Aikatsu Stars! Melody Start!
Star 6: Hmm! Theater or Song?
As we walked towards the Bird Theatre class, Yume seemed to have something on her mind. Also, this is the first time we have been alone since our debut. It would be nice to have some conversation between us, but what? Oh yeah.
"I never thank you for saving me on our first day." I smiled at Yume who looked at me with shock. I guess she didn't think we would have a conversation. "Remember? I fainted in front of Yuuki-senpai."
"Oh!" Yume gasped and then smiled. "Yes! I just did as Yuuki-senpai asked. He was the one who told me to call Anna-sensei. He also carried you to the infirmary. Oh yeah, he seemed really worried about you."
"Ah, my bad…" I let out a sigh. "I was thinking of getting some gifts for you and Yuuki-senpai to say thank you for helping me out and sorry for making you two worry. Are you okay with sweets?"
"Ah, yes!" Yume smiled. "My parents actually own a confectionery shop, so I love sweets~!"
"Then I'll have to find some delicious sweets." I smiled. "As for senpai… Maybe something he can use every day would be nice like a pen or something."
"Ah, I don't know what boys would like." Yume giggled. "I know that I would get Koharu-chan a hair clip or some cute accessories."
"I'll think of something," I told her as we reached the building. For now, let's go see what Bird Theater is like."
"Yeah!" Yume cheered as we entered the building.
When we entered the building, we were surprised to hear girls crying. It was kind of awkward as we saw the girls lined up on stage, crying like toddlers.
"What in the world?" I muttered. Are they trying to act sad? It's more like they're crying for a toy or candy at the store after their mom told them no.
"Wow!" Yume looked at the scene with sparkling eyes.
"Wait, really?" I looked at her confused. "This is wow to you?"
In the middle of the room, the teacher of this class, Momoko Yachigusa, was watching them and clapped. "That's enough." When she did, the crying stopped. "Let me think if I were to compare your acting to something… Yes, it would be as if I peeled a mandarin only to find a banana."
"Eh?" Yume blinked. "I thought they were good."
"Oh?" I smirked. "Yume, you cry like a toddler?" When she shook her head with a blush, I chuckled. "Yachigusa-sensei is saying that she didn't expect them to act that way. That's because when someone is actually sad, they don't wail like that."
"That's right." We both jumped when we noticed Tsubasa-senpai from S4 in front of us.
That's when I noticed that everyone was listening to me. "S-Sorry! An amateur saying such things and disturbing your class. SORRY!" I bowed, nervous.
"It's fine. You're correct, after all." Tsubasa smiled as the Ice Queen called her over. "You girls completely missed Yachigusa's expectations."
"Yes!" The girls agreed together.
Yachigusa-sensei looked at Tsubasa-senpai and nodded. "Kisaragi, demonstrate."
"Yes." Senpai nodded as the teacher clapped her hands. In a moment, Tsubasa-senpai looked as if she was being processed by another person, she showed a sad expression. The teary eyes brought the whole look together as if she was experiencing a heartbreak. The tear falling was the selling point and brought the whole atmosphere together in a nice bow.
Sensei clapped her hands and turned off Tsubasa-senpai's act, bringing her back. "Yes, that's a mandarin. Distinct from a banana or a pineapple."
"Okay!" The girls on stage yelled.
As I was still in awe, Yachigusa-senpai turned to me. "Now, will you also show me a mandarin?" I blinked. Huh? "Or will it be something else?"
I looked at Yume who was excited and I let out a sigh as I stepped forward. Okay, I have acted to get out of trouble plenty of times. There's no mistake that I can pull off being sad. Just think of something that makes you sad… Sensei clapped her hands and I closed my eyes, trying to get into the mood.
Think. Something sad has happened to me. Oh yeah… I died… I can't go to work anymore. I got tickets to a meet and greet that Nijisanji is hosting. I'll never meet my oshis. I… won't be able to see my dad… Mom passed away and dad remarried but mom… I can't pay her respects this year… It's coming soon. Will she be lonely?
Soon it felt natural to me, making these feelings come out and have them wrap around me. Feeling the sadness take over, I opened my eyes and looked at Sensei and Tsubasa with a pained look as tears welled in my eyes. I have control of this emotion now and both of them are really surprised. Blinking to let the tears fall, I used my hands to hide my face as I let out soft sobs.
