CHAPTER 7
News went round about the music project. They were all surprised that James was paired up with the 'new girl' but they then thought that the girl should be good if the two of them were in the top three. However there was no doubt that Ten's team got through. According to the students of Jefferson High School, they were the best. But all of that is going to change as the assembly got closer and closer.
"You nervous?" the male brunette asked.
"Sort of. I've been in similar situation. But in the past situation I had the audience standing and dancing, not sitting and stiff," was the soldier's reply.
James had to chuckle.
"Where do these situations take place?"
"A pub in Moscow,"
"Really?" beamed James.
Rayne nodded. "I was like their personal entertainment. Anya, Vivien and I always do performances. We even released a few debut albums. Some songs are also snag by Amber and Alexia."
"Let me know, and I'll get the bed ready,"
They locked gazed and burst into laughter. A knock and the opening of the door made the dip stop and turned to see Ten at the doorway, in her glamorous pink crop top and Spanish, black skirt. Rayne quirked an eyebrow.
"What?" snapped the girl. "Are you jealous at the glamorous look?"
Rayne snorted. "No. Just wondering how much fat you had to lose to get an awkward curve," she smirked.
Ten looked ready to jump at her had it not been a pair of arms wrapping around her waist, preventing her to do so. Rayne tensed at the familiar red hair over the shoulder of her rival.
"Ready, love?" cooed Ten. Rayne had to control all of her will not to roll her eyes.
"Ready to kick her ass," he growled. Rayne growled back and made Tala to quirk an eyebrow in amusement as well as smirking at her.
"The one whose ass will be kicked is yours," snapped the black-headed FBI soldier.
Tala chuckled at her. It was nothing but cold that send the hairs at the back of the girl's neck stood on its ends. Then it all fell as she felt warmth sweep through her when a shadow loomed over the redhead.
"having a problem with my twin?" the shadow asked.
Tala stood straight, removing his arms around the body in front of him. He turned around and received a glare from the blunette.
"No," he spoke coolly. "No problem at all. I'm just telling her not to criticize the head of the manor."
Rayne snorted again, looking away. James cleared his throat before speaking.
"I think it would be best if the two of us got ready for the performance."
With a nod, the trio exited the Soldier's room and closed the door behind them. Rayne let out a sigh, and sat on her bed. It has already been ten weeks and she had endured the torture of watching Tala with another woman.
"It's getting to you, isn't it?" he whispered.
"I don't know how much I can hold on, J," she sighed.
"You will. You're strong… stronger than my sister,"
James knelt in front of her. He looked into her eyes, wanting to know her past but saw something glimmering in those grey pools.
"If you want to cry, cry," he said, holding her hands in his. The door opened unnoticed. Rayne shook her head and kept blinking her eyes but slowly, the tears fell one-by-one, to her horror. She made a move to wipe them but her hand was trapped in another. The soldier turned to her twin.
"Let it all out," he whispered. "It's better than keeping them all bottled up."
Feeling defeated against her emotions, Rayne leaned against the boy beside her and cried. She cried like she had never done before.
Outside in the doorway, a pair of icy blue eyes watched.
-00-
a round of applause was heard as the head of the Music Department made his appearance at the stage.
"Thank you," his voce boomed. "Welcome to this year's song competition provided by Mr Jurgen and Mr Evans!"
There was another round of applause then silence.
"Now, without much further ado, let the singing begin!"
The curtains were brought up and the first contestant made their appearance.
How
can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my
core
where I've become so numb
Without a soul
My
spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
until you find it there and lead
it back home.
(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can't
wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save
me from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run
(I can't
wake up)
Before I come undone
(Save me)
Save me from the
nothing I've become.
Now that I know what I'm without
You
can't just leave me
Breath into me and make me real
Bring me to
life
(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can't wake
up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save me
from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run
(I can't wake
up)
Before I come undone
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing
I've become
Bring me to life
I've been living a lie
There's
nothing inside
Bring me to life
Frozen inside without
your touch
without your love darling
only you are the life
among the dead
All of this time I can't believe I couldn't
see
Kept in the dark but you aint never follow me
I've been
sleeping a thousand years it seems
got to open my eyes to
everything
Without a thought
Without a voice
Without a
soul
Don't let me die here
There must be somthing
wrong
Bring me to life
(Wake me up)
Wake me up
inside
(I can't wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call
my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to
run
(I can't wake up)
Before I come undone
(Save me)
Save
me from the nothing I've become
Bring me to life
I've been
living a lie
There's nothing inside
Bring me to life...
