We enter a small room with a huge screen; a table in the center with maracas, tambourines, a couple mics, some menus and what it seems to be a tablet, and a couple armchairs in opposite sides of the room.
Izumi-san runs, throws herself over one of the armchairs and falls thunderously.
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She's not moving.
"Are you ok, Izumi-san?" Hamano-san asks, and Izumi-san turns over and lies face up in the armchair.
She turns towards Hamano-san and:
"Come here, Sotoka-chan, it's so comfy!" She yells.
Hamano-san heads to the armchair, gets near Izumi-san and pats her twice on the shoulder. Izumi-san gets up and sits down.
Hamano-san sits beside her.
"Come on," Hamano-san tells us.
Ino-san heads to the opposite armchair and sits there.
And I sit there too because 1) symmetry; 2) if I would have sat next to Hamano-san and Izumi-san, the three of us would be very uncomfortable and close together in the same armchair; 3) I would probably hurt Ino-san's feelings if I let her alone; 4) Hamano-san and Izumi-san could be a couple, so it would be best to leave them alone, and 5) I think I like Ino-san—she's a smart and rational person, and she knows a lot of bands.
"Very well," Hamano-san takes a tambourine and gives it to Izumi-san. "You can grab some maracas or a tambourine if you want."
"Nope," says Ino-san.
Hamano-san sighs.
"I see. Grumpy as always, huh? And how about you, Khanna-san?" She asks me.
"No, thanks; I don't know how to play them. And also I don't know how to sing.
"They're just maracas," says Ino-san. "You just shake them and that's it."
"So why don't you grab ones?" Asks Hamano-san with a smirk.
"I don't want to," replies Ino-san.
"Tsk. Grumpy as always," repeats Hamano-san. "But, anyway, don't use them if you don't want to, Khanna-san. And let me explain how this works," she tells us and takes the tablet. "We choose the songs we're going to sing here, and these will appear on the screen. There," she point at the intercom beside the door, "we can order sodas, snacks and whatever."
"Uh, uh, can we order some nachos?" Izumi-san asks.
"Right now?" Asks Ino-san.
"Yeah, it's too early," says Hamano-san. "We can order the sodas first, if you want," Hamano-san gets up and heads to the intercom.
"What would you want?" She asks.
"A Coke for me, Sotoka-chan!" Izumi-san yells.
"Green tea," says Ino-san.
"Just a glass of water for me, please," I ask.
"Wow, you really like water, huh, Khanna-san," says Hamano-san.
"Not really," I reply. "Well, it's not that I like it or dislike it; water's practically tasteless, but I'm choosing it right now because we're going to be singing constantly, so my vocal chords must be hydrated to avoid any damage or weathering whatsoever, even though it's not like I use them a lot, to be honest, but to let them wear out or get damaged doesn't seem like a smart move in any situation. Besides, water's the best drink to get hydrated at the lowest price.
Izumi-san then gets up, takes my hand and starts to shake it violently.
"YOU'RE A GENIUS, HANNA-SAN! ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT MY SENPAI?!" She yells.
"Yes," I reply. "I'm in first grade, just like you."
"HANNA-SENPAI, HANNA-SENPAI! FROM NOW ON YOU'LL BE HANNA-SENPAI!"
"Um... ok, but why a senpai?"
"And you, Sotoka-chan," Izumi-san completely ignores me, "you've heard her; you'd better get some water to protect your beautiful voice."
"I'm fine," says Hamano-san, "but thanks."
"NO, IT'S NOT FINE, SOTOKA-CHAN; IF YOU DAMAGE YOUR CORD THINGIES YOU GONNA LOOSE YOUR BEAUTIFUL VOICE, AND I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!"
"I'm fine. Really. Don't worry," Hamano-san holds the intercom's button. "Hi, I'll be a Coke, a geen tea, a glass of water and a strawberry soda for me, please."
���AND ANOTHER WATER FOR SOTOKA-CHAN!" Izumi-san yells.
"I don't want water!" Hamano-san yells back.
"YOU NEED IT! LET ME PROTECT YOUR SMILE; YOU'RE MY WAIFU!"
"I don't know what that means, but I'm fine, really!"
"BUT, SOTOKA-CHAN, KIITEKUDASAI!"
"What are you saying?! I don't understand that, but if you tell me again I need water, I'll get really mad at you and I won't talk to you for the rest of the day!"
Izumi-san stares at Sotoka-chan like she wants to scream or throw a tantrum.
But at the end she says nothing.
