(A/N: All songs referenced are copyright their respective owners. No infringement intended. All school names (except for Shibusen) were made up on the spot by me and any resemblance to actual schools is purely coincidental. I originally posted this fic last January, but I recently decided to take it down and reupload it with minor edits)

Maka Albarn searched through the main hallways of Shibusen Academy, her friends Tsubaki Nakatsukasa and Solomon "Soul" Evans right behind her. They searched through all the tables, through all the students with all their flyers, and through the board with over a dozen signup sheets for extracurricular activities, trying to find at least one thing that interested them.

"So it was crowded like this the last two years, too?" Maka asked Tsubaki. As a junior, Tsubaki undoubtedly had more experience than the freshman Maka and Soul in navigating one of the most prestigious private schools in the state of Nevada. And as their friend since the beginning of middle school, Tsubaki was more than willing to give her underclassmen the necessary advice.

"For the entire first week of the school year, all the clubs spend the afterschool period recruiting, and from Saturday to the end of next week, the competitive clubs have their tryouts," Tsubaki explained.

"I'm not sure I want to join any clubs," Soul said. "I guess being on the football team with Black Star would be pretty cool, and so would being in a club with you two... hmm, maybe we could all try out for football?"

"I'm not really interested in football," Tsubaki replied. "I was thinking of pursuing something in the arts," she added, scanning the area.

"Actually, I don't think Maka could do football either," Soul said. "Look at her, she's only five feet tall, and kind of skinny. The huge guys on that team could get you creamed."

"Hey, I'm definitely strong enough!" Maka retorted. "I was able to arm-wrestle the entire co-ed wrestling team and win. You saw me."

"In seventh grade," Soul noted.

"I could pass the tryouts if I wanted to," Maka said. "I don't want to play football because of all those studies. I don't want to end up with multiple concussions before I graduate high school, or even worse, CTE."

"Sure," Soul said. He obviously doesn't believe me, Maka thought. All this talk about football subconsciously led Soul to direct the trio over to a table, manned by a familiar blue-haired sophomore in a black and white football uniform.

"Oh, hey!" Black Star said, twirling a pen between his fingers. "You guys signing up for the Reapers?" he asked with eager eyes. His pen clattered down onto the floor. Black Star moved his feet from atop the table back down to the floor, and he bent down to pick up his pen. "You'll need this to sign," he said. "Tryouts are this Saturday at ten."

"Seems I'm the only one of us actually signing up," Soul replied, writing his name onto the signup sheet. "Maka's too scared," he added.

"I'm just not really into team sports," Maka huffed. "I mean, I'm athletic enough to do it, but all those extra rules... basketball was hard enough, and we weren't even on an official team, just playing in each other's backyards," she added. Soul mumbled something as he handed the pen back to Black Star.

"What was that?" Maka snapped, as Tsubaki got shoved aside by a very tall, muscular student. Well, Maka guessed he was a student by him wearing the school uniform, but his age was hard to tell due to a large X-shaped scar across his face. That didn't concern her that much, as she quickly checked to see if Tsubaki was okay. Tsubaki gave a nod and a slight smile.

"I just talked to Coach Barrett, and turns out I ain't even on the team anymore," Tsubaki's shover grumbled to Black Star. Black Star looked very surprised at seeing this man for some reason.

"Ragnarok?" Black Star asked. "I thought you graduated last year," he said.

"I got held back, asshole," Ragnarok replied, yanking the pen from Black Star's hand. "Coach says I have to try out again if I want back on the team since apparently, seniors get automatically removed after the season's over. What a dick, am I right?" he asked. He just assumed you were going to graduate, Maka thought. "Here, just let me sign up for both myself and my cousin, and then I'll be on my way."

Ragnarok wrote two names onto the signup sheet, before pushing Soul aside as he stomped off, despite Soul not at all being in his way.

"Not my fault I didn't watch the graduation ceremony last year...no way," Black Star said, looking at the two names Ragnarok had signed. "He's related to them?"

"Who?" Maka, Soul, and Tsubaki all asked, with varying degrees of curiosity. Black Star held up the signup sheet, pointing to the name below Ragnarok's. Crona Gorgon.