Several whistles were heard from the male population and Vivien, who was blushing lightly return to Kai behind the curtains as quickly as possible.
Rayne had to chuckle at her reaction and managed to calm Kai before he went out to do his performance.
Yeah-eahhh,
hmmmm
yeaaahhh
Chorus:
I'm not your every day,
around the way
Don't go bar-hoppin', chillin' on the block
On
a cell phone frontin',
Never that, cuz I'm not that kinda girl
I
need to know how you roll
And how you get down, no drama
Drop
my money in the bank
Take me home and meet your mama
Can you
handle that?
Cuz I'm that kinda girl
I'm that kinda
girl
Verse 1:
Boy you aint impressin' me
With
your jewelry, your designer clothes
Or the games that you try to
play
Think you need to know, I got my own
Dont need you for
your dough
Hearin' me, maybe then we can flow, let me know
Make
me smile, maybe we can chill
Keep it real, show me something I
can feel
Cause I'm not your average ordinary type
Could you
be that kinda guy I like?
Chorus
Verse:
2
Everytime I be up at the spot, chilling with my crew
We'll
be hanging out, get in a little late
You start bugging out
I
dont think it's fair
You don't like the clothes I wear
How I
do my hair
I don't really care
But it's not for you
And I
aint got nothin' to prove
There cant be any us, if there can't be
any trust
Nothin' to discuss, no doubt
I'm not that kinda
girl to let you play me out
Chorus
BRIDGE:
You
might take me shopping, but I'm not your property
If I dont like
it, I decided
I can make it on my own
As long as we disagree
to agree
Down for you and you're down for me
Baby I'm what you
want and we can build a love so strong
Chorus
Oooh
Oooh Oooh Oooh
Not That Kinda Girl
Oooh Oooh Oooh Oooh
Not
That Kinda Girl
Oooh Oooh Oooh Oooh
Do you know what kinda girl
I am?
Oooh Oooh Oooh Oooh
I'm that kinda girl
ooohoohh-yeaaahh
Kai came trudging in behind the curtains as soon as the performance was done, looking gloomy.
"I swear, if I hear or perform that song again, anytime soon, I'll kill that person," he huffed.
Vivien and Rayne laughed along with some others. Vivien was wearing black jeans and a Chinese top, with the usual bandana on her forehead and gloves. Rayne was wearing a whole new outfit, but it was still black: black baggy pants, with chains, here and there and long sleeves top, with a picture of a silver dragon going around her body. The outfit hugged every curve of her body, making some of the boys staring at her from time to time. James smiled at the happy expression on the soldier's face and turned to see Tala with Ten. He let out a sigh.
Rayne went behind him, nudging his shoulder.
"Come on, man," she joked. "Our turn.
"Yup," he grinned, getting his guitar. They went to their position and with a nod, the curtains pulled back.
Everything was silence, and with a deep breath, Rayne sang.
Have you ever been lost in a different world
Where everything you once knew
Is gone
And you find yourself powerless
With everything that exists
You're numb
Will I ever break free
I searched my world but I can't find you
You're standing there but I can't touch you
Try to talk but the words are just not there
I can feel a sense of danger
You stare at me like I'm a stranger
Paralysed and you don't seem to care
The demons in my dreams
If you become a nobody
Blind, to your family
Who would you be?
