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It isn’t even noon. They’d only had their first few classes, it was an hour and a half before they all took a break for lunch, and then after that Leo/need was going to try recording their first demo album and practice for their live show!
So Saki cannot already be in pain. She cannot be in so much pain before noon she wants to go home and lie down in her plushies and not move.
It’ll get better, of course it’ll get better, it’s early ! She can just push through it, Saki just has to make sure that no one notices, because if the others heard she was in pain now , then they’d cancel all their big plans for today even if she went home and felt better later.
Her back’s the worst by the time lunch comes. Each invertebrate disk feels like it’s creaking, and it’s making it hard to stand up straight but Saki Will! Not! Give! Up! She’s had worse at the hospital, and that’s why she’s not there anymore!
She could ask to go to the nurse’s office to get her pain medication but Miyajou’s full of gossips. No way that doesn’t get back to Ichika and the others and then they’ll be like “just to be safe, let’s put it off for today!”
No! Life isn’t about playing it safe! Life isn’t about being cooped up in a small boring hospital room where people constantly check on you and you’ll never get hurt but you’ll feel dead inside!
She can get pain pills after they record the demo.
When the final bell rings, Saki’s head hurts. God a migraine. She grabs an energy drink that’s supposed to have extra Vitamin B2 and hopes that’ll work. Save her, Riboflavin! It won’t matter though because she can play the songs that’ll be on their demo in her sleep.
“Saki-chan?” Honami asks. “Are you ok, you seem pale?”
“I’m great! We’re gonna have a demo!” Saki says. “Have you been working on the album art?”
Honami’s hand goes to her notebook, and Saki smiles, reaching for it. Instead of pictures of lion-like creatures like Honami did for their flyers, there are pictures of the old playground they used to walk by, with doodles of shooting stars and constellations overhead.
“I… I thought maybe it would be bad if I drew our first album cover from scratch, so I’ve just been thinking of what kind of layout we can do with images?” Honami says quickly.
“Oh!” Saki says. “I love it!”
“Love what?” Shiho asks, walking up with Ichika.
“Our first album cover!” Saki announces, showing them the sketchbook.
“It’s not exactly an album,” Ichika says, “it’s a demo, it’s only going to be a couple of songs to give to agents.”
“But!” Saki says, wiggling her eyebrows. “Soon we will have an album! Just after we record this. Now what are we waiting for?” Saki spins on her heel and runs off.
The studio they’re recording in looks totally cool, like the kind they have in movies. It’s so professional! So real! This is it, they can–
Saki wakes up in the hospital. Ichika is sitting across from her, and notices as soon as she opens her eyes.
“Saki!” Ichika gasps. “Oh my gosh, are you ok? We were so scared when you passed out we didn’t know what to do, Honami was freaking out and Shiho called the ambulance and I kept trying to wake you up and I wasn’t sure if I should do CPR or something.”
Saki frowns. “We didn’t get to record the demo.”
“The demo? ” Ichika gasps. “Saki you fainted, I think that’s more important than the demo!”
Saki coughs. “But it’s not just the demo, you’re going to say we need to practice less because I might get tired.”
“W-well we were talking about it but–”
“That’s the problem! Do you know how much professional performers practice?” Saki asks. “Professional Broadway actors do eight shows a week, I heard Tsukasa-nii talking about it! If we wanna go pro, we have to keep up with that now!”
“If we want to go pro, we need you alive!” Ichika snaps.
Saki stares at her, at a loss.
“I- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell,” Ichika says. “B-but you really scared us, and if going pro means pushing you so hard you could get seriously hurt, then I don’t want to go pro.”
“But then Shi-chan would leave us,” Saki says.
“You seriously think that?” Shiho says, entering the room with Honami and hospital donuts.
“It’s your dream,” Saki points out.
“Well maybe it used to be,” Shiho says. “But right now, my dream is going pro with you guys.”
“It wouldn’t be the same without all of us,” Honami says. “So please, Saki, let us know when you need a break.”
Saki thinks she’s going to cry if she hasn’t started already. “Fine. Yeah. Let’s just get out of here. I hate the hospital.”