"Now that I think about it, they did mention having a cousin," Maka said. "Who would've thought it was him?" she pondered, as the agender freshman in question approached the table. Maka hadn't known Crona for as long as Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki, only meeting them at the beginning of last summer break. But the two were already just as close, and Soul, Black Star and Tsubaki were more than happy to accept Crona as their group's fifth member.

"The Poetry Club was full," Crona sighed. Unlike the others in the group, they had a slight Greek accent, which their cousin lacked.

"That's too bad," Maka replied. "Maybe there's something else in this area you'd like to sign up for," she added, holding out her hand. "Shall we search together?" she asked with a smile.

"Ah, sure," Crona replied, taking Maka's hand.

"Yeah, I should probably look for a fallback, too, just incase football doesn't work out for the two of us," Soul said, gesturing to Crona.

"What? Did one of you sign me up for that?" Crona asked, sounding flustered. "I don't think I could handle being on that team."

"Your cousin Ragnarok did," Black Star said. "Should I cross your name out?"

"No, it's fine, I guess," Crona replied. "He probably wouldn't like it if I didn't show up to tryouts with him."

"There's some people starting to form a line," Tsubaki noted, pointing to a small crowd.

"We better get going, then," Maka said. "See you soon, Black Star!"

"Hey, could you guys sign me up for the show choir?" Black Star asked. "They got to a national championship last year, and if I'm gonna end up the biggest star this school's ever seen, I gotta do both sports and the arts!"

"Okay, bro," Soul replied, as Tsubaki led the group of four off down the hall. They looked at several different clubs as they made their way across the tile floor. Maka accepted a flyer for the Mathletes team from a mostly bald boy with thick glasses, but she became disheartened once she saw that you had to be at least a sophomore to get in. Maybe next year, she thought, as Soul looked over at band for about five seconds before grumbling about them not having the right instrument open. Tsubaki accepted pretty much every flyer she was offered, even the really bizarre ones.

"Join the cheerleading squad!" a cute, pink-haired girl whose hair was dyed about the same shade as Crona's exclaimed. "Sign up right here and at the board!" she added. "We're not just open to girls!"

"We'll think about it!" Tsubaki exclaimed back. "Or would any of you three want to sign up right now?"

"Ugh, no," Soul replied. "I'm far too cool for cheerleading."

"Hmm, maybe I could," Maka said. "I might write my name on the board as a fallback in case I don't find anything else."

"I couldn't, not even as a fallback," Crona said. "Look how short the skirts are on the cheer uniforms, I can't deal with wearing something like that, it's too embarrassing," they added, glancing a bit too long at the cheerleader girl's skirt hem. "Besides, I'm no good at cheering anybody up."

"That's not true," Maka said, as they walked together past a few more tables and flyer handouts. "Your smile's enough to cheer me up," she added.

"Really?" Crona asked, blushing slightly.

"Hey, wasn't that the show choir Black Star wanted us to sign him up for?" Soul called out, pointing to a table where a blond boy, possibly a sophomore, with multiple ear piercings sat.

"Oh, yeah," Maka said, as the four of them walked over to the table.

"Please sign up to save my club," the blond boy said. "Almost all our members graduated last year, and we need twelve in order to compete."

"I'm interested in signing up, could you tell me a few details about this club?" Tsubaki asked, signing both her name and Black Star's onto the signup sheet.

"Well, if I wasn't in a class with him, I'd think Black Star was a fake name," the boy replied, looking at the clipboard before setting it back down on the table. "Anyway, we're having a fresh new start this year, and a new name. We are no longer Tone Death, since a friend of our faculty advisor suggested we rename the team to Spartoi, which we did. And we really need new members to go along with the new name. I, President Hiro, am the only one left," he began to explain, as Maka signed her name on. I haven't been able to see Tsubaki that much since we're two grades apart, and if I could be in a club with her and BlackStar, that would make it double the fun, she thought, as Soul wrote his name down.

"We are a nationally ranked competitive club, and we mostly operate in this school's choir room," Hiro continued. "Unfortunately, we're the farthest from the nurse's office, so if anything goes wrong, it's quite a walk."

