Sorry it's been a while since I last posted, I had some writer's block and it never really went away. I know this chapter is longer than what I normally post, but not all of the chapters will be this long unless you guys want them to be longer. I was just trying to keep this part of the story in one chapter to get it over with. Sorry if it's a little dry, but the next chapter will be better! Thank you for reading and please review if you can!
Chapter 9
After school, Rin and Miku scramble around the cafeteria, taking down the names of the students who came to try out for Kaiko's club. They scurry around, greeting everyone and trying to keep everyone patient. A surprisingly large group showed up, and more wandering in, causing the two girls to be a little overwhelmed, trying to get everything started without the bluenette girl.
"Where the frick is she?!" Rin whispers urgently to Miku when they find a minute of peace. Miku shrugs and looks around desperately, looking for any sign of Kaiko, but sees no trace of the girl. She sighs.
"I wish she told us she was going to be late," she whines quietly. "We could've planned out something to do with everyone." The two girls sigh sadly.
"We're never going to get this club off the ground…" Rin mumbles dejectedly.
"That's not the right attitude to have!" a cheery voice says from behind her. A grin spreads across Rin's face. She spins around to see a smiling Kaiko.
"Kaiko!" Miku runs over and hugs Kaiko excitedly. She lets go and starts bouncing enthusiastically, earning a strange look from surrounding students.
"It's about time you got here!" Rin says, more relieved than angry. Kaiko smiles apologetically.
"Sorry, I lost track of time."
"Well, never mind that! You're here now, and that's all that matters!" Miku smiles kindly, then roughly grabs Kaiko's arm and drags her to the crowd. "Now you need to talk to these people so Rin and I can get a break."
"Wait, what?!" Kaiko tries to pry her arm from Miku, but the teal-haired girl has an iron grip.
"Talk to them! You know, inspire them to live their lives to the fullest and get involved in their high school club or some dumb cliché thing like that." Rin gives her an encouraging grin, which is returned by a scowl from Kaiko.
"I'm not inspiring. I'm an angry munchkin."
"Well, then stand there and look like a cute angry munchkin while spouting nonsense from your mouth," Miku says, mildly impatiently. "I do it all the time. Trust me, it works."
"But I'm not you, I'm-"
"Perfectly capable of talking in front of your peers!"
"But-"
"Break a leg!" Miku shoves her in front of the crowd, who all turn to face Kaiko. She gulps quietly and throws a deadly glance over to Miku and Rin, who are grinning like idiots.
'Damn it, you guys…' Miku gestures for Kaiko to start speaking. Kaiko takes a quiet, deep breath and gives the crowd her cutest smile.
"Thank you all so much for coming to try out for my club today!" she begins, making her voice light and bubbly. "I hope you all have fun, and even though not everyone will be able to get a spot, everyone is going to be judged fairly. No one is getting any special treatment and there's going to be no biased decisions, unlike a certain other club." Kaiko cringes as the last part of her sentence comes out.
'Crap, that's not going to sound good,' she thinks worriedly. However, she hears a large portion of the crowd laugh at her comment. She relaxes and grins broadly.
"Anyway, I was able to reserve the auditorium for us for try outs, so let's head over there to get things started!"
The crowd begins to file out of the cafeteria. Kaiko breaths a small sigh of relief and follows behind everyone. Rin and Miku step out of the crowd to join her.
"Good speech. Nice and short, straight to the point, throws a jab at a jackass, I like it!" Rin grins and rests her elbow on Kaiko's shoulder, causing Kaiko to give her a look.
"Well, I don't like talking solo in front of really big crowds of strangers. I wanted to get it over with fast."
"Why?" Miku asks, cocking her hear to the side. "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet!" Rin sighs loudly.
"Miku, its comments like that that make me think you're going to get abducted or stabbed or something," she says exasperatedly. Miku pouts.
"I'm not going to get stabbed or abducted!"
"That's debatable." Miku huffs and shoves Rin, and Kaiko laughs.
"Anyway," Miku says annoyed. "You're going to listen to all these people try out? 'Cause I'm in music with some of them and, uh…Well, let's just say the muses didn't really favor them all that much." Kaiko gives her a small, lopsided grin.
"Yeah, I'm listening to everyone. I want to keep it fair. And speaking of which, I need you two to try out. I know I already said you're in, but if it's going to be fair…"
"No problem!" Miku says, confidently putting her hands on her hips. Rin gives Kaiko a friendly grin. Kaiko smiles at her friends.
"Thanks, you guys!"
