Hey guys! I know I probably should be focusing my efforts on Robin Hood or the highly neglected (sorry) Magic Stone, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I had this stuck in my head and had to get it out!
So tell me what you really think of it ;D
Summary: Touya, age 13, records Sakura singing and sends the video to the hip, new band, 45 Degrees, as a prank. Unfortunately, they choose her video and she becomes their new singer for their year long tour in Japan.
This is a coming of age story, so lots of development, angsty, hurt, romance, etc, etc, etc, like what you get in any normal high school story ;D
Some characters are OOC. Sakura's dad for one is pushy, still reeling from the death of his young wife. Touya is a brat ;D like a complete brat ;D Meiling is super nice and the rivalry actually happens between an OC character instead. Everybody else should be about the same.
Thanks for reading guys! And seriously tell me what you think.
OH and btw, if you guys DO like it, I have the second chapter finished. I'll post it quicker if there's a good response to this :)
Loud and Proud
Chapter 1
My eyes weren't even open yet before I heard my dad calling me from outside my bedroom door. I rolled over, pulling the covers over my head. It grew quiet, and I sighed happily, settling back into sleep. A loud pounding resounded on the door. I growled, shooting a glare through the wall.
"Okay, dad! I'm up!"
I called out to him. The pounding stopped and I heard his footsteps retreat down the hall. I heaved a breath, glancing at the clock. 5 am. 5 freaking am. I couldn't wait until I went off to college so I wouldn't have to hear my dad pounding on the door waking me up to study. Study. Study. Study. I'm so sick of it.
I shoved the covers off and stepped onto the cold floor. I quickly crossed the room to the bathroom and started my morning routine. After my nice, warm shower, which I took extra-long as a fuck you to my dad, I dressed in my jogging pants and a light, but warm, sweater. If I could make it to the front door, I could easily sneak in a morning jog before school. The thought made me smile.
I crept down the stairs, holding my shoes tightly against my chest. Breakfast wafted past my nose and I almost turned into the kitchen, but the weight in my hands pushed me forward. Plus, calculus could wait until second period. I was not in the mood for derivatives.
I danced across the hallway to the kitchen and effortlessly exited through the front door without a sound. I did my little victory dance then put on my shoes and rushed off the front porch. If I was lucky, Tomoyo would be out as well.
I picked up speed, rounding the corner. There in front of me was my long haired best friend, jogging at her slow speed. I rushed up to meet her, running into her happily. She stumbled forward, falling to the ground. I must have really surprised her! I grabbed her arm, righting her. Her head whipped around, an annoyed glare spreading across her face. Her brown-red eyes stared pointedly into mine.
"You're not Tomoyo," I said absently. The girl scoffed, brushing her bangs from her face.
"Of course I'm not." the girl said sarcastically.
I laughed.
"No, I know," I giggled. "I just meant that this is my friend's normal route, but I guess she's not jogging today. Want to run with me?"
She didn't answer right away, but I could see she wasn't all that mad about me running into her.
"Well considering how I don't really know the area, sure." I pulled my hair into a messy bun and we started down the walkway.
"So you must be new here. You look about my age, but I've never seen you before," I told her lightly. "So what's your name? Where are you from?"
The girl giggled.
"I'm Meiling Li from Hong Kong."
We turned the corner running along the street parallel to my house.
"Hong Kong? Why are you all the way over here? Especially in Tomoeda. We're such a small town."
Meiling stopped for a moment and took a bottle of water from her bag. She took a deep gulp of water and coughed.
"My cousin got called over here for...um...work. I guess you could call it that. The job is based here in Tomoeda."
"Ah, sounds like fun. My dad is an archaeologist. We've moved around a little too, because of work. So, what does your cousin do?"
Meiling didn't answer. We ran the length of the block and back, ending at a shiny black car with tinted windows.
"Holy crap! You must be rich!" I exclaimed.
Meiling laughed.
"A little. Anyways, it was nice meeting you. Maybe I might see you again?" she asked hopefully.
"Maybe," I told her sardonically. "My dad would probably kill me if he caught me out here though. Are you transferring into the high school?"
