"Damn it all!" Zack shouted at the band. "We were soooo...grrrr...close!" he gritted his teeth as he crumpled up a Battle of the Bands poster while growling furious nothings to himself. Victory shook his head as he slowly played a chord on his guitar.
"Chill out, bro," Victory said smoothly.
"Five. Grand," Zack said, stifling his anger. "All gone. Poof!"
"You're acting as if we've already lost," Victory comforted his band mate. Canon sat on an amp, leaning his guitar up against a nearby chair. He looked at Lucy and Dara, and the three shared a knowing look.
"Seriously Zack," Ander interjected. "We still have a chance!"
This was The Adult Legion, a local high school band in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dara interrupted the soon-to-be argument as Zack raised an enraged finger at Ander by blasting a beat away on the drum set. He pounded the loose hi-hat and drove his stick through the snare as if he intended on breaking the drumhead. The muffled bass drum thudded, and he smoothly made a decrescendo when Lucy gave him the look. That look meant that it was time for one of Lucy's simple, rhythmic bass lines. Lucy always chose what song the band was playing during one of these spontaneous jam sessions. He kicked in with the bass line for one of the band's original songs that fit Dara's beat. Dara's curly hair bounced as Lucy nodded his head vigorously, flipping his dark emover out of his face.
Of course, no member of the band could resist when these two started going. Zack rushed to his keyboard, and positioned his fingers, looking to Victory and then to Canon, who would complete the intro. Victory stood with his guitar, smiling at Canon as he did as well. Canon nodded at Victory, and looked at Ander, who had already began to approach the microphone.
Canon stood by his own microphone and the band stopped suddenly. Canon counted the pause in his head, one, two, and a barrage of eighth notes on Dara's snare cued the band for their entrance into the first verse. Dara kept an aggressive beat, in a rhythmic pocket while Lucy began to play solemn whole notes. Zack played chords on an organ synthesizer and Victory began to arpeggiate the same chords softly. Canon began to rap smoothly, but became more intense as the verse continued.
I got, a million dollar bill, sittin' on my brain.
A thousand different futures, one in the fast lane.
I'm past pain, I'm past blood, I'm past regret.
I'm on ambition shit now, cause it's more than frets!
It's more than strings, it's more than drums!
It's every little thing you ever said to me to make me feel dumb!
Ask L.A.'s local residents, or ask the president.
They'll tell you Adult Legion's not in it for the hell of it!
We're in it to make it, here for the passion!
If they don't give it, we'll take it, and then smash them!
Bash them, with every single line I wrote.
And make 'em jizz in their pants with every single note, like woah!
Ander smiled at Canon and chuckled into the microphone, as the instrumental began to intensify and build up for his pre-chorus.
We're on our own, without a doubt,
Our family and friends already counted us out,
They call it a dream, I call it the future,
Do I have a chance with her among this many suitors!
Ander sang softly at first, his tender voice complementing the build up of the song. He slammed his foot down when it came time to sing the chorus, and began to powerfully belt out the lyrics. Canon strummed along.
Why, should I stop and turn around?
You left me here to die on the ground!
Oh! But now you see me in the sky!
And it's you who's asking why!
Do I mean something to you now?
I'm not another face in the crowd!
You're just another part of my story!
Watch me reach for the glory... the glory...
The chorus had become intense and powerful as Dara laid down a fill wherever he could, and Lucy slapped whole notes on his bass. Zack added a somber tone by inverting the chords on the organ, Canon shredded along, and Victory played a riff. When the band had finished, Zack had calmed down. He came to the middle of the living room and sat on the floor. The other members came to join him. He sighed as he began to speak.
"Ok guys. I freaked out on you for a while there. My bad," he began calmly. He ran a hand through his neat hair and straightened his large dark rimmed glasses. Victory smiled his winning smile and patted him on the back.
"It's ok bro," he comforted. Ander touched the tips of his faux hawk idly, appearing to be lost in his own world.