Everyone arrives at the auditorium a few minutes later. Even though this is where her orientation was held, Kaiko still can't get over just how beautiful the room is. It's high, gothic ceilings are similar to that of a roman cathedral, and the dark mahogany chairs with faux velvet cushions give it a rich, antique theater feel. The high stage in the front is lighted with bright stage light, the thick red curtain tied back with a gold rope, revealing an array of props and play production equipment.
While Kaiko marvels at the beauty of the place, someone sneaks up behind her and grabs her shoulders. Kaiko squeaks and jumps up.
"Guess who!" a friendlily mischievous voice says from behind her. Kaiko smiles.
"Hey, Meiko! What are you doing here?" She turns to look at her friend. Meiko grins brightly.
"I thought I'd come and listen to try outs! No judging, I just want to hear people. Is that okay?" Kaiko nods.
"Yeah! It's no problem!"
"Great! Oh, but, uh…" Meiko fidgets, glancing away from Kaiko. Kaiko raises her eyebrow.
"What's up?"
"Well, when I left to come here to find you, Meito caught me and um…."
"What?" Kaiko asks darkly. Meiko scratches the back of her head and points toward the side door. Kaiko follows Meiko's finger and her face becomes enraged.
Just now entering the door is Meito, Gakupo, and the rest of the other glee club. Kaiko spins back towards Meiko, who's expression is screaming 'please don't kill me I didn't have a choice.'
"Why?" Kaiko asks through a growl. Meiko shrugs in defeat.
"When I said I was going to look for you to see how your recruitment was going, he got all mad and curious and followed me here. Everyone else followed him 'cause we just finished our practice and they had nothing better to do with their pathetic lives."
Kaiko glowers at Meito, who returns her glare. She sighs and heads down the center aisle, doing her best to ignore the brunette boy. Meito walks over to his sister, who gives him an angry look.
"You're really coming off as a jerk lately," she says bitterly.
"Frankly, Meiko," he says with a bored sigh. "I don't give a damn."
"Why do you have to be so annoying?" she hisses angrily. He glances down at her and shrugs.
"I just want to see my competition," he says matter-of-factly, walking to a row of seats and sitting in the middle of it. Meiko scoffs angrily and stalks down the aisle to sit next to Kaiko.
"Him and his stupid Gone with the Wind quotes…" she mutters angrily to herself.
The rest of his club sits in the seats around Meito, lounging in the seats. Gakupo takes the seat next to Meito and glances at him.
"Why are you acting like this?" he asks, raising his eyebrow at his friend. "You can just let it go. It's not that big a deal that she's staring another group." Meito gives him a lazy glance and turns away.
"Honestly Gakupo, I don't really know." He scans the crowd in front of him until he spots a head of short, vibrant blue hair. His eyes narrow. "There's just something about Kaiko I really effing don't like." Gakupo sighs and sits back in his seat.
"Then why don't you just leave her alone?"
"Because," Meito says after a small pause. "I can't get her out of my head."
"Okay, everyone," Kaiko says loudly from center stage. "We're going to start try-outs! Break a leg to all of you guys!"
She goes off the stage and takes her seat, a few rows back from the front.
"This is going to be fun," Meiko whispers to her, a grin spreading across her face. Kaiko smiles back.
"Damn right."
The first few auditions go by, none of them really grabbing Kaiko's attention or, if they do, it's not in a good way. When a girl who has just finished a rather high pitched version of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" walks off the stage, Kaiko sighs.
"This is not going well," she mutters to Meiko.
"You're only a couple people in; there are still plenty of people to pick from." Meiko pats Kaiko's shoulder comfortingly. Kaiko sighs again.
"Yeah, you're right." She shakes her head slightly, and looks back up at the stage with a smile. "Okay, next up, please!"
The next one to walk onto the stage is none other than a blonde haired girl with a bouncy walk. Rin grins down at Kaiko, who gives a happy grin back. Rin shifts her postion and faces the rest of the crowd with a small, professional looking smile.
"I'm Rin Kagamine, and I'll be singing 'Darling' by Avril Lavigne."
Kaiko gestures for her to start, and Rin grins and takes a breath.
Darling
You're hiding in the closet once again,
Start smiling
I know you're trying
Real hard not to turn your head away
Pretty darling
Face tomorrow, tomorrow is not yesterday
Yesterday oh… Pretty please
I know it's a drag
Wipe your eyes and put up your head
I wish you could be happy instead
There's nothing else I can do
But love you the best that I can
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Rin finishes and gives a confident but friendly smirk to Kaiko. Kaiko grins back and claps happily.
"Booo, you suck," a voice calls from the back. Kaiko can tell from voice that it's Len, but she still turns around to glare at him. She turns back to Rin, still angry.