And life has gone into reverse
Re-living every hurt
Along the way
Everything that you fear is calling you and drawing near
I searched my world but I can't find you
You're standing there but I can't touch you
Try to talk but the words are just not there
I can feel a sense of danger
You stare at me like I'm a stranger
Paralyzed and you don't seem to care
The demons in my dreams
Wake me up and let's go, yeah
I'm about to explode
Yeah
I searched my world but I can't find you
You're standing there but I can't touch you
Try to talk but the words are just not there
I can feel a sense of danger
You stare at me like I'm a stranger
Paralyzed and you don't seem to care
The demons in my dreams
Stunned at her voice, everything was quiet. Startling the poor girl, the audience, either stood up or stood on their chairs and applauded, and whistled. Rayne and James glanced at each and grinned.
Once the noise level died down, the teacher took over the stage once again while the competitors took a space behind them.
"I will call out their name, and with number of applauses will choose the winner," Mr Jurgen spoke. "Vivien, Max and Tyson?"
there was a soft round of applause.
"Tenebrae, Tala and Kai,"
there was a loud round of applause. Ten smiled smugly at Rayne.
"Rayne and James."
A louder applause was made and this time, Rayne smiled smugly at Tenebrae.
"There you have it. The winner: JAMES AND RAYNE!"
-00-
"Congratulations," the gang beamed, as James and Rayne and the other competitors entered their classroom.
"Thanks," the male brunette and the soldier grinned. Rayne placed herself in a seat, followed by James on one side and Kai on the other side.
"Glad that's all over. I hate singing," moaned Kai.
"But… I was hoping you would sing a verse in one of my debut singles," whined Rayne, crossing her arms.
James chuckled.
"You wanna do it?" Rayne asked him.
"I don't mind… although I haven't sung in a while."
"Don't worry about that," she shrugged. "I can train you up."
"Cool. Any ideas?"
"Yeah," nodded the black-headed girl. "And it will be called Last Train Home," she grinned.
-00-
'I can't believe I lost to her!' the female brunette thought as she walked down the street on a Saturday morning. She had her backpack on her back, with some books inside it. She had been to the library. She stood nearby the traffic lights, the green light still on as the cars in different speed sped by.
Without hearing anymore cars nearby, without looking, Ten stepped onto the road to cross.
Shouting and screaming were heard but Ten paid no attention until she heard a loud horn. The girl turned her head to see a truck heading towards her in what seems to be 50 miles per hour and all Ten could do was froze on her spot, a horror look on her face.
Everything came so quick she didn't know what happened. One second she was rooted to the spot, the next she was lying on the pavement, with several people surrounding her.
"You OK?" someone asked.
Ten moved her head upwards to meet the girl of her rival.
"You?" she gasped.
"Yeah. Me!" she quirked an amused eyebrow.
Ten looked at her up and down, noting her clothing. She was wearing dark jeans, similar to the ones she wore at school, and a turtleneck tank top. Headphones were dangling from her neck as well as a skull necklace. She had knees and elbows pad at their places as well as roller blades on her feet. A hand was held out in front of her.
She took it hesitantly, and got up,
"Thank you," she said, wiping some dirt of her clothes.
"You're welcome," the soldier whispered. They stood in front of each other as the crowd thinned, staying in silence.
"Why did you save me?" blurted Ten. "You could have let me die. I thought we were enemies."
"We don't have to be," the soldier whispered. "Beside, no one deserves to die at a young age."
"There's more to you than meets the eye," theorized Ten.
"You really want to know about my past badly, don't you?" she worked an eyebrow. Ten blushed.
"Not exactly. I just want to know what's between you and Tala,"
Rayne mentally rolled her eyes. "I can't tell you. I'm not ready."
"That's understandable. Where are you heading?"
A shrug was all she got. "Nowhere really. Just getting some fresh air, to be honest." Ten nodded.
"You want some company," she asked.
"It wouldn't hurt."
So the two girls, who were once rival, now friends, walked down the streets of Japan, chatting and laughing.
"James said you used to make your own album in Russia," said Ten, at the ice cream parlour where the girls each bought a sundae.
"Yeah. The Blade Angels and I used to sing… we still do but we don't make our albums here in Japan."
"You should, at least a single. I've got my own music studio and you make some songs from there."
"You sure about that," Rayne frowned.
"I'm perfectly fine about it. We can make a song and sing it together," chirped Ten.
Rayne nodded. "I guess we can." She leaned back into her chair, staring at the sun.
TBC…