"Yeah. My cousin has a tour—I mean a program for a year so I'll be completing eleventh grade here."
"Oh! Awesome! I'm in eleventh grade too! So I'll see you at school today then?"
She smiled.
"Yup!"
Meiling got into the car and almost as soon as she closed the door, it took off. I waved to the retreating car. It turned the corner and I dropped my hand, turning back towards my house. I took off and didn't slow down until I reached the front door.
The door opened suddenly and my dad pulled me inside.
"What the hell, Sakura! It's nearly time for you to leave for school and you haven't started on your books yet! I told you no running in the mornings! At least, not until your studies are done. What have I told you?"
I drowned him out. I don't know how many times I had heard that lecture before. Study in the morning. Study in the afternoon. Study at night. It was stupid.
I took the stairs two at a time and headed straight for the family bathroom, pushing past my sniggering thirteen-year-old brother, Touya. Whatever he yelled at me, I didn't hear as I shut the door loudly behind me. I washed my face with the coldest water possible. It was oddly refreshing.
A sharp rap on the door broke me from my thoughts.
"Sakura! You're taking forever! Dad says to hurry!"
I heard Touya's steps as they bounded back down the stairs. He always loved being in Dad's favor.
Little shit.
I rushed into my bedroom and dressed in my school uniform. Black skirt, long sleeved white shirt, and a heavy black jacket were the required dress complete with the school logo on the breast pocket and shoulder. I donned my ankle socks and shoes and tied my hair into a messy bun before heaving my heavy backpack onto my shoulder. Luckily my cheerleading bag was in my locker or else this would have been a fun feat trying to get down the stairs.
I grabbed my keys from the key hook by the front door, ignoring yet another one of my father's lectures about studying, paying attention, and my extracurricular activities. Touya laughed at me as I heaved my backpack into the front seat of my junky, way too old to be workable, Honda. I swear I saw the Honda bend under the weight. Touya got into the back seat and immediately immersed himself into his 3DS, the sounds filling the car.
"Don't drive fast and obey the traffic laws. Don't tailgate. Don't-" I cut him off with a wave.
"'Kay, Dad. I get it. You give me the same lecture every day. Seriously." I got into the car and forced the key into the ignition.
"I'm serious, Sakura! Don't you dare try and disobey any of those laws. I will take your car away," he told me sternly.
I shut the door, his voice turning into muffled sounds, and backed out of the driveway. I caught Touya's snarky facial expression and heard a stupid little snigger escape from his mouth.
"Shut up, brat, or else you'll be walking to school."
He quieted, save for his handheld, but the smile remained on his face. Who knew a smile could be so sinister on a child?
Once I parked, Touya rushed off to meet his waiting friends and they entered the middle school that was directly next to the high school. Thank god. Any more of that snarky smile and I would have screamed. I walked toward the front gate, mixing in with the crowd of black and white. I stood on my tiptoes trying to pick out Tomoyo's familiar black hair. I stared around for a moment, but couldn't find her. As I threw a passing glance toward the library, there she was, leaning against the wall, her sketchbook in hand. I ran to her.
"Tomoyo!"
She looked up, waving. I dodged around a couple people and jumped in front of her. I mock pouted, taking her hand.
"Where were you this morning?" I said loudly.
Tomoyo shoved her sketchbook into her stylish bag. She was an aspiring fashion designer and flaunted her creations despite the backlash from the administration. She had her waist length hair pulled high into a ponytail, a chic wrap holding it in place.
"You look really pretty today," I told her. "Did you get a boyfriend without me knowing?" I joked.
Tomoyo stared at me pointedly, her amethyst eyes darker than normal.
"Sakura! Don't you know anything?! Today's the day 45 Degrees names off their contest winner! Rumor has it that the person's from this town!"
"Who?"
"The person?"
"No. 45 Degrees? Is that a band name or the weather?" I giggled, but quieted upon seeing the death stare on her face.
Tomoyo tapped my head with the end of her pencil.
"Ouch." I frowned.