"So, you still think we can win?" Ander asked, pulling a cosmetic mirror out to make sure his hair was okay. Dara rolled his eyes and nudged Lucy. The other boy nodded and smirked. He pushed the electric blue streak of hair away from his left eye, but it only fell back into place right after he did so.
"So, who are the bands we know of now?" Canon asked, ignoring Ander's vanity. Zack pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his skinny jeans, an article of clothing each of the band members wore.
"As you know, there's Karma," Zack began, and each of the members began to list what they knew.
"Guitarist is a noob," Canon said venomously.
"Lead singer is hot!" Dara said, putting his cheeks in his hands and fantasizing.
"U-Turn," Zack continued.
"Hardcore rap group with an amazing DJ," Victory admired.
"Three Way."
"Sexy girl group with synthesizers," Ander said enthusiastically.
"Nose Job Company."
"Competition," uttered Lucy.
"White Rappers."
"It's an ironic name, it's a jazz group," Victory replied.
"And most of the members are Korean," Zack added. "Last but certainly not least, Houkago Tea Time." Zack's drop in confidence could be heard ask he said the name.
"The light music club at school. Every one of their members is amazingly cute!" Dara squealed. "I wonder what it would be like to know them...have you ever smelled the bass player?" he asked as he rocketed into fan boy mode.
The room became silent, and the rest of the band stared at Dara. After much mental deliberation, Zack slapped Dara on the back of the head.
"Seek help," Zack said calmly, pointing his classic finger at Dara.
"I don't know, I think she smells pretty good," Ander said with a shrug.
"Thank you!" Dara shouted, rubbing the back of his head.
"Isn't she the singer as well?" Victory asked curiously. Zack nodded, and Canon began to drift away. He had never personally met any of the members, but he had seen them perform at school for talent show, and their rhythm guitarist was in his English class. He agreed, each member of Houkago Tea Time was extremely cute. He thought particularly about the rhythm guitarist now. What was her name? Azusa?
Canon was the rhythm guitarist of The Adult Legion, but he doubled over as the rapper as well. He chuckled as he imagined Azusa rapping with her band. It was hard to visualize, and by the time he did, he imagined her sounding like Nicki Minaj.
"Boom ba doom boom boom ba doom boom boom," he began to sing part of the chorus from, Nicki Minaj's song "Super Bass", which he only enjoyed because he remembered Lucy stated, "Me," and pointed at the radio when the song came on Victory's clock radio during their break a while ago. Lucy looked up at him and smiled shyly. Zack raised an eyebrow at the two of them.
"They're very good, but no offense...we're better," Ander began. "I mean come on. We pretty much raped all the talent in school. I'm by far the best singer there," he said, being totally serious about what he perceived to be an absolute fact. "Zack, you practically came out of the womb fingering chords." Zack blushed at the complement and smiled shyly.
"Victory...come on man. Your name? 'Nuff said?" he said, holding his arms out to the lead guitarist, as if he were introducing him to a crowd. Victory dismissed him with a flip of his wrist and a small smile.
"And Dara. You're like a prodigy. You've only been playing drums for what? Six months? You don't even own a drumset!" Ander continued with his string of complements. Dara grinned and nodded, and then continued to fantasize about Houkago Tea Time's bass player.
"Lucy. I don't think I've ever heard you say anything longer than three words. But you don't have to say anything. Your patience and finesse keep the rest of us in line," Ander stated, and Lucy attempted to mask a smile.
"Canon! This mah boy right here," he leaned in for a handshake, which Canon met with a grin almost as big as Dara's. "You're probably the coolest dude, like, ever," Ander stated and turned back to Zack. "You see? We'll be fine."
"I guess..." Zack muttered.
"Besides, it's all about the passion, right?" Victory asked loudly. Each member nodded.
"Un!" they grunted. Dara stood to his feet suddenly. He used his hands as a megaphone.
"Adult Legion! I require cupcakes!"
"Un!"
The boys rushed out of Victory's home and raced each other to the cupcake shop a few blocks away. Their instruments sat in the fading sunlight.
