popstar academy: katseye
synopsis. solani’s introduction into dream academy & meeting the other girls
tags. google translated spanish, lani meeting (most of) the girls for the first time
popstar academy, nov 2022 | los angeles CA.
in the trainee dorms, ilya sits perched on the top bunk, legs swinging idly as she glances down at the camera set up on a tripod in the corner. her curls are frizzy from rehearsal and her sweatshirt slips lazily off one shoulder. "wait," she says, turning to sophia with an arched brow, "do they know the new girl's coming?"
sophia, seated cross-legged on the floor beneath her, shrugs one shoulder and digs into a snack bag without looking up. "i dunno, should we tell them?”
with a dramatic sweep of her arm iliya turns to the camera and proclaims in a sultry british accent, "a new bombshell will enter the villa."
the door clicks open behind them, and emily slips into the room, just barely dodging the edge of it before it clips sophia in the shoulder. "sorry, sorry!" she winces, shutting it behind her. "are we talking about the new girl?"
"yep," iliya says, still grinning. "trying to decide who gets her."
"'cause there's no room in here," sophia continues, pointing lazily between the bunk beds. "like, none. we're maxed out."
"i feel like the big room makes the most sense," iliya adds, glancing at emily for confirmation. “you guys still have that extra bunk, right?"
the words are barely out before the door creaks open again, this time revealing a skipping megan with a grin plastered across her face. "we'll take her!" she declares triumphantly, shooting one hand into the air like volunteering as tribute. "she can share with me, adéla, and em—our fourth bunk is still empty."
emily barely gives it a beat before reaching up and grabbing megan's raised wrist, yanking it down with mock alarm. "dude! what if she's, like, a total nightmare? you just volunteered our room."
sophia snorts. "yeah, i feel like that's a bold move considering we literally know nothing about her."
"i do," megan sing-songs, eyes gleaming as she climbs onto sophia's lower bunk like it's hers. "i got it outta missy." she pauses for effect. "nikkys in mexico training her right now."
that earns a synchronized round of skeptical glares as emily lifts a perfectly shaped brow. "missy? no shot. she never talks."
"well she did this time!" megan insists, bouncing slightly on the mattress. "her name is solani—she's twelve, from mexico city."
"twelve?" sophia echoes, half-choking on a sip of water. iliya's jaw drops; emily's eyes go wide.
"i didn't even know they were taking auditions that young," iliya says, voice a little softer now. the idea of someone that young stepping into this pressure-cooker environment feels a little crazy.
"yeah, well," megan shrugs, grabbing sophia's phone without asking and beginning to type in a search bar, "she must be really good, then." she says it casually, but there's something sharp underneath it—because if someone that young is being flown in this late in the game...she's not just good.
she's a threat.
popstar academy, nov 2022 | los angeles, CA.
tension hums through the air like static as the girls gather in the main living room on the night of solanis arrival. it's late, but no one is willing to go to bed. they're all perched somewhere: on the armrests of couches, cross-legged on the floor, pretending to be chill even as their eyes keep darting toward the front door.
a bubbling pot of ramen simmers unattended in the kitchen, abandoned in the wake of a whispered update that the car should be close. slippers shuffle across hardwood floors and every so often one of the girls get up to peer through the windows.
lexie is the only one pretending not to care. she's clicking through channels absently on the living room tv, volume low. "does anyone even know when she's coming?" she mutters, not looking away from the screen.
"nope.” manon answers from the couch with a shrug, phone balanced on her knee. the digital clock on the wall blinks eleven thirty; outside the city is asleep, but in here everyone is wide awake.
"do we even know what bunk she's going in?" dani pipes up from the far end of the sectional, socked feet tucked underneath her.
"still figuring it out.” sophia replies with a light laugh. "we only found out this morning that she was coming tonight."
"we should ask her what she wants to do," karlee suggests, chewing on the sleeve of her hoodie as she leans against the wall. "let her choose."
"isn't she really young?" naisha calls out from the kitchen. "like...ten? i swear megan said ten."
"twelve," sophia corrects gently from where she sits on the floor. "still the youngest by a lot, though. maybe it's better if she shares with girls closer to her age."
"which would be..." megan starts, looking around. "me, emily, and adéla. yoonchae, ua, and hinari are closer in age but their room is full, so that kinda narrows it down."
"okay, so it's settled." sophia nods, clapping her hands once in resolution. "the new girl will go in megans room."
that's what they've been calling her all day: the new girl. it was vague and impersonal, but it was all anyone had to go off of. they just knew she'd been handpicked, and that she'd gotten a full month of one on one training in mexico before being flown in. which, frankly, made her more of a mystery than a new roommate.
[ADÉLA — CONFESSIONAL]
"it's daunting," adéla admits softly, tucked on the edge of her neatly made bunk bed, hands clasped in her lap. "you want to be welcoming, obviously, but this is still a competition, so there is a flicker of insecurity. like...what if she's better? what if she's exactly what they're looking for?"
