Something Special and Free

Eika returned back inside her dorm and kicked the door shut as she rested her back against the wooden door. She sighed deeply as her eyes follow through the notebook on top of her desk, it is there, laid out for her, it screamed for her name to pick it up.

Make a song, it whispered out for her to stay.

Another part of her room was the packages she hadn't finished unpacking. There's still more time to leave without anyone noticing her. However, she clenched her fist on her ruffled skirt. She didn't want to leave.

So, she reached out and sat down on the chair. She pulled out a pencil and tapped it on the notebook. She thought about the words that Hikaru said to her hours ago, do something instead of whining.

Maybe she could take this chance. After all, she isn't eliminated yet. Maybe there's still a chance she can raise her rank up.

With a flick of her pencil, she opened up her notebook and began writing down the words,

'I'm not confident, just a try hard.

I'm not special, I believe I'm one.

I have nowhere left to run but I'll never hide.'

She leaned back on her chair and examined her lyrics. Would this be enough? Is this already good enough?

She closed her eyes as she recalled music in her. She remembered everyone here might be struggling with the same problem as her. The feeling of not being good enough when there's so many people better than you.

She didn't really want to be better. She just wanted to be a part of something special.

So she crumpled the lyrics she had again and tossed it on the trash bin. She leaned forward on her desk with her back hunched down. She scribbled a couple of words that would string together well.

'Everybody here are diamonds

But none of them are all shining

One is a little brighter

that rises above all the rest.'

Is it a little bit cheesy? Eika thought to herself as she crumpled another draft and threw it at the trash. She laid her head down and listened in to the crickets outside, she used to write meaningful lyrics before. Where did all of that passion go?

She stretched out her arms carefully and blinked her eyes to keep herself awake, she heard a soft knock on the door and saw her roommate marched inside the room.

"O-oh, hi-" Eika was cut off when her roommate dropped a letter for her. "What is this?"

Her roommate was already dressed in pajamas, she shoved her toothbrush away on a small plastic kit and hid it away inside the cabinet, "I don't know. It's for you. Tightly sealed."

"Who is it from?" Eika asked as she took a scissor from her vanity. Her roommate climbed on the bed and turned off the lamp on her bed side. She didn't bother to answer her at all. Eika lowered her head away from her roommate. She didn't even get her name yet, there's always a first time for everything right?

She ripped the envelope open and pulled out the sheets of paper inside it. It seemed to be a letter from Hikaru. It said,

'Remember the lyrics I didn't show you? Well, have this now. I hope it goes well with the lyrics you made. It can be a little whack but I think you can make something with it. Haha.'

Eika rolled her eyes when she saw a silly monkey drawing with Hikaru's name written below the P.S. She flipped through the next page where all of Hikaru's lyrics are written. She read them aloud:

'I never thought I would make it

I never thought I would shine

But if I know you are with me

That's enough for me to smile

I don't know the future, I'm afraid of it

As long we're together

We can make the best out of it.'

Eika glanced at the lyrics she had written. They would fit well as a chorus? Or maybe a pre-chorus!

She decided to add one more verse in it,

'The world may bring us down

And all our friends can turn on our backs

But, maybe, you and I

Can be something special and free.'

Eika jumped off from her chair and held up the lyrics on hand. She exclaimed, "This is it!". She wanted to throw herself out of the room and ran down to the music room if she could. She took out her cell phone and dialed Hikaru's number.

When someone picked up from the other end, she waved the paper, "Sato! We might have finished the lyrics!"

"Oh?" The familiar voice spoke up from the other side. Eika flopped herself down on the chair and began to sing the lyrics with all the strength she could muster for tonight. While, Eika couldn't hear any reactions from Hikaru on the other side. She continued singing. Singing her heart out for the first time since she came here.

This is the song that she will bet her life in, this is the song that will make her stay.

Her roommate lifted the bed sheets away from her face to see Eika singing alone by the corner of the room, she held her phone close to her lips as she continued to sing over and over the melodies she could think of.

The orange haired girl didn't even notice her roommate slip an orange juice box inside her bag. While, she didn't consider Eika as someone would stay very long in the academy. She was slowly starting to see why this girl ever made it in the first place. She's someone with a dream. Something that the students of this school lacked.

In the next day, Eika discovered the orange juice inside her bag. She examined it for any note or if she had forgotten that she bought one yesterday.

She can see Hikaru in the corner approach her, "So how's the lyrics?"

Eika shoved the orange juice inside her bag and zipped it closed by the time the school bell rang. She swung it over her bag and strolled outside with Hikaru to the courtyard that they both know so familiarly well.

"It's perfect," She said. For the first time, she released a bright smile on her face. A happiness she hadn't felt for such a long time. "All we need to do is to compose the song!"

"Oh!" Hikaru cheered with his hand raised, "My sister knows a producer."

"Your sister?" Eika raised a brow in confusion and the hazel haired boy nodded with enthusiasm as he showed the picture on his phone. She squinted her eyes. She rubbed them for good measure. She wasn't dreaming right?

Isn't that her roommate?