"Farthest from the nurse's office?" Crona asked, picking up a pen and signing their name.

"Yeah," Hiro replied. "Was that what caused you to sign?" he asked. "Whatever floats your boat, I guess."

"Uh, no, I..." Crona began, "I signed because my friends did," they said, the tone in their voice becoming a bit shaky.

"Well, I wish you guys good luck at the auditions this Saturday at ten!" Hiro exclaimed as Maka and her friends walked off. A black-haired boy, not much taller than Maka, approached the show choir table and meticulously began signing his name on the sheet.

"Wait, did that Hiro kid say the auditions were Saturday?" Soul asked. "At ten?"

"Yeah," Maka replied. "I hope you and Black Star can make it to the auditions," she said, as the vice principal and her father, Spirit Albarn, approached the group.

"Maka, your mother's expecting I drop you off at her place pretty soon," Spirit said. "We have to get going."

"Oh," Maka replied, turning back to her friends. "See you two tomorrow in class, and Tsubaki, make sure we get the same lunch table!" she exclaimed. As Maka and Spirit began to depart towards the entrance hall, Maka heard Soul begin to discuss with the other two what being in a nationally ranked competitive club might entail in terms of stage fright and how many people would be there when they compete. Maka heard a shrill "eep!" come from Crona after that as she left the hall. Hang in there, Crona, she thought.

"So did you sign up for anything?" Spirit asked.

"Tsubaki signed up for show choir, so I thought it could be fun to do it with her," Maka replied.

"Not to mention I'm the faculty advisor, right?" Spirit asked. Oh right, I forgot to ask if he was doing that again this year, Maka thought, internally facepalming.

"One favor to ask, Papa," Maka said.

"Sure, what is it?" Spirit asked.

"Don't have me pass the audition just because I'm your daughter," Maka replied. "If I pass, I want it to be legitimate. Got that?"

The rest of the week came and went like a blur. Maka and Tsubaki chatted on the phone about their audition songs, Maka talked to Soul about athletics pointers, and she had to reassure Crona about the competitive nature of the club they picked, and the stage fright that came even before auditions. Perhaps this can be an opportunity for them to grow, Maka thought. Maybe they'll overcome some of their fears this year.

On Saturday, something unusual happened. Rain. In Death City. Smack in the middle of the Nevada desert. Standing out in the bustling school parking lot, Maka took it all in. The little drips touched her arms, drop by drop, as Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki got out of the car with Spirit.

"Thanks again for the carpool," Tsubaki said to Spirit as a motorcycle sped in across the wet pavement. Maka thought she recognized Ragnarok as the driver, since he wasn't wearing a helmet, which his passenger wore instead. Maka, Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki began walking up the stairs to the school's entrance, Spirit trailing not too far behind. There were two flyers on the door, an informational one detailing where the different tryouts were being held, and a neon green flyer with the words "Football tryouts postponed due to rain. Come to the field this Tuesday after class if you signed up" on it in all caps.

"Well, that eliminates my need to make a decision," Soul said. "Guess I'll be able to try out for both after all," he added, as Ragnarok ran up the stairs with Crona, the latter holding a motorcycle helmet. Ragnarok shoved the others aside.

"Out of my way!" he shouted, before reading the neon green flyer. "Shit," he said. "Well, looks like it's postponed, we're going home," Ragnarok stated, hoisting Crona up over his shoulder.

"Wait a second, I have something else I'm trying out for!" Crona protested, as Ragnarok carried them down the stairs. "Ragnarok, turn around!"

Black Star and Maka tried to run after him, but Black Star slipped and fell in a puddle, while Maka hat to stop quick to avoid running into him. By the time she helped him up, Ragnarok was already back at his motorcycle.

"Well, that was certainly something," Soul said, as Ragnarok sped off. "Damn, he's fast, got them on the bike safely and everything."

"Come on, we've got an audition to go to," Spirit said, opening the door. "Follow me, everyone."

The auditorium's seats were empty, save for Hiro, who called Spirit over to sit with him. He was holding a clipboard, the same one that was used for the signup sheet. Maka, Soul, Tsubaki, and Black Star walked up onto the stage, where about twenty other kids stood. Maka recognized one boy as her classmate, Kidd Morte. He was standing with a bubbly-looking blonde girl in a cheer uniform.