[MEGAN — CONFESSIONAL]
"it's always a gamble," megan muses in her own confessional, sitting cross-legged in an oversized tee. "you don't know if she's gonna click with the group or totally throw off the balance. but it also kinda feels like...getting a new sister. that's what this place is, anyway. a weird, stressful, beautiful little sisterhood."
popstar academy, nov 2022 | los angeles, CA.
a sleek black suv pulls into the driveway, headlights flashing briefly as the engine cuts. in the backseat solani clutches her phone till her knuckles ache as she stares up at the looming house. her suitcase is wedged beside her, nearly as big as she is. the door opens and nikky steps out first, reaching in to help with her bag.
solanis legs feel like jelly as she swings them out onto the pavement. today had been her first time on a plane and it had been to move to a different country, but this is the part she's most afraid of.
nikky doesn't walk her to the door. she just rests a hand on the girl's shoulder, gives her one last encouraging squeeze, and nods toward the porch with a gentle "you got this, solani."
solani nods back but her feet feel like lead as she climbs the steps, suitcase bumping with every stair. the porch light casts long shadows as she lifts her hand, pushes the heavy front door open, and steps inside.
the door slams behind her a little too loudly.
she's frozen in the entryway, alone with her giant suitcase and pounding heart. every part of her wants to turn and run back out to the car, but fast approaching footsteps have her trapped.
the first girl to appear is tall, with pale skin and long dark hair, wearing a warm, kind smile. "it's so nice to meet you, i'm sophia!" she chirps, sweeping lani into a tight hug before she can back away. "you must be exhausted."
"um—nice to meet you," lani recites automatically, trying her hardest to pretend she wasn’t rapidly translating in her head. "i'm solani."
before she can take another breath a second girl with bleach blonde hair to her chin bounds forward. "i'm karlee! we've been waiting all night for you."
more girls follow and lani recites each name in her head—daniela, megan, emily, adéla, celesté, lara, lexie, manon, marquise—until the living room is completely full. there are at least thirteen girls, all of them older, taller, more confident-looking. and every single one of them is looking right at her.
for a long beat nobody says anything and solani grips the handle of her suitcase, feeling entirely out of her depth.
then manon speaks up from the back of the group. "how was your flight?"
“um, my…” lani clears her throat, heart pounding with embarrassment. "i’m sorry...i'm only learning english." she apologizes slowly, a phrase she'd had saved in her notes app for weeks.
the girl who'd introduced herself as daniela lights up, stepping toward the front of the group. "¡puedo ayudar! mis padres son latinos y crecí hablando español en casa." (i can help! my parents are latino and i grew up speaking spanish at home.)
solani could have cried at the immense amount of relief she felt at that. she lets out a nervous laugh, "gracias a dios." (thank God.)
sophia smiles gently, speaking slow but not in a way meant to make solani feel stupid. "where in mexico are you from?"
"tepito," solani answers automatically, shifting from foot to foot as her brain processes the little english she does know. "um...mexico city." she tries to steady her breathing. for a moment she questions what she's even doing here.
megan grins. "well," she says brightly, "i hope you're not allergic to glitter, 'cause emily's in a crafting phase and you're stuck with us."
emily rolls her eyes. "that was one time." laughter bubbles through the room, not loud or forced but just enough to ease the tension.
solani only smiles awkwardly; she has no idea what megan said, as the slightly older teen spoke in such a rapid pace lani felt dizzy from just trying to follow along.
"come on, we'll show you our room." adéla steps forward, gently lifting solanis suitcase from her grip and offering a soft smile. “there’s three of us in there already, but it’s the biggest room.
instinctively solani darts her eyes toward daniela, a clear cry for help.
the older girl smiles sympathetically, “dice que te enseñará tu habitación; ya hay tres personas allí, pero es grande.” (she says she'll show you your room; there's already three of them in there, but its big)
solani nods, flashing a grateful smile as she trails behind the blonde down the hallway. megan, emily, and daniela follow close behind, chatting excitedly.
megan shoves open their bedroom door with a proud flourish. it's warm and lived-in, with clothes draped over each desk chair, hairbrushes and water bottles littering each dresser, mismatched heels peeking out from half-under one of the two wooden bunk beds.
solani steps inside quietly, taking it all in. the room feels both cramped and enormous; familiar in its chaos, foreign in its context. she reaches for the handle of her suitcase awkwardly, unsure where to stand. megan answers for her, dragging it to the center of the room and starting to unzip it before solani can protest. "i stalked you on instagram." she admits casually, shoving a t-shirt through a plastic hanger.
solani’s eyes widen fearfully. "no you did not.”
"i did," megan grins proudly. "took some digging 'cause missy would only give me your first name, but she underestimated how good i am at internet stalking."
"and you didn't show us?" emily groans from the corner, tossing her hair over one shoulder. "rude."
"i couldn't!" megan defends, "missy threatened to burn me at the stake if i said anything."
solani lets out a breathy, horrified laugh, covering her face with her hands. “embarrassing.”
"you're so cute," adéla coos, flashing solani a warm grin. "how old are you again?"
"uh, twelve." lani admits reluctantly, refolding a skirt and placing it in the only empty drawer. "thirteen in month.”
“when’s your birthday?”
solani blushes again. “i don’t know in english.”
“i’ll help,” dani offers again, smiling encouragingly.
“doce de diciembre.”
“december twelfth,” daniela translates for the other girls. she turns back to solani, “so soon!”
solani only hums in response, shifting her attention back to unpacking. this birthday would be the first she had ever spent away from home, and she’d rather not breach the topic with a bunch of older girls whom she met five minutes ago.










