One Man Band System

When they got outside, Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, Laura, and Ruby saw Eric leaning against his car, waiting for them, but right beside Eric stood Tania, chatting with him. Without a second thought, the girls marched over toward Eric and stood right in front of him, demanding an explanation. Emma stepped forward immediately and wrapped her arm around Eric’s.

"Why is she here?" Emma asked, staring intently at Eric without pointing at Tania.

Naturally, Eric knew who Emma was referring to. He turned to look at Tania, who instantly turned her face away, holding the handles of her bag in front of her with both hands. Beyond that, he saw Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura also waiting for an explanation, while Ruby stood all the way in the back, looking like she wanted to be anywhere else. "Sigh," Eric let out a breath.

"Alright... let me explain," Eric replied.

***

Going back an hour earlier, when Eric walked out of his grandfather’s building and headed toward the garage accessible from the adjacent alley, he noticed a girl wearing a different school uniform walking along the curb, looking confused as she surveyed the buildings. The girl was checking her smartphone, occasionally pausing to examine the buildings she passed.

As the girl drew closer, Eric recognized her, it was Tania. Since he was still trying to shake off his panic over accidentally pressing the wrong button and worrying about what would happen to his grandfather’s building, it had completely slipped his mind that he had messaged Tania his grandfather’s building address the night before so they could meet.

"Oh right... because I went and hit that auto-arrange button, I totally forgot I made plans with Tania today," Eric thought in his head.

He jogged right over to Tania, who turned around and looked visibly relieved upon seeing Eric approach.

"Hey... my building is over there. Sorry if the location I sent wasn’t quite accurate," Eric greeted Tania.

"Oh... it’s fine... but why did you come all the way outside?" Tania asked.

"Hmm... I was planning to pick up Emma and the others. How about we talk at a cafe instead? You can come along," Eric invited.

Tania narrowed her eyes at Eric, studying his face as if double-checking that he hadn’t grown two heads.

"Alright, sounds good," Tania said.

"Great, let me show you the way," Eric said with a smile.

They walked over to the garage together, then pulled out in Eric’s car, heading toward Emma and the others’ school. Along the way, the two chatted about various things to get to know each other better, until they finally arrived at a cafe not far from the school. Eric pulled his car up to the curb where parking was allowed, then invited Tania inside.

After they sat across from each other at a table and the waiter dropped off their coffee orders,

"So... can I ask you something?" Eric asked.

"Sure, go ahead," Tania answered, taking a sip of coffee from her cup.

"Why do you want to join The Empress?" Eric asked.

Tania fell silent for a moment, setting her cup down slowly on the table before looking straight into Eric’s eyes with her blue gaze.

"Because I’m a fan of yours and The Empress... at first, I just thought you were some guy Emma brought along to the competition... but when I saw you play the violin and leave everyone completely spellbound... I started looking back at your profile and listening to your songs. Turns out you really are different, and The Empress has a completely unique style too... that’s what hooked me and made me desperate enough to send that DM," Tania said.

"Oh... I see. But I’m sorry, like I told you before, the lineup for The Empress is already locked in, so it’d be tough to squeeze you in there. Right now, I’m actually putting together a brand-new group," Eric said with a smile, holding her gaze.

"Um... is it like The Empress? I can play piano and keyboard," Tania offered.

"No... it’s more like this... I’ll explain once you watch this,"

Eric pulled up a video of an idol concert from another country where the crowd packed out an entire dome, waving glowing lightsticks and wearing the group’s merch. Tania’s eyes widened as she watched it. She clearly knew what idols were, and before she even realized it, the corners of her mouth ticked up into a smile. Naturally, Eric watched her reaction from across the table. Once the song finished playing all the way through, Tania looked back at Eric.

"But I can’t dance," Tania blurted out.

"Good," Eric replied.

"How is that good? I just told you I can’t dance," Tania shot back, looking confused.

"What I mean by good is that your reaction was ’I can’t dance’... not ’I don’t know if I can pull off something like this’... heck, you spoke up before I even explained anything, which means you’re taking this seriously, right? As for dancing, that can be learned," Eric replied, smiling with a satisfied look on his face.

"Oh... I see," Tania mumbled, looking a bit embarrassed as she turned her head to the side, letting one of her pigtails sweep right past the coffee cup in front of her.

Tania paused for a moment, clearly lost in deep thought, but Eric could already tell from her expression that she was interested. Her eyes were practically sparkling, and her pause wasn’t about whether she could or wanted to do it, but rather what steps she would need to take if she signed on. Even so, Eric didn’t push her, calmly waiting for Tania while taking a sip of his coffee.

After a brief silence, Tania turned her eyes to her coffee and took a sip. Setting the cup back down on the table, she spoke softly.

"Um... could I know who the other members are?" Tania asked carefully.

Eric took her question seriously, refraining from giving a quick answer and mulling it over thoroughly instead. The reason was simple: he knew full well that Tania and Emma were arch-rivals with a history he wasn’t privy to. He took his time sipping his coffee once more before replying.

"Before we get to that, there’s something I need to ask you. I apologize if this crosses any personal boundaries, but could you tell me what your actual deal with Emma is?" Eric asked, cutting straight to the point.

Tania looked a bit taken aback, locking eyes with Eric, who was staring right back at her with a serious expression. Her fingers instinctively wrapped around the handle of her coffee cup, and slowly, both of her hands gripped the entire cup as if holding onto it just to stay grounded and composed.

"Why are you asking that?" Tania inquired.

"Because I don’t want anyone walking this path alongside me to be at each other’s throats. I want a balanced team dynamic with zero bad blood holding us back," Eric answered directly.

Tania relapsed into silence, raising her cup with both hands and taking a quick sip of her coffee. She set the cup down calmly and retreated back into silence. Eric refrained from pressing her, taking a quiet glance at his wristwatch under the table so Tania wouldn’t catch the gesture, feeling relieved knowing he still had plenty of time before he had to pick up the girls.

Eric leaned back in his booth seat, calmly observing Tania, who seemed to be going through an internal conflict. But as it turned out, Eric didn’t have to wait very long. Tania lifted her head, her blue eyes fixing Eric with an intense stare, yet she looked composed despite her expressionless face.

"Emma and I are rivals," Tania said simply.

Eric didn’t answer right away, but he nodded and listened intently, leaning forward in his seat without breaking eye contact with Tania.

"I... don’t hate Emma... it’s just... I’m frustrated. She’s always one step ahead of me... not just with piano... but with school grades and everything else," Tania admitted frankly, the frustration clear on her pretty face.

Before offering a response, Eric studied Tania’s expression. He realized that Tania viewed Emma as a rival not because she saw her as an enemy,

"So... you’re frustrated because Emma is hard to catch up to, and you feel like you aren’t worthy of standing right beside her, is that it?" Eric asked, having already heard Emma’s side of the story.

Upon hearing Eric’s question, Tania jerked her head up and stared at his face, but this time her expression was completely stunned, as if Eric’s guess had hit her right where it hurt. Seeing Tania’s shift in attitude happen right in front of him, Eric felt a wave of relief, leaning back in his seat once more to relax.

"H... how did you know?" Tania asked.

"Because I know what it feels like to be in your shoes, so I understand how you feel," Eric answered, relating to her because back when he was a kid, he was always chasing after his older brother and younger sister just to get his parents’ attention, making him intimately familiar with the frustration of always coming up short.