"Those two cheerleaders in the crowd are Patty Thompson and Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre," Black Star said, pointing to the blonde by Kidd, and a dark-haired girl further down the line. "Patty's the blonde, and Jackie's the brunette. They're both in some of my classes."

"And that boy with the spiked-out ponytail is Harvar Eclair," Tsubaki said. "He's been one of my classmates for two years now, and he's a Mathlete."

"Harvar D. Eclair," Harvar corrected. "Nobody remembers the middle initial," he lamented, before catching sight of Black Star. Harvar grimaced and walked to the other side of the line by Jacqueline. I guess he doesn't like BlackStar very much, Maka thought. Did something happen between them last year?

"Is Liz going to audition?" Kidd asked. Tsubaki perked up at the mention of Liz's name. Maka knew the two were girlfriends, but she hadn't yet met Liz. Maybe I'll finally meet her, she thought.

"She didn't want to do any extracurriculars this year," Patty replied. "But she's going to come here in a bit to cheer me on. She's just in the bathroom," Patty added, as the door opened, and a tall blonde wearing a red sleeveless crop top and jeans walked in, taking a seat in a different section than Spirit and Hiro.

"That's Liz," Tsubaki whispered, elbowing Maka. Liz took out a soda can, opened it, and began drinking. Tsubaki waved to her. Liz waved back. "After my audition, I'm going to talk to her for a bit," Tsubaki said.

"Okay, my watch just struck ten," Spirit said, looking at his wrist. He looked back up at the stage. "Everyone on the stage right now, you are our potential for reviving this school's show choir ensemble. I want to see you all do your best in your auditions, and as with any audition only the best will make it in. Hiro will be calling everyone up by alphabetical order of last name, so everyone take a seat in the back of the stage until your name is called. Due to the fact we only have the auditorium until lunch, please only sing the first verse, bridge, and chorus of your chosen song. Good luck, everyone!"

"Maka Albarn," Hiro called out. I'm up first, of course, Maka thought. I guess that's one of the perks of having a last name that starts with A.

"Hello, everyone," Maka said, walking up to the microphone. "I will be singing 'Blank Space' by Taylor Swift..."

"Lame!" Soul hissed. Maka ignored him, and began singing the first verse. Her voice was clear, and powerful, though a bit nasal on some syllables. But she didn't let that stop her, instead belting out the first verse and chorus of the song with the passionate energy of someone who was actually performing in front of a competition-level crowd. She heard Black Star cheering for her the moment she stopped, as Spirit wrote down something in his notes. Gosh, I hope I didn't do too bad, she thought, walking back to sit with the others.

"Black Star," Hiro called out. I guess he didn't put out a last name, Maka thought, as Black Star took the stage.

"I will be singing 'I am the Greatest Star' from the musical 'Funny Girl'," Black Star yelled into the mic. "I am not really a huge fan of musicals, but this song just spoke to me on a spiritual level," he said, before singing. His voice came in as a solid soprano, with as much boundless energy as his actions. Black Star didn't keep the mic on its stand, instead picking it up from there and taking it along with him as he bounded across the stage. This extra measure to stand out worked wonders for him, as he was noted onto Spirit's cards before he was even finished singing.

"HYAA-HAA!" Black Star shouted, as he dropped the mic, which then made that loud screechy microphone noise.

"Don't mess with the sound equipment!" Kidd barked. "My father paid good money for only the best equipment for this school, show some respect!" Oh, no wonder his last name seemed familiar during class roll. He's the principal's son, Maka thought, as Hiro called out the name of the next kid.

"I'm going to be singing 'Mom's Spaghetti' by Eminem," that kid said, as he put the microphone back on it's stand.

"That isn't even a real Eminem song," some other kid muttered. The 'Mom's Spaghetti' kid's audition went horribly off-key, and it was really hard to tell whether he was singing or just trying to rap like he was singing. Unless literally everyone else here is a trainwreck, he is not getting in, Maka thought, as another name was called. This time it was some girl who sang "Let It Go" in a really mediocre way.