"I'm sorry," Hamano-san says to the intercom. "Don't bring this last thing. Thank you," Hamano-san stops holding the button and comes back to her place.
Izumi-san takes the tablet and starts to check the songs available.
"You'll be first, Izumi-chan?" Asks Hamano-san. "Which one would you sing for us?"
But Izumi-san says nothing.
"Oh, did you really got mad at me for that?" She asks Izumi-san—even though the answer's more than obvious.
Izumi-san says nothing.
"I don't want water, and I'll be totally fine," Hamano-san says. "And you stop giving her ideas, Khanna-san."
"I never said don't drinking water would damage your vocal chords," I say. "But the possibility's always there."
"You'd better stop telling her that, Khanna-san. And, fine, I'm sorry, Izumi-chan, and please tell me: what song would you sing for us?"
Izumi-san turns towards Hamano-san with a grin in her face.
"It's gonna be a duet with the two of us, Sotoka-chan. And the song's a surprise."
"It'll be one of your ugly ass anime songs," says Ino-san, "and how's Sotoka-san supposed to sing that, Izumi-san? She won't even know the lyrics."
"They're gonna come up on the screen. Duh!" Says Izumi-san, and, honestly, she's right.
"And can't we pick a song we both know and like, Izumi-chan?" Asks Hamano-san.
"Yes," says Izumi-san. "After this one."
"Why? Why's that song so special?" Hamano-san asks.
"It's our song, Sotoka-chan."
I knew it: Izumi-san and Hamano-san are definitely a couple! And I know I don't know a lot about relationships, but I'm pretty sure only couples have their own song, and not all of them but the ones that have been together for a long time or something.
But, sure, there's always the possibility that all of this is just a big misunderstanding and/or they are only friends with their own song, but, I don't know; if we consider the hugs, the fact they're holdings hands when they go practically anywhere, and this, it seems pretty obvious to me both of them are in a relationship.
But, again, I can be wrong.
And, at the end of the day, this doesn't affect me, so I don't know why should I care.
"WHAT?!" Both Hamano-san and Ino-san yell at the same time, but Hamano-san's face shows confusion and/or discomfort and/or nuisance, while Ino-san's shows surprise and/or joy and/or malice.
"This is so weird!" yells Ino-san excitedly.
"And can you tell me why we have a song, Izumi-san?" Asks Hamano-san .
"CHAN! CHAN! CALL ME IZUMI-CHAN! AND THIS IS OUR SONG, AND WE'RE GONNA SING IT, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TOGHETER, AND HERE!" Izumi-san hands the tablet to Hamano-san.
"Fine," says Hamano-san. "But I hope is a song I know," she says and then she starts to check the songs available. "Hey, hoy about each one of us pick a song we want to recommend to Khanna-san?"
"Why, though?" Hamano-san asks. "I've already made her a list."
"But now she can hear the songs."
"Yeah, I guess," says Ino-san.
"Ok, so now you'll pick a song you want her to hear," Hamano-san hands her the tablet, "and you…" she turns towards Izumi-san "maybe next time, Izumi-chan."
And speaking of picking a song, which one should I pick? I don't know any of the bands they recommended me, and probably they won't like the bands I know; they're too old and, for some reason, all my classmates and people my age I've known hate everything that's old—they think it's lame—and considering that was the music my dad used to hear—which maybe I shouldn't say because there's nothing my classmates and people my age seem to hate more than their parents, or at least that's what I always overhear them complaining about (and I really don't know why; your parents are wise, give you food and shelter, and want the best for you, but there's a high chance not all parent are like this)—I must have terrible musical taste, according to them.
"Khanna-san…"
But maybe the biggest problem of all are the song's lyrics; they will be in that giant screen, and they can read them, and what would happen if I pick a song whose lyrics they end up hating because it's inappropriate or too simple or too abstruse…
"Khanna-san, are you ok?"
…or because they propose a political and/or religious and/or social ideology they don't agree with? And, sure, this could be easily solved if I knwe some song lyrics, but I've never been interested in such things, so I only remember one or two verses for some songs, and obviously this is not enough to know if the song lyrics are good—or safe, at least—or not.
"Khanna-san, hello, Khanna-san… no, it seems Khanna-the-robot-san stopped working."
"Don't be like that, Ino-san. She's just trying to pick a song."
But, judging by the ban names on the lists, each one of them have very different musical tastes, so there could be just a few bands—or maybe none—they all enjoy as much. And why should I care, anyway? It's not like they will kick me out of the club if I sing a song they don't like, but why risk it, though? Maybe I should—
"Hanna-senpai, Hanna-senpai, Hanna-senpai!" Someone grabs me by the shoulder and shakes me violently.