"Pay attention! 45 Degrees is a five member band. Originally they had four, but they introduced a female lead singer. They've been touring solely in China, but have come to Japan following the end of their Join the Band Contest where they pick one lucky winner to share the stage with!"
She told me in one breath. She sucked in a gulp of air. "See?"
"Did you enter the contest? Is that why you got dolled up?" I giggled. "Or are the band members hunky and you're looking for a boyfriend?" I joked.
Her face heated up and she spun around.
"Tomoyo, I was kidding." She huffed, leading the way to our homeroom. I followed her feeling contrite.
Taking our seats at the back of the room, we waited for homeroom to finally settle. The bell rang, the chimes reverberating throughout the whole room. The teacher walked in followed by two guys whom I had never seen before.
The one closest to her was tall, almost too tall, with gentle brown eyes hidden behind glasses. He was broad shouldered, and had a lean, athletic build. The other was a much shorter guy with messy blue-black hair and blue eyes, who sported glasses. Almost immediately the girls around me started whispering excitedly amongst themselves, and when I turned to Tomoyo she was spacing, staring fixated on the blue eyed boy. I called her name quietly, but she didn't even respond.
"Class," The teacher said, getting our attention. We quieted down somewhat.
"We have some new students joining us today. Please welcome Yoshiyuki Terada and Eriol Hiiragizawa, both of whom are from overseas. They will be part of our class for the next year. Please make them feel welcome."
The teacher turned to the boys.
"If you have any questions, please feel free to ask anyone. If you are into sports, Sakura heads the athletic department. She's in this room as well."
I jumped slightly hearing her say my name, suddenly paying attention. I raised my hand.
"That's Sakura over there with her hand raised. Please go and take the two open seats that are in front of her."
I couldn't take my eyes off them as they made their way down the column of desks. The one dude was just tall. He towered over everyone. I stood, trying not to stare.
"Holy crap, you're tall." I blurted out. Immediately I felt my face turn red with embarrassment. Smooth, Sakura. Real Smooth.
The guy laughed holding out his hand. I shook it and he sat down in front of me.
"I get that all the time. I'm six foot five before you ask. I'm Yoshiyuki Terada. You're Sakura, right?" I smiled.
"Yes. Sakura Kinomoto. If you need anything, just ask," I told them warmly. I looked to the other guy, who almost immediately held my hand in his. He gently kissed the back of my hand.
"I'm Eriol Hiiragizawa."
I blushed, pulling my hand away quickly. Terada laughed, slapping the desk. I sat back down.
"Don't mind him. He's from England and they do weird shit there." I giggled slightly, sitting back in my seat.
I leaned over slightly toward Tomoyo.
"Well Tomoyo's family is from England. Let's ask her." I looked over and gasped. Tomoyo, normal, refined, always graceful and poised Tomoyo, was staring dreamily at Eriol. Her hands were clasped beneath her chin and a loud sigh escaped her lips. "Tomoyo...?"
The boys laughed.
"Damn. I was wondering when someone was going to say something."
"I honestly don't know why she's like this. She's normally the picture of graceful beauty."
Eriol stared incredulously at me. His blank stare really made me feel uncomfortable.
"I'm surprised you're not like that."
"Why would I be?"
Terada and Eriol exchanged glances before shrugging and turning around in their seats. The first period bell rang not too long after that, and that was when I realized just how popular the new pretty boy transfers had become. The girls surrounded them, making it hard for us to actually leave the room, but it was even worse outside in the hall. It looked as if everyone was standing outside our homeroom block. I pulled Tomoyo through the throng of people and heaved a sigh, taking a breather on one of the many benches outside.
"Damn. I should have touched his hair or something..." I heard Tomoyo mumble. "I mean he was sitting right in front of me..."
"Tomoyo."
"Just one strand of hair... Maybe make a voodoo doll?"
"Tomoyo."
"No. That might be a little messy..."
"TOMOYO!"
"Yes?" she asked, turning her cute face toward mine as if she had been listening.
"What the heck is all this? Why is everyone acting funny over the addition of some new kids to the school?"
"Cause they're famous? Duh!"
Rolling my eyes, I stood and grabbed her arm.
"We've got class to go to. Don't act like an obsessed fan girl."
