Today is Saturday, February 9th. Quilene and I have asked Aerolynn to vacate the premises and find another dorm to live in. It still riles me up that Aerolynn would even hurt my friend like she did. I hope someday, she'll learn her lesson on how she should treat people, but who knows? For now, all Quilene and I can do is focus on ourselves, our academic careers, and our families.

Speaking of, I haven't heard back from Jonah since Aerolynn had outed Quilene to him. He hasn't really said much of anything since yesterday afternoon. I hope he's doing alright. I wonder how he's taking things.

I haven't been able to dwell too much on the matter, as I've just been focusing on my schoolwork so far. I'm trying to finish as much of it as I can so I can free up time for going out on the town and maybe going out for food and drinks. It's so nice to put three-day weekends to good use this semester, especially where homework is concerned. That way, if I get the homework out of the way early, I can have so much more time to do the other things I want to do.

So I've just been doing my homework and trying to distract myself from what happened yesterday. I've been doing really well in my classes this semester. I think the mental health breaks I'm taking really help in that regard. They help me to focus on the truly important things in life besides higher education.

"Hey, Hope!" I suddenly hear Quilene call out to me.

I quickly close my Creative Nonfiction textbook and turn to see Quilene standing there in my doorway and giddily shaking.

"Oh, hey, Quilene," I reply. "You seem pretty happy today."

"I sure am," Quilene says. "Jonah just called back, and he's not mad about me being intersex."

"He's not? Oh, thank God."

"Of course not. It turns out he needed time to process it, that's all. Also, he apologized for stonewalling me earlier. I forgave him, but told him he shouldn't do that again if he wants our relationship to work."

"Okay."

"He also made me promise that there would be no more secrets between us." Quilene then gives me a big smile. "I have a feeling that Jonah and I are going to be mates for life."

I make an effort to keep my squealing on the inside. I'm so happy to hear that Aerolynn's attempt at humiliation was nothing more than a minor setback.

"So what do you want to do today?" I ask Quilene. "Today's been a pretty good day so far."

"Oh, there's this concert going on over at the SHI Stadium. I was wondering if you would like to come with."

"Who's playing?"

"Oh, it's some band called Birth by Sleep. Apparently, it was very popular forty-something years ago. They reunited back in 2040 or something."

"Ah... I see. Is Birth by Sleep any good?"

"I guess? I've only heard a few songs off its discography. Good stuff, but I don't know about the rest."

"Oh... okay. You already get tickets for this?"

"You bet your ass I did. I actually bought three for us and Aerolynn in case she wanted to come along, but she doesn't live here anymore so..."

"Why don't we take Rhonda to the concert with us?"

Quilene looks at me, puzzled. "Rhonda? Your Gender, Race, and Sexuality professor?"

"Yeah. She's a great professor to have. Plus, I already personally knew her before I started taking her class. She deserves to have some fun while she can, doesn't she?"

Quilene scratches the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess, but I mean it's just weird to invite your professor to a Birth by Sleep concert. Well, I can't really think of anyone else who'd want an extra ticket in short notice, so I guess she'll do."

I give a thumbs up. "Cool. This is gonna be so awesome."

Quilene and I get into my car and stop by Rhonda's house to pick her up. Afterwards, we head straight for the SHI Stadium where the Birth by Sleep is to take place. I can feel my heart pounding my chest. This is the coolest thing we've done this semester so far. It was almost a relief when we had to kick Aerolynn out of our dorm. What better way to celebrate the occasion than with a concert? Besides, I've never even seen Birth by Sleep in concert before, and I bet Quilene hasn't either. This is a huge milestone for us both.

All three of us get out of the car and start walking towards the SHI Stadium, tickets in hand. We go through the usual processes for handling concert tickets and then take our assigned seats. My seat is sandwiched in between Quilene's and Rhonda's. With my roommate and my Gender, Race, and Sexuality professor on either side of me, I can rest easy knowing that I've got two people to look out for me in case anybody tries anything funny with me. It takes about a couple minutes before the concert actually begins with frontman Xemnas taking the stage and grabbing a microphone off its stand in order to address the audience.

