Ren had barely finished getting settled when Daniel already had his phone in front of him.
"First song." He swiped through the screen until he found it. "Here it is."
Ren took the phone with both hands. It was a song he didn't know. "I don't have to learn the song..." he murmured to himself. "...only my part."
He began reading the chords, moving his hands according to the guitar chords while quietly murmuring the key.
Daniel watched as Ren's eyes moved across the screen again and again. "...Are you reading it or memorizing it?"
Without taking his eyes off the phone, Ren answered. "Both."
Oriol appeared with a chair. "Sit down. You're going to get tired standing."
Ren obeyed without taking his eyes off the phone.
Eduardo grabbed another chair and turned it around to sit backwards, resting his arms on the backrest. "How much time is left?"
Daniel checked the clock. "Fourteen minutes."
"Great..." Eduardo murmured, not sounding convinced at all.
-----
Meanwhile, Luz quickly walked toward the sound booth. A man in his forties was checking a console full of knobs.
"Luis."
He looked up. "What happened?"
Luz raised both hands. "I need ten minutes."
The sound technician made a face. "I can't give you ten."
She lowered one hand. "Five."
He shook his head. "The other band already arrived."
Luz lowered her gaze for a few seconds before insisting again. "Please."
Luis sighed. "What do you need the time for? I can cut one song from the setlist and there you have your five minutes."
Luz sighed. "Romina can't make it. I don't have a guitarist. A friend is learning the songs right now."
Luis opened his eyes slightly. "A friend is learning them right now? Are you serious?"
Luz simply nodded.
He let out an incredulous laugh. "He won't learn your setlist in twelve minutes."
The man looked toward the stage, then back at Luz. Finally, he released a long sigh.
"I can give you eight."
Luz's eyes regained some of their brightness. "Really?"
Luis grunted. "But that's it."
Luz walked over and hugged the man. "Thank you."
Luis pushed her away. "Get out of here, don't hug me."
Luz separated from him and practically ran back.
------
Ren remained completely focused.
His fingers moved across the edge of the table.
Chord change / Rhythm / Silence / Change / Rhythm again.
Daniel watched him in surprise. "...He's practicing without a guitar."
Ren heard him and nodded without looking away from the phone. "If I can imagine where each finger needs to go... when I have the guitar, I'll waste less time."
Oriol smiled. "That's actually scary."
Hannah tilted her head slightly. "Do you always practice like that?"
"No." Ren let out a small nervous laugh. "I'm improvising."
Luz returned almost out of breath. "I got eight minutes."
Eduardo smiled. "So, if we had seven left, now we have fifteen."
Ren looked up. "Is there any guitar available?" He looked back toward the stage. "Can I use that one?"
Luz shrugged. "Ugh... I don't think so."
"Use it." A voice approached the table.
Everyone looked at the person who had just arrived. The man crossed his arms. "I don't want Starlight saying I didn't give her a chance."
Then he looked directly at Ren. "Surprise me, kid."
Ren took a deep breath. "...I don't want to waste any more time."
He walked onto the stage, carefully took the guitar down, and disconnected the cable from the amplifier. Several people stopped talking to watch him.
When he disappeared behind the stage, the conversations continued, although every now and then people looked back toward the stage.
Ren walked through the curtain separating the stage from the small improvised backstage area. The space was barely large enough to store the instruments. There were open cases, cables scattered across the floor, and several cups of water on a folding table.
Three people looked up when they saw him enter. The rehearsal came to a complete stop.
The girl at the keyboard stopped pressing the keys. The drummer spun a drumstick absentmindedly between her fingers, while a young woman with chocolate-colored skin and dark brown hair held several printed sheets against her chest.
The three looked first at the guitar... and then at Ren. "...Where's Romina?" the drummer asked.
Luz appeared behind Ren, still trying to catch her breath. "She can't come. He's going to play."
The three blinked at the same time.
The drummer frowned slightly. "...Him?"
Ren felt all the eyes on him.
Luz stepped forward. "There is no time to explain. Ren, start practicing."
The three exchanged a glance before nodding. The girl at the keyboard put the instrument aside and approached Ren. "I'm Bea."
She handed him a folder with several sheets organized inside transparent sleeves. "Here are the sheet music. The songs are in the same order as the setlist."
The drummer spun the stick between her fingers while looking at Ren with annoyance. "I'm Majo. If you get lost, don't follow me. Follow Luz. She always marks the entrances."
The third girl, who had remained silent until then, timidly raised a hand. "And I'm Sofi... the vocalist."
Ren took the folder and opened it immediately. The sheets were filled with handwritten notes. Everything was marked with circles, key changes highlighted in yellow, and small arrows indicating the entrances of each instrument. "Did Romina write all this?"
Bea shook her head. "No, I prepared it."
Ren took a deep breath. "Got it..."
Luz pointed toward a small amplifier resting beside the wall. "Plug in there. If you use the main one, the entire bar will hear you."
Ren placed the guitar over his shoulder, connected the cable, and checked the volume with a couple of soft chords. The sound barely came out of the amplifier. "Perfect."
Ren opened the folder, looked at the phone and the notes at the same time, then smiled. "...This is much better."
Luz raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"The sheet music has annotations. Now I don't only know what to play..." He looked up at Luz. "...I also know when to do it."
Luz smiled back. "Welcome to LightBeat, Tempo."
11 minutes until the performance...
----
Author Notes:
Hope you enjoy the chap, I am losing hope for a comment~