Mischievous Function

To Award Enough Time

"I know," Mic answered. "I know we do. It's just...I've—we've worked so hard this week, to get this done and ready and all. And I genuinely couldn't ask for a better team to do this with—like, I know the B.F.D. High girls aren't exactly shining examples of idols, but they're idols in their own unique ways. I hope I made them feel comfortable enough with that fact. And...they especially have worked so hard to make this a success. I...I just feel like...I feel like if everyone pretends not to notice, then the world will explode, or something."

"They're gonna notice," Test Tube smiled. "Everyone out there is going to know just how much hard work we put in—how much you put in, and Dot, and Aqua, and all of the others. Heck, I'd say we got a good chance of winning this thing."

"Okay, let's not delude ourselves," Mic chuckled. "Aqua showed me. We're going up against at least three other idol groups in the 10–12 who probably have way more experience than us: two other high school idol clubs and some rising J-pop group who literally does this for a living. And that's not even counting the other non-idol 10–12 groups."

Before either of them could answer, though, she shook her head and sighed. "But...that's okay. For me, it was never about winning anyway. It's about the experience—the performance itself. I don't care how low we rank tomorrow, as long as we all do our best and have fun."

"I mean, I get wanting to make sure we enjoy the experience," Suitcase chimed in, "but if you really think about it, we're not that far off from being experienced ourselves. The B.F.D. High girls sing all the time, and Four whips them into peak physical condition. I sing regularly and...well, I've got a decent bit of dancing experience. Lightbulb's been a dancer since she was knee-high to a duck, and she doesn't sing half-bad, either. And Test Tube's a weeb."

"Yeah," Test Tube agreed. "I-I mean, I agree that we're experienced, not that I'm a weeb—"

"You are."

"You are."

"You are."

"...Okay, but still."

Test Tube placed a hand on Mic's shoulder and clenched her other one into a fist. "Come on, Mic. I understand if you don't want to be disappointed, but you can't go in with a losing mentality. We're winners, even if we don't win."

Mic looked down at the window sill for a moment, thinking over Test Tube's and Suitcase's words. Then, she shook her head and chuckled. "...What would I do without you guys?"

Test Tube and Suitcase let out grunts of exertion as Mic suddenly wrapped her arms around both of them and pulled them in for a giant hug. All three of them laughed as they returned the hug, and they gazed out at the moon and the clear, deep, beautiful night sky and stars as they smiled.

——————————

Meanwhile...

Knock-knock-knock.

Clock opened the door to find Dot standing there with her hands in her pockets. "Hey, Anny," she said with a smile. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," he said, stepping to the side and letting her pass as he closed the door behind him. "Loser and Cake are out...watching a movie, I think? And Coiny's hanging out in Pin and Needle's room."

Dot nodded while Clock went back to lying on his bed and watching the TV. She sat on the other bed and asked, "So, how are you doing?"

"I'm good," he answered with a shrug.

"How's school? I bet it must be tough, especially with Four as a teacher."

"You'd...actually be surprised. For all the crap we give him every day, Four's actually a really good teacher. Sure, he can go overboard with killing us sometimes, but he's actually doing a pretty good job of smoothing this curriculum out for us."