Xemnas has long silver hair that reaches the middle of his back and light brown eyes that look more orange than brown. Some of it falls over his shoulders. He has this weird chiseled face that I swear I've seen a million times before. His cheeks are sunk back, his nose forms an isosceles triangle, and his diamond-shaped jaw is pronounced loud and clear. From the looks of it, he appears to be in his 60s, part of the same generation my grandmas and their friends came from. He also wears a standard black coat, gloves, and knee-length boots with silver trimming and high concave indentations in the top. His body looks to be thin and sinewy underneath, but I guess that's what several decades of being a rock star does to you.

"Good evening, everyone," Xemnas begins to speak in a coarse British accent (specifically, an accent from the East End). "My band and I are so honored to be playing right here in New Jersey for you ladies and gents and whatever else is out there."

The crowd goes wild.

"I know, I know," Xemnas continues. "The feeling's mutual. Now, as I'm sure many of you already know, Birth by Sleep has been around for a long time. In fact, it's been around since 2002, back when it was known as Organization XIII. I'm amazed that the band's managed to stick around this long, especially with Lexaeus and Saïx gone now. Anyway, I want to thank each and every one of you for sticking around and listening to our songs. We're still performing to this day because of you. With that out of the way, it's time to play the first song of the night. It's time to play... Lapis Lazuli."

The crowd goes wild again, and Birth by Sleep begins to play.

She was trapped in a mirror,
And it couldn't be clearer.
She wanted to leave this place
And get herself back in space.

That song brings back memories for me. Uncle Steven was the one who originally wrote that song, and it was after he'd gotten to know Aunt Nyoko as a friend, no less. Uncle Greg was also the one who originally performed the song when he restarted his music career. Apparently, Aunt Nyoko also has some history with Xemnas or something. She mentioned having hung out with Birth by Sleep as a groupie, though only for about a year.

And Dad, you might think she's a criminal,
But her friendship comes through subliminal.

I can't tell what the context for Birth by Sleep's cover is, but I guess it's supposed to be teenage forbidden love or something. That wouldn't really surprise me, if I'm going to be totally honest here.

Lapis lazuli,
You fled into the bottom of the sea.
Lapis lazuli,
You were so mad but then you came around to me.

Birth by Sleep proceeds to repeat the lyrics once more while finishing the song with a flourish. As soon as the song is over, the crowd erupts with praise and admiration. I can tell from the gleam in Xemnas' eyes that he's relishing in all this laudation and admiration.

"Thank you, thank you," Xemnas begins to speak now. "You seemed to really like that song. Now how's about we get to playing the next song, huh?"

The crowd goes wild yet again. Xemnas turns his head to look at his bandmates Naminé, Xaldin, and Luxord. He nods to them and prompts them to start playing.

"Alright," Xemnas happily growls through the mic. "You asked for it!"

Then, without hesitation, they start to play the next song. This time, it's "I Need A Little Change."

You…
Look at everything you are.
Look at everything you do.
It's incredible, as incredible as you.

"Wow, this song is amazing," Quilene can't help but mutter.

"Yeah, it is," I reply. "I think Uncle Greg originally wrote this one."

Rhonda's eyes widen for a little bit. "Oh yeah, I remember when Greg and Steven performed this song one time. It was incredible."

And me…
I guess I'm content to be
On the arm of someone who
Is as incredible as you.

"Did Uncle Greg give Birth by Sleep permission to play his songs?" I ask curiously.

"I think he did," Quilene replies. "His friend Sunshine Justice manages the band now. So I bet that connection helps."

"Oh yeah, I've met her before. She's actually really cool and fun to be around."

And it's a full-time job admiring
All the ways that you're inspiring.
If I had my way, I'd do it all day.
That's why it's really really hard to say:

I think I need a little cha-a-ange,
I think I need a little cha-a-ange,
I think I need a little cha-a-a-a-a-a-ange.

Just like before, the crowd goes wild and screams out declarations of love for Xemnas and the other band members.