Rin smiles sweetly up at her brother and flips him off from the stage.
"Love you too," Len calls down. Kaiko giggles and smiles at Rin.
"Thank you, Rin! Okay, next up!" Rin walks off the stage and takes a seat next to Kaiko. A boy walks on the stage and starts a nice cover of "Your Guardian Angel" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, though it's slightly off key. While he's singing, Len walks down the aisle and sit in the seat behind Rin and Kaiko.
"Hey, nice job up there," he congratulates his sister, leaning forward. She smiles at him.
"Thanks, bro." He smirks and ruffles her hair, and she sticks her tongue out at him in return. Kaiko smiles at the two close siblings and turns back toward the stage.
'I wonder how Kaito's handling me making this club. He hasn't said much about it in a while.'
She feels a tap on her shoulder, bringing her out of her thoughts. She turns to see Len looking at her. She looks at him quizzically.
"Hey, sorry about the last time we met," he says with an apologetic smile. "I was kind of an ass." Kaiko's eyebrows go up in surprise.
"No you weren't, you were actually really nice!" Len shakes his head.
"No I wasn't. Meiko said she told you about how I took your list and you got kind of upset. I was being a bit of a douche, and I wanted to apologize. I kind of do whatever Meito tells me to." Kaiko's jaw clenches at the sound of the brunette's name. With his name hanging in the air, she can swear she feels eye eyes boring into the back of her head. She tries to force a friendly smile onto her face.
"Its fine, I'm not mad anymore," she says through gritted teeth.
"Uh, from the look on your face I'd say you are…" Len says cautiously. "Really, I'm sorry, Kaiko." He gives her a sad, apologetic look that's begging her to forgive him. She stares at him and sighs.
"I'm not mad at you anymore, at least, so don't worry." She sees Len's face light up happily. "BUT, just a 'sorry' wouldn't make me feel better if I was."
"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you anyway I can," he says with a child-like grin. He gets up and starts to walk back to his original seat, patting Rin's head as her leaves. Kaiko smiles after him, happy to know he really is a nice guy. Rin turns toward Kaiko.
"You know, him saying that pretty much means he'll do anything, probably even be your love slave, if you want him to be."
"…Wait, WHAT?!"
"Hey look, it's Miku's turn!"
Rin turns toward the stage happily, not making any further comment on her statement and ignoring the confused and horrified Kaiko. Kaiko gives up trying to get the blonde's attention and turns toward the stage. She sees the teal-hair girl practically skip onto the stage and flash a cute smile at the crowd. She looks down and grins at Kaiko happily.
"Hi! I'm Miku Hatsune and I'll be singing 'Willow' by Jasmine Thompson!"
She closes her eyes and taps her foot slightly, setting the beat of the song in her mind. Then, her eyes open and she smiles softly at the crowd.
Down by the water, under the willow
Sits a lone ranger, minding the willow
He and his wife, once lived happily
Planted a seed, that grew through the reeds
Summers and winters, through snowy Decembers
Sat by the water close to the embers
Missing out the lives that they once had before
I wouldn't leave you
I would hold you
When the last day comes
What if you need me
Won't you hold me
On the last day, our last day
She finishes and gives a small curtsy to the crowd. Kaiko and everyone else in the auditorium clap as she walks off the stage. She takes the seat next to Rin and leans over to talk to Kaiko.
"Did I make the cut?" she asks curiously. Kaiko smiles.
"As of right now, hell yeah you did." Miku smiles and giggles happily.
"I really don't understand why my brother didn't let you guys into our club," Meiko says crossing her arms. "I need to ask him about that. If he gives me some stupid reason, I swear I'll kill him." Her eyes narrow and the other three girls laugh.
"So, who's up next?" Rin asks, peering over Kaiko's shoulder to see the auditions list. Kaiko looks over it, trying to find the next name.
"Uh, it looks like it's, um…" Someone on the stage clears their throat and the girls look up. On the stage is a girl with short green hair with two strands longer in the front. She smiles kindly.
"Oh! It's Gumi!" Miku says enthusiastically. "Kaiko, that's my friend Gumi!" Gumi smiles at Miku, who's waving at her from the seats.
"I'm glad she came!" Rin says in happy surprise. Miku nods and turns toward Kaiko.
"Kaiko, you're going to like Gumi! She's really mature and quiet and polite and has a beautiful voice. She's probably going to sing something sweet and beautiful, like a soft aria from an opera or something!" Miku bounces in her seat, waiting to watch Gumi. Gumi steps forward and smiles at the crowd.
