I apologize... this isn't my Broken Stars sequel. I really have no idea when I will be able to get that up- I'm so sorry, but I was watching the first season of Kaleido Star again and couldn't help but get inspired. BUT, on the upside, this story is already complete, so no long waits for updates. I will be updating once every two days, for all nine chapters. ANYWAYS...

AU- Sora will seem OOC at first but don't worry, she will end up as the Sora we all know and love. She's 16 still, trying to work and go to school at the same time, because her mother is sick and needs surgery, but she and her father can't afford it. Yes, these are still her adopted parents. Sora/Layla, not romantically, just friendship. SOOO... enjoy!

Chapter 1

"Sora," her teacher said sharply as the rest of the students rushed outside, "This is the third time this week you have fallen asleep in class. If this becomes a pattern, I will have to contact your parents."

Sora nodded as she leaned back against the wall and glanced at her watch. If this idiot kept on lecturing on trivial things that truly did not matter, she would be late and miss rush hour. She had to get downtown quickly, because street performers didn't get money in the middle of the night, they got money when there was traffic. And besides, she only had two hours before her shift at the restaurant started, and then she had to get down to the gas station and work yet another minimum wage job. With just enough time left in the day to grab a few hours sleep in her mother's hospital room before heading off to school in the morning.

Personally, Sora thought that school was an absolute waste of time; that was eight hours doing nothing that could be spent working! But her parents were adamant; she couldn't drop out. Even her mother had gotten riled up when Sora had mentioned it; and, nowadays, Midori was normally too tired to do much of anything but lie in bed. The cancer treatments were really taking a lot out of her.

"Sora!" Her teacher exclaimed. "Are you even listening to me?"

She forced a smile and bowed slightly. "Yes, sensei." She had learned long ago that unless she smiled sweetly and nodded at them and did things their way, she would just be kept back at school longer.

He frowned before waving her off. "Go on, get out of here. And come to school tomorrow awake."

Relieved, Sora nodded again before dashing out of the room, her backpack slung over one shoulder. Thankfully, she hadn't been held back for too long, she could make it in time to street perform for the crowds and get a little money.

Sora hated performing, she really did. She hated doing anything in front of crowds, she hated gymnastics, she hated the risks it entailed, and she especially hated running over to her next job, already exhausted and with only ten or twenty dollars to show for it. But she had taken gymnastics as a little girl and had retained a natural talent, and it gave her an instant paycheck- plus, she could do it just about anywhere, so she hadn't bothered complaining and had just gotten to it. Her father pretended not to know, but he never said anything about it- after all, he worked his own job all day before going down to the hospital with his wife. His one job paid just as much as Sora's three, and they still weren't covering the medical costs.

Shaking her head as she jogged around the corner, Sora forced herself to smile and ignore her exhaustion. She had to be energetic and draw in crowds, no matter how much she hated it, or they wouldn't give her money.

Without anytime to practice, Sora was often forced into doing one of two routines, both of which were relatively safe and simple, but the people seemed to love them. She flipped and danced and, all the way, smiled at them. If there was a guy watching her hungrily, she'd occasionally gave him a kiss on the cheek and would get a twenty for her troubles. And then, sometimes a kid from school would walk by, and they would never pay her anything, just watch her in amazement before shaking their heads- just another weird attribute of the weirdest kid in school. Ever since her mother had gotten sick last year, Sora had been too distracted to talk or smile at the kids who's problems were so minor compared to hers and eventually lost all of her friends. Now she was just the kid who slept in the back of the class and ate lunch alone.

"Thank you, thank you!" she called out, trying to sound cheerful as the couple who'd just dropped some money in her open backpack and walked away. "Come again!"

Finally, when it was time for her to start her shift at the diner, Sora came to a rest, breathing hard as she counted today's profit. When she had reached the final figure- 132 bucks- she couldn't hold back a small, proud smile. 132 dollars for two hours work. Her happiness faded slightly as she remembered the staggering total that they still owed for her mother's medical bills, but she forced herself to shake her head as she pulled a sports jacket on over her leotard. That amount was now 132 dollars less.

KALEIDO STAR KALEIDO STAR KALEIDO STAR

Sora sighed miserably as she made her way through the restaurant, carrying plates of food and drinks with sore, trembling arms and forcing herself to smile once again. Come on, Sora, Labor Day's coming up. You can rest then. You have to keep working tonight.

"My name's Sora, and I'm going to be taking care of you this evening, can I start you off with something to drink?" she asked brightly, looking down at the happy family and feeling like she wanted to burst into tears. A husband and wife and their son. Sora's family had once done things like this; they had once been normal. But ever since her mom got sick, everything went to hell.

No, she thought as she shook her head. Her mother was going to get better, and then they'd be like this again. That had to happen.

As Sora was cleaning up one of her tables, she heard the couple next to her talking about someone in a magazine. "Hey, look at this," one of them said, "it's an article about that performer in America- Layla Hamilton. It says here that she's a millionaire, just from performing on the stage."

