High Impact || Genshin Impact H.S AU

Chapter 5.4

Before Xinyan had left the school building, she heard a loud caucus form behind her. It got so loud and noisy that her music had a hard time drowning it out, so she looked behind her to see what it was.

Her eyes saw Barbra, and she paled, her soul leaving her body.
Barbra, the idol in training and yet has a large following on Instagram, having been able to amass thousands of fans with her innocent and beautiful visuals packed with her melodic voice.

Barbra was the perfect idol, ready for her debut. Xinyan gulped, nervous, her body shaking a bit as she sees Barbra wave to her crowd of fans and then face the talent show sign-ups.

“Oh no,” Xinyan mentally cries out, fearing her chances of getting first will now diminish, as Barbra will win the crowd and have everyone want her to win. Barbra had a lot of things that Xinyan didn’t, and it scared the hell out of her for that.

Xinyan had always been told that she looks scary with her spikes and general resting bitch face, but that was just how Xinyan looked, and she couldn’t change that. Meanwhile, Barbra was sweet and wore pretty clothing that eased and comforted people, making fans and developing a fanbase of her own.

“Fuck that,” Xinyan thought, annoyed that society didn’t like her as much as Barbra due to her inability to look nice and gentle. She had played music at the school with little audiences, whether it be festivals, potlucks, etc. but the moment Barbra comes onto the stage and starts singing, everyone gathered up and singing along if not listening to her hit a high note.

Xinyan watches Barbra, talking to her fans and waving. Immediately, Xinyan felt the need to promote, to garner attention for herself. So, with her spark of ambition and desire to have fans, she got onto a table that was located on the opposite side of the room from Barbra. Xinyan got onto the table, waving her arms.

“Hey! Guys, I’ll be performing as well!” Xinyan shouts to no avail. The sound of the fan’s roar overcomes her meager shouts, no one paying attention to her, not even the bodyguard whose job is to be aware of everything in the room. She kept waving her arms, hoping for something but yet no one turns their head for her, all focusing on Barbra, the shining star.

“Xinyan, can you please get off the table, I need to clean it,” Huffman the janitor says. Xinyan had talked to Huffman before, occasionally socializing and holding a conversation with him when she felt lonely or was unable to talk to her peers. She had once eaten lunch with Huffman, getting to know him more and vice versa. He was an interesting person in Xinyan’s opinion, and she didn’t know why some people never talked to the man. He may be a janitor, but he was also a human.

“Sorry Huffman,” Xinyan said apologetically, knowing that cleaning things over and over can suck. She got off the table awkwardly.

“I hope your wife is doing well, make sure she is taking her vitamins,” Xinyan says to Huffman while leaving the table. Xinyan had to admit the two talked frequently to the point where he knew some of his wife's issues.

“Will do Xinyan,” Huffman says with a small smile. Xinyan leaves, and heads on over to the exits, seeing that Barbra had left. She sighed, glad that no one saw her attempt at promotion other than Huffman who was chill.

She couldn’t help but feel defeated, unable to overcome Barbra and her strengths in the real world, let alone a school talent show.

She exited the school, deciding that she needed to get away from the place that gave her bummer vibes to think things out more clearly. She was going to do the talent show but she did feel a bit less enthusiastic about her chances of winning.