"Let that song go," Soul whispered to Maka. She smirked a bit.

"Harvar D. Eclair," Hiro called out. Harvar stood up at the microphone, as Soul ran backstage.

"I will be singing Eddy Grant's 'Electric Avenue'," Harvar said, before taking his chance with the 80's song. He was surprisingly good at singing. Surprisingly very good. Maka wasn't sure if it was because of the two crappy auditions before him, but she had a strong feeling he was going to get in.

"Solomon Evans," Hiro called out, as Soul came back with an upright piano.

"This is who I am," he said, before he began to play. Black Star held in tears of laughter.

"What's that idiot doing?" he whispered to Maka. "Playing piano for a show choir audition? Bro," he added, as Soul began to sing. It was not a song any of the others recognized, which means either Soul wrote it himself and this was his first time revealing it to the world, or he was such a hipster that he found a song so obscure even obscurity did not know of it. But his voice sounded very rough and low, not fitting the usual thoughts of what high school show choir was meant to sound like. When he was done, he took a bow, before wheeling back the piano to its spot wherever he found it. Spirit and Hiro muttered amongst themselves.

"Okay, Crona Gorgon," Hiro called out. There was no response, as they were absent. "Crona Gorgon," Hiro called out again. "I knew this name wasn't real, who in their right mind would name their kid Crona?" Hiro called out the next few kids, and as time went by, Maka watched the door incase Crona was able to convince Ragnarok to take them back to the school. The auditions were still mostly mediocre in the meantime.

"Kidd Morte," Hiro called out. Kidd walked up to the mic stand.

"I will be singing 'Don't Rain on My Parade' from 'Funny Girl', which my father once made me see," he said. Kidd belted out a strong tenor, staying in tune and on key, perfectly hitting each note with the utmost precision. And it sounded glorious. Maka knew for a fact he'd most likely get in even if he weren't the principal's son. Kidd walked away from the microphone and sat back down.

"Tsubaki Nakatsukasa," Hiro called out. Tsubaki nervously stepped up the mic.

"I will be singing 'Firework' by Katy Perry," Tsubaki said. She took a deep breath and began singing. Maka already knew how Tsubaki's voice sounded from playing a few rounds of Rock Band with her over the years, and she was glad to hear Tsubaki was sounding as silvery and pleasant as ever. She's sure to get in with that soft, gentle voice of hers, Maka thought, feeling a nice, calming feeling from Tsubaki's singing. She ended her rendition with a soft fade out, as the others clapped behind her. Tsubaki turned back around, blushing at the praise.

"Woohoo, go Tsubaki!" Liz shouted. Tsubaki covered her mouth with her hand, hiding what Maka suspected to be a huge, dorky grin, before she turned back around, lowering her hand. She took a few steps aside from the microphone and blew Liz a kiss.

"Jackie O'Lantern Dupre," Hiro called out. Jacqueline walked up to the mic.

"I will be singing 'Girl on Fire'," Jackie said. She cleared her throat and began the first verse. Okay, I guess I'm making a note of her going by Jackie for when she gets in, not if, Maka thought, upon barely hearing Jackie's voice. Jackie loudly belted out the chorus as Patty filmed her audition. Wait, was Patty filming the entire time? Does Jackie have a friend who didn't audition? Maka thought, as Jackie completed her chorus, and returned to the group of teens sitting out on the stage. Hiro called out a few more names as the auditions went on, and those kids sang performances ranging from terrible to maybe a bit better than mediocre.

"Patricia Thompson," Hiro called out. Patty stood out and ran to the mic.

"I'm going to be singing 'Barbie Girl'!" Patty exclaimed. She opened with a heavy metal scream. Soul mouthed a flat "what?" to Maka, who shrugged, as Patty began singing both parts of the duet by herself, the main with her normal cutesy voice, and one like it was heavy metal. It was both the strangest and most amazing thing Maka had witnessed so far in her high school life. And it was only the end of the first week.

"Okay, Patricia, that's enough," Spirit said. He almost sounded impressed. The rest of the auditions paled in comparison, as Maka waited out the rest of the morning sitting there, just listening, until the last kid finished his audition just as the bell for lunch rang.

