>Now playing shallou- Begin (ft. Wales)<

“Want to be in a band? Come to the music room (A103) on Thursday at 4:30 pm! Bring your instrument or voice and try out! This offer is for anybody, so don’t be afraid to show up!” 

The blue and red poster caught Xiaojun’s eye as he rushed along the crowded school halls. He was a sophomore at NCT High and had just moved here this past summer. His father’s company has transferred him to a new location, so the family had to move along with him. Xiaojun hadn’t minded moving that much as he had been switching houses his entire life, but starting high school with a bunch of unfamiliar people was daunting, to say the least. This high school was a lot smaller than the last one he had attended, and all the students seemed to know each other in this school. Everyone had grown up with each other and people barely came or left this town. This made Xiaojun’s first week at NCT High miserable. He could feel the stares of other students burning holes on his back and hear the whispers of students talking about him. After the first few weeks passed, the gossiping died down and Xiaojun was able to fit in with the rest of his classmates again. 

On his way to second period, Xiaojun had noticed a poster hanging on the wall near his classroom’s door. The bright colors and bold choice of font had immediately caught his attention.

“Forming a band?” he muttered to himself.

Ever since he was a child, Xiaojun had always loved music. When he was 7, his parents bought him an acoustic guitar since the young boy was crying about the fact that he had to move for the third time that semester. His father’s job required the family to move around often, so Xiaojun was never able to make friends before having to leave them soon afterward. Once he started 5th grade, Xiaojun stopped trying to make new friends and just focused on learning new songs on the guitar as it was the only thing that could bring him joy every time he moved to a new home. When his father’s company found a permanent position in Neo City, Xiaojun’s family moved so that Xiaojun could enjoy his last years and make friends without having them taken away. Joining a band would be the perfect way to make friends while spending time doing the things he loved, singing, and playing the guitar. For the rest of the day, Xiaojun couldn’t stop thinking about the poster. He desperately wanted to join and was already thinking about what song he should play for the tryout. ‘What song should I play? Something I wrote? No, they might think it’s weird… Maybe an Ed Sheeran song? One Direction? Panic At The Disco? Mar--’

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” a sharp voice interrupted Xiaojun’s internal debate.

He looked up to see a boy wearing all black stroll past him. ‘Rude I didn’t mean to bump into you.’ Xiaojun thought as he watched the figure stomp away before continuing to his class.

***

The next day seemed to pass by slowly. All Xiaojun could do was stare at the clock and watch as the minutes ticked. He tried to pay attention to the teacher’s explanation, but each word went in through one ear and left the other. He was too nervous to focus on anything and couldn’t stop twirling the pen between his fingers. When the final bell of the day rang, Xiaojun leaped up from his seat only to sit down moments after when the teacher shot him a glare.

“The bell doesn’t dismiss you, I do. Now sit and let me finish.” she fumed. 

The other students snickered as he looked down, embarrassed. After a final reminder to read the textbook and fill out the worksheet, the teacher finally released her antsy students for the day. Xiaojun stuffed his notebooks into his backpack and stood up immediately, dashing out of the room and towards the music hall. Before entering the tryout room, Xiaojun made a quick detour for one of the practice rooms which he had stored his guitar in that morning. When Xiaojun entered the tryout room, he was surprised to see that there were only two other people in the room. The two had their backs to Xiaojun and didn’t notice him until a loud “bang” echoed through the room.

“Sorry,” Xiaojun whispered, mentally slapping himself for not closing the door properly. 

He walked over to an empty corner of the room to set his stuff down and begin tuning his guitar. 

“Hey you’re the new kid aren’t you?” a voice asked.

Xiaojun looked up to see a boy with brown hair and a warm smile holding a hand towards him. 

“My name’s Kun, nice to meet you.” 

“Hi I’m Xiaojun but I guess you already knew that.” 

Xiaojun grinned at Kun awkwardly and shook his hand. The other boy in the room had wandered over as well and introduced himself as Winwin.

“Nobody calls me by my actual name,” he explained, “It was a nickname my brother gave me and I guess it just stuck.”

The three boys continued to talk for a bit as they waited for more people to show up. The next person to come in was a short boy with an electric guitar strapped over one shoulder and a sketchbook in his hand. He nodded at the trio before starting to unpack and warm up as well. Minutes later, a loud chatter was heard outside the door.

“Are you sure it’s this room? There’s no noise inside.”

“Well, the poster says it's here, let’s just go in. We can leave if no one’s in there.”

The four in the room look expectantly at the door waiting to see the source of the ruckus. When the door swung open, a boy with longish black hair followed by a tall, doe-eyed boy stepped in. Kun and Winwin seemed shocked to see the two come in while the other boy with the electric guitar (Xiaojun didn’t know his name yet) only scowled and turned away. 

“I hope we’re not late-” the long-ish haired guy began.

But was interrupted by the door slamming open again. This time only one person entered. It was the same boy who Xiaojun had bumped into the other day. He shut the door before turning around to check who else was in the room.

“You’re not late. It’s exactly 4:30 now let’s begin.”