Rising Stars! Rise to the Top!

[Mystic Mina]

Out of the thousands of applicants that signed up to be a part of the new pop song group "Rising Stars," somehow these four were chosen. Katerine, Michael, Rick, and Jasper. None of them had exceptional musical talent, and all of them were virtually unknown to the public eye. So why, then, were these particular four given the chance to fight in one of the biggest musical battles in pop music history, the Mad Music Melee?

This question may have been floating through the minds of our group as they sat in the lobby of the company that began the search in the first place, Blue Sky Records. There, they waited patiently for the arrival of the president of the company. He appeared to be running a bit late, however... Twenty minutes late, to be exact.

[Harri-chan]

Katherine was sat on a sofa in the lobby, checking a delicate silver wrist watch every few minutes and sighing. Her long brown hair was drawn back into a simple ponytail, and she wore a smart suit consisting of a light grey jacket and short, mid-thigh length skirt, with a pale blue silk blouse, and a pair of high heels. She also had a darker grey leather purse hanging from one shoulder, held close to her side as she sat, knees and feet together, glancing around at the others.

[Ookalf]

*Jasper is presently seated in a seperate chair across from Katherine. His outfit consits of a green dress shirt with khaki pants and black shoes, and he can be heard absently humming to himself as he waits.*

[Hira Kanaki]

*Rick is currently standing on the opposite side of the two just looking at his watch wondering when the person is going to come.*

[Maiden Miki]

Micheal was maybe the one that nobody would have noticed. He has been quiet the whole time and was wondering what was going on until he was slowly drifting asleep. His hair was covering his eyes as he just sat there and looked at the other people sleepily. He wasn't sure if he should be here but the others in the lobby looked to be just as experience or maybe less then he was but then again Micheal isn't some expert.

[Mystic Mina]

Another fifteen minutes pass as our new pop stars patiently wait in their seats within the large, rather modern-looking company skyscraper. Outside, day turns to night, causing the building's ceiling lights to switch on and bath everyone in a bright, white shine. Employees of the company, their work for the day complete, shuffle by the four, with some of them giving a small passing glance or two. It seemed that perhaps Michael, Rick, Katherine, and Jasper were forgotten, or that this was all some elaborate prank made to waste their time, until the company president they were waiting for finally arrived at last.

At least, they believed he was the president. The tag on the breast of his expensive-looking business suit said he was. But this boy was way too young to be the leader of any company! Judging by his appearance, he looked more like a college freshman than the leader of a business!

"Hey, uh, sorry I'm late and all. Had to get things prepared for our meeting, y'know?" The youth pulled out a piece of gum from his suit pocket and popped it into his mouth. "Anyway, nice to see *chew* you're all here. *chew chew* My name's Eric Taylor and I'm *chew* the president of Blue Sky Records!"

[Ookalf]

*Jasper looks over at the young man.* Er... You're the president?

[Maiden Miki]

"Umm...Yeah....Hello but is there anybody else we can talk to?" asked Micheal when he saw who was in charge. The person looks almost as old as he was.

[Harri-chan]

Katherine wasn't an impatient person, but even she was in a sour mood after such a long wait, when this boy showed up claiming to be the guy behind the record company. Her dark brown eyes started at him in disbelief for a moment or two, before she rose carefully from the sofa, and drew a deep breath. "This has got to be a joke... ", she muttered.

[Hira Kanaki]

"So this is the president...I shouldn't judge by looks alone." Rick said looking at the guy.

[Mystic Mina]

"No, this isn't a joke. I'm really the president. What, do I not look mature enough to you all?" After saying that, Eric blew a large bubble with his gum, only for it to pop spectacularly and send bits of gum residue flying everywhere. "Uuuuh, aaaanyways, how about we go up to my office and talk? It's kind of awkward talking to you all in an empty lobby like this, y'know?"

---

A walk and an elevator ride later, the group found themselves in the unlikely president's rather roomy office. Strangely, it didn't seem as though it was his. The wooden furniture and various decorations were too mature, and there were photos of a much older gentleman with his family scattered about all over the place.

"I know you're all excited that you're going to be pop stars, but there's just one last thing we have to do before we really begin." Eric, who sat himself behind the desk of the office, pulled out a large stack of papers for each member of the group along with different colored pens. Pens with very, very sharp points. "It's just a bunch of legal stuff, nothing really important or anything. Skim it all over and sign at the end... Oh, and could you please prick your thumbs with your pens and press them next to your signature? You know, so we know that no one forged it or anything like that."

[Ookalf]

Umm... How does poking ourselves with a pen prove it's not a forgery?

[Maiden Miki]

"If this is legit then I guess it isn' too bad," said Micheal as he read the legal stuff. Some of it was a bit over his head and other times he skim the document. It looked legit and legal so he slowly pricked his finger with the pen to make his blood bleed a bit.

"I guess Eric means serious business," laughed Micheal a bit. He then signed the contract. "They want us to sign in blood."

[Hira Kanaki]

*To sign it or not...I'm desperate.* Rick thinks signing the contract, and pricking his finger for the proof. "Though I want an explanation for this soon..." Rick said.

[Harri-chan]

Katherine took a pen, and a stack of papers. From her job, she knew she should read everything in detail, but with the amount of time wasted already today, she couldn't handle the thought of spending hours going through the papers. With a sigh, she signed her name and then pricked her thumb and pressed it alongside the signature. "Are we going to start right now? At this time... ?", she asked in an annoyed tone.