*RIIIIIIIING*

Alright, school’s over. Time for my audition…

"Yosh!"

My name is Kojima Mako. My dream: become an idol. It’s been my wish ever since I was young.

I listen to all sorts of idol music, and I always sing in my room. I even joined choir, just to practice performing in front of crowds(of my schoolmates).

And now, today is the day I could actually have a chance to BE an idol. Today is finally the day of my audition.

I still can’t believe they accepted my resume. Now’s a once in a lifetime chance to make my dream come true. Hopefully…

I can only imagine the competition waiting for me. Young, cute, idol-like girls or very mature, beautiful girls with way more experience and talent I may have.

…No, Mako. Don’t think negative!

I gotta be confident. I need to be positive about this.

And, even if I fail, I’m sure another chance will come my way if I work hard enough.

Just gotta go, give it all I got!

…..

"There it is…" I say to myself as I look up at the large building before me.

*Akihabara48 Idol Agency.

Akihabara48 is the biggest idol management agencies in Japan, and possibly, the world. Anybody who’s anybody wants to be signed by their label, and that would be… EVERYBODY.

But, they rarely hold auditions, because they hired so many girls in the beginning. I don’t even know where the new ones come from.

It makes me even more nervous now. My first audition to be an idol…

And it’s for the BIGGEST music company ever created.

Alright… Let’s do this, Mako!

I walked into the building and after checking myself in, I rushed to the elevator just before it closed. I sighed, leaning up against the wall.

When I looked, I saw a young girl standing beside me, patiently watching the numbers on the screen change. She was wearing a different school uniform than mine.

Mine was a regular *sailor-fuku with a bright red ribbon, but hers was a button up white shirt under a navy blazer with a green tie and matching plaid skirt.

She looked very nice and a bit older than me, so I straightened myself up a bit before turning to her and saying “Um, hi…”

I bowed a bit, then when I looked back, she suddenly bowed down really low and when she raised up, she smiled at me with seemingly wide eyes.

"Good afternoon."

"Uh… are you going to today’s audition?"

"Yes. I guess that means you’re another one of the participants."

"Uh-huh. I’m Mako. Kojima Mako."

"Okada Nana."

Our conversation was cut short when the doors opened and another girl suddenly ran in.

"Oh, thank goodness! I was on the wrong floor, it took me forever to realize. …Finally got on the right elevator…"

She took out a mirror from her bag and started checking her bangs as the elevator started moving again.

She was wearing a clean white cardigan with a light blue ribbon and skirt. She also had her hair tied in twin tails with small ribbon clips in them. She must be younger than me.

"Hey, are you two going to the Akihabara48 idol audition?"

"Yea."

"Cool! That makes us buddies! I’m Miki-miki!"

"Miki-miki… Miki, right? Well, I’m Mako. And that’s Nana."

"Nice to meet you, Miki-chan."

"Yoroshiku~, Mako-chan, Nana-san!" she said with a cute salute.

After the elevator doors opened, we walked down the hall together to the audition room.

Miki was rambling on about some funny things that happened at her school, while Nana was busy fixing her hair and checking her makeup.

We finally entered the room and saw some very mature and pretty girls.

A lot of them were staring at me, probably because I looked the least flashy. I didn’t even think to wear any accessories and just came in my school uniform.

Soon after we settled in, three women entered the room and auditions started. I wasn’t paying attention to who went first or what they did.

I was looking at the three judges.

One of them had bright orange hair and a cool outfit and fedora, with quite a bubbly personality.

The judge in the middle was always smiling, showing her deep dimples and squirrel-like teeth.

Lastly, the one judge at the end, looked the most mature and had a very intense look in her eyes. I could tell she was strict; there’s always a strict judge.

Nana’s turn finally came and she got up, bowed down, and looked at them with that serious look and wide eyes. (Actually, I couldn’t see, but I could tell from their reactions when she raised back up that she did.)

"Good afternoon. My name is Okada Nana, age 16. I was born in Kanagawa, my hobbies include singing and reading, and my favorite food is rice."

"Why rice?"

"Rice is good with anything. Curry, soy sauce, you can eat it with just about anything."

"So why do you want to become an idol?"

"Because I love to sing. I wanna be a singer, or an actress, and I’ll do anything to get there."

The strict-looking judges eyebrow raised slightly.