-The Next Morning-
"!" Canon shouted as he sprinted down the halls. How could this happen! He had slept through his alarm clock this morning, and woken up thirty minutes late. He wasn't even sure if he had grabbed all of his text books, he only took his backpack and his skateboard. His shoes clacked against the tile loudly. He bolted up the stairs, not about to receive a detention for being late on a Friday. He knew Mr. Stone would pardon him if he made it look as if he was tired from running to class. Just as he turned the corner, just a few feet away from Stone's class, he bumped into something and the world briefly went black.
He heard a female scream, and a gasp as he fell backward. He slammed his head onto the tile and screamed.
"Ah, shit!" The front of his head hurt from his collision with the girl, and the back from his collision with the floor. He looked up and saw Azusa Nakano on the floor across from him. The dainty girl was still on the floor, her long dark pigtails sprawled about the tile. "Oh my god!" Canon scrambled to his feet and knelt down near Azusa. "Are you okay?" he asked desperately, looking down at the girl as her eyes fluttered open and she began to sit up.
"Uhn..." she rubbed the back of her head and winced as she turned to look Canon in the eye. "Ouch," she murmured quietly. Canon felt like the biggest piece of shit on earth.
"I'm so sorry!" he said as he began to bring her to her feet. She didn't resist his help, but she quickly turned away from him, avoiding his gaze. Canon saw that the hall pass had slid quite a ways away from her. "I'll go get the pass!" he said urgently, running to the locker the pass was near and dusting it off as he picked it off the ground. Just as he had taken his first step to return to Azusa, a familiar voice echoed through the hall.
"And just what are you doing?" He recognized the nosey tone and rolled his eyes. Snively, the hall monitor, whom he had attended school with since kindergarten.
"Listen," Canon began as he turned around, but Snively strutted right past him. Canon blinked dumbly and turned as Snively approached Azusa.
"Cutting class are we?" he asked with his nasally, I-don't-deserve-this-type-of-power voice.
"N-no!" Azusa stuttered. "I was just going to the bathroom!" she began to protest, but Snively already began writing a detention.
"I don't see a hall pass," he said in a sing song voice. Azusa frantically looked from Snively, to the detention, and then to Canon. Before she could say anything, Canon charged in.
"Snively! This is her hall pass!" he exclaimed, walking over to the two and holding the hall pass out for Snively to see. Snively sniffed and looked at the two curiously.
"Why do you have it?" he asked suspiciously.
"I bumped into her! I woke up late, had to rush to school..." he started and allowed his voice to trail off.
"So you were the one running in the hall!" Snively proclaimed as if he had just discovered the cure for cancer. "I heard you, that's why I came over here!"
Canon sighed and lowered his head. "You didn't hear the thud? From when we fell?"
"That too!" Snively exclaimed. "You should be ashamed of yourself for bumping into such a..." he paused and looked at Azusa, batting his eyelids. "...pretty girl." Azusa blushed, and grimaced, disgusted as Snively edged closer towards her. She backed away. Canon raised an eyebrow, curious as to how the rest of this would play out. Snively looked at his face and then backed away as well, misreading his expression.
"Oh I'm sorry. Are you hitting that?" he asked inappropriately.
"What!" Canon and Azusa exclaimed at the same time. She looked at him furiously, and Canon panicked, shaking his head and waving his arms.
"No, no, no, no, no! I've never even spoken to her!" Azusa nodded in agreement, and the two of them stood next to each other awkwardly. Snively lifted an eyebrow and grinned.
"Oh I see what was about to happen here," he said knowingly.
"What do you mean!" Azusa demanded.
"You two were about to fuck each other in the halls," Snively said with a strange sense of pride that warranted no one in this situation, least of all him. Azusa and Canon stared at him with wide eyes and their mouths agape, dumbfounded. "Just like a hentai," Snively added. Azusa shrieked at this last statement, but Canon had no clue what "hentai" was. He tilted his head curiously.
