Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume7 Chapter6 1

Tuesday. Part 1

"I haven't heard anything about that."

Yoshino-san said.

"Neither have I."

Shimako-san was in the same boat.

"Yumi-san, I think you've been tricked by Rosa Gigantea."

That was the opinion shared by my two classmates.

After calling the Roses, I'd phoned Yoshino-san and Shimako-san at their houses, to tell them what I'd heard from Rosa Gigantea. As a result, we came to school a bit early today and were currently holding a strategy meeting in the library.

The reading room had high ceilings, so it was cold early in the morning. Still wearing our coats, we held a clandestine, face-to-face meeting. Because you could never tell when the boutons would show up at the Rose Mansion.

"Since Yoshino-san hasn't heard anything from Rei-sama, I think it must be false information."

After thinking it over during the night, I was leaning towards it being a prank too. That Sachiko-sama wouldn't prepare a tape, instead singing as she performed a ballet dance, was simply beyond belief.

"But "The Dance of the Little Swans" is real."

Shimako-san said, after flipping through a ballet reference book. On the page she held open was a color photograph showing four dancers in swan costume holding hands and dancing elegantly. The library was a pretty convenient place for a meeting, since we could look over reference material easily.

"It is too."

I groaned. Rosa Gigantea's lie had been a bit too specific.

"But would Sachiko-sama dance it alone?"

She had a lot of pride, so it seemed like she'd avoid making herself a target of ridicule.

"She would if Rosa Chinensis asked her, right? Or if they said she wouldn't be able to do it, she's the type of person who would just to prove them wrong."

Oh Yoshino-san, sharp work.

"When I think about it, there's a chance Rei-chan would get fired up too. And since she's shy, she wouldn't want to tell me about it."

We'd done an about face and were now heading in the "might be true" direction. In that case.

"I guess we should prepare something then."

"Even if we don't need it, it's better than the alternative."

"Let's keep it a secret from our onee-samas."

We looked at each other and agreed. With our plan in place, the next thing was who would do what.

"I'm not that good at comedy."

Shimako-san looked troubled.

"It's okay, don't worry."

Yoshino-san patted Shimako-san on the shoulders, to reassure her. Nobody expected her to do a comedy routine.

"Let's see. Shimako-san, you're a master of the arts, aren't you? You can perform traditional Japanese dances, right?"

"… Yes."

Shimako-san agreed dubiously. In contrast, Yoshino-san seemed to be enjoying herself. She looked like she really loved this sort of thing.

"Can you dance improv?"

"What do you mean by improv?"

"I mean, could you dance to some non-traditional music? Without choreography, could you make it up yourself?"

"If I knew the song, I could manage."

"Okay. Since you'll be as busy as the other boutons, how about you dance to some music that we organize for the event."

Like a dictator, Yoshino-san was rapidly making decisions by herself. Well, we didn't have much time, so that was probably a good thing.

"So, I won't know the music until the performance itself?"

Shimako-san still seemed uneasy.

"Well, that'll make it more interesting, right?"

Really?

Yoshino-san was up to something. Nobody expected Shimako-san to do a stand-up comedy routine, but it looked like Yoshino-san was trying to steer it in a comedic direction.

"So then, Yumi-san and I will be in charge of laughs."

"Laughs, huh."

I got a very different treatment to Shimako-san.

"I'll do a magic show. Yumi-san, you can do some kind of party performance."

"Wha, a party performance!?"

Yoshino-san took an "Introduction to Party Performances" book off the shelf and held it out to me. The other book she was holding was about magic, for her own use.

"But I can't do a party performance."

I wailed. I'd never done any kind of party performance in my entire life. Not only that, but I'd never even seen one either.

"Quit complaining, there's no time. Yumi-san, I'm sure you'll be able to put on a funny show."

The Rose families were skilled at flattery.

"I guess I haven't got a choice."

Reluctantly I took hold of the "Introduction to Party Performances" book.

Nevertheless. Wasn't that a backhanded compliment?