Love Live! School Idol High School
Prologue
Her decorated guitar case leaned against the wall next to the shoe rack. Sounds of chopsticks clacking against porcelain resonated through the first story of the house. A small family of three is enjoying their dinner after a long day. The young red-haired girl took a sip of water from her glass and gave a sound of refreshment.
"Mom, seconds please!" she cheerily asked.
"I knew you'd say that," replied the older woman. She had red-hair just like her daughter, "You deserve your favorite food after a performance like that today!"
"Oh stop it," chuckled the girl. She was blushing.
"Now, now Michiko; your mother and I are just happy the lessons we've been paying for all these years have definitely paid off," said the silver-haired father.
"But, I never knew you could sing so well!"
"Oh shucks, mom," giggled Michiko, "I didn't think it was anything special!"
The doorbell rang. Michiko's mother got up to check who it was. Their conversation was heard in the dining room.
"Good evening, Suzuki-San," greeted a high pitched voice.
"Oh my!" Michiko's mother seemed surprise, "Please come in, come in! We were just having dinner, so please join us!"
"Thank you for the offer, but I am on a schedule and have many other homes to visit. I'm primarily here to talk to your daughter."
"Oh, M-Michiko!? Yes, yes! She's just about finishing up! Please, please take a seat in the living room! She'll be right up. I will make some tea!"
"Thank you for your hospitality."
Michiko's mother ran back into the dining room and dashed to the kitchen area. She frantically gathered tools to start brewing tea.
"Michiko! There's a guest waiting for you in the living room!"
Michiko finished the last of her food and gave polite "gouchisousama." She got up and proceeded to the living room. Sitting on the floor was an older grayish brown-haired woman in a suit. Part of her hair looped on the side with a small bun sticking out. She looked at Michiko with her soft, droopy, amber eyes in excitement.
"You're so much cuter in person!" the woman's high pitched voice squeed. She got up and grabbed Michiko's hands. "Your mother has pretty sapphire eyes too! And your hair is so poofy and long for a sidetail; are those silver highlights?"
The flustered Michiko's face turned completely red. The woman's face was too close! "Well, it's naturally this poofy; and no, the silver highlights are from my father. I somehow got both of my parents' hair colors."
"How cute!" smiled the charming woman, "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude. Here!" she presented a business card. Michiko accepted.
"µ's Academia?"
"Yes, I am the director and founder of µ's Academia. I understand you are having trouble getting into a private school, no?"
Michiko started twirling the bottom part of her sidetail. "Well, I got accepted into most of the schools I applied to, but I couldn't get any scholarships into the good private schools in the area; and my parents can't afford it so…"
"That's unfortunate. What if I told you I came with an offer?"
This piqued her interest, "What kind of offer?"
The two of them sat back down. Michiko's mother walked in with a tray of hot tea and placed it on the table.
"Please, have some tea!"
"Thank you, Suzuki-san!"
"No need for thanks!" she was nervous about something, "I hope my daughter isn't giving you any trouble."
"No, no, she's great! We're getting along just fine!"
"Glad to hear hehe!" she looked at Michiko before walking out.
"Now back to business." The woman took a sip of tea and gave a sigh of refreshment. "Your mother makes very nice tea."
"It's nothing special," she had to be humble in her mother's place.
"I saw your performance from today." the woman suddenly seemed professionally straightforward.
"You did?" she was nervous now.
"Yes! How nice of your school to host a music festival at the end of the school year. There were many great performances," she put her tea down and looked straight at Michiko. The woman's eyes glistened, "But yours teehee, was the best one I heard." Her expression changed to something devilish.
"I didn't think it was anything special. The other performances were good. Honestly, I think we were the odd ones out considering Lambda is a punk band."
The director giggled, "I'm not talking about your band silly! I'm….talking about you."
"Ueeeeh!?"
"Normally, you'd have to audition along with an entrance exam; but I happened to be in the area and decided to check out the event. I'm glad I did. Suzuki Michiko, I'm offering you a place in my school. I want you to be a student at µ's Academia."
"R-really? I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to give me an answer right now. I'll give you time to think about it. But just know this, I'm offering you a full ride, and bypassing the entry process. I promise you and your family that all of you will not be disappointed. I know for sure your mother wouldn't back down on this offer," she gave a wink, "I'll be waiting for Suzuki-chan. Don't let me down!"
She got up and proceeded to the door. Michiko immediately got up and opened the door for her. "Allow me to see you out."
In the hallway, the director paced to the entrance to the kitchen and bowed.
"Thank you for your time and hospitality. The tea was great!"
"We're glad to have you!" Michiko's mother blushed.
Michiko's dad saw the woman's face. His own face turned red. "Yes, thank you for taking the time to visit us! I hope Michiko was polite!"
"Oh shucks, I had fun talking to her!"
The two parents helped Michiko see her out the door. The family took a minute after the door closed to process what just occurred.
"Honey, I can't believe that just happened." muttered the starstruck mother.
"But it just did…." they both immediately turned to Michiko, "WHAT DID YOU TWO TALK ABOUT!?"
Michiko backed up into the wall and felt cornered. "We just talked about my performance today. She said she heard it, and offered me entry into the private high school she runs."
"YES!" cried both the parents. They started dancing around the hallway and into the living room.
"Mom, dad, what are you two so excited about?"
The two of them stopped and looked at Michiko in shock. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THAT WAS? SHE WAS FAMOUS WHEN YOUR MOTHER (FATHER) AND I WERE YOUR AGE!" they screamed in unison.
The gray-brown haired woman looked at the house. She could hear the excitement from inside. She stepped into the back seat of the car waiting in front of the house and giggled. The driver adjusted his rear-view mirror and looked at her. A plush alpaca decoration hung from it.
"Everything taken care of Minami-san?"
"Yes, proceed to the next house."
"That was the last of them. What do you think of this one?"
She looked at the house as the car started driving off. "I think, I need to keep an especially careful eye on this one." She smiled the entire ride home.
Michiko lied in bed browsing the conversation on her phone. Earlier she explained the situation to her friends and asked for their advice.
Tatsuya: "That's awesome Michii! You should definitely go there!"
Daichi: "I've heard of that school! It's ran by some famous group from 15 years ago or something. My parents were in college, and met at one of their concerts!"
Michiko: "I'm not sure if it's what I want though…"
Daichi: "You wanted to go into a private school right? You love music too. I did some research and the school is rated to be very good as well."
Tatsuya: "Leave it to Daichi to very thorough!"
Michiko: "But the school is around Akihabara. And I'd be living in dorms, so we can't play music together anymore."
Tatsuya: "Don't worry about us Michii! This is a chance of a lifetime, so you should take it!"
Daichi: "What Tatsuya said. We're just a small band anyways, so it's for fun. But for you, it's serious; and now an opportunity is here! Seize it, Michiko-Kun!"
Michiko: "You guys…thank you…"
Tatsuya: "Go for it! We'll be rooting for you! Call that director and let her know you'll do it!"
Michiko turned off her phone and looked at the business card. It was vibrant with pinks and glitter."Minami Kotori - Director/Founder" it said.
"I know nothing about this world that's tempting me, but my friends are right. This is an opportunity I cannot waste!"