Chapter 4: Ruby and the Audition

     It had been a week since the first track was uploaded, but Amethyst did not really have time to think about that now. She was currently trying to finish all her work before figuring out what to do next. The work from school was just tedious since she had already gone through the education system once. The only really hard part was Japanese history, but she didn't mind coasting by in that class. The only fun she had during active educational hours was physical education but that was because she could actually run around and do stuff.

      "I really have to find a way to lighten the financial burden that Miyako is under." Amethyst thought as she continued to work on her schoolwork. "Adopting three kids is not easy. Even though the business is actually running quite smoothly we are putting a lot of strain on her. I am just glad that Aqua always goes to the director's house so he could contribute to his electricity bill instead of ours."

      When she finally finished her work, she checked the door camera before leaving her room to go downstairs for dinner. It was already pretty late when she got down. Ruby and Miyako were already at the dinner table setting up and looked up at her as she walked down the steps.

      "Sorry, I had a lot of homework." Amethyst explained her late arrival.

      Miyako smiled understandingly before asking, "If you need a tutor I can–"

      Amethyst cut her off before she could finish, "I am okay. Don't worry about it. Plus, if there really is a topic I cannot understand I can always ask Aqua. He has the highest grades in the class anyways."

      Ruby was the one that chuckled at that remark. Amethyst added, "Do you need my help to set the table or are we all good, and where is Aqua anyways?"

      "At the directors." Ruby answered my second question. Then Miyako said, "No, we just finished, have a seat, let's eat."

      As they were eating the conversation naturally flowed towards Ruby's idol obsession. She had wanted to do a couple auditions already, but Amethyst had advised against it. "So, what do you think?" Ruby asked after explaining her plan.

      "Miyako? Got any insights?" Amethyst asked deflecting. Honestly, she had no idea what a good plan for Ruby would be, so it was a better idea to pawn off the responsibilities of providing an answer to an individual that has been in the industry for some time as a manager. She was not in the business of giving bad advice anyways.

      Amethyst saw the cogs turning in Miyako's mind before she settled on an answer. "I would say that now is still a bit too early to audition. The top groups in the country would most likely open auditions closer to the end of the school term anyways so you have time to finish this year before auditions. In addition, this time would allow for you to practice and improve before you try your hand at the real thing." Miyako concluded her speech thoughtfully. It made sense to Amethyst at least. The idol industry would want fresh faces and the perfect time to recruit young girls into the entertainment industry without much push back from parents was during school breaks.

      "So, you would support me, right?" Ruby asked tentatively testing the waters.

       "The faster you start making money, the lighter the load gets on Miyako which is a good thing. So yes, I want you to get that bag." Amethyst thought to herself. Obviously, she did not say that. Instead, she decided to go with the more normal response for a preteen. "As your older sister it is my job to support and help you." She ended the sentence with a cheeky smile.

      "Wait a minute, you are not even older than me."

      "How would you know?"

      "Humpf."

      "But all jokes aside, I would definitely support your dreams of becoming an idol. Just don't forget me when you get to the top." Amethyst said, guiding the conversation back on track. After which she turned her attention back to her food. "What is Aqua actually doing?" She thought to herself as she continued to eat.

      That night while lying awake in her bed she decided to formulate a new plan for the future. It was obvious to her that Ruby and Aqua would go down the entertainment route. This leaves her as the only undecided in the family. Initially, she had decided to be an office worker, but that is really soul sucking work since she experienced it in her last life. Staring up at the ceiling she felt the harsh critic of her last life slam into her. Her work ethic was weak. Her motivational drive was nonexistent. Her grades were good but that was terrible considering the informational head start that she should have had. Eventually, she fell asleep too exhausted to continue the evaluation. She was and would continue to be her own worst critic.

      The next morning, Amethyst got dressed in the school uniform while pulling her hair up into a ponytail. It was the easiest way to keep her long hair out of her way. Plus, Amethyst did not want to waste Miyako's time or money to cut her hair. She pulled a ball cap from her closet and put it on her head before heading out to meet Aqua and Ruby. Aqua gave a small nod before they headed off to school.

      As they got to the homeroom, Amethyst headed to her normal seat which was at the back nearest to the door. Aqua sat in the front and Ruby sat in the middle of the classroom. Unlike Aqua who was too busy in his own studies to have many friends, Amethyst did manage to make some connections with her classmates. These were fickle connections but at least they can be useful if Amethyst needed help with anything. In her first year, she tried wrangling her friend into a rudimentary business. They would get the manga kid to draw some art based on Amethyst's creative writings, and then sell them unofficially to the student body. Needless to say, this idea failed. The artist drew one to two pages before throwing in the towel and quitting. Up until very recently she ran a tutoring racket.

      The money was nice, but she saw that some of her friends were fraying at the edges, and not wanting to burn out her friends she called it off. Now they just relax at the back of the room. This was their last year at this school anyways so might as well enjoy the time instead of doing work for some money.

      However, that did not stop Amethyst's mind from thinking up ways to earn. As her friend began talking about mindless drivel, she would always find herself thinking about business. She never wanted to work for someone else again. She had tried that once and she hated it. In this life she had enough time to become an entrepreneur. Plus, with current technology there has to be a way to make her own start up business.

