"I want you all to move into the center of the room. Come on now, don't be shy. We've got to get this song right, and I think I know what will do it. Quickly children, don't dawdle!" Michelle blabbed, jabbing her hands out violently as she talked.

I rolled my eyes and gathered with the rest of the flock in the center of the room. Michelle was kind of cool, but she definitely tried too hard. And we'd been singing Silent Night for the past hour. There was only so many shepherds a girl could handle before they all went haywire.

"Now," Michelle continued, "I want you all to sit in a circle next to someone who sings another part, someone who you aren't normally singing near." I sighed. A circle? Were we five years old?

I collapsed neatly on the floor between Fang and Iggy. They were guys, so I shouldn't have ever sang anything close to what they did. That was all debatable though. I'd heard Iggy sing in the shower, and I was pretty sure he almost cracked the mirror on one of his solos.

"Okay, are we all sitting? Good. Now I want you to reach out and hold the hands of the people you're sitting near." I did. Fang gave me his 'oh my god is she serious?' face. Iggy's face was hard, like he just wanted to get it all over with.

"Now close your eyes." I waited a second to see if she was joking. She wasn't. Well then, Miss Oh-My-Word, I guess this is fine. If I can't see her conducting, I don't have to be good, do I? I closed my eyes tightly.

"We're going to do a unity exercise. I want you all to sing this song together, just like you are now. I don't want you to think about what you sound like, just sing passionately. Okay? Okay. I'll leave the room so that you can bond." I heard the door open and close squeakily.

"Well," Fang muttered, his eyes (I assume) still shut, "she left, but I doubt that means she isn't listening. We should just get this over with so that we can go home."

"Agreed," I muttered.

"One, two, three," Iggy counted.

The entire choir started signing at the same time, like a bolt of lightening, but as sound. I finally realized how we were all together; Iggy had beat his hand on his knee when he counted. The vibrations traveled all the way around the circle. That little motion alone had made that much difference.

"Silent night, holy night,

All is calm, all is bright.

Round yon' virgin mother and child,

Holy infant so tender and mild.

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace."

I didn't think at all as the words came out. I let my instincts take over like we were told to. I mean, if I was going to do a retarded exercise, I might as well not do a half-ass job of it. I started to sense more of the motions of others in the circle, leaving my eyes closed. I was almost comfortable now, hardly blind.

I felt someone, probably Nudge, nodding to the beat a crossed the circle. I could hear Fang breathing next to me, low and reassuring. I wasn't sure why, but I felt really attuned to everyone else. I mean, I didn't even have my sight, but I was noticing things I'd never noticed before. I didn't need my eyes if the rest of my senses could do the work.

As the second verse started, I felt a gentle swaying. It had originated with whomever was directly a crossed the circle from me, and before I knew it the entire group was keeping time with our bodies. No one had needed to say anything to make this happen. Words would've ruined this whole experience.

"Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia.
Christ, the Savior is born,
Christ, the Savior is born." I started nodding my head to keep time. I noticed just as we finished that verse that Iggy and Fang had unspokenly agreed to hum the base note together, to keep us in key. I could hardly believe so much stuff could be done without words. It made me feel like I was missing the world a little bit, like I'd been missing out all this time. "Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light.
Radiant beams from thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace.
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth." As we ended the song, I felt a little vibration go around the circle, passed from person to person through our linked hands. I wasn't sure why, or how, but I immediately understood what this meant. Hum the melody again, softly, then we'll end it. I started to hum, pitching my note from Fangs bass tone. I could hear the chord forming from person to person as they created there notes to fit. It was all so surreal, being able to do all of this without words or eyes or even motions. As we came to our final chord, I was aware of a presence. It wasn't abnormal, and it wasn't uncomfortable. It was normal to me, something that was just right. It was like Angel leaning on my shoulder, it was Gazzy pulling on my pinky. It was just there. I was still trying to figure out why it was familiar when I felt a set of warm lips close over mine.