"That's not true!" Azusa shouted, shocking Canon by grabbing Snively by the collar. She began to shake him, frantically disapproving of Snively's statement with assorted gibberish. Snively began to smile, not fighting back at all. Realizing that Snively might be getting some kind of sick sexual thrill from Azusa's...panic, Canon forcefully separated the two.
"You're sick, twisted, and hopefully joking, you little twerp," Canon growled.
"Or what?" Snively challenged him, and stood on his toes. Canon looked down at him, still taller, and grinned dangerously.
"Say something nasty again and you'll find out," he uttered in a low voice, intending to scare away the tiny hall monitor.
"Ahp! That's a threat! I feel threatened! Detention! Detention!" Canon stepped back, flabbergasted.
"What? You threatened me first!" he exclaimed, but Snively shook his head as he wrote the detention.
"And one more for you, for PDA. One for you too." Snively snickered as he handed Canon two detentions and one for Azusa as well.
"What! PDA?" Canon began to protest, but before he could say more, Snively interrupted.
"Fucking each other in the halls is PDA of the highest degree!"Both Canon and Azusa stared at the hall monitor in disbelief. Snively stroked his chin and wrote another. "And one for you again," he said with content as he handed another detention to Azusa.
"For what?" Azusa shouted in outrage.
"For being in the hall without a hall pass," Snively said as he began to walk away.
"But I had a hall pass!" Azusa shouted after him, waving the detention.
"Not when I found you!" Snively turned his head as he shouted back to her, and continued strolling the halls, chuckling. She pouted and folded her arms.
"If I could kill someone and get away with it..." Canon began in a low voice. He shoved the detentions in his pockets and looked to Azusa.
"I'm so sorry," he muttered, holding the hall pass out to her. Azusa only turned to him with a shy look of disappointment.
"It's not your fault," she said, concealing her frustration poorly, and snatching the hall pass away before proceeding down the hall. Canon frowned and headed back to class. When he arrived, he was greeted with a fanfare of sarcasm from fellow students.
"Wow you're early."
"Glad you could make it."
"Forget to eat breakfast?"
He ignored it all and trudged to his desk, but the instructor, Mr. Stone began to speak in his thunderous god like voice. "Mr. Sagara!" Canon turned to face him from the back of the class, and folded his arms. The class turned in their seats so they could see him. Canon, aware of their eyes but hardly phased by the attention kept eye contact with Mr. Stone.
"Yes?" he responded politely. Mr. Stone's glasses gleamed in the light of the morning sun that peaked in through the blinds.
"Please explain to the class why you were late," Mr. Stone bellowed. The aging man set a book down on the podium in front of him. Canon raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak, but was abruptly cut off by Mr. Stone. "In a rap." The class ooed and awed, and Mr. Stone grinned.
Canon smiled back at the teacher and shook his head with a chuckle. This was an advanced placement class. The work load was rigorous because a lot of the learning was done outside of school. Mr. Stone had once stated that, "My job is no longer to hold your hand, but to make sure you're not slouching." At first Canon couldn't begin to know what that meant, but he had come to realize that the class discussions Mr. Stone enforced upon his students for the majority of a class period compelled students to actively think about the pieces of literature they were studying, instead of simply writing sub-par essays on them. It also inspired debates both friendly and unfriendly, but most importantly it inspired competition.
Canon had gained an ill reputation in this class because he had an exceptional command over the English language, and sarcasm. English, unlike science, history and math classes requires more thought and reflection than memorizing formulas or important dates. While many of the students in Canon's class were skilled in these areas, English required more than simple studying and memorization, and for this reason, AP English tended to print a hideous "B" on an A-Student's transcript.
Canon was on the opposite side of the spectrum. English came naturally to him, and had influenced his love of rapping. However, he was poor in other areas, particularly math. He was on his second year of Algebra 2. He had found the courage to sign up for AP Government as a history course in his final year, however, it was becoming more of a struggle every week. Still, that didn't stop him from garnering jealousy from many of his classmates. Still, at times, disliking him was quite understandable, as Canon's confidence tends to teeter on the brink of arrogance at times.
