I just wanted to say again, I tried something a little different so the pacing might feel a little fast because it was more plot-centric so there's not a lot of character development on screen. But thanks for sticking around if you're giving this series a chance :)

Although he wasn't the best singer, Mika was looking forward to going to the karaoke place with his classmates and the girls. Though he became too engrossed in the conversation and didn't realize that Yuu left the group.

"Amane-kun left a couple of stores ago," one of his classmates answered before everyone walked into one of the soundproof rooms.

Mika was a little disappointed at first, but he had a fun time. Everyone was singing their hearts out, good or bad. There were a few songs where everyone sang along, neglecting the microphone while all tried to harmonize, but did pretty badly. None of them cared though, they were having fun.

Everyone took a bunch of pictures and they headed out after 2 hours of non-stop singing. They all exchanged numbers before some went home and the rest went to a nearby family restaurant for dinner.

Mika was having a lot of fun and kind of wished that Yuu was with them. He would probably enjoy singing along to cheesy songs. But he also never saw him do anything fun. He's always studying and even at lunch, he's reviewing his notes or reading the textbook.

Time flew by as Mika ate and chatted happily with his newly made friends. Soon, he received a text message from his manager that he should be heading home to be well rested for school and work.

It was hard to part as they were in the middle of a word game while the slow eaters were finishing their meal. But Mika had to excuse himself but promised that he will do this again with them when he had another day off.

They spent another 3 minutes complaining, mostly the guys, but ultimately let Mika leave.

Mika spotted the silver car that his manager drives and walked over to it. He slipped into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt after laying his book bag on his lap.

"How was school?" she asked as she drove down the busy road.

"It's fun."

"Make any friends?"

"Yeah."

"We're very impressed by the reception of your social media. Those photos you posted boosted your popularity and there has been more people searching up your name."

"I assume this behaviour is to be encouraged?"

"Yes, but don't go overboard. Remember we don't want to advertise for free. I hope you were mindful of any logos or brands that you might be promoting in your posts."

"I understand."

"You're a good boy Mikaela-kun. Everyone is impressed by your performance. Continue to work hard, both in school and work."

"Yes madam."

The rest of the drive was quiet so his manager turned on the car radio. It was a classical music channel. No lyrics, just music, it was quite calming.

They came up to his house and Mika thanked her before exiting the car. He waved goodbye and watched her drive off before he opened the gates. Locking them again, he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.

Mika can already hear his father's complaints, probably yelling at his employee for an easy mistake he would fix himself.

"I'm home," Mika quietly said as he slipped off his shoe. He quietly walked into the house and up the stairs to his room. He flopped onto the bean bag in the corner of his room and dug into his school bag. He was going to pull out his notes and review them but he pulled out his phone instead.

Toying with it briefly, he unlocked it and scrolled through the pictures he took today. Some were blurry because people were moving or his hand wasn't still enough. But just looking at them brought a smile to his face.

It was tiring to pretend to fit into a world made for adults.

His co-workers would smile and speak to him politely, but wouldn't hesitate to stab him in the back for any reason, big or small.

But it was different at school. Although most of the students, if not all, saw him as an idol, they also saw him as a fellow student. They joke with him, ask him for help, and talk with him as normal teenagers would do.

He already has his childhood stripped from him, so he was already thankful to be able to experience what a high school life is like.

Shaking away any remaining negative thoughts, Mika picked up his book bag and sat down at his desk. He had homework to complete and a test to study for. Although he is super excited about going to an actual high school, he needed to keep up his grade to prove that it would not be a distraction to his work and education.

It was very different from home or online schooling, which Mika had been doing in the past years.

He found that he liked being in the classroom a lot more. The teachers were nice, for the most part. But it made learning less boring. He was used to reading information off the screen and interacting with other students in forums. But he never made friends with his classmates that way.

There were a few times the students would meet and study together, but Mika was never able to make it because of work.

Mika hummed as he started working on his homework.

His classmates were nice, they would probably start a study group and include him in it. He might be able to request a day or two off from work to study for tests and the exam.

He wondered if Yuu would be interested in study groups. It would be fun to study with him.

Yuuichirou Amane was a diligent student that placed in the top 3 of their grade. Mika was only a little bit behind him and placed within the top 10.

Studying wasn't his strong suit or interest.

Mika hoped they could become good friends. Yuu seemed like an interesting person and fun to tease. While he didn't seem extremely friendly, he was a good person.

Though, he now has a mild interest in the soccer club since Yuu is on the team. Mika was kind of athletic, enough to get by and not disappoint in PE matches. But Yuu often shined in PE. There were a few others too, but Mika was usually focusing on not being nailed in the face like in animes.

It would be terrible since he was a model after all.