Idol (Selection Project rewrite/inspired story)

The next morning, we all gathered once again at the main room. Since it was quite early in the morning, some of them still looked a bit tired. Upon spotting Rena, I called out to her and approached her. She looked even more weary than the rest as she was still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. 

"What's wrong? You look tired." I asked.

"Ugh, I couldn't get much sleep last night," she grumbled in response.

"Why, what happened?" 

Instead of responding, Rena just glared at the short-haired girl who had introduced herself as Kuroi Kana, the former child actress. Before I could question her further, the television screen by the couch lit up. However, the screen remained blank, and a cute-sounding voice played over the speaker. 

"Participants, if you would please make your way to the studio in 20 minutes for your first briefing. Thank you." 

And with that, the announcement abruptly ended. Several of the girls looked at each other, feeling out the situation. While we had received instructions to make our way to this lodge and stay for a night, what to do from then on had been left vaguely unclear. 

Thankfully, Kyouko stepped forward to take control of the situation. "Alright guys, let's start heading over there!" 

As the others began filing out, I turned to Rena. "We should get going too."

"Mm."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The studio was decently far away from the lodge we were staying at. While the lodge had an amazing view looking over a nearby beach, one of the downsides that came with this was that it was located quite far up a hill, meaning that we would have to go down it whenever we wanted to go anywhere.

While we were walking to the studio, I decided to strike up a conversation with Kyouko. "Looks like you've unofficially become our leader, Kyouko."

She wiped away at her face with her hands. "Ugh, don't say that. I don't know how I ended up in this situation." 

"Do you not like it? It seems like you're pretty good at it though."

"Well let's just say we don't always get to choose what we're good at."

"Ahahah, I feel you on that one." Suddenly, the girl walking next to Kyouko joined in on our conversation. It was Aonuma Rei, the professional idol and also the oldest of the group.

"Come to think of it, you seem like the dependable type. Maybe you could be the leader instead." Kyouko suggested, turning things around to Rei.

"Oh me?" She laughed slightly at the suggestion. "Despite how I look, I'm actually not really all that responsible. I'm more the type to let trash pile up in my room before finally mustering the willpower to throw it out, you know?"

"Ahh, I know that feeling," I chimed in.

"Really? What's so hard about throwing out the trash? You guys really should keep your rooms clean." Kyouko seemed genuinely confused about what we were talking about. Then, she turned to me and added on, "Especially you, Suzu. If we're going to be roommates, then I'll have you know that I like to keep my room clean."

"Of course, of course, don't worry about it. That was just how I was before. I'm a changed person now."

"Hmm, is that so?" Kyouko didn't seem entirely convinced. Rei giggled a little at our exchange.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing, its just refreshing to see this kind of banter. I hope this can last." Rei said wistfully