Chapter 8
Jo
"I'm so EXCITED!" Jo cried. "Did you see my sister? Huh? Wasn't she great? Did she mess up? Will I mess up? Oh my goodness, I'm gonna mess up!"
"Calm down, Jo!" Crow ordered, laughing. "You'll be awesome. And did you hear Blue? That was my buddy up there. Wasn't he great? Did you hear him mess up once? Will I mess up once? Oh no, I'm gonna mess up once!"
Jo laughed. "So that's what I sound like. You'll be fine. And so will I...I hope."
"Yeah. You're a great singer, Jo. You'll do amazing. I'm just worried about me," Crow said.
"You'll be amazing too," Jo promised. "And I'm bad at singing..." she whispered, so that Crow would not hear. Crow grinned.
"Thanks, Jo. You're the best."
"Next performers are Jo and Crow," Miss Raven announced. "Aw, their names rhyme! How cute."
Jo smiled. Crow stood. "That's our cue. Let's go!"
The two hurried up onto the stage, grinning madly. Jo turned to Robbie.
"We're doing Lucky, by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat," Jo explained. "Thanks, by the way."
"Not a problem, little student girl. Not a problem." Robbie turned to the rest of his band, told them what song they were doing, and started to play.
"You'll do fine," Crow insisted. Jo nodded.
"So will you."
Crow opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and sang. Jo joined him when her time came and sang alone when needed. They hit every note and Jo found herself ignoring everything else. Finally, they were finished. Blue and Grace gave them a standing ovation. Grace yanked Shun to his feet and he clapped once before plopping back down. The others cheered loudly (except for Kyoya, who booed every performance so far and Chazz who slept through every one).
Jo got up from the wooden stool she was sitting on across from Crow's and bowed low. "Thank you, thank you. I love you all!" She paused. "Except for you, Shun."
"Wha...? Why me? Why not Kyoya?" Shun asked.
"I love Kyoya!" Jo gasped, joking, along with a chorus of girls. The girls giggled and Jo laughed. "Haha to you." She jumped from the stage and ran over to where Grace, Blue, and Shun were sitting. Crow followed after her.
"You were so good," Grace sighed.
"You were too! I can't wait for the troublemakers to go up." Shun groaned loudly. "It's going to be so funny!" Shun moaned and turned away. "It'll be great!" Shun got up and walked out. Jo watched him leave. "Shun? Is this about not 'loving' you?"
Grace stood. "No, this is about Irene. He's got this huge crush on her, and he has to sing here to see if she'll harmonize."
Jo frowned. "And he's not looking forward to that, is he? And do I know who that is?"
"Nope, not one bit. I'm going to chase him down," Grace said.
"I'll come with you," Jo offered, following her sister out.
"Next performer is Fabia Sheen!" Miss Raven called behind them. Jo turned one last time to see a girl with blue hair draped over her shoulder and green eyes walk onto the stage.
"There you are!" Grace called, seeing Shun reappear in the doorway.
"I want to watch Fabia," Shun said quietly. Grace walked over to stand next to him and listened to Fabia's rather high-pitched voice sing. Grace placed a hand on Shun's shoulder, and her head tipped on to join it.
"You'll do fine, Shun!" Grace insisted. Jo nodded.
"If you try hard enough, I'll bet you that voice of yours can make notes!" She nodded happily.
"I'm not worried about messing up," Shun sighed. "I'm worried about my reputation."
"You have a reputation?" Jo gasped.
"So do you," Shun reminded her. "The others are going to make fun of me for the rest of my life if I actually try."
"Then don't try," Jo suggested.
"Gee, I never thought of that!" Shun mocked. "Duh, Jo. If I don't try, then I'll never know if Irene likes me or not!"
Jo nodded. "I know," she said quietly. "I'm sorry we got you into this." Fabia finished her song, bowed low, and exited the stage. "It's Kyoya's turn next, then Chazz, then you. You have that much time!"
Shun snorted with laughter. "That gives me about 10 seconds to prepare myself."