Episode 20 –
Warning: Spoiler!No, Maya doesn't know the lines, but took the stage anyway. She saved herself somewhat by biting on the flower, but Ayumi comes onstage to help, since they need Maya to do a certain thing so the play can moved forward. I like how the two culprits thought Ayumi was saving them when she ordered them off the stage, but now she and Maya are alone and must somehow play off each other and they pull it off perfectly. Of course, Ayumi gets all the credit and takes it too, but when the two that gave Maya the wrong script thank Ayumi for saving them, she reprimands them for switching the scripts and endangering the play. Only when Ayumi is in her dressing room and alone, does she acknowledge Maya's skill to herself.
Later, Maya thinks of Ayumi's guidance in leading her through the scene and calls her a genius. She is sure that she will never be as good as Ayumi and tries to leave the theater. However, Masumi stops her and offers to give her a lift since it's raining, but she gets angry at him again. She accuses him of doing anything to get what he wants and he agrees with her, asking her if that's what she wants to hear. Maya runs crying from the theater into the rainy night, calling him a horrible man.
But the next day, she receives gifts from her fan – everything she needs for her new school. On her first day of school, I can already see who her next rival will be, Emi Kanaya. Maya also finds evidence that her fan is at the school and looks for the person, but can only find Masumi. She almost finds out it's him, but he comes up with a quick cover story and Maya buys it. Silly girl!
Daito's agent meets with Maya to tell her about the Helen Keller role. They’ve cut the candidates down to five girls and Maya is one of them. She is asked to audition and her friends encourage her to try out. Sure enough, she's going to be up against Emi as well as Ayumi. Maya then finds out that Ayumi's mother is playing Annie Sullivan and is also going to be one of the judges along with Onodera. Upon hearing this, Maya refuses the offer of the audition because she's positive she won't have a chance against Ayumi, although the agent assures her that the judges will be objective.
Ms. Tsukikage later gives Maya grief for appearing on the stage while on probation and also scolds her for not knowing her lines. This was pretty harsh of her considering it wasn't Maya's fault on either count. Worse yet, Ms. Tsukikage expels her from the troupe! She tells Maya that she'll give her one more chance. She can come back if she successfully auditions for the role of Helen Keller. If she doesn't get the part, Ms. Tsukikage will never take her back.
Meanwhile, Ayumi leaves home so she can win the role fairly and her mother promises to judge objectively. Ayumi is determined to get the part on her own merit and also refuses to lose to Maya. Maya, having no other choice, decides to try for the role and will put everything into trying to win it. This is going to be a tough choice. Would a tie between Ayumi and Maya be possible? That's what I'd like to see, but it's highly unlikely. Or will both girls lose the part to Emi?
