Reaching for the Stars

Part I, Chapter 4

Satoshi's School Courtyard – After Class [ S ]

"That's harsh dude." Francis said as he, Kouji and I walked out of the school and into the cold Monday afternoon, "That means you only have four days to prepare for that makeup exam."

"Well…" I said scratching my head, "at least I have a chance to get a higher mark."

"Don't worry about it Satoshi!" Kouji comforted energetically, already fully recovered from his melancholy fit after receiving his grades, "Be thankful you passed. Okay?"

"That's not reassuring, coming from you…" I groaned, "you got a worse average than me you know!"

"Why should you be so worked up about grades, man?" Kouji asked, "'Enjoy life', that's my motto. I have no time for academics; I want to live my life to the fullest."

Francis and I weren't sure whether or not to take this statement seriously, but we decided to do the latter.

"Anyways," Kouji said changing the topic, "what do you think's going on over there?"

Turning to where Kouji pointed, we saw a large crowd of students gathering at the school gates. Our school was a relatively small one, the size of those you see in small cities with a capacity of about a thousand students. Over the years, more and more people moved into the city, sending their kids to study here and bringing the number of students over the capacity. On top of that, it was a co-ed school meaning both boys and girls attended the school. Therefore, it wasn't an unusual sight for the gates to be filled with students. This time though, it was more congested than usual and nobody was moving. They seemed to be cheering for someone too and chanting things… could it be a celebrity passing by?

"No idea." Francis shrugged, unable to see what everyone else was so worked up about, "Let's check it out eh?

Heading over to the gates, the three of us deftly sliced through the people and made our way to the other side of the wall. We had a hard time doing so, and taking a few steps forward involved a lot of pushing and shoving every now and then. Once we got close enough though, we finally saw the cause of the commotion. I couldn't believe my eyes.

"Ritsu!? And everyone else too!"

"Ahehe," Ritsu said apologetically, "the girls and I just wanted to drop by and say hello, but we didn't expect such a welcome."

There they were, my sister's band 'Afterschool Tea Time'; Yui Hirasawa, their clumsy and peppy lead guitarist, Tsumugi Kotobuki, their gentle and lighthearted keyboardist, Mio Akiyama, their mature yet phobia-prone bassist, my sister Ritsu who plays the drums and… and… Azusa-chan, their second guitarist… darn… of all times, why does she have to be here!?

Pressing on, we finally joined them in the midst of the crowd and finally understood their predicament. There were about a hundred of my schoolmates, apparently fans of 'Afterschool Tea Time' surrounding us and there seemed to be no hope of escaping. Being in the middle of it all was overwhelming; it was a little hard to breathe and Mio-senpai seemed ready to faint. Yui-senpai and Tsumugi-senpai however, totally oblivious to the dangerous situation, were already busy giving out autographs to their fans.

"Au-to-graph~ au-to-graph~" Yui hummed as she penned autograph after autograph. The fans were already getting rowdy, but it didn't bother her at all (but what in the world could bother Yui-senpai, really?)

"We have to get out of here." I whispered to them, "I'm worried about the crowd. Who knows what could happen?"

"Agreed," Ritsu whispered back, "so what do you boys plan to do?"

"I've got an idea," Francis said with a grin, "just trust us, okay girls?"

"A... anything to g… get out of here," mumbled Mio-senpai, shivering in fright

Francis then whispered his plan to us. It was a crazy yet simple plan, but it might just work. He then turned to the girls and cried,

"RUN LIKE HELL!"

Not wasting another moment, the three of us grabbed the girl's hands and dragged them out of the crowd. Our plan took the girls by surprise, but etiquette and gentleman-ness could wait and so would Yui-senpai's autograph sessions. Francis dragged Yui-senpai and Mugi-senpai (who seemed to be enjoying the whole thing), Kouji had Mio-senpai (who had already fainted as soon as Francis shouted) while I held on to my sister Ritsu and… and… oh dear. I… I w… was holding Azusa-chan's hand!

After a while, the eight of us were finally able to escape the crowd of fans. Of course they chased after us, so we took refuge in a small alley to let the heat cool down.

"Phew, it worked." Francis panted, letting go of Yui-senpai and Mugi-senpai

"Over already?" Yui asked disappointed. She looked as if she had just gotten off a roller coaster ride. "I was just having fun!"

"At least we made it out of there safely." Ritsu said letting go of my hand, "That could've gotten out of control."

"I know right?" Kouji said letting go of Mio-senpai, "I didn't know you had so many fans Akiyama-senpai. All of the guys wanted your autograph!"

She didn't respond, obviously still traumatized by the whole ordeal.

"Poor Mio." Ritsu chuckled, "She'll come to soon though."

"Other than Mio-senpai," I asked looking around, "Is everyone alright?"

"We're all fine." Mugi-senpai said. When she faced me though, she smiled all of the sudden and said, "My, my Satoshi-kun. Gotten over your shyness already?"

Just then, I remembered that I was still holding on to Azusa-chan's hand!

"I'm sorry!" I cried, releasing her hand immediately, "I didn't know…"

"It's alright Satoshi-kun…" Azusa-chan said, somewhat composed, "I don't mind holding your hand…"

Just then, the conscious members of the band surrounded us with expectant eyes and tried (failing miserably) to suppress the grins on their faces. Their eyelashes batted madly, making Azusa-chan blush uncontrollably.

"I… I meant, you had to do it to help us out of there!" Azusa said abruptly

"Y… yeah." I said, nodding my head desperately, "t… that's why."

"Anyways," Francis said, "what brings the entire 'Afterschool Tea Time' band to our humble school?"

"Oh," Yui-senpai answered excitedly, "we were supposed to dress up Satoshi-kun with a Sakura-gakou uniform and set him up with a wig so we could sneak him into our school and see him play the drums!"

"WHAT!?" I cried, appalled by their atrocious plans, "NO WAY IN HELL WOULD I EVER DO THAT!"

"Umm… Yui…" Ritsu said utterly embarrassed, "that's not why we're here…"

"So we're not going to dress Satoshi-kun up?" Yui-senpai said in her usual clueless tone

"No." Everyone said unanimously

"Ahehe, sorry." She apologized, tapping her forehead

"I told them about your performance in Suzuki-kun's house on Sunday." Ritsu said, "They just wanted to drop by and congratulate you."

"I see." I said, utterly relieved that I wasn't going to be abducted and turned into a dress-up doll, "Thanks guys."

"Anyways." Ritsu continued, "Since you boys saved us, and since all of us are free, d'ya guys wanna hang out for a bit?"

"Sure thing!" Koiji said excitedly, "It would be an honor to escort such lovely girls around town."

Kouji's offer, as always, wasn't very assuring. In any case, we were all free that Monday afternoon, so hanging out wouldn't be too much of a hassle. Also, Mio-senpai could use a glass of water. The eight of us (Ritsu speaking on behalf of Mio) agreed and headed off to the strip malls together. The air was cheerful and everyone seemed to be having a good time, however there was a lingering fright in my mind. I would be hanging out with Azusa-chan for the next few hours… I don't know what to do. I hope it doesn't go too bad.

To Be Continued