Guardians
Note: Okay… the action is gonna pick up soon, and the romance! I love romance… Sorry… I really need to lay off the sugar… and caffeine… Review please!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of the below mentioned songs or Yu-gi-oh characters, cards, or locations. Karmina, the messed up (and wonderful) storyline, however, belong to me! (Yes, I am very modest)
Chapter Three: Sing Your Heart Out
Early that Monday morning, Karmina felt butterflies in her stomach, but her resolve stayed strong. She was going to enter that contest, if only to prove to herself that she wasn't afraid… or at least, not too afraid to realize her dreams.
"I'm gonna do it," she told her reflection with a smile. The girl in the mirror always looked so brave, but when anyone else came near, Karmina just couldn't seem to act like herself. She was just too shy.
That's good, Karmina. I know you'll win.
"Yes, I will. Or at least… I'll try."
What song are you going to sing?
"Which one do you think I should sing?"
With a little smile, she pulled out her CD collection to look it through. Inside was a collection that only a true music lover could have. It even still had a few very dusty Brittany Spears CDs from the good old days, when Karmina had been about 5, which she hadn't listened to in days and used mainly to scare away the little kids by pretending to put them in the player (A/N: I am completely neutral on the matter of Brittany Spears, so no mean reviews, I neither insult nor approve of her, got it!).
Are you going to do one of those sad lonely songs?
"Maybe How Does It Feel… or My Imaginary… or… Oh, can you just pick for me?"
Why don't you bring them all and choose whatever feels right when you get there?
"Good idea, 'cause I'm gonna be late if we don't get a move on!"
As she ran down the street, she happened to notice a limo pulling into the school driveway. She wasn't the only one running late this morning.
"Oh, joy," she muttered to herself and to Wingweaver, very quietly so that Kaiba could not insult her in any manner. She knew, of course, that he would find a way, but still it was nice to think that she could make some small ripple on the surface of the world.
The tall brunette stepped out of the car, never rushing, of course, and then picked up his briefcase, slamming the door with a final, resonating sound that chilled Karmina's heart. It reminded her of the sound of the front door slamming shut, never to be opened by her mother or father ever again. A single tear dribbled off her chin before she wiped it away. She was not going to give Kaiba the pleasure of seeing her cry.
Swallowing her fear for a moment, she charged the stairs and managed about four before she silenced the loud, ringing steps. But it was too late; he had already seen her.
"Did you have to talk to yourself in the mirror this morning, or something?" he asked with mock enthusiasm.
She shrugged and rolled her eyes ever so slightly. "No," she muttered, proud that her one word was stutter free. Kaiba walked up the steps and into the school without another word. At least he was still talking to her.
The square was full of people with headphones and loud singing voices. Karmina did not join in on the rehearsal, only in the signups. Then she looked through the blue case again, making up her mind and slipping Avril Lavigne's Under My Skin (A/N: Which, in case you forgot, I do not own!) out of its worn sleeve.
"The preliminary round of the Sing Off competition is about to begin. All contestants, please take off your earphones, turn off your electronic devices and listen to your fellow singers. All members of the audience, please take your seats now!"
Taking a deep breathe, she sat in a cold metal seat and tried not to look at the many people who'd gathered to watch.
"Big brother, can we sit really close to the stage?" a young boy's voice said near her.
"Whatever," was the gruff reply, and it made Karmina want to choke. Seto Kaiba was there.
Don't worry about him, Karmina. He won't make fun of you… I'll make sure of that. My tolerance for his cruelty is very low.
"He's the only person who knows I even exist," she whispered to the 'empty seat'.
Negative attention is not better than no attention.
"I think-"
"Contestant number one, please come to the stage."
A nervous, but very pretty, girl walked onto the stage, adjusted the mike, and started to sing a song that Karmina just barely recognized. When she was done, another brave person took her place, and another, and another, and on down the line until.
"Contestant number 18, please come to the stage."
"That's me," Karmina said to Wingweaver.
Go get em.
"CD or cassette please," a bored looking teen ordered. Karmina gingerly handed over the disk, which was then placed unceremoniously into the slot. "Proceed to the microphone, and please do not spill anything or cry onto the microphone's electric wires. Good luck to you."