"Hey, I'm Gumi," she says calmly. "And I'll be singing Misery Business by Paramore."
Miku blinks in surprise.
"Well, pop-punk is close enough to an aria," Rin says.
Gumi takes a short breath, and looks back at the crowd, her gaze slightly sharper than it was a few moments ago.
I'm in the business of misery,
Let's take it from the top.
She's got a body like an hour glass, it's ticking like a clock.
It's a matter of time before we all run out,
When I thought he was mine she caught him by the mouth.
I waited eight long months,
She finally set him free.
I told him I couldn't lie he was the only one for me.
Two weeks we caught on fire,
She's got it out for me
But I wear the biggest smile.
Whoa, I never meant to brag.
But I got him where I want him now.
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag
To steal it all away from you now.
But God does it feel so good,
'Cause I got him where I want him now.
And if you could then you know you would
'Cause God it just feels so...
It just feels so good.
Gumi lets her voice trail off, making her face blank. After a minute, she composes herself and looks back out at the crowd. Everyone claps for her, except Miku who's staring at her friend in amazement. She jumps up and runs over to her friend, who was walking off the stage. From far away, the other three girls could see Miku talking in her usual fast, excited way to Gumi, who's just smiling at the teal haired girl. Miku grabs her arm and drags her over to the rest of the girls
"I told you she was awesome, Kaiko!" Miku shouts when she's back in earshot.
"Damn, Gumi, I never saw you as a punk-pop type of person," Rin says, raising her eyebrows. Gumi smiles sheepishly.
"Well, classical got boring after eleven years of being forced to listen and learn how to play it."
"You play classical stuff?" Kaiko asks, impressed. Gumi nods.
"A little, yeah."
"A little?!" Rin exclaims. "You're a freakin' music prodigy! You got piano, violin, harp, guitar, and vocals under your belt!" She slaps Gumi on the back, making her stumble forward slightly. Gumi gives her an annoyed look and straightens back up.
"More like a tortured child than a prodigy. I was, and still am, literally forced to take lessons. I really only enjoy piano and singing." She crosses her arms and sighs. "My parents say if I want a career in music after I finish school, it has to be orchestral. No punk, pop, rock, alternative, or anything fun no matter what."
"That's pretty controlling," Meiko says with a slightly appalled expression. Gumi shrugs.
"Yeah, well. They're my parents, so I can't really go against them. That's why I'm waiting until I'm legally an adult, then I can move out and do whatever the hell I want."
"Why wait 'till then?" Kaiko asks with a small smirk. Gumi raises her eyebrow.
"I'm listening."
"Well, this club kind of has a couple rebels in it already, so I think you'd fit in pretty well. And, if all goes as I want it too, we'll get noticed by different colleges and judges for our performances. We sure as hell aren't singing any classical stuff, so be however you want musically. Your parents can't really get mad if it gets you into a college, right?" Gumi smirks confidently.
"I like the way you think, Kaiko."
Meanwhile, in the back rows of the auditorium, Meito and his friends are lounging around, chattering away.
"That green-haired girl was pretty good," a boy with silver-white hair says, the slightest bit of respect showing through his emotionless voice. A boy with light pink hair gives a minuscule nod.
"She hit a few notes wrong, though."
"So what do you think about our potential new competition, Meito?" Len leans over the back of a chair, laying his elbows on the top of it. He gives a curious look to Meito, who just shrugs.
"Three girls really aren't what I would consider competition."
"Still," Gakupo interjects. "They have a lot of talent and the potential to become as good, if not better, than us. We shouldn't underestimate them." Meito scoffs quietly.
"This is boring," the silver haired boy says with a sigh. "I'm leaving. Yuuma?"
He glances over his shoulder to the pink haired boy, who stands and follows him out of the auditorium. Len sighs.
"Those two never leave each other's side. And they wonder why people think they're gay."
"For all we know, they might be," Meito says matter-of-factly, stretching. He glances back down at Kaiko again, who's laughing with Meiko, Rin, Miku, and the green haired girl. He can't help but stare at Kaiko and, for whatever reason, he can't look away from her.
'What the hell is it about this girl that pisses me off so much? I can't get her out of my head.'
"Looks like the next person's up," Gakupo says, snapping Meito out of his thoughts. He looks down at the stage and sees a tall girl with long blonde hair step up. He shifts so he can see the stage but stay in a comfortable position.
"Should've followed Piko and Yuuma," he mutters under his breath.
Down at the stage, Kaiko smiles up at the girl who helped her earlier in the day. She glances down at Kaiko with a blank expression, then sighs and faces the crowd.
