Aikatsu Dreams!

Chapter 19: United Together

"It's nothing," she sniped. Straightening the purple bow, she wore in her ponytail, Akira rose from her seat. "I should get going," she stated before leaving the table. As she exited the cafeteria, Tori came strolling in from her morning activities.

"Oh, good morning Akira, are you finished breakfast already?" she asked. But Akira simply glanced at her, acknowledging her presence but returned no greeting. Instead, she simply walked past her friend as if she were a total stranger. "Is everything ok with Akira?" Tori asked now joining her remaining two friends at their table.

"Yeah," Hana sighed.

"She can be a bit stubborn, but this was something else?" Miyuki commented. "Are you two having a fight?" Hana stared at her juice, watching the ice cubes slowly shrink as they melted.

"I don't think so, it's just, she's been a bit upset after she completed her job yesterday and didn't get a charm from it," she summarised. Tori and Miyuki looked at each other, seemingly starting to understand. "I know she's been trying really hard lately, but I think it's getting to her."

"Akira doesn't do well with losing, neither of us do but her especially. She won't tell us why, but I think it's best we leave her be for a while," Tori explained, straightening her posture.

"It doesn't help that she keeps on competing against that second-year who keeps beating her," Miyuki added. Hana did remember that Akira's gig had her facing off against many other students one of which was a second-year that she found herself constantly competing against.

"Oh right, I remember now. That second-year did end up competing yesterday too, but she didn't get a ribbon charm either," Hana recollected. "Come to think of it, didn't Akira face off against her back at 'Aikatsu Beach'?"

"Yeah, those two find a way of always ending up paired together somehow," Miyuki mentioned, now chomping on her breakfast bagel.

"Regardless, I think Akira is just getting frustrated. She's been participating in all of these gigs and auditions and she just feels like she's not making any progress," Tori added.

"I see," Hana mumbled, now clenching her glass between her hands, unbothered by the cold temperature.

"Anyways," Tori began in an attempt to change the subject. "I have some exciting news." Miyuki looked up, taking a break from her food whilst Hana managed to put her drama with Akira to the back of her mind for a moment. "I just came from a council meeting, apparently there's going to be a big announcement today," she explained.

"Ugh, when isn't there some 'big' announcement? I feel like there's a new one almost every week!" Miyuki complained.

"They're certainly now a regular occurrence," Hana giggled.

"I know but this one's supposed to be different. All I know is that it'll be announced during class today with a follow up lecture in the performance hall," Tori explained, drawing as much information from her memory as possible.

"Any ideas?" Miyuki asked. "Does anyone on the council have an inside scoop?"

"No," Tori shook her head. "The president has no idea. The note she got came directly from the faculty's office in the Administration building. It pretty much said exactly what I just told you." The girls kept their voices hushed as more students entered the cafeteria for breakfast.

"Do you think it'll involve the 'Grand Prix'?" Hana asked, her voice now a gentle whisper. Tori clutched her chin, thinking of the possibility.

"I imagine so but still, with even the senior students in the dark, this must be something new."

"When you think about it, whenever we received an announcement for an event or update, they almost knew what to expect," Miyuki noticed. It wasn't an incorrect observation.