The Audition
Ever since yesterday Mina had been thinking about the Starmaker auditions. She had waited her whole life for an opportunity like this. If the talent agents liked her not only could she leave school and start her career but she could finally tell her father off. She had worked so hard during her vocal lessons to prove to him she didn't have to go to college to be successful but she could never prove to him that she would make it. This however would be it. If they sign her tonight, her life could change forever. Starmaker is the largest talent agent in the business today. They seek out talent from all over the globe and turn every one of them into something big. Mina had dreamed of this for years.
The day seemed like it was going to go on forever. Mina went to two different class today than she did yesterday as per the schedule but this time she made an effort to show up on time and pay attention the entire time. None of the girls she met yesterday were in her classes today and she didn't see anyone that caught her eye so she remained quiet for most of the day. She would diligently answer questions when she was called upon and listen to the professor when they were talking. But just because she was actively participating didn't make the classes any less boring. Minutes felt like hours. Hours were virtually nonexistent. The last time she looked at the clock was ten minutes ago. She sighed and continued to drag her pencil across her note sheet.
Finally the day was almost over. She was in the last five minutes of her second class that day. Since the classes she had on Tuesdays were the same ones that met on Thursdays they were 75 minute periods, opposed to the Monday, Wednesday, Thursday classes she had three days a week for 50 minutes, her day ended around the same hour as yesterday despite having less classes. Mina had paid attention class for the last hour and twenty-five minutes however now she couldn't help but tap her pencil and chew her bottom lip. She was pretty sure she was going to die of boredom. As she looked at the clock again noticing that only thirty seconds had passed when nothing short of a miracle happened.
"That's all I have for you today. Don't forget to register your polling devices and read the next three chapters for Thursday" an old frail man wheezed.
'Wow class ending with an entire four and a half minutes left? Unheard of."
Mina all but sprinted out of the room. She ran past the fountain in front of the library, down the stairs of the parking garage cut through, across the pedestrian bridge over the band field and up six flights of stairs to her room. If she wasn't going to die from boredom then it would be from over exerting herself by running across campus. Her lungs burned and her legs itched but she didn't care. Taking the maximum amount of time to get ready for her audition was more important. She threw open the door with little regard to what lie behind it and threw her bag on the bed. Heading towards the bathroom she noticed Rei was sitting at her desk behind the door. Despite the door almost slamming against her desk she made no indication she had been startled. If Mina had to guess she actually hadn't been as she was holding the door handle with her left hand then gently released it letting it shut softly. It was almost like she knew the door was going to open in that manner at that time. Mina thought it was a little strange but decided to let it slide since she had other things to worry about.
Once Mina was secluded in the bathroom she stripped down and started the shower, where she proceeded to wash her hair twice just in case she missed something the first time through. Now was not the time to be reckless. Once the shampoo was rinsed out well she carefully conditioned the long ends of her blonde hair. Then she scrubbed her body with her favorite soap from Dior carefully lathering to make sure the scent was washed across her skin. Though she had shaved during her shower yesterday now was not the time to have stray hairs either. Cycling back to rise the conditioner after giving it ample time to set in her hair she rinsed, turned the water off, grabbed a towel and stepped out.
The moisture in the air was tangible, literally. Paying no mind that the mirror has completely fogged over, Mina opened the drawer and grabbed a clay face mask while gracefully leaning towards the mirror to apply it. Once the mask was applied she washed her hands and reached for the lotion that accompanied the bar soap in the shower. After applying the lotion in an even layer over her skin she began the laborious task of brushing and drying her hair. Once her hair was dry she meticulously placed each strand in its designed place and added her signature bow. Dropping the towel and adding two spritzes of Dior body spray Mina slid into her vibrant orange cocktail dress.
After hanging her towel on the wall she opened the bathroom door and stepped out in a cloud of steam. Rummaging around in her desk drawer for a moment before pulling out a small stack of sheet music that she laid on the bed trying to decide which to bring tonight. She glanced over them all for a moment then decided to bring all of them just in case the judges wanted to hear different ranges. She took a quick peek at the clock seeing that it was a quarter to eight. Just forty-five minutes before she had to be there. Which she decided was a perfect amount of time for her to apply make-up then take a leisurely stroll there. As she turned to return to the bathroom Rei stood up and walked to the door.
"Bye."
And she was gone.
Mina stepped out the door to the dorm complex and into the cool evening air. It was the end of the summer so the sun had just set leaving a painting of orange and pink across the sky. As she walked she took time to admire the landscape. She walked along the concrete sidewalk that weaved its way through a grassy field. Around the edges of the field at a slight distance were soft lights indicating classroom buildings that were still in use. Typically this area was filled with students playing frisbee, chatting, petting dogs, or just simply enjoying the weather. Tonight however the field was empty as there wasn't much to do in the dark as it was slowly becoming the longer Mina walked.
Just as she was coming up to a grouping of building she could see a silhouette of what looked like a boy beckoning her over. Typically this would be a red flag, a strange boy telling her to come to him, however he was also yelling something about a meeting.
"Hey! Over here! Are you looking for the meeting? It's in here" he said as he approached her and lead her inside. Though his comment was fairly vague Mina believed it was indeed what she was looking for and decided to follow him inside. What else could possibly be this far from main campus anyway?
The well dressed boy lead her to a set of double doors that were currently the only thing between her and the buzzing activity inside. Taking a deep breathe she stepped into the room as the boy held the door open for her.
As soon as she stepped in a charismatic voice started speaking via speakers throughout the room. "Welcome everyone! Thank you for joining us tonight. We're going to get started now. Please use the time given to you to familiarize yourself with our members. At the end of the night we will give gold cards to our favorite prospects who will then immediately become recruits. Have fun everyone! Ja ne!"