Canon rolled his eyes up at the ceiling as he thought about what he wanted to say. He clicked his tongue and began to rap as if he had already memorized the words.
Last night, I was reading The Scarlet Letter.
Had a wet dream about me and Hester.
And I thought to myself, that's an ugly ass name.
But she made a priest faint, made his knees shake
She got a red keep sake and gave me one too
A hicky on an "Eep!" place and a ruby jewel
After that my sheets caked so I took the opportunity to clean my room
I'd rather keep a neat space than come to school
Know why? Cause I've gotta better shot at being a maid than a scientist.
I. Am. Not. One for political biases
But our education system is utter bull, what a paradox
Cows have udders...by the way I also couldn't find a clean pair of socks.
His vulgar references kept the class chuckling and Mr. Stone smiling. He stood there with his arms folded, and tried to remember what he said. Mr. Stone clapped slowly.
"I swear to Bob Almighty, Mr. Sagara, one of these days you're going to make me lose my job," he said with a lighter tone, his thunderous voice replaced by a his usual calm and mellow one.
"Hey. It's 'art,'" Canon sneered as he took his seat. Mr. Stone nodded.
"Indeed it is. But you can censor art Mr. Sagara. The question is: should we?" He paused, and stood in front of the class, probably forgetting about the lesson plan for the day. "Class, should Mr. Sagara have kept his rap PG? Thoughts?" Canon got butterflies in his stomach as hands went up. He watched Mr. Stone point to a boy in the front corner.
"Even though I hate rap," the boy started, "it wouldn't have been as funny if he did." Mr. Stone nodded.
"Why is it funny?" he questioned the boy.
"Because he's talking about...er...going... on his sheets. That happens to all guys, but it's usually something no one talks about so openly. It's funny because he's reckless enough to just share that information with the whole class. It's relatable"
"So it's his blunt honesty and relatable charm that's funny?" Mr. Stone asked to clarify. The boy nodded, and Mr. Stone called on a girl. "Your thoughts?"
"Like, I think it was funny because he was rapping about Hester. And, like, I'm pretty sure no rapper has ever read The Scarlet Letter but a lot of rap songs are about girls like Hester. And yeah. The rest of it was disgusting."
Mr. Stone smiled. At that moment, the door opened softly, and Azusa attempted to creep inside of the class. However, Mr. Stone blew her cover almost as soon as he could see her.
"Miss Nakano, we're talking about nocturnal emission," he started loudly, and the class erupted with small chuckles. Azusa blushed and looked at the class with wide eyes.
"Okay...?" she struggled to say without letting her voice shake. Mr. Stone smiled.
"Do you think we should censor art if it's too...graphic, per say?" he inquired of her. The class turned to Azusa. She confidently straightened up and stared at Mr. Stone as Canon did with a look of determination.
"Art is something that people put their hearts into. To censor art would be to censor the person!" she replied confidently. Mr. Stone looked at Canon.
"What if he's rapping about nocturnal emission and dreams of having sexual relations with Hester Prynne?" he asked motioning to Canon. Taken aback slightly, Azusa looked at Canon, and the two shared a moment of awkward eye contact. Canon's first reaction was to look away, but in an extreme 180 degree out-of-character maneuver, he held her gaze. Much to his surprise, she returned it. He studied her eyes and attempted to describe them mentally.
They have...power...
"It's still art," she said in a low and unbelievable voice. Mr. Stone stroked his chin and called on someone else. Azusa turned her back to Canon, and headed for her desk, where she arched her back and buried the lower half of her face in her arms.
She sat in this same arched position later in the day in detention. Canon sat on the opposite of the room, idly doodling around a mediocre rap he had just written. No matter how many people told him he was good, Canon always thought his raps, or rather him rapping, was corny. However, the band members agreed that as a rock band, adding raps would set them apart from other bands. Canon had protested, and attempted to convince Zack that there were many other bands that did the same thing, but once Zack thought he was right, he was right.