Oh, I always did believe
That love is all you need
To be a happy man.
Oh, that may have been naïve.
I guess I need to eat.
That wasn't in the plan.

Quilene and Rhonda and I can't help but watch this performance. Something about this is just so… mesmerizing. I bet it's the way Naminé plays the drums and pounds on the cymbals. She's trying her damndest to keep up with the music and succeeding. The apparent triteness of the lyrics contrast wildly against the hard rock ballad-like sound.

And it's a full-time job admiring
All the ways that you're inspiring.
If I had my way, I'd do it all day.
The only problem is it doesn't pay.

I think I need a little cha-a-ange,
I think I need a little cha-a-ange,
I think I need a little
Cha-a-a-a-a-a-ange.

As soon as the song is over, the crowd erupts with praise and admiration again. The concert goes on like this for several more minutes. Birth by Sleep addresses the crowd (or rather, it's Xemnas who addresses the crowd), the band plays a song, rinse and repeat. Finally, the band gets to the last song of the night.

"Alright, we've heard out your demands loud and clear!" Xemnas clamors out. "And now you've asked for it. Alright, you lot, it's time to play the last song of the night. It's time to play… Be Wherever You Are. Now this one was written by none other than Steven Curtis Universe himself. Apparently, he decided to write this song after he and some friends were stranded on an island somewhere. He thought that people needed to hear it, so this song is for all you in the audience tonight."

The crowd cheers more loudly than I've ever heard them cheer during this concert. Quilene and Rhonda also scream out loudly beside me. Luxord starts to softly strum his sophisticated as all hell electric guitar.

"Alright, loves!" Luxord yells out. "This song goes out to all you who've been with us for God knows how long. One, two... one, two, three, four!"

Isn't this such a beautiful night?
Whoa, we're underneath a thousand shining stars.
Isn't it nice to find yourself somewhere different?
Whoa, why don't you let yourself just be wherever you are?

I can't help but think about what a nice song this is, especially when it's being played by the likes of Birth by Sleep.

Look at this place, look at your faces.
I've never seen you look like this before.
Isn't it nice to find yourself somewhere different?
Whoa, why don't you let yourself just be wherever you are?

I can't help but think that Birth by Sleep is playing this song at me and Quilene. I can't help but think it's playing this song because it has a message it wants to get across to us.

Look at this place, look at your faces.
They're shining like a thousand shining stars.
Isn't it nice to find yourself somewhere different?
Whoa, why don't you let yourself just be wherever you are?

Why don't you let yourself just be somewhere different?
Whoa, why don't you let yourself just be whoever you are?

The crowd goes wild for the last time and just like before, they scream out declarations of love for Xemnas and the other band members. I can hear it all. The audience clamors out Xemnas and the other band member's names, and they scream out about how they want to have their kids. It is absolutely wild, and I'm all here for it.

Rhonda, Quilene, and I all laugh as we go out into the parking lot and get inside my car. We managed to record enough footage of the concert to send to Jonah and the other people inside the house. Man, what a great night this has been. We definitely deserved this, especially after everything that happened with Aerolynn. In fact, Quilene is the happiest I've seen her this semester. She can now relax and not worry about having an ex-friend try to ruin her life once again over something she was born with.

"So..." I begin to speak. "Are you ready for Valentine's Day?"

Quilene's face beams up. "Oh, yeah, I'm definitely ready for it now."

"I had a feeling you might say that. Why don't we get up tomorrow morning and drop off our Valentine's gifts as soon as possible? That way, we can spend the rest of our Sunday doing whatever it is we need to do."

"That sounds good to me."

"Sounds good to me, too."

"I'm really glad you guys took me out to that concert," Rhonda starts to speak up. "It's the most fun I've had this year."

"The most fun you've had so far," I correct her. "This year's only just begun, after all."

Rhonda chuckles. "You're right. Well, I look forward to seeing you again on Tuesday."

I give Rhonda a smile. "Me too, Professor Spivak. Me too."

Things seem to finally be looking up for us now. I have a feeling that this semester may be better than the last.