"But Sakura..." she whined.
"NO."
After a second of griping, she stood and followed me to music, our first class after homeroom. Only a select few people had first period music. It was only open for serious musicians because it allowed you access to the soundproof rooms. With a smaller group of students, you had no interruptions and could focus on your music. Tomoyo was a great singer. I wouldn't be surprised if that band picked her as their lead singer. She was famous in Tomoeda and sang at every festival.
My father had me learn guitar and piano at an early age, probably to expand my available careers in the future. I was pretty damn good at both of them. I pulled off my jacket and threw it over the chair, waving bye to Tomoyo as she locked herself into one of the back rooms.
I sat down at the electric piano and plugged in my headphones, cranking the volume until it nearly hurt my ears. I warmed up by playing the one song I knew completely forward and backward by heart. My mother's song. She had composed it right before she died and I had transcribed it when I was about eight. I remembered her singing the song to Touya and I to get us to go to sleep, but still to this day I never knew where it had originally come from.
The song flowed expertly through my fingers. It had been a long time since I had made a mistake on this song. I trilled on a high note and brought it back down to middle c tumbling through its scale. A diminished chord echoed loudly in my earphones, causing me to gasp and yank them out. My ears were ringing. On my keyboard, a large hand was resting slightly over the notes.
"What. The. Hell." I growled, facing my interrupter. A guy whom I had never seen before didn't even flinch, he only removed his hand.
"My bad. New student here. There's no teacher? What do I do?" I wiped away an angry tear and stood up, resting my hand on my hip.
"How about grabbing an instrument? After all, this is music class." I said sarcastically, giving him my best glare. He glared right back.
"Wow. Does someone need a midol?"
"Does my knee need to make friends with your balls?" I retorted heatedly. "Look. It's a fucking music studies class. Pick an instrument and go play," I explained, settling back onto the piano seat.
I didn't hear if he left, and I really didn't care at that point. I banged my head lightly on the keys, the sound inharmonious in my ears. Ugh. I kicked the bottom of the piano pedal and stood, turning the piano off and pulling out my earphones. I just couldn't play anymore. I hated when the memories flooded back. Every time I decided to play that stupid song, this happened. I remember my mother fairly well, at least more than Touya did, but I couldn't seem to continue her most favorite pastime. It just reminded me too much of what I missed.
The rooms were filled as I exited the main music room, but not before taking one of the beginner's acoustic guitars. I snuck outside, carefully watching the main office doors for any teachers and when the coast was clear, crept out behind the music room. There was a row of benches and tables there that I used to sit on and draw or write when I was in the ninth grade. Now that I was in the music study class, I snuck out here to play, even though it wasn't really allowed.
I strummed the guitar, trying to tune it by ear. I sat back satisfied, and strummed a few chords before moving into a simple tune. I hummed along until words popped into my head.
I pirouette in the dark
I see the stars through me
Tired mechanical heart
Beats 'til the song disappears
The bell rang loudly in my ear.
What the hell? I inwardly growled. It seemed like everyone was interrupting me today. I trudged back inside, replacing the guitar. I grabbed my backpack and met up with Tomoyo, who was getting friendly with the new kid, Eriol. Terada was standing next to them, laughing at something Tomoyo had said. She had a very sad look on her face, but she tried hard to hold in her tears behind her smile. If it wasn't for the fact I had AP Calc next, I'd pull her aside and make her tell me what was up. I motioned to her that I was going to class and she smiled, giving me a thumbs up.
Someone came up behind me.
"What class are you going to?" I whirled around. It was the guy from before. Correction. The, now that I looked at him more closely, extremely hunky guy from before. I mentally scolded myself. I couldn't afford a boyfriend.
"Seems like you figured out the band room," I said offhand, ignoring his question. I pushed through the glass doors. The familiar outside world greeted me and I was soon entering the hall on the other side of the walkway.
"Yeah, this sweet little bird told me to just play an instrument. Who knew it was so simple?" he said silkily, keeping pace with me.
"Don't make fun of me," I growled. He held up his hands in defense.
