Amazing News but also Irritating

Break time is upon the band. The members scattered around the underground studio. chatting amongst themselves. Simon chatted with Beyond and Kokomi was chatting with Carter. Albert was still standing near his keyboard, practicing another song.

Kokomi noticed this and told Carter that she'd like to invite Albert to join their conversation. Carter sat back on the chair and waited patiently for her.

Kokomi waltzed over towards Albert and stood in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest. Albert felt a shadow looming over him and tilted his head upwards. He was sitting on a stool. He saw Kokomi, crossing her arms, clearly dissappointed. He paused his playing.

"What did I say?", Kokomi began.

"Practice time is for practice, rest time is for rest", he answered, and stood up from his seat.

"Exactly, well done. Now, care to join use?", Kokomi asked, gesturing towards Carter.

Albert closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. "okay". He then followed her towards where Carter was sitting. Carter heard two pairs of footsteps and smiled, he then stood up when the sound of those footsteps got closer.

"Nice to meet you Albert. I've heard great things about you", Carter greeted.

"Drop the facade and talk normally, we're not business partners", Albert retorts.

Carter looks at him, one eye brow raised. Then he smirked.

"That straightforward huh? Well then, how long have you known Miss Kokomi?", Carter questioned.

"That's more like it", Albert said, taking Carter's hand and shook it. Still having his poker face on.

Kokomi stood there smiling and clapping happily.

"You two are gonna be best pals", Kokomi states.

Both boys turned their heads towards the excited girl and smiled softly at her. They then turned back to each other, except Carter looked the wrong way. Albert cleared his throat and Carter followed the sound, looking the right way.

"My bad", Carter apologized, and slightly chuckled then coughed after that to cover it.

The three began to converse with one another, mostly about their favorite music band and about the courses they're taking. Carter felt happy to be chatting with them, he gained more insight into The Meerkats. The band was established six months ago by Beyond and Simon after their pianist had left the previous band. That's where the topic left off.

Carter was curious to know more about the band's past but decided not to ask more about it. 'Perhaps it'll unveil the more I spend time with them' Carter thought. Albert didn't talk much but he spoke his opinions when he wanted to. Kokomi was the one who did most of the talking.

"Alright I shall tell a joke", Albert spoke.

"Go on", Kokomi encouraged.

"I found this one yesterday. Ahem, so you see five aunts rented an apartment, correct?", Albert began.

"Hm", Carter agreed.

"With another five aunts. Now they're TEN-aunts", Albert said.

Carter went silent, he didn't understood it at first. Kokomi placed her hand above her mouth to stop herself from laughing at Carter's confused expression. She caught on quickly at the so-called 'joke'.

"Did you get the joke?", Albert asked Carter, noticing his confused expression.

Carter stayed silent, still trying to find an answer.

'3...2...1' Kokomi thought.

"I shall now explain it to you", Albert insisted as Kokomi grimaced.

Before Albert could explain the joke, Carter heard the door burst open and a person heaving, all out of breath. All the members turned to look at the newcomer. Beyond crossed his arms over his chest in dissappointment.

"Nahida, how many times have I told you. Knock the door first before coming in, if you don't want to, then open the door gently", Beyond scolded.

"Yeah, yeah *pant*. Sorry you old man. I tripped *pant*", Nahida explained breathlessly.

Apparently, Nahida fell onto the floor when she came through so everyone else looked down at her while Carter looks straight at the door. Kokomi went to help her up and sat her down on the studio's couch in the break area. After a few minutes, Nahida calmed down and held up a piece of paper.

The group surrounded her, not leaving Carter. Kokomi had took hold of his shoulder and guided him towards Nahida.

"Battle of the Bands against other bands in Melaka. Best one will be chosen to represent Melaka in the upcoming Music Festival in Johor Bahru. Bands representing each state will compete with each other. Winner shall represent Malaysia in an International band competition, until further notice", Nahida explained the contents of the flyer.

"That's an amazing opportunity to showcase our band", Simon said. Everyone began chattering excitedly about the competition. What song were they gonna play? What's the prize? Is it a perfect bonding experience? Will there be cash prize?

Beyond snatched the paper excitedly out from Nahida's hands. "rude", she whispered to herself. Beyond perused through the flyer and he simply said "in two weeks". Everyone went silent.

Two weeks...

"WHAT!", Albert shrieked suddenly.

Carter covered his ears to decrease the impact of Albert's booming voice. Everyone still stood silent, staring at Albert. Visibly grimacing.

Albert cleared his throat and composed himself.

"We must be so new that we hadn't known about this like about a year ago. It's an annual event", Kokomi said, tip-toeing, looking over Beyond's shoulder.

"The we better get practicing whenever we can", Simon piped in.

"Agreed", Albert said.

'This band has piqued my interest. Should I ask them if I could join. I could not play any instruments, maybe I could sing instead. I'm pretty sure I'll be rejected but it's worth a try' Carter thought.

"May I join this band?", Carter suddenly blurted out.

Everyone went silent again.

"You have to go through an audition first. Is that ok?", Kokomi asked, smiling brightly.

"Of course", Carter replied.

Kokomi looked at Beyond for an agreement. Beyond sighed, he trusted Kokomi's intuition. Her gut feelings were never wrong, only sometimes. Well, no human being can predict everything to come out true.

"Alright you can have an audition. But, I'll shall be the judge", Beyond states.

"Yay!", Kokomi clapped.

Everyone agreed with the audition.

"Alright everyone, go get a good night's. We'll meet back at the studio at 9 a.m.", Simon said.

"Got it", Albert replied.

"Anyways....who's this?", Nahida pointed at Carter.

"So handsome", Nahida said dreamily.

Carter smiled at that, feeling pride taking over him.

"I'm right here you know", Beyond scoffs.

"You're ugly", Nahida replied.

Kokomi began to giggle and soon everyone joined her in laughter. Beyond sulked.