Mari was an independent type of person, which meant that she didn't like asking people for help. The problem was, she couldn't start a one-girl band. Sure, she had the voice for it, but she hadn't played a guitar in years. There was a competition coming up soon, and the prize money was totally worth the effort. All she needed was a band to play with.
She sat on her couch, staring at the blank plasma T.V for what seemed like hours; until she came up with an idea. Mari wasn't sure that it would work, but if it did, she was a genius.

And that was how she ended up in her old, musty garage, tapping her pen boredly on the table that she sat at. She'd advertised in the newspaper a week ago, and stuck up flyers; her feet still hurt from all the walking that she'd had to do. There was money mentioned in the advertisements, so she was sure that some people would turn up.
A whole hour passed, in which she was contemplating going inside and taking a nap, or mixing some new lyrics to a song.
Finally, a white van pulled up inside, and Mari raised her head from its drowsy position. The girl quickly sat up and swept back her hair, at the ready fro the first audition.
A person exited the van, collecting their equipment from the back and lugging it toward the house. She gave a friendly wave at which they nodded, hands being full so that they couldn't exactly wave back. As they neared, she noticed it was a guy. A cute guy. He'd be a nice addition to the band with his closely-shorn hair and deep eyes, the Asian girl thought dreamily.
"Hey, are you alright?" Mari shook herself awake as the man set down his guitar case and speaker on the concrete. She offered a hand out to him and they shook; even though there was a cold wind blowing outside and the clouds were drawn over the sun, his hand was warm. "I, uh, just wanted to clarify that this is a rock band, right? Not one of those weird techno Asian ones?"
"No, it's definitely rock," she laughed, maybe a little too loudly and a little too much. "What are you going to be playing for me today?"
"Kryptonite, by Three Doors Down. I don't know if you've heard of it...?"
"Yeah, course I have, they aren't too bad. Sweet guitar riffs, if you can pull it off." Mari gestured to him to set himself up around the garage; waiting patiently, she watched him tune his electric guitar with care and set the volume at a respectable low level.
When he started playing, she was sold almost instantly. His fingers glided sensuously over the guitar strings, strumming and plucking in the right places. They were definitely the hands of a talented musician. and Mari found herself tapping her foot softly and humming along to the chorus.
He cleared his throat suddenly, and she realized that he had finished playing.
"That was, amazing... wow." The man shrugged and fiddled with his guitar strap, glancing down briefly at her clipboard.
"So, are you going to take my name and number?"
"Oh, yeah, of course!" Mari said quickly, picking up her pen. Scribbling down his name at the top of her clipboard, the girl cautiously asked for his phone number. He grinned, reciting it with ease while she tried to keep down her blush; goddamnit, she didn't blush.
"You know, it was nice to meet you, Mari." The man had packed up his equipment and was standing awkwardly by the open garage door, a cold, wintery afternoon framed behind him. "I was wondering, if maybe, if I didn't get into the band, we could go out for lunch or something?"
"That'd be nice. Besides, you know where I live." He grinned, giving her one last wave before he packed his gear into the back of his van and drove away.
It wasn't till she was sure that he had gone that she over his name again with her pen; Matt Sohinki. Even now, she was fairly sure that she would give him the part of lead guitar.

Her next auditioner was a drummer. It was a part of the band that was quite important, since they tied the band together with the rhythm that they played, so she wasn't sure how she was going to pick.
He stumbled with his gear into the garage, clattering it onto the dense concrete with a wince. Once, he even dropped a cymbal on his foot, which caused her to discover his colourful vocabulary.
Eventually, he stood in front of her table, pasting a grin on his face as he straightened his Batman t-shirt. He looked... meh. A bit nerdy, with his glasses and spiked hair as well as a Bat tat. And, even though he was doing his best to look happy, there was something going on behind the facade; it worried the girl slightly.
"Show me what you've got, Bat Boy." The man gave her a suspicious look as he sat down, twirling his sticks.
It was his passion that really got through to her. He wasn't the mad hatter type who pounded at the drum with only a little sense of rhythm, but he wasn't the quiet type that no-one could hear. And it sounded like he treated his set with care, not to mention that he had a taste for playing.
The dark-haired drummist signed down his own name and number in a scrawling manner, sliding the clipboard back before saluting the girl adieu and disappearing in his slightly battered Honda.
His name was written Joshua Ovenshire, and Mari noticed a little snarky comment written in the margin, 'I'm the best drummer you'll get today.'

Despite his cockiness, he turned out to be right. The absolute worst she got was a man who looked to be in his late 40's and looked, not to mention smelled, like an old hippy in need of a bath.
She gave a sigh of relief when a bass player dragged in his instrument just as it began to rain; she'd been waiting for it after all of the bad weather today, and now it was late in the evening, maybe an hour before the sun was going to set. Her butt had gone sore from sitting there for so long, and her stomach was rumbling.
"Had many bass players in today?" he asked, making small talk as he began to set up.
"Actually, only one other guy. You haven't got much competition, luckily."
"First good news I've had all day." Slinging his guitar strap over his head, he grinned, eyes shining happily even though most of his shirt was soaked. It made Mari smile back, even if she was tired, hungry and altogether grumpy. He was like a little beacon of joy, and it made her want to say he was in the band immediately.
He hit all the chords with ease, like he could have had his eyes closed and played that well. Surely there was another band out there that should have snapped him up by now. But, lucky her, had him casually playing in her garage while rain patter on the tin roof.
Like Joshua, he signed himself, declining her offer of help with his heavy speaker. She watched him cheerily whistle his way through the rain with his gear and then leave. He was both the happiest and last auditioner she for the day.
The Asian girl stretched her arms high to the sky, hearing something click loudly. After that, food was the first thing on her mind after she closed the garage door and picked up her clipboard.
Too lazy to do anything else, Mari made a peanut butter and jam sandwich before plonking herself down on the couch. She clicked on her T.V with the remote, and proceeded to forget about the auditions.
She fell asleep in her bright clothes on a vaguely uncomfortable couch with the T.V flashing brightly to light up the shadowy room.