Silence settled around the table. The murmur of the bar continued to fill the room as people laughed and conversations carried on from every corner.
Luz took a deep breath before speaking again. "We've got a little less than twenty minutes."
Daniel looked up. "Can't you delay the start?"
She slowly shook her head. "No. There's another band after us, and the schedule is really tight."
Eduardo rested both arms on the table. "What about playing without the guitar?"
Luz grimaced. "We could... but several songs would lose too much. We'd have to improvise half the setlist."
Oriol stopped fanning himself with the menu. "What if you use backing tracks?"
"We've never done that." Luz shook her head again. "Besides, people come here to hear live music."
The group fell silent once more.
Ren stared at the stage. Resting on one of the stands was a glossy black electric guitar. Beside it sat an amplifier, several neatly coiled cables, and a pedalboard placed in front of the main microphone.
Luz let out another sigh. "Romina knows every song. Finding someone else in twenty minutes is impossible."
Eduardo rubbed his chin. "Doesn't anyone here at the bar play?"
She shook her head again. "Not that I know of."
Daniel instinctively pulled out his phone. "You could try calling someone."
Luz smiled appreciatively, though the expression only lasted a moment. "Thanks... but I've already called everyone I know."
Daniel slipped his phone back into his pocket. "I see..."
Ren kept staring at the stage. Christina followed his gaze and smiled to herself.
Everything was ready for the show to begin, yet a single missing person was enough for it all to fall apart.
He remembered the street musician.
"A stage never waits."
Without realizing it, his eyes returned to the guitar. It was a glossy black Fender. The ceiling lights reflected off its polished body as it rested quietly on its stand. "What a waste..." he murmured without thinking.
Luz raised her head slightly. "What did you say?"
Ren discreetly pointed toward the stage. "Nothing... I was just thinking it'd be a shame for everything to be ready and not be able to play."
Luz smiled sadly. "I was thinking the same thing."
Once again, no one spoke.
Until Christina finally broke the silence.
"Then let Ren play. We saw him perform at the plaza... and like he said himself, it'd be a waste."
Six pairs of eyes turned toward her at the exact same time.
It took Ren a full second to process what he'd just heard. "...What?"
Christina looked at him as though she'd just stated the most obvious thing in the world, covering a small smile with one hand. "I know you want to get on that stage. You've been staring at that guitar for several minutes."
Ren's eyes widened as he frantically waved both hands. "No, no, no! How could you even think that?!"
Even Hannah blinked in surprise. "Hmm... the more I think about it, the better the idea sounds. Come on, Ren, give it a try." The redhead continued speaking as calmly as ever. "You know how to play guitar."
"In my bedroom!" Ren shot back immediately. "Not in front of a bar full of people!"
Oriol crossed his arms. "Well... technically, she has a point. You played at the plaza, and you were good."
Daniel started recalling the day's events aloud. "And you learned Guitar Hero in two songs... If anyone can learn a song in a short amount of time... it's you."
Eduardo let out a small laugh. "The street musician practically told you that you had talent."
Ren pointed at them one by one. "Stop helping!"
Luz remained completely silent. Her eyes shifted from Ren to the stage... then from the stage back to Ren. Ever since Romina had called, she'd stopped thinking about the problem... ...and had started thinking about a possibility.
Luz opened her mouth a couple of times as if she wanted to say something, but closed it again. "...I don't want to put you in this situation."
Ren let out the breath he'd been holding. "Thank you."
"But..." Luz looked back toward the stage. "If you accepted... you'd be saving us."
Ren felt a knot form in his stomach. "I don't even know your songs."
"That can be fixed," Daniel replied almost immediately as he pulled out his phone.
Oriol nodded. "How many do you need?"
Luz thought for a moment. "Five... although we could make it work with four."
Ren's eyes went wide. "Four?!"
"The easiest ones," Luz quickly clarified. "I wouldn't ask you to play the hard ones."
Daniel held up his phone. "Tell me the song titles."
Eduardo leaned forward. "How much time do we have?"
Luz checked her watch again. "...Seventeen minutes."
Eduardo looked at Ren. "Can you stretch it another ten minutes somehow?"
Luz stood up immediately. "Let me see what I can do."
Daniel called after her before she could leave. "The song titles, Luz! So Ren can look up the sheet music!"
She stopped and turned around. "Oh, right."
She walked over to Daniel and gave him the names of eight songs, avoiding the original ones they had written.
While everyone rushed to do something...
Ren looked at the guitar onstage once again. It was ridiculous. He couldn't do this in only seventeen minutes. There was no way anyone could learn four songs that fast. "...I can't."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Luz smiled bitterly and lowered her gaze. "You're right... it's a difficult situation."
The atmosphere grew heavy once again.
Then Eduardo looked Ren straight in the eyes. "Have you already decided to lose?"
Ren turned toward him, jaw clenched.
Eduardo continued. "Because you haven't even tried yet. You said you wanted to improve. Honestly, you've been a different person this week... and that's a good thing."
Ren opened his mouth, then closed it again. "But..."
Eduardo slammed his hand on the table in front of him. "Make mistakes with everything you've got!"
Ren felt those words carry more weight than any speech ever could. "Those are Sabonim's words..."
Eduardo stood up and patted him on the back. "If you fail... you learn. If you succeed, you save Luz. And if you completely mess it up, remember..."
"...we're here for you." The others smiled at Eduardo.
He nudged Ren to his feet. "Come on, buddy, you can do it, be the hero today."
Ren stood there without moving. He looked at the black Fender once more.
"A stage never waits."
His hand unconsciously touched the green guitar pick in his pocket. The same one Hannah had given him barely an hour earlier.
"That way you'll remember you're never alone."
Ren closed his eyes for a brief moment. "...You're right." "It's time to save the day."
Daniel stood up and walked over, holding out his phone. "...You're going to rehearse with me until the very last second."
It took Luz a moment to react. "I'm going to see if I can delay the start."
She ran off from the table with the biggest smile they'd seen from her all night.
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! A comment would mean a lot. 😊