"I'm Lily, and I'm singing 'Take a Hint' from Victorious."
Why am I always hit on by the boys I never like
I can always see 'em coming, from the left or from the right
I don't want to be a priss, I'm just try'na be polite
But it always seems to bite me in the...
Ask me for my number, yeah, you put me on the spot
You think that we should hook up, but I think that we should not
You had me at "Hello", then you opened up your mouth
And that is when it started going south
Get your hands off my hips, 'fore I'll punch you in the lips
Stop your staring at my... Hey!
Take a hint, take a hint
No you can't buy me a drink, let me tell you what I think
I think you could use a mint
Take a hint, take a hint
T-take a hint, take a hint
Lily finishes and throws a murderous look at someone in the crowd. Kaiko turns to see a boy shift uncomfortably and sink down in his seat. Glancing back at the stage, she sees Lily walk off without a further word, and go back to her seat.
"Well, she's…blatant," Gumi says hesitantly.
"I like her. She seems like she doesn't put up with any shit. I respect that." Rin nods slightly to her own comment.
"She seems mean…" Miku says worriedly.
"I don't think she actually is, though," Kaiko says slowly, contemplating Lily's personality. "I think that's just how she comes off, but she's actually just bad at expressing how she's feeling."
"Unless she's pissed at some clingy dude," Gumi adds.
"Well, yeah. But overall, I think she's a good person."
"I don't know…" Miku says hesitantly. "She just doesn't seem like someone I'd want to associate with a lot."
"Oh, come on, Miku! Don't be so quick to judge. It's not like you." Miku looks up at Rin, sighs, and shakes her head slightly.
"Yeah, you're right. I'm being a little too judgmental," she says with a strained smile. Rin gives her a look.
"So, do you know who's going next?" Gumi asks, moving next to Kaiko. Kaiko flips through her list of names.
"Uh, it looks like a bunch of third-years. I don't know any of them." She keeps flipping through the pages of the list, her brow furrowing slightly. Meiko raises an eyebrow and peeks over Kaiko's shoulder at the papers.
"What's up? Whatcha looking for?" Kaiko sighs.
"Nothing. Hey, Miku?"
"Yeah?"
"When you were taking down people's names, did you ever see a girl named Luka Megurine? Tall, pink hair, relatively emotionless, sound familiar?"
Rin's jaw drops slightly, and Miku gives Kaiko an unbelieving look.
"…What?"
"Luka Megurine?" Rin asks, appalled. "You invited that ice queen into this club? No way in hell either of us saw her earlier. She literally hates everyone in this school. There's no damn way she would join a club."
"Why not?" Kaiko pouts. "Clubs are fun. Who wouldn't want to join one?"
"Uh, her. I don't think you get what we're saying here, Kaiko," Miku says, as if she was talking to a small child.
"What's there to get?" Kaiko snaps, her impatience growing.
"Look, Kaiko," Gumi says with a sigh, turning to face the girl. "Luka has never been in any clubs, sports, after school get-togethers, nothing. Hell, I'm pretty sure she doesn't have any sort of friend at this school. She purposefully pushes every single person away, puts them down, judges them, condescends them, and is just really short tempered all the time."
"Well, then we should find her and make her join the club so she can be more personable and not scary to talk to! None of that is a good enough reason to be so against her joining if she comes!" Kaiko stomps her foot, channeling the rebellious, bratty kid inside her, in hopes it'll help her get her way like it always has.
"Kaiko, I'm pretty sure Luka doesn't even love her own family. She'd be horrible to hang out with."
"What does that have to do with her joining?!"
"Hmm, let's see, she doesn't work well on teams 'cause she thinks she's effigy amazing at everything in the world, and everyone else is inferior to her," Rin sneers.
"She's really mean and bossy and won't listen to anyone else's opinion on anything," Miku adds.
"Plus, she flaunts her beauty around to make everyone else look and feel bad," Gumi adds bitterly. "She can get any guy she wants but rejects every single guy who comes near her, while us quiet girls have to watch the guys drool over her and ignore our existence entirely."
"Yeah!" Miku says, anger showing on her normally cute face, and she leans closer to the rest of the girls. "I heard she's doing some…'extracurricular activities' with a teacher to get better grades."
"W-what?" Kaiko asks, stunned. "I really doubt she-"
"I bet that's what she's been doing throughout all of high school," Rin cuts in, narrowing her eyes. "She's probably not even close to as smart as she plays herself off."
"How deplorable," Gumi mutters. "Trust us, Kaiko, you don't want a bitch like that joining your club. She'll make all of us look bad."
"B-but-" The girls hear a disgusted sigh.