"Thank you, everyone, the results will be posted at the board on Monday, with our first meeting right after class that afternoon!" Spirit exclaimed.

The rest of the weekend could not have gone any slower in anticipation. Maka's Saturday afternoon was spent on the phone, telling Crona every last detail of the audition. Saturday evening was spent wondering if talking about it so enthusiastically actually made them feel bad for basically being kidnapped out of it. The entirety of Saturday night and most of Sunday was spent at Black Star's for a sleepover with him, Soul, Tsubaki, and some of Black Star's classmates, including Patty.

When Monday came, practically the entire roster of students vying for spots in the competitive clubs ran to the entrance hall's board.

"Dammit, I can't see for all those taller kids!" Black Star exclaimed in frustration. "Tsubaki, hoist Maka up!"

"Will that be okay, Maka?" Tsubaki asked. Maka gave the thumbs-up, and Tsubaki lifted Maka up on her shoulders. A kid behind them groaned "oh, come on," as Maka tried to scan the board. Her expression turned from curiosity to elation.

"We're in, all four of us!" she shouted, leaning down at the boys. Black Star cheered, as Tsubaki set Maka back down to her feet. The four of them rushed out of the crowd into the halls, where Maka saw Crona standing alone at a distance. "We made it in!" Maka shouted, running over to hug Crona.

"Wait, I wasn't even there," Crona replied, trying to move their arms a bit to no avail. "How did I... oh, you didn't mean I was part of this." Maka stepped back a bit, letting go of them. "I'm glad you guys made it in."

"If it weren't for Ragnarok, you could've had a shot, too," Soul pointed out. "If you really are okay with the concept of performing in front of possibly hundreds of people, though, maybe Maka could use her power as our faculty advisor's daughter to give you a makeup audition. What do you say, Maka?"

"Yeah, we should do it!" Maka cheered.

"I guess that could work if I don't pass my other tryouts," Crona said. "I'll think about it."

Later, on that afternoon, Maka and Soul entered the choir room for the first time. There, they found Black Star, Tsubaki, Kidd, Patty, Harvar, Jackie, Hiro, and Spirit.

"That's all nine of them," Spirit said.

"But we needed twelve to compete, and there were more than enough auditioning," Hiro whined. "Although, we would've had to poke into the crap pile to meet our minimum quota, so it wouldn't be necessarily a good idea to have picked from there anyway."

"Watch it, Hiro," Spirit said. "Just because you're president by default doesn't mean you get to be a jerk."

Hiro slunk back down into his seat.

"Now," Spirit began, "for our schedule for the year. Since Nevada is so sparsely populated, if all goes right we will be slated to appear in three competitions. We have a preliminary competition towards the end of November, a state final in the last week of January, and a national one midway through April. But unless we place first, we can't move up between levels. So even if we place second in the preliminary, we cannot move up beyond there and our competitive season is over."

"What happens if we're not competing?" Black Star asked.

"Then we'll just do weekly lessons and sing for ourselves," Spirit replied.

"I thought that was what show choir did regardless," Patty said.

"No, since routines take time to choreograph, we're focusing on our competition prep," Spirit replied. "If you thought this was going to be all fun and games, you thought wrong. We'll still have plenty of fun, don't get me wrong, but in order to win, we have to work hard, and practice hard. And in order to be a good team, we need to know our teammates well. So everyone, why don't you tell us a bit about yourselves?"

"I am the great Black Star!" Black Star shouted with a big grin. He dragged out one of the plastic chairs to the center of the floor and stood up on top of it. "I will become the greatest star of this school! I'm already vice captain of the football team, but that's gonna change at the end of this year when the current captain graduates. I joined this club so my stardom can reach both the arts as well as athletics. And by the time I graduate this school, and for eons afterwards, everyone's gonna remember my name! Remember me as the man who brought stardom to himself and this school with everything he ever did!"

Black Star went on for about six more minutes until he had to go get a drink of water. When he came back, Kidd was sitting on the chair.