And that someone is Izumi-san.
"What?" I ask.
"Have you picked a song?" Hamano-san asks me. "As we are going to recommend a song, you can recommend us one of yours."
"Umm…" I reply, "it's just that I don't know many songs, and I don't really know the genres you like, so I can't really give you a good recommendation.
"Doesn't matter," says Hamano-san. "Just pick a song you really, really like."
I could pick one, but they'll probably hate it, so my best choice seems to listen to their songs first and pick a similar one—if I know one— later.
"You can pick yours and I'll only watch you. It's just that I don't know how to sing."
Hamano-san smiles at me so kindly.
"Me neither, but whatever. We came here to have fun."
"I thought we came here to investigate what our classmates like so we could approach them and recruit them?" I ask.
"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun while doing it—even though the last thing they do here is singing, but anyway. And if you like, Khanna-san, you can watch us sing now and join us later."
"Ok, yeah, that was almost exactly my plan," I say.
Suddenly we hear a very fast and loud song. Dancing anime cartoons appear on the screen.
Izumi-san gets up and takes a mic.
"It's our turn, Sotoka-chan!" Izumi-san approaches Hamano-san, takes her by the arm and starts pulling her. "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on! It's about to start!"
"Ok, ok, ok, ok, I'm going," Hamano-san gets up, takes a mic and puts herself in front of the screen, besides Izumi-san. "But I don't know this song, Izumi-chan."
"Don't worry," says Izumi-san. "it will be on the screen."
And, as Izumi-san said, these words appear on the screen—even though it was obvious it would happen.
♫ Sōrumeito, sōrumeito ♫
"SŌRUMEITO, SŌRUMEITO!" Izumi-san yells instead of sing and shakes her tambourine as hard and loud as she can. Probably someone will soon arrive to shut us up.
"Sōru… sōrumeito, sōrumeito" Hamano-san has a hard time reading the lyrics on the screen.
"Stop yelling, Izumi!" Ino-san yells.
"Shut up, Ino!" Izumi-san yells.
The following words appear on the screen:
♫ Eien ni sōrumeito ♫
"EIEN NI SŌRUMEITO!"
"Eien ni sōrumeito…?"
♫ Watashitachiha itsumoissho ni irubekida to shitte imashita ♫
"WATASHITACHIHA ITSUMOISSHO NI IRUBEKIDA TO SHITTE IMASHITA!"
"Wata… watashi… tachiha. I can't read this, Izumi-chan. Why don't we sing another song?"
Izumi-san turns towards Hamano-san with a terrified and/or dejected and/or hurt expression.
And she starts crying.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she cries as hard as she can in front of the mic. Her cries are so loud I cover my ears with my hands—and definitely someone will come to shut us up now. "BUT IT'S OUR SONG, SOTOKA-CHAN, THERE IS MY HEART AND SOUL ON IT, AND YOU THREW 'EM AWAY! YOU HATE ME! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Izumi-san throws herself to the armchair and throws a tantrum. "I WANNA DIE, I WANNA DIE, I WANNA DIE, I WANNA DIE, I WANNA DIE, I WANNA DIE…"
Hamano-san approaches Izumi-san and pats her back.
"I'm sorry, Izumi-chan, it's just that I don't know that song…"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Come on, Izumi-chan, don't cry."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
"You can help me learn the song later, if you want."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
"Because it's our song."
Izumi-san lunges towards Hamano-san and knocks her down. She then hugs her as hard as she can.
"SOTOKA-CHAN, DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI DESU!"
Yeah, they are a couple, and the chances I'm wrong should be practically zero; I mean, look at them, if they aren't a couple, what are they?
"Stop it, Izumi-san," Hamano-san cries. "Let me go."
The music changes abruptly. Now the room's filled with a slow and sad ballad.
"That's my song," says Hamano-san, "get off me, Izumi-san."
"SOTOKA-CHAN, DAISUKI DAISUKI DAISUKI…
"Ino-san, Khanna-san, help me out."
I stand up and approach those two. Then I grab Izumi-san by the shoulders and try to pull her away from Hamano-san.
But Izumi-san clings to her.
"Ino-san, please help me out," implores Hamano-san.
"Buy me something and I'll help you," replies Ino-san maliciously.
"What?!" Just come here and help me out."
"Why should I? I really enjoy watching you two like this."