      "So, Amethyst, have you got anything interesting going on?" Amethyst didn't quite catch which one of her friends had asked the question.

       "Nothing much, I just relax and work on my hobbies, that's all." She replied. She honestly did not know why they asked. She just responds in the same exact way every time anyways. It was not like she was going to change her answer out of the blue. They continued to chat about what Amethyst would consider unimportant matters until the next class period started. This was the usual flow of Amethyst's schedule during school.

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      One day, Amethyst stayed behind in the classroom. She stared blankly at the piece of paper in front of her. She did not know what to write, and she did not even know if people would find value in the new series that she was starting anyways.

      "Honestly, I don't know if this project will go anywhere." She thought as she looked at the draft outline of the new project she was working on. It did not help that all the language arts teacher had told her straight up to stick to structured writing because she had zero skill when it came to developing a narrative.

      As she sat at the back of the class Ruby caught her attention when she said, "I feel like I will get it. You know I could have applied for another agency earlier this year, but my sister was worried about my grade. Now that I applied, I know I can pass."

      Amethyst looked up from her work as Ruby's friends encouraged her. One in particular said, "I am sure you can do it. Plus, you are cute and dance well!" The girl then paused for a moment before continuing to say, "But your singing is a bit..."

      Ruby interrupted her friend. "A bit what?"

      "Well, you have enough charm and charisma to make up for that weak point."

      Amethyst could tell that that stung a bit. She personally has never bothered listening to Ruby sing but if a close school friend thinks her singing is bad then it must be rough. However, as Amethyst turned her attention back to her work, she heard Ruby say, "Anyways, I will make this idol audition no matter what."

      Amethyst was not so sure about her chances. Yes, Ruby was outgoing and would be able to make a good impression on the interviews but having the right personality is not everything.

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      While Ruby was twirling around the room in excitement, she caught a glimpse at her sister sitting at the back of the classroom minding her own business. Unlike Aqua and herself Amethyst only had one secret that she could not share with friends. All three of them either knew or were told not to tell anyone that they were Ai's children.

      "But the extra thing that only Aqua and I share is that we have memories of our past life." Ruby thought as she began reminiscing about her new life thus far. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to be in Amethyst's shoes.

      Later that day, Ruby was sitting at the dinner table when she told Aqua her plans. "I am going to be like mama!"

      Aqua was not amused and brought a school workbook gently down on her head before saying, "Talk is fine but the high school entrance exams are coming up so you should focus on that more."

       "Aqua, you and Amethyst said almost the exact same thing, but what you don't realize is the bigger picture. I'm going to be an idol which means I can bypass all academic tests and get into their drama department. It's a two for one special."

      "I would not bank everything on one avenue. Plus, I have told you many times already that there are no advantages to being an idol. They have a tiny salary and get forced out of the industry by 30. That is not even mentioning the fans. It is a very bad job." As Aqua concluded his statement, Amethyst emerged from the stairwell.

      Instead of interjecting Amethyst gave a slight nod of acknowledgment and then continued to the kitchen probably to get some snacks or water. Ruby and Aqua returned the gesture before Ruby decided to respond, "I don't get your point Aqua. Isn't life about doing what you want. If you continuously analyze things, you won't get anything done. Everything has a cost and if all people ever did was focus on the negative then why be motivated to do anything. And life is very hard to predict if we don't use that time wisely, we could lose all that time before we even accomplish anything. Plus, if you like what you do it would not feel like a chore no matter how much or little the pay is."

      It was around this time when Amethyst made her way out of the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand. She draped her hand around Aqua's shoulder. With a slight smirk on her face she said, "You don't have to be a buzzkill all the time Aqua. Ruby is right ya know. You don't have to be a downer all the time. It really kills you faster." Before she finished talking Amethyst playfully jabbed Aqua in the side.

      "You really got to stop watching American TV," Aqua said, turning his attention to Amethyst. A slip second later he waved her off and continued, "Tell Miyako that I would be at the director's place for dinner."

      "I got you covered. No prob." Amethyst replied, seeing Aqua out.

       Ruby watched the whole scene play out with a detached interest. This type of interaction was commonplace. Aqua would be critical of an idea that she had and if Amethyst was in the room she would always tell aqua to chill.

      Ruby noticed the change in him after their mother's death. Aqua never seemed to be happy. Sometimes she let his negativity get to her. It was hard to not when he spent most of his time moping around not enjoying anything. Also, he always seemed to be doing something with the director, but she never knew what.

     Aqua was not the only person that changed though. Amethyst seemed to lose herself in Americanisms after Ai's death. She dropped the use of honorifics entirely saying it was a pain to remember what goes where. She used American slang in routine conversations and seemed to mold herself to fit into every social setting. However, Ruby considered all of this an upside when compared to her previous wallflower like nature. The real issue is that Amethyst seemed to procrastinate on everything. She would get everything done eventually but it would usually be right before the deadline.

      "At least she could wear a smile as hollow as it might be." Ruby thought to herself as she saw Amethyst reappear in the living room. Ruby did not like to study the features of her sister. On the surface she was very comforting to Ruby. However, if she looked any deeper, she would find a haunting emptiness in all her gestures. It was like staring into a mirror and an empty void at the same time.

      "Well, I'll be working. See ya at dinner." With that she gave one last wave over her shoulder and climbed the stairs.

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2429 words

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