Chapter 3: Family

There's nothing more annoying than someone constantly talking about the same damn thing during a conversation. Such is the case with my cousin. She constantly talks about idols (and how cute she says she is) and leaves out anything that doesn't interest her. In a way, she kind of reminds me of Marika, but on another scale. Speaking of Marika...

"Wan wan!"

"Don't tell me..."

"Wan!"

She got herself a new hobby again: animals. Ever since the dog incident at the back of the school, she's been wanting to take care of the dog. Apparently, that dog was the janitor's, to keep away small critters and such. Even in a large city, they still resort to orthodox means. And now she's playing with the dog like she owns it. Him? Her? I don't know.

"Isn't she adorable?" she said as she pet the dog.

Well, that answers that question.

"Are you sure you should be playing with it- I mean, her?"

"It's okay! The janitor said she's trained." she responded.

"That's not the point..."

"Speaking of which..." she asked, "Where's Rea?"

She still hasn't figured it out. Might as well explain it to her.

"She's Cynophobic."

Then she looked at me with a strange face and said, "...Is that an animal?"

"No! It means she's afraid of dogs!"

"Oh, really?"

I mean, the dog almost bit her, so any normal person would be scared. But judging from her expression, I could tell she was traumatized.

"I know!" Marika then exclaimed, "Let's have her play with Choco!"

"Who?"

Then both Marika and the dog wore a sad face, "you forgot her name already?"

"You never even told me her name!"

Alas, the morning bell rang. And so we left the dog behind the gym and went straight to the classroom for homeroom. Then first period, then second, and so on and so forth. Time flies when all you have as motivation is meeting your friends after class. We had club practice today, so I went to the club room and participated. We worked on a song that we were gonna perform in a competition, and it was then that every girl talked about how they wanted to join Star Fest when they get to high school. Hearing them made me grit my teeth every time.

Once practices were over, I went straight to the music room, where the piano was, thinking that Rea would be playing again. And she was. She hard me come in, but unlike our last meeting, she didn't flinch. Guess she was used to me barging in on her. Or so I thought. As she played her sweet melody, I accidentally hit one of the desks and surprised her. She stopped playing and turned to me.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"N-no, it's fine." she said.

"Okay. Don't mind me. Just keep playing."

Then she turned back to the keys. But... as she positioned her fingers, she froze. She didn't press any key.

"...You're not gonna play?"

She paused for a second and turned to me again, "I think that's enough for today."

"Really?"

Then she left the chair and grabbed her bag. She bowed her head to me and rushed outside.

"What was that about?"

I figured she was shy, but despite hanging out with her for some time, she still wasn't used to us. And it's quite ironic since she often performs at a crowd. But I guess we all have secrets we don't want other people to know.

Since she already left the room, there was no point in staying there longer. So I left the campus all alone. I thought of stopping by a convenience store to pass the time (and avoid my piano lessons) when my phone rang just as I had exited the school gate. It was playing Beethoven's "Tempest". I should really change my ringtone soon. I answered the phone, expecting my grandfather. To my surprise, it was my cousin.

"What is it?"

"Oh! Did I call? Sorry, Roku must have pressed something."

I could tell that she was lying. But I went with it anyway.

"So what now?"

"Hey! How about you come over?" she asked.

"What's this, all of a sudden?"

"Come on! Don't you wanna see this kyu kyu cutie in the flesh?"

It's hard to believe the two of us were related. She's always so happy-go-lucky despite being poor. But I can't blame her. She's got siblings who look up to her, and I'd hate to break their illusion of her. I mean ever since "that day", she's never stopped talking about idols. Which reminds me...

"Wait, isn't next week your dad's-"

"Oh! Sorry! Gotta go!"

Aaand, she hung up. Seriously, she was the one who called. She could've at least told me what was wrong. Anyway, I continued off to the convenience store when I happened to spot a small girl with pinkish hair holding a coloring book. She just sat outside of the entrance, drawing something from her sketchbook. I ignored her and proceeded on to the convenience store.

The door opened, the jingle played, and the staff welcomed me in. I went straight to the magazine shelves and checked out the recent jump. Most magazines had Star Fest as their cover, so I didn't bother reading those. With so much focus on idols, there were hardly any place for more dynamic music. I always heard the same song on the radio, most of them feel half-hearted to listen to. Even the song playing in the convenience store was from an idol group. I swear, I think the whole city- no, the whole country is obsessed with them.

It was getting dark, so I decided to go home for the day. When I got there, wouldn't you know it, the piano instructor wasn't there. Taking her place was my grandfather. You pretty much know what happened next...