"If this is how people talk about a girl whose shy around others, I don't blame her for hating everyone." Meiko gives the three girls a piercing, accusing look.
"She's not shy; she's a conceited and slutty!" Miku gibes angrily. "If you ever see her on casual dress days, she's always wearing those tight shirts to show off her chest and short skirts or shorts!"
"Really? You know that for a fact? It's not because, oh, I don't know, it's hard for tall, endowed girls to find clothes that fit right at the mall? Because it really effing is. Not all of us are petite and stick thin." Miku blushes angrily at Meiko's words.
"Okay, well maybe that's the case for her clothes, but she's still a conceited jerk and probably is actually doing disgusting stuff with teachers for extra credit!"
"Is she? You've seen first-hand her going into a teacher's house for long periods of time? You've talked to her and she's said horrible things about you right to your face?"
"W-well no, but-"
"Then what fucking right do you or anyone else have to adulterate her reputation with rumors no one can fucking prove?!"
Miku jumps back at Meiko's outburst. Meiko stands up, fury burning in her eyes.
"I hate people who take dumbass rumors and use them to judge a person. You say Luka is judgmental and a bitch? Do you even hear what you're saying about her?! You've never met her, and you call her all these horrible things! Are you too shallow to even see your own hypocrisy?!"
"M-Meiko, calm down," Kaiko whispers hesitantly. Meiko ignores her and continues to rant at the other three girls
"You guys don't understand what it's like to be constantly assailed with rumors and stories about you that are like that! To hear people calling you a slut, a bitch, stupid, fake, anything like that! It dissolves your trust in people, your ability to feel emotional, your ability to like yourself. It hurts. Not just mentally or emotionally, either. It physically hurts. You stop thinking it matters if you care about how you treat yourself, so you stop caring. Life loses a point." The fury in Meiko's eyes fade, being replaced with a pained glint. "Trust me, I'd know."
"What do you mean you know? That's happened to you?" Kaiko worriedly goes next to her friend, staring up to her eyes. Meiko turns away.
"Never mind," she mumbles through her hand. "It doesn't matter. I don't wanna go into it."
"But-"
"I said it's all good, now let's finish this up." Meiko's voice was emotionless, except for a twinge of impatience. Miku nervously walks up to her.
"Meiko, if I said something that hurt you, and I know I did, I'm sorry…"
"Me, too," Rin says quietly. Meiko looks at the two of them, then at Gumi, whose standing further behind, looking at the ground. She sighs.
"Whatever, no big deal. I'm over it," she says in her normal confident and friendly manner. "Now for real, let's get this done. These people have just been waiting backstage while we bicker about stuff for, like, ten minutes."
She flops back in her seat and looks up at the stage. Kaiko notices her jaw tighten and her eyes glistening, like she was about to cry. Rin and Miku sheepishly shuffle back to their seats and sit, looking deeply ashamed. Kaiko glances at Gumi, who also already sat down. Her face looked mostly blank, but her eyes showed hints of deep regret. Glancing around at her now melancholy friends, Kaiko sighs and takes her seat again as well. She didn't even remember standing up. She glances up at the stage and plasters on a smile.
"Next up, please!"
The last audition finishes their song, taking a small bow and leaving the stage. Kaiko smiles kindly and stands up, heading onto the stage herself.
"Thank you all for auditioning for spots in my club! Like I said before, I'm very sorry if you don't make it in this time around. But there's always a next time, and I'll take any repeat auditions during breaks and after school for the rest of the year! Again, thank you guys for taking the time to-"
Before she can finish her wrap-up, the main auditorium door opens, causing everyone to turn and see who entered. A tall girl with long, pink hair begins to walk down the center aisle. Kaiko's eyes widen with surprise, and she smiles broadly. Luka looks up at her with a guarded expression.
"Is it too late for me to audition?" she asks, her stoic voice echoing quietly through the room. Kaiko grins and starts to walk off the stage.
"I think we have time for one more!" She steps off and motions for Luka to go up and start. Luka begins to walk onstage, and Kaiko sits down excitedly.
'Holy crap, she actually came! Something's actually working out in my favor!' She giggles mentally and waits for Luka to start. Behind her, she hears a boy and girl whispering to each other.
"Hey, that's Luka Megurine, right?" the boy asks.
"Yeah, the bossy chick from a class ahead. Weird how she showed up here for this, huh?"
"A little. Maybe she was bored. She probably just finished an 'extra credit' project with Mr. Rustenburg in the janitor's closet," the boy says, his smirk audible in his voice. The girl giggles
"Bastards…" Kaiko glances over at Meiko, whose eyes are narrowed dangerously once again. Kaiko shakes her head sadly and glances up at Luka.