Canon twisted in his chair and looked up at the clock. Exactly forty-three minutes had passed, meaning he and Azusa Nakano were stuck here for 17 more minutes. Idly tapping on his desk with his pencil, he attempted to think of ways to kill time, however, he only ended up sinking into his imagination.
"I'm sorry I got you a detention," Canon said as he and Azusa slowly strode down the hallway from detention.
"It's fine!" Azusa said cheerfully, smiling at him and stepping lively. "Actually, it gives me a chance to talk to you..." she said a little shyly, stopping to turn to him. Canon stopped as well and turned to face her, returning her smile with his own.
"About what?" he asked curiously and cautiously. Azusa put her hands behind her back and swayed, her shiny black pigtails turning with her as she did.
"About you," she said through a giggle, anxiously scooting closer to him and looking up with mesmerizing brown eyes. Canon touched the tips of his hair that stuck out under his beanie.
"What about me?" he asked knowingly. Azusa continued to come closer, and he began to back away until his back gently brushed the lockers. Azusa smiled and trapped him by placing her hands on either side of him on the lockers.
"For starters," she whispered, "let's talk about your d-"
"You're free to go," the supervisor said after standing up and heading for the door, appearing more anxious to leave than the detained teens themselves. Canon snapped out of his inappropriately erotic daydream and looked up at the clock. There was still ten minutes left in the hour. The door had closed behind the supervisor.
"How irresponsible," he muttered. He turned to Azusa, and much to his surprise, found that was intently staring at him. He blinked dumbly at first, wondering if his daydream was about to become a premonition. He wasn't particularly attracted to Azusa, however, like most boys his age, sexual fantasies were always somewhere on his mind. The difference between Canon and most boys was that he had learned to embrace them and incorporate them into what he wrote.
He knew it wasn't exactly a healthy image of women in his mind that he projected out into the world, but none the less, it was a part of his being, and he knew the best way to becoming a bad rapper was to lie about yourself. He called it the "freak" in him, and often commented on how it would probably prevent him from having a real relationship with a girl in the future. However, he wasn't quite sure whether or not that was the truth, as he had never been in a "relationship" before.
As long as he had Azusa's attention, he took the time to apologize. "Hey, I'm sorry for getting you into this," he said standing up and shouldering his backpack. Azusa put her guitar case over her shoulder and turned to him.
"It wasn't your fault," she said with her eyebrows lowered, and her face still as serious as it was this morning.
"It sort of was," he said as he walked out of class, surprised to find himself walking next to Azusa. Slowly. Just as he began to consider opening up a psychic business, he noticed Azusa's demeanor was tight and heavy, not light and fluffy as it had been in his daydream.
"You shouldn't worry about it," Azusa said, looking at him as they walked. Canon admired her ability to keep eye contact, as he often avoided looking at people when he spoke to them. "You play in a band right?" Azusa asked curiously, her voice becoming more free, her face loosening.
Canon nodded and groaned a little. "Yeah I do," he said and then slapped his forehead. "In fact, I have practice today." Azusa smiled.
"Me too!" she said with excitement that left almost as suddenly as it had come. "At least I hope so anyway." She lowered her head. Canon raised an eyebrow and pinched the tip of his hair, imagining what Zack would say to him in this situation.
"CANON. FIND OUT WHAT SHE MEANS BY THAT! IT COULD BE A POTENTIAL WEAKNESS!" Zack said to him in his imagination, wearing a Nazi uniform and sporting a Hitler moustache.
"Oh what's up? You guys don't practice often?" he asked casually, leaning back slightly, feeling like a super spy. A Nazi super spy.
"Well," Azusa started, looking off into another direction, and sighing. Still, a small smile was evidently present. Canon took a shot in the dark.
"You get distracted?" he asked, pinching his hair again. Azusa laughed a little and nodded. Then, she lowered her eyebrows pathetically and shook her head.
"That's an understatement," she said with a pout. Canon grinned and put his hands on the back of his head.
"I think every band is like that. We get distracted all of the time," Canon said and air guitared briefly. "We'll be playing, like this, and then suddenly-we'll stop-and someone will say 'I'm hungry' and then we'll take forever finding food. It usually involves walking to McDonalds, because Victory never has any food."