"Hello, I am Kidd Morte, and my father runs this school as principal," Kidd said. "I do not want special treatment because of this, I'd rather you treat me just like any other kid," he added, before going quiet. He took a deep breath, before continuing to speak, his voice taking on a much more serious tone. "About two summers ago, I was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, centering around balance and symmetry, and occasionally, it's hard for me to keep myself in check. In middle school, I was mocked for it to the point where I felt that was all they were reducing me to. Can you promise not to make fun of me like they did?"

"Sure, man," Black Star said. The rest of the members all gave their agreement as well. Black Star leaned in towards Maka. "There's probably a subtler way to mess with him," he whispered so only she could hear.

"Thank you," Kidd said, relieved. He got off the chair, and Maka stood up to it. Like Black Star, she chose to stand on the chair.

"My name's Maka, and I joined this club to have fun with my friends, and possibly make a few new ones along the way," Maka said. "I'm a straight-A student, and I've been among the top ten in P.E. since sixth grade. I'm not much of a dancer though, so I'll have to learn as I go, but I'm sure I won't drag you guys down!" she exclaimed, getting down from the chair. I gotta improve so I can live up to what I just said, Maka thought, as Soul sat down upon the chair. I don't think I'm on the level yet where I can ask for a lead in the preliminary, so I'll focus on training so I can ask in a later competition.

"Hey, I'm Soul, and I can play the piano, I guess," Soul said. "I'm a better dancer than singer, so I'm not gonna be trying out for any solos anytime soon," he added, returning to the crowd. Jackie took the chair.

"My name is Jackie, and I also do cheer, so I'm sure I have the proper skills to help us put the 'show' in show choir," Jackie said. She paused, expecting a laugh. Nobody did. "I've often been told I'm too straight-laced for comedy," she sighed, resigning herself to the crowd. Patty stood on top of the chair.

"Hey, I'm Patty, and people say I laugh at everything, which isn't true," Patty said. "I only laugh at the things I find funny, there's a difference," she clarified, before getting down from the chair to let Harvar on.

"Harvar D. Eclair," Harvar said. "Junior. Mathlete. I'm joining this club to find something to do on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays since I broke up with my last boyfriend over the summer. I tried to get my friend Ox to join, but he wouldn't go for it." Harvar stood up from his seated position, and Tsubaki walked up to the chair and sat down.

"Hello, my name is Tsubaki Nakatsukasa," she said. "I live in a house with my parents and my younger foster brother Black Star. I joined this club because I thought it would be fun to compete, and so I could get over my apprehension towards being in the spotlight. I hope everyone does their best!"

Hiro then loudly cleared his throat.

"I'm the club president, Hiro," he said. "I, uh, I joined last year as a freshman to make friends, but everyone else in the club was a senior, so after we lost Nationals, I was the only one left. I hope you guys can not only be my friends for the year, but that we can get to Nationals and win it."

"Don't worry, blondie, with the great Black Star on our team, we're guaranteed a win!" Black Star proclaimed. Harvar rolled his eyes and started checking his phone. "Hey, Harv, you got any stories about your ex?" Black Star asked.

"You are not close enough to me for nicknames," Harvar replied.

"Looks like we got a rivalry already," Maka groaned.

"Okay, now that we've gotten to know each other a bit, let's talk preliminaries," Spirit said. "This year we have 'Classic Musicals' as the theme, so our entire set list is songs from musicals. We're doing, in order, 'Grease Lightning' from Grease, 'A Boy Like That' from West Side Story, and 'Summer Nights', also from Grease," he added, handing out copies of the set lists. Maka looked at the required roles. GREASE LIGHTNING: Male solo/possible duet if audition ties. A BOY LIKE THAT: Female duet. SUMMER NIGHTS: Male/Female duet. Ensemble required for supporting parts. NO AUDITION REQUIRED FOR SUPPORTING ROLES, JUST ASK. AUDITION REQUIRED FOR ALL LEADS. Maka deeply wished her father hadn't used Comic Sans for the set list. I think I'll just ask for a supporting part in 'Summer Nights' for now, she thought.

"Anyway, as it stands," Spirit continued, "we're not going to be able to compete at our current number of members, so I am assigning you all to, over the course of this week, try and find our tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and possibly more members. You've got until October begins."