Hamano-san gets mad, and her face turns red.
"What's wrong with you?! You're a pervert! Stay away from me!"
"I'm not a pervert, but ok, I'll stay away from you, then," says Ino-san with an evil smile.
"SOTOKA-CHAN, DAISUKI DAISUKI DESU!" Izumi-san squeezes Hamano-san even harder, and I can't separate them, no matter how hard I try.
"Ok, fine," Hamano-san gives up. "I'll buy you something, whatever, but help me out."
"Was it that hard?" Ino asks and then gets up, walks slowly towards us, and grabs Izumi-san by the ear. "Let her go, Izumi, or you know what wil happen," she pulls her ear fast and hard.
"Ow!" Izumi-san yells.
"Hi, here's the drinks you ordered," one of the karaoke's staff opens the door and looks at the scene in front of him: Izumi-san and Hamano-san lying on the floor and hugging on top of each other, me pulling Izumi-san by the shoulders, Ino-san pulling Izumi-san's ear, the sad song on the background. It's no surprise that he, without saying a word, leaves the tray with our drinks on the table, gets out of the room and closes the door. But maybe he should scold us for our behavior; I mean, how can this be acceptable? But, I've never been in a karaoke, to be honest, so I don't know what's an accepted behavior here and what isn't.
It's still hard to believe he just left without saying a word. Or maybe his only job is to bring the food and beverages to the respective rooms, and not to control whatever happens inside them, so he has no reason to care of whatever we, or any other client, do.
"Let her go, Izumi," Ino-san pulls Izumi-san's ear again.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Izumi-san yells and lets Hamano-san go. Then she raises her hands and gets up slowly.
And lunges towards Ino-san.
They both fall loudly on Ino-san's armchair, and start struggling. They roll so violently they fall to the ground.
"Let me go, you bitch!" Ino-san yells.
"KIRAI! DAIKIRAI!" Izumi-san yells.
"Oh," Hamano-san laments, "my song's almost over, but anyway…"
"Shouldn't we separate them?" I ask.
Hamano-san looks askance at them.
"Nah," she says, "Ino-san deserves it."
The following words appear on the screen:
♫ So come to me, take me away ♫
"♫ So come to me, take me away ♫" Hamano-san sings, and she has a pretty voice, like Izumi-san said, but it's obvious she has never had singing lessons, and those would help her a lot—but who am I to judge, really; I mean, there's no way I can sing that acceptably, so it would be best for me not to sing for the rest of the day.
Izumi-san hears Hamano-san's voice and immediately let's Ino-san go, heads towards her seat and dedicates solely to watch Hamano-san sing.
Ino-san stands up.
"Tsk," she clicks her tongue and sits in her respective armchair. "Oh, yeah, thanks for nothing," I thinks she's speaking to me.
♫ Just don't leave me here for another day ♫
"♫ Just don't leave me here for another day ♫" Hamano-san sings.
"I'm sorry," I say and bow accordingly. "It's just that Hamano-san told me not to, and you never asked for help and—
"I didn't need any help," Ino-san clears out, "but was it so hard to help out a friend?"
"So we're friends?" I ask—and why anybody told me?
Ino-san stares at me surprised and lightly blushed.
"Of course not; you didn't help me, and I barely know you."
♫ A million places where we���ll gonna go ♫
"♫ A million places where we'll gonna go ♫" Hamano-san sings.
"So if I'm not your friend, why are you mad at me?" I ask Ino-san.
Ino-san looks surprised and/or disillusioned at first, and then, pretty angry.
"You're right: I shouldn't be mad at you," she says, even though she's obviously mad at me. "You're not my friend, and what a dummy I was." Ino-san gets up and approaches Hamano-san.
♫ As long as they're not here ♫
"♫ As long as they're not here ♫" Hamano-san practically whispers this last line.
And the song ends.
"Move; it's my turn," Ino-san says dryly to Hamano-san.
"Um, ok," Hamano-san hands Ino-san the mic and goes back to her seat.
Izumi-san then stands up and starts clapping as hard as she can.
"SUBARASHĪ, SOTOKA-CHAN! THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL, YOU SING BEAUTIFULLY!"
"You're lying," says Hamano-san with a wide grin and sits down.
Suddenly the music changes: we hear loud electric guitars and a pretty aggressive drum beat.
Ino-san takes the mic with both hands and puts it in front of her mouth.
The following words appear on the screen:
♫ FUCK YOU ALL ♫
And Ino-san starts to yell them.