Something Bigger
It was almost three o’clock on a Friday afternoon, and Mana sat slumped over her desk, waiting for the bell to ring and class to end. The remnants of summer flowed across the blue October sky in the form of a warm breeze, blowing softly through the classroom’s open windows.
When the bell finally rang, Mana didn’t get up. She continued to sit, bored and listless. She had nothing interesting planned for the weekend, and she hated it.
“Hey, Mana!” one girl said, waving to get her attention. “Wanna go to Skyler’s house? She’s having a big party, and everyone who’s anyone is going!”
Mana looked up from her desk, immediately perking up. She did hear about Skyler’s party earlier that week. Skyler was the richest, most popular girl in the seventh grade, and she often held parties like this one. She had a giant house, complete with a swimming pool and a big yard, perfect for a party.
“So?” the girl asked. “Want to come?”
“I’d love to-” Mana started to say, then remembered. “Oh. Wait. I promised Jun I’d hang out with him tonight.”
Another girl made a dismissive noise. “Jun. He’s such a know-it-all and a teacher’s pet. I’ve always wondered why you bother being his friend!”
“Hey, there’s more to him than just being good in school,” Mana said, but the first girl spoke over her.
“Come on, Mana, forget Jun for tonight and come to Skyler’s party! They have karaoke!”
Which made the idea sound even more interesting. Mana was tempted to blow Jun off, just for tonight, and go to the party. They could hang out any time, after all.
But he had specifically asked Mana if she was free that day. He never did that, unless what he had planned was really important. The idea of it made her curious.
So. Party, or Jun? Mana sighed, knowing immediately what her answer would be.
“Sorry,” she said. “I promised.”
“Oh, come on!” the first girl moaned, while the second girl gave Mana a knowing smirk.
“Ah. I see how it is,” she said, “Spending time with your boyfriend on a Friday night!”
The first girl gasped. “I didn’t know you were that kind of girl, Mana!”
Mana scowled. “Jun isn’t my boyfriend,” she said sternly, “We’re just friends.”
“Sure you are,” the second girl answered.
Mana got up from her desk and walked away. “Quit needling me and go to your party,” she said.
“Have a great time with your boyfriend!” the second girl said loudly.
Mana looked around warily, but it seemed as if few people heard her. Either that, or they didn’t care. She breathed a sigh of relief. Good.
Later that evening, Mana knocked on the door to Jun’s house. As she waited, she checked the time on her phone. 6 pm. The party must be in full swing by now, she thought.
The door opened, and Jun alighted, looking exhausted. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Mana looked at him, appalled. “What have you been up to? You look like you haven’t slept in a few days!”
Jun shot her a tired smile. “You’ll see.”
As Mana followed him through the house and up the stairs, she looked around. The house was dark, and except for the kitchen, it looked like it hadn’t been used in several days.
“Is it just you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Jun answered. “Dad’s working late again, and Mom’s doing test piloting at Langley.”
Jun opened the door to his room, and Mana stared, surprised at how messy it was. Cords and audio equipment were strewn around the room, connected to both Jun’s laptop and desktop computers. His guitar leaned against his computer chair, and the sound of a bass guitar and drums boomed out of the speakers.
“Hey guys!” Jun called out, lifting his guitar out of the chair and sitting down at the desktop computer. He moved the mouse, maximizing a video conference window with two other users connected. “She’s here!”
A Japanese boy holding a bass guitar looked up and waved, and a Latino boy with a drum set smiled. “Hello!”
“Mana, this is Sota, from Japan,” Jun said, indicating the Japanese boy, “and this is Andre, from Brazil,” he motioned to the Latino boy.
Mana waved. “Hi!”
“We’ve been trying to get a band started,” Jun said excitedly, “The first functional long-distance act in years! It’s been difficult, because of the long distance limitations, but we’re almost at a point where we can perform!”
Mana stared at the two boys in the video conference window, then looked around the room. “Wow…” she said in awe, “that’s so cool!”
“All we need now,” Jun said, turning to Mana, “is a vocalist.”
Mana blinked. “You mean… me?”
Jun smiled. “Of course!”
For a moment, Mana couldn’t speak. “I… wow…” she said, completely flustered. “I don’t know what to say!”
“Say yes,” Jun implored, “Please, Mana?”
“I… guess I could give it a try,” Mana said, uncertain.
Jun thought a moment, then picked up his guitar. He strummed out the first few bars of a song Mana immediately recognized, then the other two joined in with bass guitar and drums. When the vocalist’s part came up, Mana immediately started singing.
“I’ve had a bad day
Nothing ever seems to go my way
I’ve had a heartache
Don’t wanna think about it…”
They played through the entire song, a curious, infectious energy building up the whole time. When the song ended, everyone cheered and clapped.
“Perfect!” Sota said through the video conference window. “Absolutely perfect!”
“You have to be our singer!” Andre added.
Jun looked at Mana earnestly. “Will you do it?”
Mana smiled. “I will.”
“Yes!” Jun pumped a fist.
They continued to jam out through the night. At midnight, Mana finally left, walking home and humming one of the many songs she had sung. By coincidence, she passed by Skyler’s house and saw that the party was still going on, unbelievably enough. She shook her head and laughed.
She was glad she had skipped out on the party and gone to Jun instead. She may have missed out on a night of partying and karaoke, but now she was a part of something bigger.
Notes:
The beginning of Mana and Jun’s musical careers! The song Mana sings is Hanging On, by Cheyenne Kimbal.