Reaching for the Stars
Chapter 5: Kuro Hoshi
"I know! Why don't you go shopping with Aiyun?" Meroko suggested. She was sitting on the end of Caz's bed, coming up with a plan to bring Caz and Aiyun closer together. Takuto was outside on the deck, sitting on the railing. He didn't seem to be listening but occasionally he would glance over at them. Caz was sitting on the floor, reading a magazine. She looked up at Meroko and raised an eyebrow.
"Woah. One step at a time. If I asked Aiyun to go shopping with me, she'd ask me if I was feeling okay. Or she'd say that I should get a job if I want money. No doubt she'd think I wanted her to buy me something."
Meroko frowned. "That's no fun. Well, maybe we should go somewhere, anyway. Don't you get tired of just sitting in this dark room?"
Caz shrugged. "Not really. But I guess we could go out for awhile."
"Come on, then!" Meroko grabbed Caz's arm and pulled her up.
"I didn't say now!" Caz said crossly as Meroko dragged her out the doorway. Caz grabbed her black coat on the way and they climbed down the steps (Meroko flew, actually).
Takuto headed them off at the front door. They skidded to a halt before running into him.
"Where are you going?" he asked, arms folded.
"We're going...out." Meroko said mysteriously.
"I could come, too, you know." he said casually, looking away.
"Oh, Takuto, you want to go with me!" she exclaimed, delighted. She grabbed his arm.
"N-no! I just said I could come if you wanted me to. That's all." he answered, glaring.
"But you'd still be going somewhere with me, right?"
"With both of you." he said corrected, frowning. He escaped her grasp.
"I guess it's better than nothing." Meroko whispered with a sigh. She smiled and followed Caz down the sidewalk.
On the way Takuto and Meroko changed into their chibi animal forms. Takuto shrunk down to look like a little stuffed cat again and Meroko changed into a bunny with angry-looking eyes. Caz held them both in her arms, though she felt silly doing so.
"Don't I look cool, carrying funny little stuffed animals." she said sarcastically under her breath. She hoped that none of her friends or fellow students would see her. If they did, she wouldn't want to show her face in public again.
Caz noticed a brightly-colored poster nailed to a poll. In black letters across the top it said: "Guitar Player Wanted." Then below it listed an address and date and showed a picture of a band consisting of two girls and two guys. At the bottom it it had the band name "Kuro Hoshi." Dark Star.
"This is..this is Akio's band." Caz whispered. "They're already looking for a replacement."
Meroko studied the poster. "Oh?"
"I wonder if I...no." the blonde girl looked down and shook her head.
"What?" Meroko asked, peering up at her.
"Well...I wonder if I should...audition. I mean, Akio was the one who taught me to play and everything. I planned on joining the band later anyway. But...I don't know. It just wouldn't seem right if he wasn't there."
"Whatever you want to do." Meroko shrugged indifferently. Takuto just frowned and didn't speak.
Caz walked on and left the poster behind. She put her hands in her coat pockets and looked up into the sky. The clouds were gone and only a smooth blue remained. She pondered whether she should go to the audition or not. Would Akio want her to? Or would he say that she should just move on and find a different band? Would the band feel like she was trying to replace him? Would they accept her like they accepted him? So many questions. She didn't know the answers.
"Why not?" she said finally, mostly to herself. "If they don't want me, it's not the end of the world."
"You're going to the audition?" Meroko asked.
"Yep." Caz walked back and read the address and the date on the poster. "6 o'clock tomorrow on 34th Street. Right." Caz read out loud.
"We're supposed to be shopping, remember? You should get some new clothes to make a good impression." Meroko said cheerfully.
"Something tells me they're not going to care what clothes I wear as long as I'm good with a guitar."
"Still! It'll be fun!"
"Oh, okay." Caz replied doubtfully.
They spent the rest of the day looking into shop windows and Caz tried on a variety of T-shirts and pants. As it turned out, Meroko was quite fashion-savvy so she helped Caz pick out things that looked good. After picking out some clothes that Caz liked, they stopped at an ice cream shop. Sitting out of the patio, Caz received some strange looks, eating with two stuffed animals that happened to have ice cream cones of their own. But Caz had to admit, Meroko was right. It was fun. Eventually, even Takuto was laughing and talking with them.
They finished their ice cream and Caz left for her apartment with new confidence inside. She felt like she could do anything. She would do her very best at the audition, she decided. And she was certain that Akio would approve.