"It was pretty dumb of me to ask such a straightforward question. But enough about that. So what's your name?"
"Sakura," I offered, ascending the stairs on the other side of the building. He followed me.
"You don't have a last name?" he asked.
"Okay, Mr. Stalker," I said lightly, more interested in scanning the room numbers. I always forgot which ones the honors rooms were.
"Well, my name is Syaoran Li."
I opened the door and the new kid followed me in.
"You are a stalker! Why are you following me?" I said, turning around. He sat in one of the chairs and pulled out one of the standard issue laptops.
"I'm not following anyone. I just have AP Calc second period."
"Oh."
I sat down a seat away from him and pulled the chair to my right close to me. I set up my laptop, my textbook and notebook. I felt Syaoran's eyes on me and I tilted my head toward him, smiling sweetly.
"No. There's not a teacher for this class either. You teach yourself from the book," I said sarcastically.
"I have no clue where I'd be without you," he replied just as sarcastically.
We fell into silence for the next hour and I powered through my homework. If I didn't finish it now, my dad would force me to go home immediately after school. I had practice tonight and as the athletic department head, I couldn't miss any of my practices. My dad would kill me if I lost that position. I was only about halfway through when the bell rang. I shoved everything into my backpack and brushed past Syaoran who was still leisurely putting his stuff back into his backpack.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckety fuck."
I leaned against the wall, inwardly beating myself up for not completing the work. I trudged carefully down the stairs and into the throng of students. English was next, which meant that I had class with Tomoyo and my other friends. Maybe Meiling, too, but I hadn't seen her yet. Come to think of it Syaoran and she had the same last name. Maybe he was the 'cousin' she had mentioned earlier. I'd ask her when I saw her again.
When I entered the English room, everyone was there already. Tomoyo was saving my seat in the back corner, with Eriol sitting right in front of her. Rika, a beautiful brown haired girl, who loved reading, sat next to him. Terada sat behind her, barely fitting into the desk. Next to them were a guy and a girl I didn't recognize. I settled into my seat next to the window and glanced about the room. I gasped happily. Directly ahead of me, was Meiling, smiling happily.
"Meiling! Long time no see," I giggled.
"Told you I'd see you soon," she laughed. She twisted around in her chair. "You have homeroom with my cousin's friends," Meiling told me, nodding in Eriol and Terada's direction. I smiled to them, waving slightly.
"Oh speaking of cousins, is your cousin named Syaoran?"
"Yeah, why?"
"No reason. He just happens to be in every class of mine so far."
Meiling's hand lightly touched her cheek.
"Yeah he's really smart. I have only this class and P.E. with him. Wait!" she said, suddenly, as if something had just dawned on her. "You must be smart, too!"
"Not so smart naturally. I have to study so much in order to be in those classes." Then I remembered something that was on my mind from earlier. "Isn't your cousin a bit young to be working? He's in our grade, yet some of us can't get work visas."
Meiling brushed it off, flipping one of her black pigtails over her shoulder.
"Oh yeah, we're kinda all in that same program together. Well, not so much me, but I help," she laughed. "Oh speak of the devil," she said, pointing toward the door. I turned in my set and sure enough, Syaoran walked in, nearly late and bringing with him his entourage.
"How is he so popular within a couple of hours?" I asked, speaking beneath my breath. It wasn't like the kid was cute or anything. Okay. He was, but that's beside the point. Syaoran made a beeline to Meiling, slapping Eriol's hand on the way.
"Meiling! We're all in the same class together. That's a surprise," he joked, flipping one of her ponytails into her face.
She glared at him.
"Ha ha! Have you met Sakura Kinomoto yet? She tells me you're in all her classes so far." Syaoran stared at me for a moment and I could swear I sensed there was something they weren't telling me. Meiling's question seemed too suggestive, and goddammit! Why did she tell my last name to a stalker?!
"Your last name's Kinomoto? Really?"
Was this kid serious?
"For 16 years, I think," I sarcastically said.
He grinned, turning back to Meiling. They began a silent conversation complete with hand and head gestures that only left me raising my eyebrows. These people were fucking weird. I scooted my chair back a couple inches, eliciting a giggle from Tomoyo.
