LMD Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Aimi

            “Hey, Aimi, you’re auditioning for the talent show today, right,” Hana asks me with a huge smile on her face.

            “Yes, I’m going to audition for the talent show today,” I respond.

            “Yay, I’m really glad! I’m also just making sure you haven’t changed your mind,” Hana responds.

            Hana has been telling me for years to try out for the talent show. I never tried out because of nerves. I really hate being nervous, but I’m going to face my fears. I really want to win the talent show. I want to see Black Fire live!

            “No, I haven’t changed my mind,” I say and smile at Hana.

            “Yes! I’m going to watch your audition!”

            Hana is very excited. She listens to me sing all the time. I also listen to her sing a lot as well. She also has a beautiful voice. We normally sing songs together off Spotify. We have very different music tastes. We do have a mutual love for Black Fire though!

            I also haven’t mentioned to Hana that I’m going to be singing one of my original songs. She knows I write songs. She’s just never heard me perform any of them.

            I wrote the song to easily go with a keyboard, piano, or an acoustic guitar. My brother helped me come up with a melody. He plays the acoustic guitar. He is actually pretty good at it. He’s taught me a couple of notes. I’m not very good at it.  I am better at playing on a keyboard or piano. The song works better with a piano more than the guitar though. It is a passive love song after all.

            I hear the melody to the song in my head. It causes my heart to race a little in my chest. I try not to think about the person this song was written for. Although, he’s been in my head a lot more lately. I try to shake away the thoughts.

            “I want you there as support!”

            “Yes! I want to see you on stage! Can I be your stylist the night of the talent show? I will make sure you look extremely beautiful,” Hana asks.

            “You know, I actually have to ace the audition before you can become my stylist,” I say while giggling. Hana gets a little carried away sometimes.

            “I have full confidence that you are going to be in the talent show. Don’t sell yourself short,” she says and glares at me a little.

            I sigh and look down at the ground for a second. Hana knows that I’m doubting myself. I have never thought I was a great singer. Hana always tells me that I am. Hana is definitely a better singer than I am though. She could make it into the music business herself, but she has a different dream. Hana wants to go into the medical field.

            She is going to achieve that dream for herself. Hana helps people when they are injured. I watched her help one of our mutual friends when he broke his leg. We got him to the hospital as soon as we could.

            “Thank you, Hana. You really are the best. You always know what to say. I will be there to support your dream as well. You will become a great doctor in the future,” I say and smile at her. She gives me a huge hug. I calm down a little more.

            “Thanks Aimi. Did you decide which song you’re going to sing for the talent show?”

            “Yes, I have.”

            “What song are you going to sing?”

            “That is a surprise,” I say and wink at her.

            “Awe, come on, I want to know! I want to know!”

            I laugh a little. “You’ll find out at the audition.”

            “Not fair,” she says while whining. I laugh again at her antics.

            Hana would figure out who the song was written for. She knows who I have a crush on. Takumi. I never got the chance to tell him how I feel.

            Thinking about him hurts a lot now. So, I try not to.

            I still feel betrayed by him as well. We were supposed to form a band together. Takumi formed Black Fire on the side without telling me. They started to get big on YouTube. Then they were offered the record deal.

            My heart broke into pieces when I found out. I still remember that day very clearly.

~

            “Aimi, there’s something I need to tell you.”

            “What is it?”

            “I started a new band...a couple of months ago. We have been getting a big following on YouTube. We’re now getting signed to a record label,” Takumi tells me.

            My eyes widen in shock. I feel my heart shatter in my chest. Tears start to stream down my face.

            “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

            “I didn’t know how...and well...I didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” he told me.

            “Too late for that.”

            I walk away from him afterwards.

~

            I try to take my mind off those memories. I need to focus on the talent show audition. The audition is in six hours. I can feel my nerves starting to kick in again a little, Will people from my class make fun of me for auditioning? A lot of my classmates haven’t heard me sing on my own before.

            I am in band and chorus in school. I play the trumpet or piano for band class.  I am a soprano 2 for chorus. Sometimes, my teacher will switch me to alto. I don’t really like doing the alto parts.

            I honestly can’t wait until it’s time to perform. I have a feeling I’m going to love being on stage. When Takumi was still around, we would go to our favorite karaoke club. He would force me to sing. We would perform some duets together. I always like singing ballads. Takumi would sing a mix of rock and punk songs.

            “You have such a cute voice, Aimi,” Takumi would tell me all the time. I would just smile at him. I still think of those words when I’m really missing him a lot. I also listen to Storm when I want to hear his voice.

            I wonder if Takumi is going to sing another song on the new album. The new album is going to be releasing at the end of next week. I’m going to pick it up as soon as it releases. I really am excited.

~

            It’s finally time to audition for the talent show. I’m watching some of the other contestants before I go on. A lot of people here are very talented. I feel a little bit more intimidated than before. Doubts start running through my mind again. Am I really good enough to audition? Will I even make the cut?

            A full band is on the stage right now. The people performing are jerks from my grade. I honestly hate their guts, but I have to admit they are great.

            “Will Aimi Ayanomi come up to the stage, please,” I hear Mrs. Rogers call. I feel myself shaking a little bit. I hand her my CD. I calm down when I hear my song start to play. I sway a little to the melody. I start to sing the words. I can see Takumi’s face while I’m singing. My emotions are really coming through as I’m singing as well.

            When I finish the song, I hear clapping. I’m glad that I was able to perform to the best of my ability. I smile at Hana. She is just staring at me. Her jaw is dropped. I think she’s a little upset with me. She would have freaked out if she knew.

            “Thank you all for auditioning. The names of the people who made it will be posted tomorrow,” Mrs. Rogers says and walks off the stage. I don’t know what to expect. I hope I did well.

            “You did great, I felt a lot of emotions from your performance. You looked like a star on that stage,” a random girl comes up to tell me.

            “Thank you so much,” I say and smile at her.

            “My name is Miranda. Good luck tomorrow.”

            “Good luck to you as well, Miranda!”

            We say our goodbyes then I walk over to Hana. I really can use some ice cream right about now.

Author's Note

Ignore grammatical errors for now. I will be editing this a lot!