1.

"Ah."

Lisa stood in front of her open locker, in the middle of slipping one strap onto her shoulder. It was afterschool, the other students were rushing home or to their clubs. Lisa's voice vanished into the sea of locker doors being slammed shut. Yukina had just closed her locker. By chance their eyes met. She stared at the case as if trying to guess its content.

"You kept your old bass," Yukina said.

Lisa wondered if Yukina'd have talked to her without it. "Yeah, uh, couldn't get rid of the itch after I got home last night, so I dug this baby out of the storage."

"Yes, I saw you practicing," said Yukina with a slight frown. Lisa waited. Surely Yukina would ask if it was related to music. Why, or with whom — no bassists, or at least no one at Lisa's level performed alone. But all she said was, "It's good that you haven't thrown it away."

Thrown it away! Had Lisa fallen so low in Yukina's estimation, flaky and superficial, and impractical enough to throw away such an expensive possession? Pondering the question, Lisa almost didn't notice Hina until she ambushed her from behind.

"Li-sa-chi! What's that, a guitar?"

It was rhetorical. Without waiting for her answer, Hina started dragging Lisa by the arm, babbling about an audition. She paused just as abruptly, and Lisa very nearly fell on her. "I forgot, a middie midget wants to see you."

"Don't call her that. Also don't just drag people — oh hi, Ako. Looking for Yukina?" Lisa asked said middle-schooler, although the answer was obvious from the look of her. When Lisa left CiRCLE last night Ako had barely stopped apologizing. The determined bulge of her cheeks seemed to be more of the same.

"Lisa-nee, you're coming with me to CiRCLE! I'll per–persu–I'll tell Yukina-san I won't join the band if you're not in it!"

…Definitely more of the same troublesome persistence. Lisa seized Ako's shoulders. "And I appreciate the thought, Ako, but… here's the thing, don't you want to be in Yukina's band? More than anything?" Ako nodded vigorously. "So you got in. You impressed — " Unconsciously her gaze drifted to Hina, quickly going back to Ako before either noticed it, or the fumble in names that came next. " — well, Yukina. I never meant to audition, remember? My part's done but yours is just beginning. Go get it, tiger!"

Ako was fighting a losing battle; last night was practically a dream come true for her. It only took a bit more coaxing to send her off to chase Yukina. Lisa felt a bit sorry for her. Maybe Ako was just feeling a bit unnerved having to face not one but two Yukina. But she'd feel sorrier if her presence caused a rift between Yukina and her new friend.

Friend is pushing it though… and maybe a rift is what they need? Continuous full resonance can't be good for either…

Hina shook her out of her brooding, literally. "Come on, the audition's waiting for us!"

"Nuh-uh, you first. What is this audience that I don't remember signing for?" If Hina were any less haphazard — any less Hina — she'd have commented on how Lisa was still following her even through her protests. Her explanation came in drips. Lisa only had the full picture by the time they were standing in front of a talent agency office and Hina finally took out a brochure for the audition and waved it in her face.

"You want me to audition for an idol."

"Huh, really? I thought it was just a band band. But you're going to do it with me! And it's an idol band, Lisa-chi, there's a difference."

"Hina, do I look like an idol?" Idols were cute and perky and eternally young. Things that didn't apply to Lisa or the style she was going for, even if she wasn't on the extreme edge of gyaru.

Hina seemed to consider it. "Meh, you're going to be wearing make-up and flashy outfits anyway."

"Okay, fine, leaving that side, I can't play in a band." Yukina had rejected her. Lisa might not have intended to audition along with Ako, but the result was the same.

Hina said, "Sure you can. So Yukina-chan rejected you. But now you got a bass with you, and you've taken off your fake nails. Seems to me you wanna play right after school. Like a real band kid, see!"

Self-conscious, Lisa curled her trimmed nails into her palms. "I was going to give it one last spin before giving it away…? Selling it…?" Even Lisa herself wasn't convinced.

"So why not audition? Give it a ba-ba-bam send-off, and if you don't get in, welp, that's it."

Hina's eyes could be green like broken glass and twice as sharp. Last night Lisa had stared down the colder, prettier model. Sayo hadn't thought she had 'it', whatever 'it' meant. Of the four people whose sounds had come together in CiRCLE last night, only Lisa didn't have 'it'. So Lisa had unclenched her smarting hands and bent her neck. The embers Sayo had ignited still smoldered even now. Surely Lisa didn't have what it would take, it goaded, if even an idol band scared her so much.

