Chapter Three
The bell rings, beginning the school day. I shut my locker door and head off to Songwriting, bringing a spiral notebook, two number two pencils, and my schedule, just in case I forget what class I have next. They have the weirdest extra classes at Vocaloid Academy- Songwriting, Vocal Strengthening, Dance, Conversion Art, even Acting! I read all the strange classes I've never before seen in my life. And each and every one of these is on my schedule! Then, of course, there are core classes like Math, Science, History, English, and Language. My eyes shift down the schedule to the words Songwriting. What could I learn in that class?
"Songwriting? I've got songwriting too!" says a voice adjacent to me. I jerk my head up in the direction of the voice, just as Len had done earlier. I wish people here would stop sneaking up on me! Standing in next to me is a girl with two long turquoise ponytails and turquoise trimming on her school uniform to match. She has a cute, innocent face that carries a warm smile on it.
"Great!" I smile back. "I'm Madoka," I say, right away this time.
"I'm Hatsune Miku. You can just call me Miku- that is, if you want to!" She says hesitantly, her eyebrows crunching up.
"No, Miku is fine. I like your hair, by the way," I say, the heels of my boots clicking on the floor as I walk to class.
"Thanks, Madoka-san!" she giggles, holding her materials. I see she's wearing a large pair of pink headphones tucked under the long strands of turquoise hair. I hadn't thought to get a pair that would complement my dull medium-length reddish-brown hair. Though at second thought, I'm not really sure if sunset pink goes with reddish-brown so well.
I watch as Miku pushed open a door to the left of her. I turn into the room filled with four other people. I look around at the people that sat in comfortable-looking chairs in front of a piano. Guitars hang on the wall behind a large black and gold drum set. On the face of the bass drum reads V3. I'm not sure what that means, but the lettering is amazing.
Sitting on the far left is a tall girl looking down at a yellow cell phone. She has blonde hair and sharp golden eyes to match her yellow-trimmed school uniform. She doesn't look up at me even once. Next to her sits a thin girl who stares down at her feet. She has bright pink twin drills that I envy because of their gravity-defiance and shape. They match the pink trimming on her school uniform perfectly. For some reason, she's not smiling. I glance to the right of her- it's Len! I can't believe Len is in my songwriting class! I smile to myself. On the edge of the row of seats, isolated from everyone else, is a short girl who looks just like Len. This must be Rin, his sister that he was talking so excitedly about. Why aren't they sitting together? In the two spots between Len and Rin, Miku and I sit down, so I am right next to Rin.
"Hi, I'm Madoka!" I say to Rin. She has short, cropped blonde hair and a cropped school uniform with yellow trim. On top of her head is a huge white bow. I smile.
"I'm Rin!" she says back, her face brightening up a little. She has eyes just like Len's.
"Oh, I know," I say, grinning, "Len told me about you already," I say.
She raises an eyebrow and leans forward in her seat. I watch as Len winks at her. She conceals a giggle as she leans back again.
"So you guys are twins?" I ask, "That's really cool. I totally wish I had a twin. Plus, you guys look so alike!"
"Yeah. We do!" Rin says, crossing her eyes at her nose. I laugh with her. The other girl with a blonde ponytail and the cell phone leans forward in her seat and glares at Rin. Suddenly, Rin stops laughing and bites her lip. I watch as all the color drains from her face. However, I don't stop staring at the cell-phone girl.
"Who was that?" I turn around and ask Rin.
"That was Akita Neru. She's pretty much got full control over the place," Rin whispers, her face starting to regain its normal color. Rin sighs. "See that girl right next to her in the pink uniform?" she asks me, motioning with a tilt of her head. "That's Kasane Teto. Poor Teto is a UTAU, and you know what that means," she whispers. I shake my head. Rin sighs, looks down, and makes a slicing motion at her throat. "They're not going to make it," she finishes. My eyes widen in fear.
"You mean, they're going to die?!" I practically scream. The whole room turns around to stare at me, including the teacher, who had just cracked open the door. She had silvery hair tied up into a bun, which was strange, considering how young her face looked. She wore a tight black pencil skirt, simple black pumps, and a white blouse. Her nails were painted black to match her simple, yet formal outfit.
"Nobody is going to die," she says, a sharp eyebrow raised. Her sharp green eyes pierce into me like an arrow. "Alright," she says, walking in. She's very tall and pretty, and her pinned-up hair bounces as she walks and sits behind the piano. "Welcome to Songwriting," she says, directed at me. Her face loosens up and breaks into a small smile. "I'm Mrs. Tokara. What is your name? Come up and introduce yourself to the whole class," she tells me.
An awkward silence resonates through the room as I walk up next to the piano. "H-hi," I stutter. My face turns gets hot as I tie my hands behind my back. "Um, I'm Madoka," I say quietly, "Madoka Soma," I add.
"Alright, Soma-kun. Do you play any instruments?" she asks me.
"Instruments? Of course! I play piano, guitar, violin, drums, bass, trumpet, organ, trombone, oboe, flute, and obviously, I sing!" I say, my face brightening up.
"Of course, now she wants to talk," mutters Akita Neru. I bite my lip and ignore her. If this Neru girl wants to be like that, I'm going to let her. But I guess it's not really going to make my year any more fun.
"Alright, class. How many of you have taken my class before?" asks Mrs. Tokara. Neru and Miku raise their hands. I watch as Teto slides down further in her chair. I want to smile at her, but she won't see me. I wonder what about the floor is so interesting to her.
"Okay. Neru, Miku, will one of you explain the project that we do at around this time every year?" she asks. Miku's hand shoots up in the air and a wide grin spreads on her face. Neru rolls her eyes and checks her nails. Mrs. Tokara looks expectantly at Miku with a nod.
"Every year, we do a project where in a group, we write a song! Classes run small, so we have two groups of three, and this year, we've got Madoka!" Miku says, smiling at me. I smile back. "This should be perfect! Anyway, each group, at the end of the semester, sings or performs their song! It's sort of like a team competition! And I heard that this year, we'll be having team captains! Is that right, Mrs. Tokara-sama?" Mrs. Tokara nods her head.
"Miku and Neru, since you have taken this class before, you two will be our band leaders, or team captains, as Miku had just called it. This also means that you won't be on the same team," Mrs. Tokara explains. I can see Neru mutter something under her breath. "Alright, come up to the front and pick who you want in your band," says Mrs. Tokara.
Neru stands up and slouches over to the front of the room. Miku flounces, her long turquoise hair flowing behind her.
"I want Madoka in my band!" says Miku. I can't help but smile at being picked first. I walk up to the front to stand next to Miku.
"I want Teto," commands Neru. Teto looks down and walks to the front next to Neru. Rin and Len, who now have to be separated, glance at each other in horror.
"I want…" Miku hesitates. She grits her teeth. Rin looks pleadingly at Miku. Len does too. For some reason, he keeps on glancing at Neru who is boring her amber eyes into his soul. Creepy. "I guess I'll take Len," Miku finishes.
"Then I'll take Rin," Neru growls, turning back to her nails. I do a quick mental analysis of the teams. Something catches my eye. It can't be right. Why would Neru choose Kasane Teto to be on her team? And choosing her as her first choice? Teto must be pretty good, even though she's a UTAU. I look over at her one more time. She looks distant from the rest of her band. What kind of secret was she hiding?
Miku looks at our band with wide turquoise that almost matched Len's. "Guys, we are so going to win this!" she says.