Chapter 33: 33. Table number 21
Note to readers- Song used in this chapter: Hello, by Adele.
Janet and Miriam made their way inside. They had heard that some high school kids were having a karaoke night event and they decided to just enjoy with them instead. As they were entering, Miriam felt someone's gaze on her and she turned to that direction, but she didn't see anyone looking her way. She shook her head lightly and walked on, maybe it was all in her head.
They headed for the first floor and got themselves seated at one of the round tables. They had decorated the whole first floor like they were going to have dinner and enjoy the songs as the high schoolers perform. It was their last night together as high schoolers and so they wanted to go all out and enjoy to the max. There were many round tables and they were numbered. Janet and Miriam found themselves on table number 21. The program had already started when they got in, so they just quickly settled and ordered some soft drinks.
Maxwell walked in with Lois after some few minutes and made themselves comfortable on table number 24. They ordered some drinks as well, as they enjoyed the show by the high schoolers. They were choosing songs and randomly mentioning names of their mates to perform. It was hilarious at some point, as some of the students really sucked at singing. They laughed their ribs out on instances where some of them sounded like geese that were about to die. And some of them were actually good singers, and those like that warmed the place with their soothing melodies. All in all, the program was fun, and those who joined as outsiders enjoyed it a lot.
At the middle of the program, one of the students who was acting as the emcee came up to address the audience.
"Hello everyone, thank you so much for gracing our occasion, most especially those who joined as outsiders. We hope you're enjoying the show as much as we are." There was an uproar as they cheered in response. They were really enjoying themselves.
"So this year we want to spice things up. We want to involve the public. We want to involve an outsider. Someone who isn't in the circle of high school, to perform on the stage. And we'll be randomly choosing the one who will be performing. So we have here in this bowl all the table numbers. I'll ask one of you to come up and pick a number and mention it to the crowd. And those on that table will chose who to perform. I hope the instruction is clear enough." His voice echoed as he explained. The crowd shouted a big yes and applauded in anticipation.
A young girl walked up stage and the emcee shook the bowl for some time before the girl picked out one of the small papers and unfolded it. The emcee handed her the microphone to announce the number.
"I picked..." she paused a bit and narrowed her gaze on the paper, as if to have a clearer look, before she finally said, "...table numbeeerrrr...21."
"What??!!" Janet gasped in realization that they were on that table. Her hand flew to her mouth when the crowd started cheering and looking at their direction. She turned to look at Miriam, who also had a surprised look.
"Oh no! What just happened??" Miriam said and they burst into laughter. It sounded funny to her. Because she knew Janet was a bad singer and would not want to go. So automatically, the ball was in her court.
"Go, girl! You can do this!" Janet cheered and winked at Miriam, who was all red from embarrassment. She felt a little shy, but she knew it was for the fun of the moment so she couldn't just say no.
Miriam nervously bit her lower lip and slowly rose to her feet, and there was a thunderous applause and cheers, causing her face to taint all red like it would bleed soon. She kept a sweet smile on as she made her way in graceful steps up the stage.
'Calm down, Mimie! You can do this!' She said inwardly as she finally reached the stage. The emcee directed her to a standing microphone with a high stool where she could sit and still reach the microphone, and whispered something to Miriam. Miriam said something to him and smiled before he addressed the crowd again.
"Let's give it up for Miss Hammond for her acceptance to our invitation." The crowd did a good job with that. She had actually mentioned her full name when the boy asked her what her name was. She didn't know why the boy chose to address her by her surname. "Thank you so much, Miss Hammond. I need to put this across before this lovely lady starts perfroming. This is just for the fun of the event. Ms. Hammond, we are not expecting the best, so don't worry, just go with the flow. "The guy said the last part in whisper, away from the mic so only Miriam heard him. "And now, what we will do is, we have a bowl she will be picking from, and that is the theme she will be singing around."
Miriam sighed inaudibly and took a paper from the many papers in the bowl. She looked relaxed on the outside, but her heartrate had accelerated a little out of nervousness. She had not prepared for this.
She handed the paper to the young boy and he said after opening it, "This is quite interesting! She will be performing a heartbreak song!"
The crowd cheered and Miriam laughed.
A heartbreak song? Really?
She started scrumming through her brain for a song when she heard the young boy speaking again.
"That's not all." And Miriam whipped her head to his direction with a questioning gaze.
What did he mean by 'that's not all'?
"We want it to be more simple, so we have here on the screen a list of artist you can choose from." The boy continued.
Miriam looked on the screen and chose Adele. A list of her songs were displayed on the screen, and she chose, "Hello".
The crowd cheered and very soon, there was a pin drop silence, everyone quite, waiting for her performance.
Janet had her hands clasped together in front of her mouth, with her elbows on the table as she silently cheered for her best friend. She had seen her perform so many times. She had even won a contest back in high school, so she knew this was not a really big deal for her. Her only problem may be the fact that she had no idea about it and had not prepared for it.
Miriam closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the interlude started at the background. She started singing with her eyes still closed. She wanted to think about the song and sing with the right emotions. Well, that was one of her flairs to move people when she performed.
Hello, it's me
I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet
To go over everything
They say that time is supposed to heal ya, but I ain't done much healing.
Hello, can you hear me?
I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be
When we were younger and free
I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet
There a such a difference between us, and a million miles...
The crowd was awed and stupefied by her voice. Some had their jaws hanging, almost touching the floor. Their eyes were bulging out of their sockets. They weren't expecting her to be this good. It was just a random pick, but the voice of the person singing was so amazing like she was actually prepared for it. And among the crowd was Maxwell. His eyes hadn't left her even for a split second since she rose and walked up the stage. She quickly recognised her. The lady he had picked at the university. The lady at the restaurant. The lady invading his every thought. The lady he couldn't stop thinking about. He was surprised to have seen her there, well not at the Karaoke per se, but in that attire. Her curvy figure had been assentuated and she looked drop dead gorgeous. Maxwell was literally drooling watching and listening to this mysterious lady. She still had her eyes closed as she swayed smoothly with the beat. She seemed to be way into her performance now.
Hello from the other side
I must've called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call, you never seem to be home
Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore.
Some of the people were nodding, tapping their feet, snapping their fingers, waving their hands from side to side, obviously enjoying the song.
Lois was a fun of music, and so she was so mesmerized watching this beautiful lady perform to her heart's content. She literally had tears in her eyes. She was so touched by the amazing voice the lady was having. She turned to look at her brother, and the look on his face nearly sent her falling off her seat from amusement. He had this foolish smile and looked like he was dazed looking at this lady.
Okay she agreed the lady had an amazing voice and had performed gracefully, but then,- yeah and she's so pretty-but what was with this look on Maxwell's face, like he had seen some foreign being from another planet?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone