Portview Plaza was every teenager's go-to place after school. It was the largest mall in Mini Manila, housing a hundred stores, restaurants, and cafes. Its grocery, Bag'N'Go, had all a person needs for daily living. And if shopping and eating were not your thing, you could settle down or walk around the promenade overlooking Mini Manila's harbor.

Paul had many great memories growing up in Mini Manila, many of which came from Portview Plaza. It was where he ate his first pizza. It was where Paul first learned ice skating in the Portview Plaza indoor skating rink. And how could Paul forget that one time he was pushed into the Portview Plaza fountain by a gangster after looking at the thug's girlfriend 5 seconds too long? 

Usually, Paul went to the mall with his friends or Uncle Howard. But today, he was on his own. And in both his hands were plastic bags filled with kitten food, goat's milk, and cat litter.

That morning, Howard created a list of what to buy for Tuesday. Howard made it abundantly clear that Tuesday should be on a strict diet of kitten-appropriate food. And since Tuesday was still young, he thought it was only appropriate to bottle-feed the kitten. As for the cat litter, Howard was so used to using the toilet that the feline forgot that cats in the Earth realm used litter boxes. So he instructed Paul to buy the highest quality, odor-free, non-tracking cat litter Bag'N'Go could offer.

Paul was already regretting not calling Brad to help out. He was unsure how long he could survive carrying a sack of cat litter, cans of kitten food, and a school backpack full of textbooks and scrap paper. He was halfway through the mall when his shoulders gave up, and he collapsed onto a bench, breathless.

"I swear to God," Paul mumbled to himself. "Tuesday better like this kitten food or else."

Paul sat there motionless, watching people going by in a blur. Slowly but surely, strength was coming back to his shoulders. He was about to continue his walk when he saw a familiar face in the crowd.

Paul recognized those brown hair, tan skin, Mini Manila beanie, and flannel shirt from anywhere. He got up from the bench and walked up to the familiar face.

"Alex!" Paul greeted. "Am I glad to see you here!"

Alex turned around and gave Paul a toothy grin. In the older teen's arms were a pile of colorful flyers.

"Looks like someone went shopping today," Alex remarked. "And you didn't invite me?"

"Oh, this is nothing special," Paul playfully rolled his eyes and showed the shopping bags to Alex. "It's just cat supplies. We adopted a kitten yesterday."

The grin on Alex's face grew. "You better introduce me to your new kitten. As long as it's, you know, not a talking one."

"She's not!"

The two shared a laugh. But Paul and Alex were immediately interrupted by two other teenagers. They were about the same height and age as Alex, covered head to toe in black. One of them tapped Alex's shoulder and asked, "You got us a new recruit?"

"Oh! Hey, Paul, I forgot to introduce you to my bandmates." Alex stepped back to show the two. "Big guy here is Ken. He is the band's drummer and backup vocalist. And this blonde is Joseph, our guitarist. And together, we are 4-Minutes!"

Alex lifted his hands, expecting a high-five. No one took it.

"4-Minutes is a placeholder name," Joseph said. "Besides, we're only three members now. Our lead vocalist left due to throat cancer."

"I'm sorry about that," Paul replied, shuffling awkwardly.

"That's why we're out here looking for a new vocalist." Alex took a step forward to hand Paul a flyer. "We are in dire need of a talented singer, someone with powerful vocals. The Mini Manila Battle of the Bands is coming in four months, and we want to bring home gold."

"Pshhh. As if we can win against Soul Hunters," Ken dismissively said. "They won five years in a row."

"Well, that's because they haven't found their match yet." Alex proudly replied. "We're doing tryouts this Saturday, Paul. I heard you're part of the school choral, so maybe your voice is what we need. Besides, we're kinda not having that much luck in finding candidates.

"I know you might be busy and all, especially with your new kitten, but maybe we might have you as a new member of the band, Paul. Who knows?"

Paul looked down at the flyer. It was amateur, at best, yet there was an earnest attempt with the layout and lettering. Paul looked at Alex and his bandmates. They were all eagerly waiting for his reply.

Paul swallowed hard. He tucked the flyer into his hoodie pocket and nodded, "I'm in."