Chapter 8

Book Version

Waking up early the next morning, Saku cleans herself off and packs up her things... she wasn't going to go out looking for jobs and houses and leave her bag of belongings in a park gazebo for people to snoop through. Skipping school was a good idea... she wasn't feeling all that great and who could blame her? Saku works hard and tries to look for houses... and soon, the time passes quickly and she is getting ready to go to work. Saku puts on her best dress and walks over to the restaurant... suitcase of belongings and instruments weighing her down.

At the restaurant, Saku puts all of her things towards the back where no one goes. She looks onto the stage to see her violin partner struggling with the crowd that he is performing for. Before Saku could even attempt to help, her manager stops her... he is infuriated, "Where the hell have you been?! People usually come to see you play you know! That's the whole reason you're on call on the weekends!! Why didn't you answer on sunday?"

Saku keeps cool and answers slowly, "First of all... I had a tennis tournament which you knew about... Second of all I apologize for getting sick... but let's talk later... let me go save your restaurant..."

She moves around the infuriated man and walks towards the stage. On her way up, Saku starts to play a slow sorrowful tune which instantly captures the audience's attention. Saku's violin partner smiles when he notices and quickly follows suit. When Saku makes it up onto the stage, he strikes up a quiet conversation with her.

"Where did you go?"

"I... a little dilemma came up..."

"You know... I didn't think my performance was that bad..."

"No its not..."

"They only come to see you though..."

"Doesn't mean you aren't good... remember I've been here longer than you..."

After saying that, Saku ends the conversation to continue to play the violin in silence. She moves on into a happier song...

Its closing time and Saku is patiently waiting for her boss to sit across from her. She has all her things settle next to her and a plate of food before her... when her boss finally sits down, she starts the conversation, "You want to know why I wasn't here? I was in the damn hospital... Now I need help okay... I need a raise..."

Her boss counters with, "Already gave you one..."

Saku fights for control as she replies, "You call that a raise after all I do?! Look, I need money and I lost my second job... I need to pay off bills and debts... don't you think you can give me a good pay?"

"Is it my problem if you lost your second job? No raise..."

"I can't find another job other than this right now..."

"No raise."

"I'm in debt up to my waist..."

"No raise."

"I'm living alone with no help from anyone..."

"No raise."

"I LOST MY DAMN HOUSE!!!"

"... no raise..."

Saku finally loses it and explodes, "Are you kidding me?! I just told you I lost my damn house and you can't even show a dash of sympathy?!"

Saku's boss has no reaction, "Not my problem..."

Saku begins to threaten him, "So what will you do if I quit? You get your customers for my entertainment more than your disgusting food!"

Her manager smiles at the measly attempt, "You are in too much trouble to quit."

Saku crosses her arms and growls, "I really don't care what trouble I am in... I'll quit and you know it..."

Her boss begins to get nervous, "No you won't..."

Saku pulls out a paper and passes it over, "You want to bet on that?"

Saku stands up, grabs her things and begins to walk out of the restaurant, "Think about what I said... I'm more popular than your food... Even you admitted it..."

Before walking out, Saku snags a bottle of wine from one of the tables... she smiles as she leaves... the paper she handed to her boss was her letter of resignation...

When Saku walks out of the restaurant, she is greeted by a surprising sight: Tsuyoi's car parked right in front. She walks over to the car and gets in when she sees Tsuyoi's signal to open the door.

"Tsuyoi Snpai, what are you doing here?"

Tsuyoi remains quiet.

"Tsuyoi- san? Is everything alright?"

Still silent, Tsuyoi starts to drive in the direction of Saku's old apartment. Saku panics since she had no plans on telling Tsuyoi about her recent dilemma, "Tsuyoi, I don't need a ride home... I can take a bus or something!"

Tsuyoi finally speaks to her, "You have an issue with me driving you home?"

"Um... no it's not that-"

"Secret?"

"What, no... I... uh... I-"

"You know you can tell me anything right?"

"Tsuyoi-san... I know that..." Saku replies... she is confused... about his sudden avalanche of questions and attitude.

Tsuyoi makes a turn and Saku realizes that he has driven to the park... he changed directions without her knowing.

"Tsuyoi, why are you-"

"Saku, do you trust me?"

Saku hesitate... then, "Yes... why are you asking?"

"Is there a reason you didn't tell me you were evicted and have no place to go?"

Saku is stunned into silence... when she finally gets a grip on herself, she asks, "You know...?"

Reviews

[Gretchen Clarke]

What a cruel boss! Not caring about how this poor-paying job was her last hope...
I honestly hope that things will get better for Saku...
All in all, this was another amazing chapter, and I look forward to reading more of this book!
Keep up the amazingly awesome work!

[Japanese Cherry]

Thanks!
I think you've become a loyal reader to this!

[Gretchen Clarke]

You're welcome!
I most certainly have!