"Moooom, I'm going now!" Hina exclaimed as she passed the kitchen of her home.
"Take care, Hina-chan!" replied a blonde-haired woman who was in the middle of whisking pudding ingredients. A sweet, fruity, scent filled the room.
"Strawberry pudding…!" Hina gleefully said. The girl immediately made a plan in her head to eat the dessert right after she went home later. But first thing first… "How do I look, Mom?"
Hina wore a two-tone blue jacket with starry patterns over a printed t-shirt, combined with black frilly skirt. She also donned several accessories: a star-shaped barrette, choker with a star pendant, as well as black leather belt. She planned to wear suede boots for her footwear, but that was for later (her mother would scold her if she wore shoes inside the house).
Her mother smiled as her pair of green eyes observed Hina's outfit of the day. "You look super duper boppin', Dear."
"Thanks, Mom!" Hina said as she hugged her mother from behind. Her next words were uttered in a whisper, "Wish me good luck for the audition~"
Hina then walked through the room. The kitchen, dining room, as well as the living room, were connected. Sitting on the sofa while reading a magazine was Sayo, her older sister.
Sayo and Hina were identical twins. Like most twins, during their toddler and elementary years, they sported the same look and wore matching clothes. They began to differ as the two grew into their teens. Hina currently was five centimeters shorter than her older twin. Their hairstyles were also different; Sayo's was loose over her waist, while Hina's was shoulder-length with sections of her sides were put into two little braids.
Hina put on a knitted beanie and said, "I'm going out, Onee-chan."
Sayo nodded absently. Her eyes were still focused on the music magazine.
The smile on Hina's face faded. Her sister was being cold to her, just like yesterday and many days before. Sayo's unknown vexation to her had been going on for so long, that it currently became a 'same as always' phrase. It was ironic for Hina to admit this as a normal exchange between sisters; twins at that.
Yet, it was a reality.
A reality that she intended to change.
"Bye then, Onee-chan…"
Hina wore a glum face. This wasn't a good mood to start this important day. But as the girl turned around, she could hear her sister's voice.
"Don't stay out too late, Hina."
And that short sentence was enough to fill her heart with joy.
The building stood before Hina was larger than she had expected. It was four to five stories high and looked spacious from the outside. Several cars of various types were parked in front of the building. It was the headquarters of a certain talent agency.
Hina didn't come empty-handed. She carried an electric guitar on her back; nicely put into a black gig bag. Although she just owned it for a short time, the guitar had been a part of her daily life now. Every day after school was practice time.
The girl gripped the shoulder straps of her gig bag. She gazed at the building with determination. Entering this talent agency would be her first step to chase Sayo's back. Their relationship might change for the better if they had something in common. Hina and Sayo could jam and talk about music together.
Her sister should've loved the idea... right?
Hina shook her head. No; this wasn't the time to have doubts. She must nail the band audition.
The high school girl then entered the building. Eight sets of armchairs and coffee tables were placed at the lobby. Most of the seats were occupied; some by girls of Hina's age who bought guitar gig bags—fellow band audition participants, she guessed.
Hina asked about the band audition at the reception desk, then went to the second floor. The girl still had some time before the audition started, so she decided to have a tour around the place.
Bummer.
Hina looked at the glass door before her. It was the type that must be unlocked with an access card; something that a mere auditioner like her didn't possess.
Thought she might run into celebrities. Not that she intended to ask for an autograph; she was just curious of them. Were they as boppin' as seen on TV?
The hallway was empty. No one was in sight. Whoever worked on this floor must've done their activities behind the closed door.
The only thing there—apart from the locked door and restrooms—were dozens of posters and a few standees.
"Wow, so these are the celebrities who belong in this agency…"
Hina recognized some celebrities there. One of them being an actress of Hina's age, who she knew from TV dramas that her mother frequently watched. She looked at the displays for a little while more then went to the restroom.
A cute voice was heard as Hina opened the door.
"The pretty pink charm-"
A twin-tailed girl was posing in front of a mirror. She was waving her gun fingers and exclaimed, "-Aya Maruyama enters the stage!"
Hina bursted out laughing when the pink haired girl named Aya Maruyama finished the pose with her body slightly bent to the side, accompanied by a wink. Realizing Hina's presence, the girl turned around and jumped backward in surprise; nearly bumped into the marble sink behind her. She then covered her beet-red face and muttered inaudibly.
"Hey, hey, whatcha doin' there?" Hina asked as she approached the pretty pink charm. "Was that some kind of mantra?"
"No… I… I..." Aya Maruyama whimpered. She then ran past Hina and said, "AAAA, I'm so embarrassed…!"
"Eeh, where are you going?"
But the girl had escaped the room. As the door closed, Hina could hear the girl shouting, "Mom, forgive your daughter for being so stupid!"
