Me, Myself and I

28 - The most dreadful karaoke night

Before going to our houses and mentally prepare ourselves for the unavoidable doom we were bound to face, Patty and I decided to go to the park. We hadn't been there for a long time and, even though it was a little too cold for our own good, we both felt like it was the best place to talk about our situation.

So, there we were. Two random teenage girls on the swings of an abandoned children's park. How common.

"So, let me get this straight." Patty said out of nowhere. "We are bound to go to a karaoke night with two bitches we both hate and three of the most popular jocks in our school one being your boyfriend."

"Fake boyfriend. But yes, that is our situation." I responded.

"We could make a plan not to sing you know? We could like, hide in the bathrooms, say we have some sort of injury in our throats, make it look like the karaoke equipment has a malfunction so that way we and everyone else in Cup O'Joe tonight no longer have to sing during this dreadful night, or even-"

And that's when I stopped her. It was going too far and we both knew it was bound to happen one way or another. "Patty! You know that even if we actually did that, one of the others, except probably for Ben, would make us walk to that tiny stage and sing our hearts out anyway. Either Adam or Thomas for the fun of doing it, or Penelope or Sasha to make us feel bad and embarrass ourselves. So let's just face the facts and walk right into Cup O'Joe with all of the confidence we can find."

"That's easy for you to say! You actually know how to sing!" She replied sounding even more preoccupied.

"Well, yeah. In front of people I'm comfortable around. And not even a lot of my family members have heard me sing seriously. Don't forget that anxiety gives you stage fright."

"Really?! Don't you tell!" She said in a very sarcastic way.

I took a deep breath. "Look, the best thing you can do to prepare yourself for a situation like this is to have the song already picked. At least, that's what I think. We're bound to make fools of oursleves anyway. Might as well do it with style."

She stood up and looked at me with a both worried and tired look. "Fine. But if there's Hozier, I'm singing Hozier. If not, then don't count on me going to that stage and sing something."

"That's fine by me." I responded hopingshe wouldn't set any boundaries for my weird self.

"And no musical stuff." She suddenly added.

I looked at her with my best attempt at puppy eyes. "Not even Satisfied? Defying Gravity? Being Alive?"

"Nope, nuh uh and certainly not!"

"Alright then 60's to 80's it is."

"If that's what it'll take for you not to sing musical soundtracks, then it's fine by me. So, now we just gotta go home and mentally prepare ourselves to one of the most horrible night of our lives." She said when we arrived right next to the car.

"You bet."

● ● ●

"How much time will it take you guys to get here?"

"About 2 minutes. Could you please be already waiting outside when we arrive? Just so we can get there faster. Lady Johnson doesn't like waiting." Ben said through the phone.

"Sure. Make fun of the driver. Great idea, bro!" Adam responded on the other side.

"I'll leave right now. See y'all in 2." I responded to then hung up.

I grabbed my yellow jacket and was about to leave the house but my brother stopped me before I managed to even open the door.

"Caroline, one thing before you go." He placed his hand on my shoulder and looked at me very seriously. I looked him straight in the eyes with a certain amount of fear towards what he was about to say. "Kick their butt. Feel good doing it. Make them see the unexpected. And if they end up laughing at you, sing like... like you know how."