reached into her bag.
"I'm calling the police."
"Do it fast," Yuuna whispered. "We need to file the report before he escapes."
I looked at them, completely bewildered.
What on earth are they doing?
The photographer seemed equally confused.
"I was just taking pictures!"
"Without permission!" Mei protested.
"Exactly!" Yuuna added.
"You have to understand, you were born for this!"
"And you were born for prison!"
Sasaki let out a sigh.
"Please don't call the police."
Yuuna and Mei looked at each other and then nodded.
"Just this once," Yuuna added.
"I appreciate it," Sasaki replied in a tired tone. Then he pointed at the photographer.
"This is Souta Kuroda, the director of photography."
"Director of photography?"
"Yes."
The man smiled proudly.
"Nice to meet you. You can just call me Kuroda."
He lifted the camera.
"I promise to ask permission next time."
Mei still seemed suspicious.
"I hope so…"
"Don't worry!" said another man from a nearby table, laughing. "Kuroda is a little strange, but he's good at what he does."
He stood up and came over to us.
"I'm Kiyoshi Nakagawa. I'm the production assistant."
"Nice to meet you."
We gave a small bow.
"It'll be a pleasure working with you."
"Likewise," Mei responded.
"Yes," said Yuuna.
"A pleasure," I added.
Up to that point everything seemed normal.
Until I heard a voice behind us.
"You really did bring three beauties…"
I turned around.
A woman was watching us.
No.
Studying us.
Her eyes moved across our faces, our clothes, our expressions.
"Three…"
She murmured.
"To think that girls this attractive are going to be playing my scenes…"
Her eyes started to shine.
"This is perfect!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
The woman pressed both hands to her chest.
"I can picture exactly how they'll look on screen!"
She smiled like she'd just found the missing piece of a puzzle.
"The chemistry! The youth! The beauty! The contrast between characters!"
Sasaki closed his eyes.
"Please…"
The woman kept talking to herself.
"And when that scene arrives… Kyaaa I'm going to die from the excitement!"
What is wrong with these people?!
"That's enough," Sasaki cut in.
"Huh?"
The woman blinked.
She seemed to come back to reality.
Sasaki sighed.
"She's our scriptwriter."
"Ah."
The woman quickly fixed her hair.
"Sorry, I get carried away sometimes," she said with an awkward smile.
She smiled.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Yui Tachibana. I wrote the script for The Last Winter Scene."
She gave a bow.
"It'll be a pleasure working with you."
"Likewise," the three of us answered.
This team is definitely one of a kind.
I glanced at Yuuna sideways.
She seemed to be thinking the same thing.
Mei, on the other hand, simply smiled politely.
Sasaki gestured to us.
"Now that you've all met, let's sit down."
He led us to a desk at the back of the room.
The three of us took our seats.
Sasaki settled in across from us and started pulling documents from a folder.
"Alright."
He placed several sheets on the table.
"Did you read the email I sent?"
"Yes," Mei answered.
"Did you go through the dossier?"
"We did," said Yuuna.
I nodded.
"Yes."
"Perfect."
Sasaki picked up another document.
"Then we can get to the important part."
He placed it in front of us.
"This is the contract."
He pointed to a specific area.
"You need to sign here."
I looked at the document.
Participation agreement.
Suddenly it all felt much more real.
Up until that moment everything had seemed like some kind of strange extracurricular activity.
But now there was a contract in front of me…
I swallowed.
Sasaki continued.
"By the way, how old are you?"
Yuuna raised her hand slightly.
"Eighteen."
"Me too," I said.
Sasaki nodded.
"Perfect. Then you can sign yourselves. If anyone were a minor, we'd need a parent or legal guardian's signature."
He pulled out another document.
"In that case, they'd need to take this home and bring it back signed."
Yuuna immediately picked up the first contract.
"Then there's no problem."
She looked at it.
For about…
Three seconds.
She picked up the pen.
And signed.
"Done."
I stared at her.
"…"
Was that it?
Yuuna set the pen on the table with impressive calm.
I looked at the contract.
Then at Yuuna.
Then back at the contract.
You didn't even read it!
Don't you think it's important to read these things?
"Yuuna…"
"What?"
"No… Never mind."
I sighed and picked mine up.
"I'm eighteen too."
I lifted the sheet and prepared to read it carefully — unlike Yuuna, I'd seen enough cartoons where people sold their soul to the devil for not reading the fine print.
It wasn't a particularly long document, but it had enough paragraphs to make me regret saying I'd read it carefully.
The Last Winter Scene.
That was the official title of the film.
I kept reading.
My name appeared alongside the role I'd be playing.
There was also information about the production, the planned filming dates, and a few clauses related to participation in promotional material and the use of our image.
Nothing too unusual.
The financial compensation wasn't exactly spectacular either.
It was more symbolic than anything.
Which makes sense for a film that has to rely on students who don't even have an agency.
Even so…
October to late December.
Looks like we're in for an exhausting end of year.
…
I kept reading.
I came back to the title again.
The Last Winter Scene.
A dramatic youth romance…
The premise is interesting, though a little clichéd.
I suppose playing it safe makes sense.
…
I read a little more.
Finally I reached the signature section.
I picked up the pen, held it for a few seconds, and took a deep breath.
No going back now.
I signed.
I set the pen on the table, and then I looked to my side.
Mei wasn't doing anything — the contract was in front of her but she wasn't reading it. Her gaze was lowered and she seemed completely lost in her thoughts.
"Mei?"
She lifted her head slightly.
"Huh?"
She blinked a couple of times.
Like she'd just come back from somewhere far away.
"Oh… sorry."
She smiled.
But it was a strange smile.
"I'm still seventeen."
She looked at the contract.
"So I'll have to take it home for my parents to sign."