This afternoon she stared into Hina's doe eyes and thought, surely Hina too didn't believe she had 'it', idol or bandsman — Hina hadn't seemed to care what kind of a band it was. Surely anyone would do, Lisa was just the closest gullible idiot with an instrument. But neither could Lisa leave her alone. Hina seemed to know even less about idols; who knew what she could get up to left on her own devices?

So Lisa rolled her shoulders and said, "Fine. We've come all the way here, and I've got nothing better to do today."

Hina's thousand-watt smile was infectious.

2.

Lisa twiddled her thumbs, sitting still as a mechanical doll. The chair creaked with the smallest movements, and now was not the time to draw attention to herself. A talent agency's office, even one that managed idols, was still an ordinary office with an ordinary set of sometimes-dubious furniture. Anyway it wasn't her turn in the spotlight. Pastel*Palettes was finally assembled. Bashfully rolling her glasses between her palms, Maya seemed to glow more than she had while she had them on.

Or maybe it was just the sunlight peeking through the formerly-white curtains. For a moment Chisato's smile glowed too, lighting up like a headlight, then it was gone, leaving only the embossed curves behind.

"Well then, now that this issue's settled," Chisato said smoothly, "unfortunately I must leave for my next appointment."

"Wait – ah," Aya started, but seemed to bite her tongue.

Lisa stood. The chair's noise gave her the delay she needed. "Chisato, before you go, we should try to schedule for a group rehearsal. Even if we aren't — well, we're still a band, so it'd look much better if we could move as one."

It really was a pretty smile, Lisa thought. No wonder Chisato kept it on as long as she could. "You're quite right, Lisa-chan, we must also pretend to play as one, as bands do. I'll make the time… perhaps this Friday?"

Friday would only leave them with exactly one week before the live show, but what could Lisa say against a bona fide actress? And Chisato had casually spoken the word Lisa had carefully ellided, as if saying, Don't get carried away, Lisa-chan. Well, Chisato was the veteran and Lisa the greenhorn, and if they had anything in common it was the desire for Pastel*Palettes to succeed. They all wanted Pastel*Palettes to succeed, which was why everyone, even Hina, hung onto Chisato's guidance.

After Chisato, Maya also begged off rehearsal with a more sincere apology, and a promise to attend the next one for sure. That left her with a disappointed Aya and a vibrating Hina. Lisa turned to the latter, asking if she too had to go.

"Nah! But look who's rarin' to go like a real band kid, Lisa-chi."

Lisa picked up her bass from where it rested in the corner. "Ahaha… I'm just trying to do my job. Aya, wanna come with?"

Aya seemed pensive about the prospects of practicing without an instructor. Actually, Aya had seemed pensive since the meeting ended. Of everyone, Aya managed to hide her dissatisfaction over having to lip-sync the least (Hina had let it slip to Lisa that Chisato wasn't entirely happy about it either). So Lisa added, "If we practice on our own we can fix the mistakes the instructor pointed out yesterday, so for the next meeting we can work on new parts."

The staff who managed the studio room seemed perplexed to see them outside of the scheduled practice sessions, but helped them set up the equipments. Hina had just bought an electric guitar yesterday, light blue to contrast Lisa's red, and to match her older sister's.

"You have an older sister, Hina-chan?" asked Aya. It was as if she'd flicked on a mega-watt switch. Hina's entire body became animated and stars lit up her eyes. Only adoration poured out of her mouth. Even at the best of times Hina was unstoppable.

Aya said, "It must be nice that now you two can play together," and yet again she seemed to have hit a switch.

Hina fairly simmered down, even clouded over. "Yeah, maybe. I haven't told her I'm in a band, though."

It was the piece Lisa needed to reconcile Yukina's grim partner—underboss?—and Hina's perfect older sister. Somewhat. She had a feeling it wasn't the full story. But it wasn't the time for it either. Lisa said, "There's still time before our premiere, yeah? So we should practice so that you could show her your best face."

Aya chuckled. "Hina-chan's right, you're really fired up, Lisa-chan, even if we're only going to be pretending. It's making me feel like I gotta take this seriously, too."

"It's just what Hina said yesterday," Lisa deflected, "As long as we perform perfectly, it'd be as good as if we made the sounds ourselves."

A good form made for a good sound, she remembered that much from her younger days. For the time being, Lisa needed to catch up to the studio musicians' recording — for all of them, in fact, perfect imitation alone would mark a vast improvement.

She kept the cynical thought to herself. Aya wouldn't let up, however. "But you've played the bass before, right? So I've got to at least catch up to you first."