Mina looked around and finally register the other people in the room. Every single person here was Asian and there was a sign for Tau Tau Tau on the wall. 'Am I in a frat house?'
If it was indeed a frat house it was the strangest one she had ever seen. The room itself was impeccably decorated with traditional Japanese wall hangings and study rooms flanked either side of the great room. Though the house design itself was modern everything inside was bordering on being antique.
A look of horror fleeted across Mina's face as she realized she was not at the Starmaker auditions and would certainly be late if she were to walk there now. Turning around in an effort to be better late than never she was met with a wall of people. Apparently significantly more people had entered the room after she had and was now essentially trapped. Weaving her way through the crowd towards the door she bumped into a short girl and almost knocked her off her feet.
"I'm so sorry. I was just on my way to leave" Mina tried to continue walking away.
"Where are you trying to go so fast? Did we already scare you away?"
Turning around only momentarily Mina said "I'm on my way to a Satrmaker audition I only came here by accident. If I don't run there now I'll be late. This is my dream come true!" She tried to walk again.
"You know that's too bad. I could really see you doing great things here."
"Huh?" The statement made Mina stop. "How do you know what I can do if you don't know anything about me?" 'Why do so many people make assumptions about me?'
"It's not as hard as you think. Most people here are all quite the same. Work hard, get good grades and appease our sponsor. Although you seem like none of that is your concern. Singing? I don't think anyone here spends time doing the things they enjoy, but you're different."
"Yeah okay that's nice. But I have really got to get going you know. Talent agents aren't the most patient of people" Mina turned to leave again.
"If you stay we may be able to offer you something as well. It's not just us that are interested in you. You must be interested in us as well no?"
"Um what could I get from all of you? Didn't you just say all of you are boring and hate your lives?"
"mmm I didn't say we hate our lives I just said we know where our priorities lie. You could learn a thing or two from us" the girl said as she pulled out her phone and began scrolling through the notifications. "For one, how to check social media." The girl turned her phone screen towards Mina.
As Mina read the tweet her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Fastest. All. Time. Record. Auditions are⦠over? It's only been fifteen minutes since the meeting began."
"You know this is a very prestigious school. The best of the best come here. The best in every field. You're not the only one here with a ludicrous dream" The girl whom she still did not know the name of gave her a smug smile and gestured for Mina to sit at a low coffee table with her. "So now that that's cleared up why don't you stay a while and tell me about yourself."
Still reeling from the news she just received she turned her head down and tried to answer the question she was asked. "Mina" she mumbled.
"Sorry it's quite loud in here you have to speak up."
Taking a deep breath and remembering her life was not over, she was still Minako Aino pop star on the rise, she lifted her head and said loudly and with clarity "My name is Minako Aino. I aspire to be a pop star for the world. My dedication to my dream will not be thwarted by another. This is only a small hiccup however a true idol will persevere." Perhaps too loudly. Other people who had previously been engaged in their own conversation turned to look at the spectacle she just made of herself.
Ami almost choked on her breath. This girl whom she just convinced to stay and actually consider joining was none other than the girl Rei had bitched about for a full hour a few days prior. Quickly recovering from her blunder she reassured Mina that what she did was for the best. Rei was not going to be pleased once she heard about this but then again, Rei was just Rei to Ami. She didn't buy into the Hino-sama charade and certainly didn't live her life as though it revolved around the woman. She would do as she pleased and right she pleased to learn more about this anomaly who strolled in here by accident.
As people continued looking they saw that Ami was engaged in a conversation with the spectacle and immediately flocked towards them. Since Ami was an actual friend of Rei many people regarded her very highly.
Deciding that any attention is good attention Mina began relaxing and entertaining the crowd. Who was she to waste such a moment of fame?
An hour passed and soon everyone found their attention being pulled away from their new favorite prospect, Mina, by the voice over the surround speakers again.
"Everyone, everyone please gather around the stage. The gold card event is about to take place. It seems as though we have a unanimous vote for our number one prospect. There are only two gold cards that can be handed out tonight. For everyone who does not get one tonight please do not be discouraged. Come back to our other events and you will still have another chance of acceptance during our regular admission. But without further ado I present your first gold card recipient" the boy with the microphone paused for dramatic effect and the entire audience took a breath in, "Minako Aino pop idol extraordinaire!"
That's when Rei heard it. A grouping of words she had never expected to come together. "Minako" she whispered to herself. Rei thought she was going to die on the spot. "Where the hell is Ami when a girl needs her?' Not in her right state of mind Rei sauntered over to the couch and fell into it willing the nightmare to end.
Mina had not expected to gain such recognition among these people. She came here by accident and only managed to entertain the crowd due to her unfortunate circumstance. Now she was apparently a pledge? Was this even a frat? 'I guess I survived rush?' So far she had many fans here and they seemed to eat up whatever she said. She considered if it was something she could get used to and after determining it was like what she had in high school but on a larger scale she made her way up front to accept the card. She flashed a thousand watt smile to the crowd in front of her as they all cheered.
She made her way down to stand in front of the stage as another boy's name was called. She didn't recognize him nor did she really care. This was really about her anyway right? At least she had more cheers than he did. She was interrupted from her thought as the man on the mic started speaking again.
"Again thank you everyone for coming. Everyone who didn't get a gold card please come back next week same time same place to meet us again but before you go we have someone really special to share some parting words."
Rei was still in the same position she had landed in when she ungracefully landed on the couch when a young boy's voice called to her.
"Hino-sama, Nephrite-kun wants you to say a few words to the prospects before they leave. Can you come down now?"
Rei groaned and dragged herself off the couch heading towards the door of her private room. 'Kami-sama why did this happen?'
Mina was animatedly speaking to one of the members when she saw her. Rei. She was ascending the back stairs of the stage practically growling with each breath.
