The sound of my alarm beeping endlessly is what woke me from my slumber. Leaning over to silence the source of my annoyance, I heard a knock on my door.
"Alex, get dressed. We gotta leave soon," my sister, Haruhi, announced as she opened my bedroom door slightly.
"Will do," I attempted to say, but the only noise out of my mouth was an inhuman one. It was too early to be up, and I was too tired to talk properly.
"You know, you can stay home if it's a bad day," Haruhi said, concern in her voice. "I don't mind taking notes for you."
Shaking my head, I stood up, reavealing the t-shirt and boxers I had slept in. My back popped as I stretched to rid myself of any remnants of sleep.
"It's not that," I assured her. "I just didn't sleep well."
She knew the real reasoning behind my restless night. Sleep has been a never ending tortue of nightmares ever since, well, nevermind.
Haruhi nodded in understanding and left me to get ready.
I slipped on a pair of skinny jeans, a tighter t-shirt, and an oversized hoodie. After struggling to get a contact into my right eye, and succeeding, I made my way to the bathroom. I caught a glimpse of myself reflected in the mirror in my search for toothpaste.
My hair is short and brown, but if you wanted the specificshade, I guess it could be considered a chestnut brown. It always had that messy look, no matter how many times I brushed it. Both of my eyes were now almost the same shade as coffee, minus the excessive amounts of creamer and sugar; there's been an absence of emotion in them for a couple of years now.
I finished brushing my teeth, put some shoes on, grabbed my backpack as well as my iPod and earbuds, and followed Haruhi out the door.
About an hour into school, I began to doze off. The warmth of my hoodie along with the monotonous voice of the teacher was like a lullaby calling me to sleep.
I guess Haruhi had noticed because she offered once again to take notes for me so I could take a nap. This time, I didn't object. Getting comfortable in the chair I had pulled up in between Haruhi's and this read headed boy's desks despite the teacher's protests, I rested my head on her left shoulder and went to sleep.
Haruhi woke me up during break so that she could go to the bathroom. No longer tired, I decided to use this time to observe the people around me.
This group of three girls would whisper, turn to look at me, and then resume their huddle as they giggled. A few people were cleaning up their sloppy handwriting in their notes. Others had their noses stuck in books. The red head that sat to my left was talking with his twin about Haruhi and me.
Twin 1 wondered why there were two scholarship students. Twin 2 pointed out that Haruhi got in on an academic scholarship while I got one for music. Twin 1 said that I probably couldn't sing, and that's where I stopped listening.
I must have zoned out at some point becaused it took three calls of my name and a hand waving in front of my face to get my attention. Looking up, I noticed a blond with violet eyes and a black haired guy with glasses standing in front of me.
"Alex Fujioka?" glasses guy asked.
"That would be me," I replied, earning a gasp from the group of girls as they heard my accent. The blond seemed surprised by it as well.
"My name is Kyoya Ootori," glasses guy introduced himself. "I was wondering if you are interested in singing for the Host Club." Without missing a beat, I said, "That depends. Will I get paid?"
I was told to be in Music Room Three right after school, but I got lost and ended up being thirty minutes late. As I approached the club's door, someone opened it from the other side.
"Haruhi?"I asked as the said my name. "What are you doing here?"
"Long story," she sighed. Haruhi stepped to the side in order to let me in.
The room was packed with girls still in their puffy, yellow uniforms. In addition to Kyoya and the blond from earlier, there was a shorter, more cutesy blond; a really tall guy with black hair; and, much to my disappointment, the twins from class.
"What are you doing here?" questioned Haruhi as she followed me to the far side of the room. I set down the amp I had gone back home to get before answering.
"I'm being paid to sing." She dropped the subject and let me be.
Since I had no idea what song to sing, I just kind of sat back and surveyed the room. Everyone was just as stuck up as they were during school.
All the girls acted all prim and proper. They each sat with perfect posture, held their heads high, and kept their hands in their laps. The Hosts, I am assuming they are called that, had different ways of interacting with their guests. The violet-eyed blond acted like he was royalty and gave compliments whenever he could. Kyoya discussed some real world problems. The short blond made more casual conversation while eating various sweets, and his tall friend gave input here and there. The twins were putting on a show based on their brotherly love for one another.
Club time was close to an end by the time I thought of a song. Spotting a set of speakers on the other side of the room, I snuck over and hooked my iPod up to them. I selected the song from my music library, and the speakers came to life.
A hush fell over the room as everyone tried to find the source of the music. They all seemed surprised to find me next to the speakers until they realized that I was the musical scholarship student. With only a few seconds before I needed to start singing, I took my hoodie off and cleared my throat.
"Grown up; she just turned 16. Stuck in the moment, dead at the scene, and it's on tonight. This is the life that you wanted, right?" Many were shocked by the sound of my voice.
"So turn off all the lights. Dressed up just like a movie star. At all the parties, they'll know who you are. Wouldn't it be great to be fashionably late? so why don't you wait till you're sedated?" As I finished the first verse and began to sing the chorus, the atmosphere in the room became more relaxed and less official.
A few seconds after the chorus, I began to sing the second verse,
"Step in, and you can lock the door. The candles are light, and the clothes on the floor. You could take a chance at finding romance. Now you're holding hands, but he's got other plans.
"Tick-tock, the clock is turning red. The room won't stop spinning and thoughts in your head, and it's too late. You feel like you're making a big mistake. You should've waited."
Before I knew it, the song was coming to an end.
"Do you, do you want to lose it all? 'Cause this is more than just a dance hall drug. You can't wait to fall in love.
"All I'm saying is , do you, do you want to learn to fly? Then you should pack it up and say goodbye. 'Cause when push comes to the shove; it's just a dance hall drug."