Hina's stare reminded Lisa too much of her older sister's. She turned away as she tuned her bass. Vaguely saying, "That's exaggerating — I took a break, but in the same period you were training to be an idol. Actually, tell you what, we're all on the same level when you think about it. Except Maya, we're all new to this gig, even Chisato has never acted as a musician of any kind."

"I'm not," Hina said, "I can play better than you."

Okay, all of us who aren't multi-talented geniuses, then. "Well, sure, but in a band? That reminds me, Hina, could you maybe not ad-lib here?" Lisa pointed at a point on the score which was decidedly not marked for improvisation. In fact 'ad-lib' was not written anywhere on the score.

Hina pouted. "Eh, why, didn't it sound nice?"

"It did, but the venue's pretty small, right, so people can see your hands. It might get troublesome if someone notices your playing doesn't match the sound coming out from the speakers." Which would, after all, be a recording of the studio musicians, consistent and adhering to the score.

Hina blew raspberries, but agreed to give it a try. And finally they could begin rehearsal. Lisa supposed this was what being in a band, even an idol band was like: negotiating five people's schedules, working around each member's personal hangups when they arose, trying to ignore the nagging feeling that a bandmate disapproved of every inch of her being. She didn't think of Yukina's potential reaction to her faking it on stage — in the first place, Yukina wouldn't be thinking of Lisa at all.

(And surely Sayo's opinion of her couldn't go lower.)

But a band, especially an idol band, provided her with the lessons she sorely needed, and even the impossible two weeks deadline — that the agency surely hadn't meant to be a deadline — gave her an excuse to practice like her life depended on it. Someday she would be just as good, and she could stop pretending. For the time being, it was worth swallowing what little pride she had as a musician. So she kept telling herself.

3.

Lisa didn't fully understand why she had to play along for Ako's audition, but she was starting to feel equal parts excitement and apprehension anyway. Yukina wasn't asking her to relive the good old days, she told herself, Yukina wasn't asking anything of her. It was Ako's time under the spotlight to be scrutinized by Yukina and her eagle-eyed partner. Because that was what was going on, wasn't it? Yukina had finally found someone worthy of standing by her side, gotten the green light to roll down the road to the Future World FES. And now they were assembling the rest of the supporting cast. Lisa had given up her right to be a part of Yukina's ambitions when she'd quit the bass. The only thing left was to play flawlessly, not that she might impress Yukina, but so as to support Ako.

Her fingers were clumsy at first, the left stretching awkwardly to avoid clawing the fretboard, the right belatedly remembering that she'd used to play with her fingers, not a pick. Lisa hadn't meant to ever resume playing the bass again and it showed, to Sayo most of all. She had no time for warm-up, however. The session started with the drums. Ako had picked the song, though it had taken some time to pick one that everyone knew by heart. It was a rock standard, one that Lisa herself had practiced all those years ago. To say her body remembered would be a lie. It scraped along, barely playing with the right rhythm, barely plucking the right pitches. But here was the magic of a live session: the sounds sought each other, and once found never letting go, becoming live music that swelled and grew like a living thing. Sooner rather than later, her left hand slid along the strings in tune to Sayo's lead, and her right hand picked as Ako's kick drum boomed. Together, they propelled Yukina's voice higher.

But magic wasn't enough for Sayo. A miracle might've worked for one session, but the band would perform many more performances, through increasingly higher hurdles. How could they rely on such a fickle thing? Sayo's gaze burned on Lisa as she voiced her doubt, cold as ice. Her demeanor had been forbidding since they first laid eyes on each other, intensifying as Sayo noticed and rebuked her artificial nails, and now it could only be called contempt. This vapid gyaru, how could you possibly trust her to be fully devoted? The issue had always been not Lisa's skills but her character, however much Sayo wanted to put on the airs of being completely objective.

Lisa hadn't hoped much from Yukina, but she was still disappointed when she didn't defend her even out of principle. Though that was unfair to Yukina; her principle was excellence and persistence in music. In that light, Lisa had disqualified herself long before the audition. Her integrity challenged, there was only one way Yukina could respond. Neither Yukina nor Sayo did her wrong by sticking to their principles.

Still, an ember of indignation remained burning long after she'd left CiRCLE. Lisa was used to being dismissed for her appearance. Her musical skills, well, they spoke for themselves, didn't they? She'd be more worried if they'd been found adequate. But she'd never let them get her down. In the end her diligence and sincerity made up for unfavorable first impressions. She had never met one person who'd seen beyond the surface and still disdained her. No one, until she met one Hikawa Sayo.

So Lisa cut her nails and re-upholstered her bass. She used the agency's studio when she was allowed to, and forewent club activities and hang-outs in favor of practicing the bass until late at night. A challenge was a challenge even if the other person didn't realize she'd issued it.

