Between Him and Her

Strummin' my pain

The concert hall, if it could be called that, was dark and smoke filled. People milled around with lit cigarettes and beer. It felt like one of those garage band scenes, and people had clustered around in different areas. Malene and Liya speared through the crowds of people. Liya slightly coughed not used the smoke. There was a band playing some grunge music, and an emaciated young man was screaming through the microphone in audible Japanese. The particular fans to that band were standing at the foot of the elevated stage, and the young man had his body bent towards them with one of his foot on the speakers.

"Crazy, right?" Marlene said screaming over the screeching man.

"Yea..." Liya somewhat answered mutely. She was all for supporting bands and all, but this went beyond cruel and unusual punishment.

Marlene stood out in the crowd as she was taller (much taller than the average Japanese) and the darkness inside made her pale face and blue eyes illuminate surreal.

"Want to get a drink?" Marlene asked nodding her head towards the drink bar in the far corner. Liya shrugged and followed.

They ordered two Coronas and stood to the side.

Turning to her side, Liya queried, "So how did you find out about this concert?"

Marlene smiled slyly. "I know one of the musicians to this band that is going to play soon. He works at the prefectural office. I have been going out with him. He invited, so I came."

Marlene would be a hot commodity for these Japanese men. SHe was gorgeous to look at, and she spoke perfect Japanese. She had to to do her job in the prefecture office. Liya, on the other hand, had realized that she would never be termed as beautiful or even pretty by Japanese standards. In the last two days, people exalted her to be a powerful woman to come to Japan and work. Her Japanese coworkers had a problem accepting that she was American when she didn't fit their ideal version. She was told by Iwata sensei that when Liya had come to the school on that first day many male teachers were disappointed as she didn't have the stereotypical blonde hair and blue eyes.

Liya sighed and sipped her beer. She was not a big fan of cigarette smell, not that she had never smoked in her life. She had, but she didn't want to immerse herself into this choking air of CO2. SHe would have to wash her hair, take a shower, air her jacket, wash her clothes immediately after returning home.

Marlene's phone buzzed. She opened it to read her mail. Smiling she said to Liya, "It's time. They are going to come out soon. We should probably move forward after this set is over."

Perhaps Liya had shown a face of dismay that Marlene laughed, "DOn't worry. they are not as bad as this group."

"So they are bad," Liya said. Marlene chuckled.

"Well, the singer is. They only do classic rock covers. The singer, Shuu-kun thinks he is Aerosmith or something. His English is Japanese English. But the drummer, he is the guy I am seeing. He is hot. He does a good job of it and the bass guitarist. He is older, experienced and more gentle."

"How do you know?" Liya asked quietly as she watched the stage get cleared of the screeching banshee band and the dark hall had regained its ceiling lights. People milling around the stage moved away. So she followed Marlene up to the scene where the next band was setting up. She didn't want to stand in front of the speakers and get here eardrums blown to bits. Thus she moved to the side.

Marlene chortled as she happily said, "Oh, part of our dates end with me following him to his practice sessions."

Liya nodded her head in understanding and moved to the side wall by the stage. She took out her phone to check if there were any messages from her family. Marlene squealed a little and was shaking vigorously and talking loudly to someone on stage. Closing her phone, Liya looked towards her friend.

Marlene's boyfriend introduced himself as Ken. Liya chuckled in her mind thinking of Barbie and Ken. He was a handsome man in his late twenties or early thirties. He dressed the part. He had a black ACDC t-shirt and blue jeans, not the tight kind that the men seemed to favor at the moment. His hair was styled to the back, and he had a wristband on each hand. IN his hands he carried a pair of drumsticks. Then Liya witnessed something that she would never have in Japan, PDA. Marlene gave her boyfriend a much prolonged French kiss. All around them, the people took notice, and some were catcalling, and others were muttering something. The girls were giggling, and Liya for her mortification felt her cheeks burn.

She turned away from the kissing couple, holding the cold beer bottle to her flaming cheeks. Due to her tan complexion, no one would notice she was blushing. Her eyes went to the other performers setting their equipment on the stage and stilled.

There stood Matsumoto-san. He was fixing his equipment, checking and tuning his bass guitar. He had a black cap on; black hoodie was opened to show Jimmy Hendricks and black cargo pants and sneakers. She guessed it must have been her stalkerish stare that made him look up from his instrument and down at her.

Liya didn't know she was holding her breath until Marlene came up to her and nudged her. She greeted him, "Hello Ryuuhei-san" in Japanese. Ryuuhei gave his customary smile to Marlene and none to Liya. Marlene introduced Liya to him, "This is my friend, Liya."

Then turning to her, Marlene said, "he is the one I told you who plays very well."

Liya bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment. Her face felt frozen. Her eyes glazed over. Marlene kept on chattering on until the lights dimmed.

Ken started the set with his drum introduction. Ryuuhei-san and another guitarist joining him later. Then as if he is the most important facet to this group the singer came out screaming again.

All the while, Liya watched Matsumoto-san. She always had an affection for bass guitar because of its deep melody that can lull her to sleep. Her ears perked and her eyes avidly watched those long fingers strum the four-stringed instrument smoothly. She felt a sliver of pain in her heart.