Eriol spoke up beside me. "Oh, they do that a lot. They have this weird past lover's connection or some shit like that." I took my eyes off Eriol and glanced back at Meiling and Syaoran. Syaoran was staring at me, and creepily I might add.
"Alrighty then. Enough of the staring, stalker. There ain't nothing special about me and I ain't gonna start doing tricks."
Syaoran looked taken aback and gave Meiling a questioning look at which she just shrugged.
"Okay, am I missing something here?" I asked glancing between the two of them.
"Students, take your seats. Class has started now," The teacher called from the front of the room.
Syaoran slid past me, falling into the only empty chair behind me. During the lecture, I felt his eyes boring into the back of my head, but when I finally got the nerve to call him out on it, the feeling was gone.
For lunch, I stayed inside the math study room completing my AP Calc homework. After double practices tonight, there would be absolutely no time for me to complete anything. Not to mention that tonight, my dad and brother were both gonna be out late. Hmmm. Maybe I'll ask Tomoyo over to bake a cake or something. I thought, lightly touching my finger to my chin. It had been a while since I'd eaten sweets. My stomach growled in response.
I glanced up at the clock. There was about fifteen minutes left of lunch. I could totally grab a bun, or at least some juice from the cafeteria before being hustled back inside to science. I gathered my things back into the backpack and hoisted the thing onto my aching back. The trek to the cafeteria was especially brutal, and as a last minute decision I put my backpack into my next classroom. I figured it would be pretty safe there.
I bought a bun and apple juice and made my way to Tomoyo and Rika. My other close friends, Chiharu and Naoko, were with them along with a girl I had seen in one of my earlier classes, but didn't know. I couldn't believe how beautiful she was.
"Sakura!" Chiharu called, her brown pigtails bouncing, "Come sit with us!"
I made my way over and forced Tomoyo to share her seat. I chomped happily on my bun.
"Have you met Miki, yet?" I absently looked up, nodding my head.
"She was in English, right?"
The girl flicked her bleached blonde hair.
"Of course!" Her voice was high-pitched and hurt my ears. "I was sitting next to Terada."
"I know." I gulped down my juice and took at breath. Tomoyo linked her arm with me and giggled.
"Miki, have you met our very special Sakura Kinomoto yet?" I groaned. Why was everyone introducing me, last name and all? I think I've heard my name more times today than any other time in my life.
I glanced up preparing to wave my hand, but the chick's expression had me running for the hills. No wonder this group of people were working on the same project. Save for Meiling, and maybe Eriol, every single one of them was fucking weird as shit. Miki's brown eyes darkened and she set down her cup a bit too hard. I was surprised it didn't tip over.
"Nice to meet you, Sakura," she forced through a smile. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Hopefully good things," I said lightly, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't help.
"Quite good."
The table grew eerily quiet with tension. The moment the bell rang I jumped up, rushing from the cafeteria. The further away from the creepy new kids, the better.
But it was short lived. My next two classes, science and history, both had Syaoran in it. They weren't kidding when they said he was smart. I was one of the smartest kids in the school, so if he was able to take AP Calc with me, then he was really, really smart.
Unfortunately, Meiling's pigtailed head never appeared again in any of my remaining classes. Besides Tomoyo, none of my friends were with me until after school.
When history class ended, I rushed to my locker while everyone headed to homeroom until the end of the school day. There were a lucky few people who were allowed to skip this period because of their extracurricular activities. Since I was athletic head and not to mention the captain of the cheerleading squad and cross country team, I was allowed out of second homeroom to practice either sport. Cross country hadn't started up yet, so I donned my shorts and sports bra and made my way to the dance room.
The room was dusty thanks to the school's choice to cut the dance team a couple years ago. I was on the team in ninth grade, but with the addition of the cheerleading squad, they had to choose between the two, and most dancers were already cheerleaders anyway, so the dance club was disbanded.
I flicked on the lights and heard the familiar buzzing of the fluorescent tubes. The age old CD player sat at the corner of the room, a little worn, but still alive. I plugged in my iPod and let the music echo in the room. Thank god that the walls were soundproof. I could crank up the music to suit my taste.