Two weeks later, Lisa was part of a different band playing on stage. The spotlights dazzled, the sweat on her brows were distracting, and she knew in her bones, even if her ears were telling her differently, that she had just plucked the string a millisecond too slow. It was the fifth time. She'd been keeping count to keep herself engaged. It was unexpectedly hard to concentrate knowing that her bass, though plugged in, was not turned on. Hard to, when she didn't need to respond to the whims of her bandmates, all pretending to play.

Though their debut performance went without a hitch (Aya's slips during the intermezzos were expected and accounted for) Lisa couldn't help but feel she'd just lost. That although Sayo herself couldn't care less, Lisa had just proven her right.

4.

Chisato had the seat of honor today, nonchalantly depositing herself on the creaky chair before Hina could command it. She sat and answered the interview with poise. Such was a veteran. Her presence helped calm the group's nerves for their first interview.

The very next morning after their debut show saw all members of Pastel*Palletes sat around the usual meeting room at the agency. Their manager hovered around the exit, allowing the girls freedom to answer the questions and ready to step in when either sides went out of bounds. So far he hadn't needed to. Their interviewer was a smartly-dressed woman who took things easy. Making light jokes when Aya's tongue slipped, which was often since she kept Aya talking the most. Lisa supposed it made sense. Despite how she looked, Aya had trained to be an idol longer than anyone, even Chisato.

"I've always wanted to be an idol since I was little," Aya said, bubbly once again despite lisping earlier. "Ever since I saw… A—my favorite idol, she said, in an interview, hahaha probably one just like this — oops, maybe I shouldn't have — " her gaze fell on the tape recorder on the table. It must have stored enough samples of her stuttering.

The reporter waved her on, and Aya continued. "Uh, well, she said that hard work is what makes dreams come true. And since watching her and following her and her group is giving me such hopes and dreams, I decided that I wanted to be like her too. I want to inspire people so they'd also try their best to realize their dreams."

"How wonderful," the reporter said kindly, and Aya preened, self-conscious but in no hurry to deny the praise. And Lisa could see it — for this brief moment in a mundane no-nonsense office and not on the dazzling stage of yesterday, Aya was radiant. The brilliance of singleminded pursuit of a dream. Lisa remembered a very different girl, ten years ago among the white clovers. She found herself nodding earnestly; she understood exactly what Aya had felt.

Chisato's answer gained her a different sort of respect. Lisa took notes. It would surely be useful to give an answer that did not answer anything in particular. Hina was starting to get impatient, however, and she leapt at the chance when the question made its round to her. She blurted the answer before the interviewer finished her sentence. "Because it seemed boppin'! And because now I'd get to be the lead guitarist of a band like my older sister!"

"Hikawa-san found her way to us through an audition," Chisato interjected before Hina could wax poetic about Sayo. Lisa didn't have much time to admire how easily she'd slipped through the minuscule pause in Hina's rapid fire talk. Just as smoothly, Chisato said, "The same audition that brought us Imai-san as well."

Then suddenly it was Lisa's turn to talk. Although she'd also prepared her answers, Chisato's surprise attack left her stumbling. It didn't help that it must've sounded as if she was copying Hina. Idol groups — even an idol band — had this thing about clean differentiation between the members. But she couldn't help that her motivation was the opportunity to play in a band, like the counterfeit music enthusiast that she was. Or that her primary cause was not music itself. Maybe Sayo was right that her less than pure motivation had no place in Yukina's band.

The interview was short. A couple of questions later they were winding down. As the reporter closed with wishing that she had watched their debut performance, Chisato, or Aya, was supposed to tell her of the upcoming show planned for the next month. So Aya did, but something had possessed Lisa to add, "But we wouldn't mind giving you a short preview of what's to come."

Chisato's placid look seemed ominous, but Lisa was waiting for the manager's response, anyway. Still, she hadn't expected her to nod after a second's quick thinking. But it would have to be truly short, one verse. So they piled into the studio. The cameraman had switched to video mode.

"It'll be fine," Lisa whispered to a visibly nervous Aya. "It's just like rehearsals. We'll do the easiest song."

Aya nodded, taking a deep breath. There was no time to pep talk the others, they'd all taken positions. Well, Maya and Hina probably didn't need it, and Chisato…

Lisa had to leave imagining Chisato's growing annoyance with her for later. Maya had started counting, one, two, three, four…

One and a half minutes later, Lisa was relieved to say they were, if not quite proficient and flawless, qualified to be a real teen band.