Chapter 2

Ah—Whoa?!

…?!

(Crap, I wasn’t paying attention. I ran into one of the guests coming out of the auditorium.)

(I’ve gotta be careful, or the crowd might throw me off course before I can make it to the auditorium.)

(And if I’m late, Oshi-san’s gonna lose it.)

Sorry for bumping into you… A–are you okay? I’m really sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going!

……

Oh um, you don’t have to bow your head to me! Y–you’re not hurt anywhere, are you?

… ♪

What’s going on, Tomoya-kun?

Oh, sorry, I just—I bumped into someone… Ah man~ I got so emotional that I ended up walking around in a daze.

But it was just so cool! Especially the person who played the main character!

It’s hard to think he’s even human—That’s just not normal! He was a guy, right?

But he was playing a princess… God, I was completely mesmerized! He’s my goddess~ ♪

G–good for you, so um, let’s go home… I’m worried—It feels like we’re doing something wrong by wearing the Yumenosaki uniform.

I can’t even remember anything about the play at all.

Ahaha, students get in free though, so wearing the uniform let us watch the play without having to buy tickets!

We’re still in middle school, so if we had to pay for every ticket, we wouldn’t have anything left, y’know?

So I asked a friend of a friend of another friend… if he would make us some uniforms.

I heard there’s lots of people like us pretending to be students to sneak in.

Just because other people are doing it, doesn’t mean we should do it too. Let’s actually pay for our tickets, okay?

If a lot of people are getting in for free, the people in charge might find out and tighten security.

And if they find out we’re not actually students, they might even take us into custody…?

Y–yeah, right. But I wanted you to feel it too, Hajime… But I get it, so quit making that face. I won’t do it again, all right?

If we can get into this school, we’ll be able to go see these plays with our heads held high.

So I’ll do whatever it takes~ I’m all fired up now ♪ Let’s take the exam together, okay Hajime?

Oh, sure. I’ll be able to do my best if you’re there with me, Tomoya-kun… ♪

Ahaha, I’m just some normal guy… I bet it’ll be more like you’re the only one that passes.

That’d be awkward… But even that kinda feels idol-ish in itself ♪

……

Oh uh… S–sorry! Please pretend you didn’t hear any of that. C’mon Hajime, let’s go~! Um, excuse us!

W–wait a second, Tomoya-kun! Umm, I don’t really understand what happened, but I’m sorry for this!

(…What was all that about? They’re middle schoolers? Hmm?)

(Well, whatever. If I don’t hurry up, I’m going to be seriously late.)

Wow, wasn’t that person really beautiful? I ended up getting all flushed ♪

Me too… But she was wearing the guy’s uniform, wasn’t she? But she was definitely a girl, I think?

Maybe she was crossdressing? After all, that last play had a guy playing a girl’s role.

Maybe she’ll be in the next performance~?

Doubt it, Yumenosaki isn’t a theater school…

At its core, it’s a school for training idols. And it’s so much cooler than I expected~ There’s so many strange and eccentric people here ♪

Urgh, I’m really hyped up now~ Let’s go home and study for those entrance exams, Hajime ♪

Sure, I like studying~ …These uniforms are really well made, don’t you think?

If we pass the exams and get in, we won’t have to buy uniforms~ ♪

It’s cheaper, and it’s in the neighborhood, so I won’t have to pay for the commute… I think I’d be really happy if I passed Yumenosaki Academy’s exam, too ♪

If you become an idol, you’ll be able to earn your own money too! You’ll be able to say goodbye to that life of poverty—So let’s do our best together… Hajime ♪

Yeah. Thanks for always thinking about me… Tomoya-kun ♪

I just can’t keep up the energy all by myself. So don’t thank me for something like that, okay?

Oh man, I feel like I’m on cloud nine! We have so many fun things in store for us in the future ♪