A familiar dance beat filled my ears. I rolled my shoulders, knees, and ankles and completed some stretches before lunging into the more complicated stunts. I did a couple back flips, front flips, cartwheels, and round-offs and continued into some of the floor work. Song after song, I continued moving, checking my technique in the mirror ahead of me. I spun once, then again and again and again, before finally dropping to the floor, executing a complete finish, sultry look and all.
The bell rang louder than the music, piercing my ears with its shrill sound. I groaned, but quickly grabbed my iPod and left the dance room. I met the cheerleading squad on the field outside. Practice was shorter than usual when I realized that the amount of girls I had was significantly less than the year before. If I wanted to keep my team, I'd have to hold tryouts and pray that many of the girls from the school would try out. Oh, and maybe the new kids as well. I thought happily.
After a quick pep talk and expressing my new ideas, I ended practice for the day, happily running off to the choir room. Tomoyo was inside talking to Miki, but it appeared that she was annoyed. Tomoyo never got annoyed at anyone. This was very strange. I opened the door. Everyone turned to look at me, including the new kids, whom I didn't even know why they were there.
"I didn't know you guys were in choir," I said breaking the tension.
Miki huffed, clearly annoyed. "We're bigger than a stupid school choir," she said haughtily, crossing her arms.
Tomoyo ran over to me.
"Oh you mean your project thing, right? Meiling was saying something about that earlier. That the five of you are working on some project together and that you'll be here for the next year or so."
"Sounds about right," Syaoran interjected, pushing up from the wall. "Come on guys. We have work to do."
Without a protest, Eriol, Terada, Miki, and one other walked quietly from the room, but not before Miki gave me a death glare. I could not think of what I had done to her that made her so freaking mad. I took Tomoyo's hand.
"Let me grab my backpack and we'll go home and bake a cake," I told her happily.
"That sounds awesome Sakura." I retrieved my backpack and we headed to my car. As we got inside, I turned to her.
"What was up in the choir room just now with the new kids?"
Tomoyo sighed. "Apparently they are now a part of the choir that we have after school. Which is fine, but Miki can just be really mean, Sakura. She said I sounded like a duck."
I stared at her incredulously. Tomoyo was the best singer at our school.
"The bitch is jealous. You are the best singer I know, Tomoyo. Who else would they ask to compete in the festivals huh? Certainly not newbie little Miki. You're freaking awesome!" I said, reassuring her.
She didn't answer me so I pulled out of the school parking lot and headed for home.
"They would probably pick you, Sakura," she said a bit sadly.
I couldn't help it. I laughed.
"It's freaking true, Sakura! You're a great singer and if you'd just put your name out there, you could probably be famous!" I laughed some more.
"Who are you kidding?!" I giggled. "I royally suck at singing! Just ask Touya! He'll tell you."
I parked the car still chuckling. I thought I heard Tomoyo say something, but when she didn't repeat it, I didn't ask. We made our way inside the empty house and for the first time in a while, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. My father wasn't here to pressure me or dictate everything I did and my brother wasn't here to sit in the glory of being the poster child and insult me.
It was beautiful.
After ditching my backpack and uniform in my room, I bounded down the stairs freshly dressed in shorts and a baggy t-shirt. I took down my hair and redid the bun. When I entered the kitchen, Tomoyo had her jacket draped over one of the dining room chairs and was tying an apron around waist. I grabbed my own apron and set out grabbing the necessary ingredients. I was poking through the refrigerator talking to myself, unaware that Tomoyo had come up behind me.
"So, those new kids today...I wonder if all people from China are like that..." I said, thinking out loud. "I mean besides Meiling, Eriol and Terada were pretty cool," I said, remembering the more stable of the bunch. "But damn! That Miki chick was freaking mean! And Syaoran! What a stalker!" I shoved the door closed after grabbing a handful of eggs. "I mean, the kid would not stop asking me for my name. Totally creepy, right?" I cracked the eggs in a bowl and Tomoyo took it from me, stirring absently, as if she was thinking in her head.
