Yume took a deep breath as Anna-sensei called her name.
"Yes!" she called, stepping forward.
"All right, Nijino," Anna-sensei smiled. "Start with a scale."
"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!" Yume sang, getting higher each time.
Anna-sensei nodded.
"Next, hold a note as long as possible."
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Yume sang, before panting, out of breath.
"Good, good," Anna-sensei said. "You pass the first round. Please come to the next one this afternoon."
Yume nodded.
xxxxx
"Yes!" Yume cheered. "I passed! How about you all?"
"Of course I did," Ako said, lifting her chin high in the air.
"Koharu and I did as well," Mahiru said.
"Yep," Laura nodded.
"I did, too," Akari smiled.
"All right! We all passed!" Yume grinned.
"But don't forget the competition hasn't even begun to get serious," Mahiru reminded. "Compared to the end, this is just fun and games."
"That's right," Ako said. "This is simply the first qualifying round. It's not even the real selection yet."
"I'm gonna make it all the way!" Yume cheered.
"Of course I will too," Ako smiled.
"Naturally," Mahiru said.
"I'll try," Koharu smiled.
"All right!" Laura yelled. "That gets me going!"
"Huh?" Yume asked. "What about you, Akari-chan?"
"I'm not gonna make it anyway," Akari sighed. "What's the point?"
"At least try!" Yume yelled. "Then one day, your dream could come true!"
"It already has," she answered simply.
"What...?" Yume asked uncertainly.
"Having friends... that's all I ever hoped for."
Yume started to tear up. Her eyes filled with tears, threatening to spill out.
"I never knew you thought that way!" Yume cried, hugging Akari.
"H-hey! Get off of me!" Akari yelped. "You're getting tears all over me!"
xxxxx
"All right!" Anna-sensei yelled. "We will now run a mile! The top twenty of the whole Flower Song class will make it into the next round!"
Yume smiled and stretched.
"Let's do this," she smiled," Laura!"
"Of course!" Laura grinned.
"On your marks!" Anna-sensei announced.
The class quickly stood behind the white line.
"Ready, set... GO!"
The gunshot went off, and the Flower Song class ran off.
Yume and Laura smiled as they ran side by side.
"Aren't you going to go ahead of me?" Laura asked, huffing.
"We're both within the top fifteen, so no need!" Yume answered, panting.
They smiled, perfectly on par with each other.
This reminds me of the time I was training with Subaru, Yume thought, and then I fainted. But this time I'm not going to lose... to anybody!
(I Love Tomato, chapter one. I just read it, and it seems so bad compared to my recent chapters!)
The two girls laughed as they crossed the finish line together.
Anna-sensei nodded.
"Nijino, Sakuraba, you two both pass."
"All right! Onto the next round!" Yume cheered.
"That gets me going!" Laura yelled.
"Such good friends," Anna-sensei smiled. Then her smile was replaced by a grim look.
But when will that friendship start to tear apart?