"Hi, I'm Luka, and I'm gonna sing 'Spell' by Marie Digby.
"Hey, Meito, that girl tried out for our club, right?" Meito squints, trying to see the girl's face a little more clearly.
"Yeah, I think so. She came up to me like, three times and just had spontaneous tryouts, kinda like what I did with Kaiko. She wasn't all that bad, if I remember right."
"If she wasn't that bad, why didn't you let her in?" Len raises his eyebrow confusedly. Meito shrugs.
"I didn't like her attitude."
"So?" Len asks. "You don't like Piko's attitude, but you let him in."
"Yeah, well, I can't deal with two bad attitudes. I'm pissy enough."
"You got that right," Gakupo says flatly. Meito shoots a glare at him, which Gakupo ignores. Len sighs drearily.
"I wanna go home," he whines. "I wish they'd hurry up so I can get Rin and get outta here."
"Be patient for once, you brat," Meito sighs, leaning back in his chair. Len pouts and mumbles inaudibly under his breath, leaning his forehead against the back of his chair.
"Looks like she's about to start," Gakupo notices. "She's the last one, so we might as well listen to her." He gives a sharp glance to Meito and Len, who take the hint and reluctantly sit up to pay attention.
Luka begins to sing, her voice clearly echoing throughout the room.
A spotlight's shining brightly
On my face
And I can't see a thing
And yet I feel you, looking my way
The room freezes. Luka's strong voice travels around the gaping crowd, all whispers ceasing.
An empty stage
With nothing but this girl
Who's singing this simple melody
And wearing her heart on her sleeve
And right now...
Gakupo stares down at the girl on the stage, captivated by her voice. She glances over the crowd, her eyes briefly meeting his. His breath catches in his throat. Her gaze lingers on him for a split second, then smoothly moves away.
I have you
For a moment I can tell I've got you
Cause your lips don't move
And something is happening
Cause your eyes tell me the truth
I've put a spell over you...
Luka let's her voice fade, and walks off the stage. Without a word, she walks passed Kaiko and out the side door of the auditorium. Rin, Miku, and Gumi star after her, stunned.
"Holy crap, she's amazing," Rin utters. Miku slowly nods, her mouth hanging open.
"I'd say you want her in you club," Meiko says with a smirk. Kaiko faces her with a wide grin.
"I think I might, yeah." Kaiko stands up and walks back onto the stage. After finishing what she was saying before Luka showed up, she waves to the crowd who begins to filter out of the auditorium. She hops back down and walks back over to her friends.
"Well, now we just have to wait for you to pick a couple people, right?" Miku stands and stretches, looking over at Kaiko.
"Yep! I'll get it done tonight so people don't have to wait."
" Sick," Rin says, resting her elbow on Kaiko's shoulder.
"Hey, Rin!" The girls look up to see the three glee boys walking toward them, Len in the front.
"What's up, Len?"
"I wanna go home. Hurry up." Rin makes a face at her brother.
"You can wait a little longer."
"I've been waiting for an hour now," he says, irked. "I want to leave." Rin sighs angrily.
"Fine. See ya later, guys!" She and her brother walk away from the group, quietly bickering with each other.
"I should probably go, too," Gumi says. "Miku, you're coming over today, right?"
"Oh, yeah! Bye, Kaiko!" She and Gumi follow the twins out of the auditorium.
"So," Meiko says, facing her brother. "You've seen the competition and annoyed Kaiko with your presence, are you satisfied with your life?"
"Nah," he says flatly.
"Of course you aren't," Meiko grumbles. Meito shrugs, a smirk playing on the corners of his mouth.
Kaiko glances over at Gakupo, wondering why he hasn't said anything. He's staring off at the side door of the auditorium, seemingly not realizing Kaiko was even looking at him.
'Isn't that the door Luka left out of?' Kaiko opens her mouth to talk to Gakupo, to bring him out of his daze.
"What's up with him?" Meiko asks, gesturing toward Gakupo. Kaiko freezes and looks back to Meiko. Meito sighs.
"I don't effin' know. He's been like that since that last girl sung. I can't get him back out of his little dream world. Watch." He turns toward Gakupo and tugs on his ponytail. "Yo, Gaku, the lead singer of Green Day just walked in and says he wants to meet you and have you sing at one of their concerts."
Gakupo swats Meito's hand away from his hair, but otherwise barely registers that he said anything. Meito turns back and raises an eyebrow at the girls.
"See what I mean?"
"Damn, he really is out of it. That should've made him fanboy like crazy, even though it was really stupid."
