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6 ~*~ The Entrance Exam

Watched over gently by the warm sunlight of spring, I had a little anticipation and a lot of anxiety in my heart as I left my house. First I went to see Matsumoto-sensei at her home, where I joined up with the five others of her students who were taking the exam along with me, and whom I had made plans to go to the location of the first exam with. The first stumble occurred at my teacher's home. For the singing portion of the exam, where we sing a themed song, I had hand-written the sheet music, adjusted to the pitch of my voice, which I was to hand in. The musical accompanist could look at it while playing. My teacher pointed out to me that my handwriting on the sheet music was sloppy. Because even our handwriting on the sheet music could affect our score. I'll tell you this now, but there's nothing I can do to change it. In the end, there was someone with the same song as me, and compounding my fault, I borrowed her music. I ended up using it first, and compounding my fault even more, that girl failed the first round. It's little enough now, but thank you. And I'm sorry---------

We took a taxi from Roppongi, arriving at the location of the first exam, the Takarazuka dorms in Ebisu.

Ah, this was the place where my admired stars stayed, but this sweet feeling was soon blown off of me. The other exam-takers gathered one after another, and they all seemed as if they were stars already. Beautiful, mature, and if I tried to talk to them, they knew the inner workings and the stars of the Revue well; they were exceptional people who planned to take the exam as many times as necessary. At that moment, I gave up on passing the exam.

We were separated fifteen to a room, and I listened from the corner as everyone talked with enjoyment about Takarazuka. I found another like me. She seemed more grown-up than me, Idenawa Kimiko-chan (Machi Yuu). Without knowing that we would later be roommates, I remember how we consoled each other about our unfavorable positions.

That dormitory that I was never to set foot in again was burned into my retinas, but I don't remember the exams at all. In other words, I took them in just that wretched state. The one thing I remember, is how in the ballet portion (the one thing I had confidence in), I fell on my rear while doing a squat.

Falling into a pit of despair, I arrived home, said, "I definitely failed!" and threw myself onto my futon and bawled.

Matsumoto-sensei called me there. My teacher had asked a teacher of the Revue over the phone. Their answer: "It's fine. She passed with the best score."

It seems that was true, but I couldn't believe it.

"Why was *I* number one?"

*

The second exam was combined with those students who had taken the test in Takarazuka itself, and we went to the Takarazuka Music School. In Kansai there are two kinds of Takarazuka Prep schools, the Child's Athena and the prep courses, so they had a stronger collection than our Tokyo group. But it was my second time doing this and so I had gotten used to it; this time it felt like a school excursion, when I went along with all these faces I recognized from the first round.

Ballet, voice, interview, I enjoyed them all. In the ballet portion where I could display my special skill, there were others who danced Spanish, jazz dance, Japanese, tap, and many other types. I particularly remember the girl who did impressions. I felt that the girls from Osaka had pluck and were pretty interesting.



Well then, at last the fated day when the results were announced. Actually, the day before the doctor at the exam location who gave me a physical told me, "There's a suspicion that you have cardiac valvular disease. You'll pass the exam, but please give up on entering the school."

Oh my God!

Again I returned home in tears. During the exam I was staying at my aunt's house, and I spent the night crying. Exhausted from crying, the next morning I was quite disillusioned of my dream of entering Takarazuka. "It's enough. I've worked hard to come this far, and high school life seems enjoyable, so I'll give it up."

Those were my feelings as I went to see. Even when I saw my name written on the results board of those who had passed, I was only a tiny bit happy.

Only those who had passed gathered in the auditorium.

"I heard this time there are three with weak bodies, so they've accepted 43, three more than usual."

The voice came to me from somewhere. So was I one of those three.....?

Counting on only the words of the doctor, "I can guarantee you only three years", and having finished the formalities of entering the school, I returned to Tokyo.

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