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

She chuckled a bit. “Okay. Thank you.”

"Thank you." She bowed again, then returned to her seat.

Miki was up next, and when she walked up, she suddenly pulled out a small rabbit doll.

"Hai~ I’m Nishino Miki, and this is Ribbon-chan! I’m 15~ I love going to karaoke with my gal pals, and my favorite food is… strawberry parfait!"

"Kawaii~~~" the judge with squirrel teeth giggled.

"Alright calm down…" the orange haired judge said, patting her shoulder. "Although, you don’t look 15."

"My birthday was just a few days ago. But, since I’m going to be an idol, I’m bound to remain forever young~."

"You seem confident."

"I am."

"Why do you want to be an idol?"

"My friends and family said I could do it. I was born in a life of music. So, I’ll give it a try and go all in!"

She smiled. “Okay. Thanks.”

"Thanx~" she made a peace sign and sat down in her seat happily.

I was the last of the contestants, and I felt so much pressure weighed over me.

You can do this..!

Slowly, I got up and walked in front of them, putting on my best smile, I said…

"I’m Kojima Mako, nickname, Kojimako. 16-years-old. My favorite food is sushi… And, this is my first time ever auditioning."

"You nervous?" the cool judge said to me.

"A little…"

"I can tell."

The squirrel-like judge smiled and said, “Do you like idols?”

"I love them, more than anything. I’ve always wanted to be an idol since I was young. I know my parents and friends from school are supporting me."

"So, why do you want to become an idol here?"

I couldn’t help but keep staring at her. That intense look in her dark eyes was piercing right through me.

"I… I really don’t know what I want to do in my future."

"Eh?"

"I don’t know what else I could do. I think this is my own dream. I can’t do anything else. So, I’m going to do my best and try to succeed. I mean, that’s what dreams are about, right?"

She looked very surprised.

But, then she gave me a soft smile. “Alright. Thank you, Mako.”

I bowed down a bit and went back to my seat.

"Thank you everyone. We’ll come back with the results later."

After they left, I sighed and laid back in my seat, a bit relieved that the audition was over, but still felt the pressure of waiting for results.

"Nee, Kojimako, that was really something, what you said up there."

"Yeah, were you serious about all that?"

"I don’t know. I guess… I just don’t think I have anything else to do with my life. I have to decide my future soon, or my chances will pass me by."

The two giggled a bit. I’m rarely ever serious.

Nana patted my head and said, “Don’t worry. With auditions, there are always other chances. The girls who go down in heartbreak always get stronger!”

She’s so serious about this.

As we waited, I put my headphones in and thought about what everyone had said. I think they’re right, if I fail this audition, I’ll always have another chance come. It probably won’t be as big, but…

It’ll be worth it.

After a few minutes, the elder judge came back by herself, holding the papers in her hand. We all stood up.

"Okay. I have the final results."

I clasped my hands together. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Miki hugging her bunny and Nana praying silently with her eyes closed.

"Out of the 20 of you finalists… three of you have passed.”

Three?!

"The first winning candidate… Okada Nana."

Nana’s eyes shot open, wider than ever. The most powerful poker face I’ve ever seen.

Then she smiled and bowed down again as the others applauded.

"Thank you very much!!!"

Such a serious girl…

"Next winning candidate… Nishino Miki."

I looked and saw Miki, a wide smile on her face and she started crying a bit. Then, she started jumping and cheering happily.

"And finally… the last winning candidate. And also, the leader, center… ACE of your unit.”

Leader… Center… Ace…

"….Kojima Mako.”

"Eh?!" Everyone looked at me, a bit shocked. But then, they started applauding for me.

I could see Nana and Miki were happy, but… But, I’m the……..

I… I’m the…ace..? But why…? How…? Ace… Ace..!

Then, my world faded to black…

"Mako!"

==============================

Footnotes:

*1. Akihabara48 - A national idol agency that represents Japan. The most popular music industry in the nation. They rarely hold auditions, as only specially selected people can enter. Their named after the city they were formed in, Akihabara (Side note-They have no relation to the group AKB48, although they exist in this fanfic.) They have agencies in Sakae(Nagoya), Namba(Osaka), Hakata(Fukuoka), and two overseas in Jakarta(Indonesia) and Shanghai(China). They seem to hold a secret…

*2. Sailor-fuku - A school uniform that represents a sailor suit.