"Maybe he had a reason?" She offered.
I balked.
"Eriol was pretty nice. He's got a great voice, too. I don't think you met him, but the boy who sat in front of Miki today in English? That's Takashi Yamazaki. He's really funny. He was telling jokes all day. It made Chiharu so mad," Tomoyo chuckled.
"Yeah, I can't place it, but I feel as if I've seen him before."
"He does have a peculiar face."
"Yeah and even with that, he was still popular with the female populous. All of them! It was as if they had a huge fanclub!"
Tomoyo laughed.
"Sakura, you have no idea, do you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Was I not paying attention to just how big it really was?
Tomoyo just laughed. I stirred in the last of the ingredients and, passing the bowl to Tomoyo, set up the oven. I danced over to my iPod and set it to some poppy song hip on the radio. Tomoyo gasped, turning around.
"I didn't know you had them on your iPod! This is my favorite song from them!" she said, running over to the iPod and turning up the volume.
The singer's shrill voice belted out some common line about love and boys and other nonsense.
"It's on the radio. Honestly, I don't like it very much. Who is this again?"
I glanced at the oven to confirm it was at the right temperature, and after placing the batter in the pan, I shoved it into the oven, and set the timer.
Tomoyo gasped again. "This is only my favorite band right now! 45 Degrees is on the rise and they're only becoming hotter by the minute!"
"The singer kinda sounds like Miki..." I said absently. "That annoyingly high-pitched voice...it's hard to forget."
I turned to Tomoyo. She was too busy singing along to the song. I shook my head. That girl was far too into her music idols. I turned back around to throw the dishes into the sink, when the doorbell rang. I tapped Tomoyo on the shoulder with the spoon and told her that I was going to answer the door. She spun around using her fist as a mike and continued to sing along to the song.
I smacked the spoon on her head before dancing away from her reach, giggling. I ran to the door, sucking the rest of the batter from the spoon. The doorbell rang again.
"Yeah! I'm here. Hold your horses." I called through the door, opening it wide.
I dropped the spoon, it clattered against the wood floor, ringing in the foyer. Meiling smiled at me, waving sheepishly. Beside her stood Syaoran, a middle aged man I had never seen before, and behind her was the rest of the new kids. Miki was staring at me evilly.
"Meiling? What's going on?"
"May we come in? We have lots to discuss!" she said happily, glancing behind her. "Hopefully quickly here. We were barely able to dodge the reporters."
"Reporters?"
Without another thought, Syaoran pushed past me, followed by the rest of the group with Meiling in tow. I pulled her aside after I had closed the door.
"Meiling? What is this?" I asked worriedly.
"You mean, you don't know?" she giggled. "Now this is a chance to take Miki down a notch! I personally like you a lot more."
What the hell did that mean? I retrieved the spoon from the floor and followed her, but veered off into the kitchen instead, letting them take over my living room. Eriol joined me in the kitchen.
"Tomoyo," I said under my breath. "Tomoyo!"
I spun around and saw her against the table, fumbling with my iPod. Her face was beet red and she was trying to form words to say to Eriol, who was giggling right next to her.
"Holy crap! Is there seriously something I wasn't let in on?" They both turned to me and Eriol bowed his head.
"Let's go to the living room. We can discuss this joyous meeting there."
As if he knew my house better than me, he led Tomoyo and me to the main room of the house. Once everyone was settled, I turned to them.
"Okay, now tell me why you are commandeering my living room!" The middle aged man stood, adjusting his glasses.
"Well this is peculiar. You don't have any clue as to why we're here?" he asked incredulously.
"Why would I? I don't even know you, or the rest of you for that matter."
Tomoyo was at my side in an instant. "Sakura," she giggled. "Don't kid!"
"What am I kidding about?" I asked inquisitively.
The man stepped forward, producing a document from his suit pocket. "Young lady, you are the new singer for 45 Degree's Japan Tour!"
The room was silent for a moment before I realized what this man was saying. Then I did the only thing I could do.
I laughed.
So? So?
Tell me what you think :)
Thanks guys! And CelestialMoon 17 for beta-ing :)