Hina put her hands on her hip. She smiled confusedly. "Welp, that was weird."
"I've been playing for ten years."
"Wow, you must have some serious skill!"
Hina and her fellow auditioners were talking around while waiting for their turns. They chatted about music technical kinds of stuff, which sounded otherworldly due to her being a beginner. Still, it was good to learn something new, so she eagerly listened as she was snacking on Pocky.
"How about you, Hikawa-san?"
"Mm?" Hina stopped biting her Pocky. She put out the chocolate-coated biscuit and answered, "Prolly two weeks?"
The girls were startled. Their eyes widened. "...no way!"
"You're a total noob?" asked one of the girls with a frown. "Do you even able to play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', Hikawa-san?"
Hina nodded. She raised her half-bitten Pocky stick and exclaimed with confidence. "You bet I can; along with 'Baby Shark' and 'Mary had a Little Lamb'!"
The ten-year-veteran scoffed. "Don't waste the judges' time with you half-baked performance."
Hina was puzzled. The announcement only stated about the agency's need for a female high-schooler guitarist; no mention about the length of experience whatsoever.
"I plan to give my all, tho?" Hina replied. She wondered why this girl didn't take her seriously.
The fellow auditioner glared at Hina. "You'd better go home before they're throwing mean comments to you."
"I wanna join the band!" Hina's green eyes sparkled with excitement. "I gotta catch up with my sister, you see!" she added with a grin.
The experienced guitarist muttered inaudibly, then said, "Don't get ahead of yourself-"
"Number 958!"
"Oh, that's me!" Hina exclaimed. She got up from her seat and waved at the fellow guitarists. "Wish me good luck, guys!"
The audition room was, in fact, a small auditorium. Three people were sitting at the front row. A long table was placed in front of them, with papers full of notes.
Hina politely greeted the judges. They returned the greeting, then asked Hina to take a position on the stage and introduce herself.
"My name is Hina Hikawa, fifteen-nope, tomorrow I'm gonna turn sixteen! I love sweets and fries!" said Hina. "And I go to Haneoka High!"
"Haneoka the prep school?"
Hina nodded. "Yup, the boppin' Haneoka! We have a zappin' uniform and our annual festival is whaam!"
"Boppin', zappin', whaam...?" asked one of the judge, confused. "Some kind of slang words?"
The other judge smiled helplessly and replied, "I have no idea as well."
The third judge shrugged. "Didn't expect to see someone from there in a band audition. And you don't strike me as a bookworm..."
"Eeh, bookworm?" Hina pointed at herself.
What would make people think that Haneoka is full of bookworms and didn't play music? Her juniors even had quite a name in the indie band scene. Was it because of the 'prep school' label thingy? But Hina didn't have the chance to explain, as the judges asked her to begin the performance. So, she connected her guitar to an amplifier instead.
Hina strummed the strings of her guitar into a playful tone, which made the judges baffled. One of them even went as far as facepalming. Time to spice things up, then. The girl changed chord and proceeded to another song. The guitarist went from one song after another without stopping. Her right hand strummed the strings upwards and downwards, while her left danced around the chords. Playing various songs with different beats was fun. And to add that this was the first time she performed in front of strangers, like a professional musician on the stage…
It made her thrilled.
Hina wondered if this was the reason why her sister was so absorbed with the guitar.
Hina ended her performance with a final downstroke. The girl turned her attention to the judges and bowed to them.
"What was that?! You don't jump from 'Baby Shark' to 'Bohemian Rhapsody'!" one of the judges exclaimed. "And there were that Disney crab song and Mario's theme right before 'Canon' rock. That was... a way too wild ride…."
"Speaking of it, I love the smooth transition between 'Canon' and 'Jurassic Park Theme'."
"Thankies!" Hina replied. Of course, she hoped for good comments from the judges. But still, to receive that compliment for real made her heart filled with excitement.
"Seems like you're just mashing your favorite songs together, huh? The mood was all over the place and your tempo was too fast in many parts."
Hina rubbed the back of her head. That wasn't good. The other judges seemed to like Hina's performance, but not with this one. Her chance of passing the audition might be dropped significantly due to this criticism. It made her kind of worried.
"So… That wasn't boppin?" Hina asked.
"I don't know what's that supposed to mean, but despite the faults, I must admit that your performance was very entertaining."
That was surprising.
"By the way, can you sing while playing the guitar?"
"Of cour-"
The girl immediately froze. Crap. She gave that answer out of reflex. In fact, Hina never tried singing and playing guitar at the same time. She put herself in a bad situation here….
"Do you even able to play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', Hikawa-san?"
The question from a few minutes back suddenly popped out in her head. This gave her an idea. 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' was super easy to play; she should be able to sing along to it.
Thus, Hina strummed her guitar and sang, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star… How I wonder what you are!"