"Oh, some people get it all," the other one scoffed. "Look at her. She's gorgeous, her father's rich, and she's earning millions of dollars by putting on a little show for some people."

"Hey, Kaleido Stage isn't little! You know that guy you were obsessed with last year, Yuri Killian? He works there too- almost as rich as Layla Hamilton is."

"Whatever. Come on, let's go home, I'm sure our son has made the house a wreck by now."

Sora watched as the couple stood up and left, leaving behind their magazine. She walked over and picked it up, staring at the blonde featured on the front cover.

It wasn't fair. Here she was, working three jobs and practically begging for the money to keep her mom alive and healthy, and this Layla Hamilton was a rich celebrity who had enough to money to care for Sora's mother and still live in a mansion for the rest of her life. Why couldn't she ever catch a break like that for once?

Shaking her head bitterly, she turned the page and started the article.

When I asked how well a job at Kaleido Stage pays, Layla said it depended on the performer's skill level. The average performer, she says, earns about 20,000 dollars per year.

The article went on, but Sora was still staring at how much money she could get for working at Kaleido Stage. That was enough money to take care of her family, just for 'putting on a little show for some people', as the guy before had said.

The article was both something to show off Layla and attract more people to joining Kaleido Stage, so it went on to say, There is no age limit on joining, though you have go through a rigorous audition. Only the best of the best are accepted. Auditions are held twice a year at Kaleido Stage, in Cape Mary, California, and are judged by not only the investors in Kaleido Stage but by the top stars themselves, Layla Hamilton and Yuri Killian! There is an audition to Kaleido Stage in just one week- come one, come all to-

"Sora!"

Startled, Sora dropped the magazine and turned to her manager, who was standing behind her and shaking his head unhappily. "I did not hire you to read magazines, I hired you to wait tables. Now get to it or you're fired!"

Nodding as she frantically apologized and hurried back to her job, Sora tried to immerse herself in work again, but all she could think about was that wonderful job in California. She could work for a couple years, help pay off the medical bills, and when her mother was better again se could come home. The only risk involved was the expensive flight to America- if she wasn't accepted into Kaleido Stage, then that would be several hundred dollars, wasted.

No, this was all just a hopeless dream, an easy way out. Sora had to just focus on working hard here in Japan. Going to America wouldn't pay off and, in the end, it would only make things harder for the family.

KALEIDO STAR KALEIDO STAR KALEIDO STAR

When Sora had finally stumbled from her last job at the gas station at nearly five past midnight, she grinned weakly at the idling car waiting for her. "Hey, Dad," she said as she climbed in the passenger seat. "I had a good day. Over a hundred bucks on the street. Can't wait to tell Mom; she could sure use some good news."

Her father started driving and smiled at her tiredly. "Sorry, kiddo, but... your mother took a turn for the worse. The doctor's aren't letting anyone see her tonight."

Sora looked up at him in alarm, her previous exhaustion blown away by this new development. "What?" she gasped. "Why? Is she okay?"

He shrugged helplessly. "She had another seizure... the doctor said that she'll probably be all right, but he wouldn't let me stay with her. I wasn't to make you walk home in the middle of the night and I knew you needed a ride, so I came by here."

"I have to go to the hospital, Dad," she said quickly, knowing what he was thinking. I want to be with my mom."

"Sora," he said gently, "they won't let us in her room. I'm taking you home, so you can sleep on a bed instead of a chair for at least one night."

"Dad-" she tried to protest, but he just shook his head at her.

"Sora, you've got to get some sleep. I'll take you over to the hospital tomorrow morning, and we can see Midori together." Sora sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the cool car window and trying to sleep.

Another seizure. She knew what that meant. More hospital procedures, more tests, more bills. And for her mother? More time trapped in the hospital, more pain, more guilt at the fact that Sora was working three jobs to support her, no matter how many times Sora assured her it was no big deal.

That job as a performer in America certainly would be good... but not enough. Their bills were too much to be paid off by just twenty thousand dollars- then again, that was still more money than she was making now. Maybe she could go to America and escape this hell of a life she lived now.

But not now. Not when Mom was getting sicker. After the doctors had stabilized her condition, maybe she could ask her parents about it.

God, she couldn't believe this was happening. Her parents had died when she was only three, but then Midori and Haru had taken her in and cared for her. Now, Midori was sick with cancer and had been for a year. By working as hard as they could, Sora and Haru could keep up enough money for the chemo therapy that was keeping her alive, but they simply couldn't afford the surgery that would rid her body of the poisonous invader permanently. Her father had done the math- it would total over one hundred thousand dollars. They simply couldn't afford it, no matter how guilty they felt when they saw Midori dead sick from the cancer treatments or how horrible her parents felt when they saw Sora working three jobs.

But none of that mattered. They were stuck in this horrible situation whether they liked it or not and they loved each other. They were going to stick through it and get Midori healthy again.

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