"He likes Green Day?" Kaiko asks.
"More like is unhealthily obsessed with them," Meito says, flicking the back of his friend's head. Gakupo doesn't even flinch.
"Okay, this is ridiculous," Meiko huffs. She walks over to Gakupo and stands in front of him. With a lightning-fast movement, she brings her fist full-force toward his jaw.
"Gah- Meiko, don't!" Kaiko shouts, reaching out to stop her friend. However, she stops and stares in confused awe at the scene in front of her. Before Meiko's fist could collide with Gakupo's face, his hand flies up and blocks her strike. Then, even faster than Meiko's first movement, he twists her arm around and forces her to the ground.
"Owowowowow okay, I get it, you have fighter instincts, now please let me go!" Meiko winces and struggles to get of Gakupo's grip. Gakupo's face softens when he finally recognizes Meiko. He quickly let's go of her.
"Oh, shit, I'm sorry Meiko! I was kinda out of it, I didn't realize-"
"You were more that 'kinda out of it, man," Meito says, helping his sister up. Gakupo scratches the back of his head sheepishly.
"Sorry…"
"So, what had you so distracted?" Kaiko asks, raising an eyebrow curiously. Gakupo glances at her, a dust of pink on his cheeks.
"Uh, nothing, just that last girl had a really pretty voice and I…I guess I got a little distracted by it." Meiko raises and eyebrow, then a mischievous smile slowly creeps onto her face.
"You like her, don't you?" she creepily says, getting up in Gakupo's face. He scowls.
"Back off or I'll actually break your arm this time." Meiko quickly moves back over to Kaiko, but is still smiling creepily. Gakupo inhales deeply to calm himself down. "Anyway, I'm late for kendo, so I'll see you guys later."
He turns and walks away. Kaiko couldn't help but notice how graceful his gait was, almost like how you'd think a prince would walk. Regal did seem like a word to describe him, with the way he carried himself. He's intelligent, strong, musically talented, and very handsome. But even so, he was kind and didn't look down on anyone or anything. He's the definition of a perfect guy. She smiles to herself.
'I wish there were more guys like him in this school,' she wishes mentally.
"So, Kaiko," Meiko says, bringing Kaiko out of her thoughts. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?"
"Um, not that I know of, why?" Kaiko looks up at her friend inquisitively.
"Meito and I are having a party and I wanted to know if you and your brother wanted to come!" Meiko says with a grin. Kaiko hears a quiet groan from Meito.
"Yeah, sure!" she agrees, more to annoy Meito than anything. "I'll ask my brother when I get home. Oh, speaking of which, what time is it?"
"Around 6:15," Meito says, glancing at his watch.
"Oh, crap! I said I was going to be home by 5:45!" Kaiko flails around, trying to gather her things and begins to head out the door.
"Do you want us to give you a ride?" Meiko shouts after her.
"No, it's fine! I'm good! Bye!" Kaiko's voice grows fainter as she runs out the door, leaving the brunette siblings in the auditorium. Meito turns toward his sister.
"Why'd you invite her and her idiot brother?" he says, a childish whine creeping through his voice.
"Oh, shut up you big baby. You're probably going to be so drunk you won't even notice they're there," Meiko state flatly and begins to walk out of the room. Meito pouts, following his sister.
Kaiko walks out of the school, checking her bag to make sure she has everything. Once she's sure she has all she needs, she puts her bag over her shoulder and begins to jog to her house.
'I wonder if Kaito will want to go to that party tomorrow,' she wonders, turning onto her street. 'I know he likes Meiko, but I don't know how he feels about Meito.'
She walks up to her house and unlocks the door, stepping in. Her mom greets her happily like usual. After giving her mom a hug, she goes up to her room and dumps her stuff on the floor, flopping down onto her bed.
'Hell, do I even want to go to the party? I mean, I don't want to deal with Meito really, but Meiko invited me, and I need to get out a little more. It wouldn't hurt to socialize. Besides, Kaito most likely will be there if I tell him I'm going, so if I really don't want to talk to anyone, there's always him. But then again, Meito's going to be there, and he's just…not getting along well with my temper. Still, it's not like I really hate him.' She flips over onto her side. Absentmindedly, she starts plucking at a tear in her comforter and sighs.
"Well, I guess I'm going to experience what a real high school party is like tomorrow," she says matter-of-factly.
She picks up a blue stuffed bear and ties a little bow around its neck. Looking at her creation, she scowls and tosses it at the far wall. She drapes her arm over her eyes.
"Damn, I feel like I'm living in some sort of TV high school drama."