Nervously, she walked to the mike and picked it up. The music started and she opened her mouth, hoping that music, and not her lunch, found its way out.
"I'm not afraid of anything… I just need to know that I can breathe. And I don't need much of anything… but suddenly, suddenly… I am small and the world is big… all around me is fast moving… Surrounded by so many things… and suddenly suddenly; How does it feel…to be… different from me? Are we the same? How does it feel… to be… different from me? Are we the same? How does it feel?" she sighed in the slight lull and kept on singing. She tried not to look in the center of the first row, but her eyes seemed drawn there.
"Would you come fight me-hey-e-eh? Would you cry… with me-hey-e-eh? Ah-ah-ah-a… a-ah… a-ah. Ah-ah-ah-a… a-ah… a-ah… How does it feel? How does it feel? You're different from me, different. How does it feel? How does it feel? You're different from me, different. How does it feel? How does it feel? You're different from me, different. How does it feel? How does it feel? You're different from me," she sang, looking right into his eyes for a moment after the music stopped, and then retreating quickly from the stage. The magic of the song had caught her up in its power and she had done it. She had sang in front of all those people, and she had looked Seto Kaiba in the eyes. A double success, triple, if she made it into the contest.
Great job, Karmi! I knew you could do it!
"Thanks!"
"Hello, contestant 18! Great job out there, you really livened up this place! If you don't make it, I'm quitting my job!"
"Um… thank you… but… I'm not… all that… good, really."
"You're right! You're even better than that! My name's Sarah, by the way."
"I-I'm Karmina."
"Cool name! See ya around, then. Oh, and don't look now, but jerk at four o clock."
Knowing that she meant Kaiba, Karmina turned a bright shade of scarlet and thought back on that single moment when she hadn't been afraid.
"It's a good thing the speakers didn't bust like I thought they would," he noted, looking up at the bad equipment.
"Very funny, Mr. Kaiba," Sarah said with a smirk. "But Karmina sounded great!"
"I was referring… to this terrible equipment, not your friend's dinging talents. However, with people like that," he pointed at a very thin, pale boy with glasses the size, and approximate shape, of Texas, who was wailing a very bad attempt at She Will Be Loved, into the mike, throwing sparks as his spit hit it.
"YOU THERE! NO SPITTING ON THAT MIKE! IT COST ME A WEEKS PAY TO REPLACE IT LAST TIME!"
"W-why did you have… to pay for the new microphone?" Karmina asked shyly.
"Because it's part of my job to protect the equipment. They took the new one out of my paycheck."
Karmina tried to look very sad for her, but she was a bit more concerned with glaring at Seto Kaiba, who was still standing there.
"If there's something you need to say, then please say it," Sarah quipped before putting a big, scaling X on the line that said 'Contestant 19'. Seeing Karmina's puzzlement, she smiled. "All of us workers decide whose in and whose out for the preliminary round. The audience only votes in the finals. A check mark is good, and an X is absolutely not. We never use the line, but that means maybe, in case we vote out too many and need to pick some singers who're just okay."
People made Karmina nervous, and boys really scared her, but Seto Kaiba had to be one of the worst. Why was he still there? Sarah glanced at her, winked, and picked up her loudspeaker.
"Contestant number 21, please report to the stage. ALL AUDIENCE MEMBERS SHOULD REMAIN SEATED UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION!" Putting down the amplifier, she smirked at Kaiba. "What's the emergency, Mr. Kaiba?"
He shook his head and returned to his seat, sitting moodily beside his little brother.
"What's his problem?"
"I think…" Karmina started, trying to talk to Sarah like she would to Wingweaver. The girl hadn't shunned her or laughed at her yet. "That he was trying to be… nice."
"Are you out of your mind? That boy is never nice."
Shrugging, Karmina sat next to Sarah and stayed there for the rest of the time, listening to her constant talk. Finnally, after talking to several of her coworkers, Sarah announced that contestants 1, 3, 4, 6, 10, 18, 21, 28, 30, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, and 57 passed to the finals on Friday.
"I'll see you there, Karmina. Good luck!"
"Yeah… thanks," she muttered before rushing off with her prized CDs and a mind full of questions.
End note:It's not really a cliffie, so be happy!Review, please!