I waited for the clap, but instead, I got a pat on my shoulders. I looked up and saw Yachigusa-sensei looking at me full of pride. "Sensei…? Is it okay if I stop now?" I asked, very confused. The sadness had already withered away after she gave me that attention.
"Yes. You're a great mandarin." She told me with a smile. It's a compliment, right? "Would you like to join our class?"
"You have the talent to do so." Tsubasa-senpai smiled.
The girls surrounding us began to whisper and I felt their stares. Ako is the first-year prodigy that gets everyone's attention. I have it now. I'm changing the plot again. I can't be the main character. I am a minor character.
"I'll think about it." I smiled. "I want to see all the classes before I make a decision."
Yachigusa-sensei nodded. "Yes, our doors are still open to all. I hope to see you as my student in the near future."
"Thank you." I bowed and many girls started to speak in awe. I walked over to Yume, acting calm. Once I grabbed Yume's hand, I stared at her with a begging pair of eyes. "Let's leave now."
Yume nodded and we walked out, looking like we were normal but I was rushing to get out. Meanwhile, Sensei and Tsubasa-senpai were very excited to see what my choice was going to be. Well, it's kind of shocking.
Next up was the Flower Song class. And the most crowded. You can tell it's the most popular and crazy busy. Yume and I struggled to get inside, but when we did, we were dumbfounded at what we were seeing.
All the girls were sitting at the tables, drinking tea. From first glance, it looked like they were just taking a break, but I could see some girls trembling and their faces were full of pain.
"What the heck…?" I mumbled.
"When is their lesson going to start?" Yume asked, a bit confused, just like me.
Before I could answer, another Hibiki answered for us. "Their lesson's long begun." Look closer." Anna-sensei walked up to us and pointed at the class.
Once again, I looked over and gasped. "Th-There aren't any chairs?" I spoke out loud and the others gasped behind me.
Once I spoke out, some girls lost their cool, and fainted to the floor, exhausted. One after another, they were dropping like flies, all but one. Hime-senpai was perfectly fine. Drinking tea with a smile on her face, she showed no signs of pain and didn't even break a sweat, compared to the other girls.
"That's exactly it." Sensei spoke up. "They're training their abdominals. And with a smile, no less." She faced the class and spoke in a louder voice. "Good, that's enough!"
Once she gave that signal, the remaining girls that were sitting on air, stood up and tried to catch their breaths again. That is an extreme ab work-out. I can't do this! No way am I coming to this class!
I looked at Anna-sensei as she explained the lesson. "This is the lesson Shiratori Hime created herself. We call it the Himetrain! Elegant to the eyes, yet terrifying to the core. This is Flower Song Class!" The pole poses were back and I looked over at Hime.
Seeing her cheer everyone on and telling them they did a good job, made her look like a great senior. However, I still don't like it. This feeling while I'm around her. It's like… I'm pathetic and will never meet her standards, no matter how hard I try.
"The Song Class has got to be on the bottom of my list," I whispered to myself. "I can't get close to her."
"The Song Class has got to be on the top of my list!" Yume exclaimed as we walked down the hall. "What about you, Nanase-san?"
"Eh?" I blinked. "Well, I…"
"Hey!"
A voice from behind, made us jump and look behind to see Rola walking up to us. She seemed to be eyeing us both, but mostly me. Oh no. I remember this scene.
"You two picked the Song Class?" She asked, in a cocky voice.
"Is that a problem?" Yume asked, a bit annoyed. Oh no… I want to step away from this. After Rola raised an eyebrow with a smirk, Yume puffed up. "I have aspirations of being like Hime-senpai."
"No matter what you do, you'll never make it into S4." Rola shrugged. "That spot in S4 belongs to me. I'll make it into the Song Class, and join S4 to boot." She looked at me and smiled. "What about you, Song Writer?"
I only looked at Yume and then at Rola. "That doesn't concern you, Rola. Stop trying to antagonize me. I'm not that easy to tease."
"Hmm~!" Rola giggled and then walked past us. "If you join the Song Class, maybe I'll have some real competition with getting that S4 spot."
Yume looked at me worried. "What the heck? Why did she say those things? Also, I'm not that easy to tease!"
"Yes, you are." I told her, stabbing her confidence. "Anyway, Song Class is the last class I want to join."
"Eh? Why?" Yume blinked.
I started to walk ahead and let out a sigh. "I… I don't want to be near that person."
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter~! It's fun to work on this in the background while working on my other projects~!