"Victory?" Azusa asked, raising an eyebrow and frowning slightly. "You mean Victor?" Canon blinked and almost said, No, I mean Victory, and then remembered that "Victory" wasn't "Victor's" real name.
"Mhm. And then once, after that, we ended up daring Dara to buy a whole bunch of condoms from the gas station near by." Azusa giggled softly and put her hands on her hips.
"Well, that's nothing compared to us," she said matter of factly, closing her eyes confidently.
"I'm very competative," Canon warned her. She chuckled and stepped lively.
"Sometimes I don't think we meet to play our instruments. Sometimes we just sit and drink tea, and eat whatever treats Mugi brings." Canon raised an eyebrow.
"You mean Tsumugi?" he asked, immediatly thinking of the blonde's eyebrows.
Azusa faltered a little and then nodded.
"Yeah, her," she said as they neared the exit. Canon scoffed and said,
"Well you can't do that as much as you think. You would have gained weight by now," he said, playfully poking her belly.
"Nyan!" she yelped as he did so, with the smallest, most adorable voice he had ever heard. His eyes became shiney.
"So...adorable..." he said out loud in a lost voice. Azusa blushed and lowered her eyebrows. She shifted her weight, facing him fully in front of the door now. Canon stared in amazement. "Was that...natural?" he asked in a low whisper, still amazed. She shook her head and shouted embarrasedly.
"It's become a bad habit! A terrible, terrible habit!" she said shaking her head vigorously. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him out of his stupor, but she continued to rant. "This is what they do to me! They make me wear cat ears, and meow, and they gave me a turtle that I didn't want, and I have to wear stupid costumes, and...and...and" she began to slur her words as she went along, her shaking becoming more and more violent. Canon poked her again, except this time it was more of a jab.
"Nyan! Stop it!" she whined.
"It's so cute though!" Canon protested. This time he grabbed her by the shoulders, but he stablized her instead.
"Bands. Do. Crazy. Things." Canon said, and took out his phone. Azusa began to settle down. Canon flipped through his touch screen until coming to a picture of him before he joined The Adult Legion. Azusa gently took the phone out of his hands and stared at it.
"Oh my god...your...your hair!" she exclaimed. Canon looked down at his feet. "It's gone!"
"I used to shave it. Then I joined The Adult Legion...at the time it was just Victory, Lucy, and Dara. They all had cool hair." Azusa put her finger on her chin and looked up, envisioning each of the band members.
"Victory's hair is beautiful..." she said, and Canon watched as she seemed to drift off into her own fantasy world. She smiled contently and closed her eyes. "Lucille's hair is very cool," she cooed, and then frowned. "Dara's hair is always under a hat." Canon nodded. Azusa looked at his hair and reached up, but stopped herself suddenly. "May I?" she asked, lowering her hand. Canon leaned over slightly. She pinched the tip of Canon's main spike.
Canon's hair had indeed changed from being completely shaved. It was spikey in the front, but the rest was always covered by a beanie that was half on. To Azusa's surprise, he had a very noticeable ponytail that hung out side of the hat and reached his shoulder blades. "So spikey...yet so soft," Azusa said, not wanting to disrupt the delicate balance, she touched his hair lightly before moving her hand.
Canon nodded awkwardly as he stood up straight. "Thank you," he muttered. Azusa smiled, and then looked in the opposite direction.
"Well...I better get to practice," she said softly. She folded her hands in front of her. Canon looked down the hall, and then towards the door that left to freedom. He pinched his hair and rolled his tongue around in his mouth.
"You practice in school?" he asked. She nodded and held up her hand.
"It was nice talking to you," she said before leaving him.
"You too," Canon said, turning around as well, pushing the door open. "Have a nice weekend!" he called after her before sliding out of the door's opening. He began to walk to Victory's house. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and suddenly, he stopped.
"She went out of her way to walk me to the door?" he asked out loud. He turned back to look at the school.