[ Chapter 4 ]

When I asked her why she wanted to sing she told me: "I just want someone to hear me, to hear my voice. That's the beauty of singing."

When I asked her what type of song she wanted to sing she told me: "It's not what song you sing, but what kind of song you want others to hear."

When I asked why she wanted to act she told me: "I act because...I like to see a different side of myself. I like to discover someone new within me, someone much different from myself. I act because...I can be another person other than just me, and I think it's exciting."

When I asked her why she wanted to act on stage she told: "Getting on stage for me is very scary. I get nervous and my heart starts to beat really fast. Sometimes my legs begin to shake and I get goose-bumps. I even get butterflies and I can't breathe, but that's the thrill of it all. I love that feeling, that special feeling of being scared just before I take my first step on stage and look out at the crowd. Then I'm not just nervous anymore, I'm also...happy; happy to perform and happy to give them a show. Happy that they came to see me and all the hard work I've done. I love the feeling of being able to act and the feeling of finding the confidence to get on stage. When my heart races so fast and I can't stop it, it's the best feeling in the world. I just love being on stage because I find the confidence to entertain not just me or my fellow actors...but also the people in the audience. I guess for me getting on stage is a rush."

And so when I asked if I could draw her she told me: Only if you drew me singing on a stage.

And for that one second I thought: What was she off stage when she wasn't singing?
Who was Miyako when she wasn't on stage singing?

I sigh. What was this anyway? What was Dakota writing?
"Reading Dakota's blog again, Mia?" El said from behind me.
I jumped, turning around; my heart skipped a beat when I realized she was reading what I had already read. "Um, n-no, it's not…I'm not-"
"It sounds like you may have a love rival." She concluded.
"What? No! L-l-love r-rival? No way, grandma." I wave the idea away.
She grins. "Well, I suppose it's healthy to have some competition."
"I-I guess…" I mumble, face turning the color red and my heart pounding.
"And Mia dear?"
"Y-Yes!" I lift my eyes to her.
"I'll forgive that grandma name only so many times."
"Oh, s-sorry!" I call as she walks into the kitchen, a smile on her aging face.
"Mia!" I heard mom call.
"Coming," I click off the blog and run upstairs to mom, where she's resting across her bed lazily and reading Normie magazines with Cara. That's mom for you, always fashion forward, be it in the Monster world or the Normies, as long as she could be fashionable…
She blinks, acknowledging my presence. "Phone, it's Dakota."
"Thanks," I say, grabbing the phone and making a U-turn for my room. "Hello?"
"Yo, my friends wanted to meet you. We're doing karaoke." His voice is muffled by the loud music in the background. He must've left the room because the music starts to fade, becoming less loud.
"Oh really, they wanted to meet me? I wonder why that is…" I say softly, trying my hardest not to think of his blog post.
"I wonder why that is," he repeats. "You sound just like Miyako, just say yes so I can get them off my case already. They're becoming annoying."
"Ah, I see. Okay then…tell them I said I'll talk to them over the speaker." My lips curl in.
I wonder…just what kind of girl was Miyako if we sounded alike?
"Hai, one second."
"Kay, I'll wait." I say, taking a seat on my bed.
"Alright, Mia, you're on speaker." Dakota informs me. I snap out of my thoughts quickly at the sound of his smooth voice.
"O-okay," I try to say. "H-h-hello?"
"Hello-hello, Mia-desu! It's nice to meet you, Minami here." The boy says energetically, playfully. I imagine the lively personally to match his animated voice.
"O-oh, is that so? It's nice to meet you too, M-Minami-kun." I say quietly.
"Ahhh," he says, extending the word to mimic his surprising tone. "Mia-chan sounds so kawaii over the phone – even on speaker phone!"
"R-Really? I doubt that." I look away, blushing as if he's sitting across from me.
"Hai, hai, I agree, Mia-chan sounds very cute over the phone." Another boy joins in.
"There's someone else?" I ask, surprised.
"That was Jun; remember I told you about him?" Dakota says.
"Ah," I smile. "I remember!"
"Eh? Did you tell her weird things about me?" Jun asks, his voice playful just as Minami's was.
"Mm," Dakota mumbles. "I did, so what?"
"Oi," I hear a slapping sound. "Ah, baka, this idiot! Mia-chan, don't believe him, okay?"
I giggle, imaging Dakota getting slapped in the head. "Okay!" I sing back.
"Ah, so kawaii, Mia-chan!" Minami says.
"Hey, hey, come over here, meet kawaii Mia-chan." Jun says.
"Eh? There are more people?" I ask, suddenly excited to meet people I can't see.
"Mm, a friend of ours. Her name is Mia too, but we all call her Mia-Mia." Minami answers.
My lips part at the sound of her nickname. It's too similar to mine...Why does it sound the same? "Ah, Miyako-san, I've heard of you as well!" I try to sound excited.
"H-hontou? Mia-chan A-Anata wa w-watashi ga dareda ka s-shitte imasu ka?" she asks, her voice gentle and confused.
"Gomen, I don't speak Japanese…" I say softly, my stomach in a panic.
"The Japanese word for Japanese is nihongo. And she's saying do you know who she is." I hear a smirk in Jun's voice. My hands start to sweat.
"O-Oh. Y-yes, I know who you are. Dakota told me."
"Eh?" I hear her say. "D-Dokota did?"
I frown at her cute attempt to say his name. "Yeah…he did."
"What's this?" Minami says. "What's wrong with our Kawaii Mia-chan?"
"Its n-nothing!" I respond quickly, trying to hide any hint of jealousy and sadness, but I know they can hear it just as well as I can.
I wonder…was there ever a time where I ever called his name so cutely.
"Mia-chan!" Minami shouts suddenly.
My head lifts. "Y-Yes?"
"Fighting!" he cheers, as if knowing how I feel, as if knowing what this feeling is like.
"Fighting? Eh? Nande? Why fighting?" Jun asks, just as confused.
I bow my head, although he can't see me. "Thank you…" I speak softly.
Suddenly I hear a click and hear Jun and Nanami complaining in Japanese. Their voices get quieter as I hear the shutting of a door. "Hey, goat-girl." Dakota says, his voice stern and angry-like, although I can tell he's not really angry.
"…Y-yes?"
"…Stop pouting. You're being missed just as much." He says gently, but still with a stern tone.
"What?" I find myself saying. "I'm…being missed?"
He sighs. "Ahhh, what is this? So you're going to make me repeat myself? Ahhh, you're always so pushy!" he teases.
"Did you just say that I was…being missed?" I ask again.
"Oi. Girls like you…" he makes a tsk sound. "Yeah, I said you were being missed."
"Really? You mean it?" I stand, my hand pressing to my almost nonexistent chest.
"Hey, goat-girl…I miss you, just as much as you miss me." He says just before the line goes dead and a buzzing sound filled my ears.
"Missed…" I repeat to myself. "I'm being missed…by Dakota…he didn't have fun and forget me…he didn't forget about me with Miyako there…"