"Ah…"
I nodded slowly.
"Of course."
Before I could ask anything else, Sasaki picked up the conversation again.
"Alright."
He took out another document and handed it to Mei.
"Since we don't have much time, I'll trust that you can bring it back signed soon."
Mei nodded.
"Yes."
"I know school is important and you'll have quarterly exams coming up soon."
Sasaki looked at all three of us.
"But we need to finish filming by December. After that we can focus on post-production."
He pointed to the calendar on the table.
"That's why we'll prioritize your scenes and scenes involving students."
"Understood," Yuuna replied.
Mei smiled.
"Yes."
I nodded too.
"I'll do my best."
Sasaki collected the contracts and pulled out three scripts.
He set them in front of us.
"And here are your scripts."
My eyes lit up slightly.
"Is this…?"
I picked mine up.
My name appeared on the cover.
Shiori Hasumi.
Below it was a brief character description.
To summarize.
A reserved, elegant, and seemingly unattainable student who develops a romance with the protagonist, Kaito Soma…
I stared at the description.
"…"
Reserved?
Well.
I could try.
Elegant?
…
Unattainable?
That was asking too much.
Sasaki-san, I don't want to disappoint you, but I think I'm the opposite of elegant…
I turned a page.
The male protagonist was Kaito Soma.
Played by Kenji.
"Speaking of the protagonist…"
I looked around.
"Shouldn't Takagi-kun be here too?"
Sasaki shook his head.
"He had a commercial to film so he couldn't come today."
"Ah."
"But I've already arranged everything with his manager."
He pulled out some sheets.
"I asked you to go over pages twelve to fifteen."
He held up the script.
"It's the cafeteria scene — I'll read Kenji-kun's lines."
…
And so the table read began.
Sasaki took on Kaito's role.
I played Shiori, and Yuuna and Mei read their respective parts.
At first I was incredibly aware of every word.
Every time I delivered a line I thought:
Is this how I should say it?
Am I speaking too fast?
Do I sound natural?
Should my voice be calmer?
But little by little…
I stopped overthinking.
The scene started to flow.
One line.
Then another.
A small pause.
A response.
The dialogue began to feel more natural, and time passed without me noticing.
Finally…
Sasaki closed the script.
"Good."
He leaned back slightly in his chair.
"For a first read, it was acceptable."
Acceptable.
I wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
Sasaki looked at Yuuna first.
Then at Mei.
And finally at me.
"Shimizu-san."
I startled.
"Yes?"
"Hirano-san."
Mei also looked up.
"Make sure to practice before the rehearsal."
"Yes!" I answered too quickly.
It shows I'm an amateur!
I tried to keep my composure.
Sasaki nodded.
"Good."
Mei smiled.
"I will."
Her voice sounded cheerful.
But for just a brief moment… that expression appeared again.
Sasaki started putting the documents away.
"Rehearsals start the day after tomorrow."
"That soon?" I asked.
"Yes, we don't have time to spare, we need to make the most of it."
I looked at my script.
I suppose this is serious.
"Understood."
We left the studio a little while later.
The air outside felt considerably fresher.
Yuuna walked beside us with her hands in her pockets.
"So then."
She looked at us.
"Aren't you excited?"
"More than excited…"
I looked at my script.
"I'd say I'm nervous."
"Nervous?"
"I still don't have that much confidence as an actress."
Yuuna smiled.
"You'll do fine."
"You think so?"
"Yes."
She gave me a small bump on the shoulder, then looked at Mei.
"What about you?"
"Me?"
"Are you excited?"
Mei seemed surprised by the question.
Then she smiled.
"Oh, yes."
Her expression brightened.
"It's very exciting. I can't wait."
"…"
"Ah, right," Yuuna said suddenly. "Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Let's do the housewarming party."
Mei blinked.
"Oh!"
Her expression changed immediately.
"That's right."
Now she seemed genuinely excited.
"Tomorrow would be great."
"Then it's settled," said Yuuna.
"Huh?"
"We're having the party tomorrow."
"Wait, wait! Is it already settled?"
"Yes."
"And who said I agreed?"
Yuuna looked at me.
"You did."
"When?"
"A few days ago."
"…"
She was right.
"Ah."
Mei laughed.
"Then tomorrow."
"Yes."
She smiled.
"I'll let the club members know."
Her enthusiasm was contagious.
And for some reason, I found myself starting to get excited too.
A party.
In my new apartment.
With my friends.
A few months ago I couldn't even imagine something like this.
It was strange.
But…
I liked it.
We reached the station.
Yuuna stopped.
"Well, I'm going this way."
"See you tomorrow," said Mei.
"Yes."
Yuuna raised a hand.
"Don't be late."
"We won't."
Yuuna walked away.
Mei and I continued toward the platform.
We took the same train.
For a few minutes we traveled in silence.
I kept thinking about the film.
About Shiori.
And also…
About Mei.
I glanced at her sideways.
She was looking out the window.
"Mei."
"Yes?"
"Are you okay?"
She looked at me.
"Huh?"
"You've seemed a little off today."
Her eyes opened slightly.
"Off?"
"Yes."
I hesitated.
"I don't know how to explain it."
Mei smiled.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Her smile appeared again.
This time it seemed more natural.
"I'm probably just a little tired."
"Ah…"
I nodded.
"If you say so."
I wasn't completely convinced.
But I didn't want to push her.
A little while later the train reached my station.
I stood up.
"Well, this is my stop."
"Yes."
Mei smiled.
"See you tomorrow, Aika."
"See you."
I got off the train.
Before the doors closed, I raised my hand.
Mei did the same.
The doors started to close.
And the train pulled away.
I stood there for a few seconds watching the lights disappear.
"You can talk to me too if something's wrong…"
"Silly girl…"