Chapter Seven
"She's getting all the easy songs…" I whine to no one in particular.
"Whiner…" James laughs.
"What? It's true!"
" 'Hero'? 'Hero' is not an easy song… Mariah Carey can cover, like, nine octaves!" Liz chimes in to defend herself. Whatever.
"Come on! That was way easier then… what was that last song I veto'ed?" I ask.
" 'Just Call Me Angel Of The Morning'…" James offers with the same face I made when the computer picked it for me. Point made.
"Yeah, I'll give you that one. I think everyone here is thankful you veto'ed that one!" Liz laughs. "But I can't believe you wasted a veto on 'Any Man of Mine'! That's a classic!"
"Yeah, well, can't afford to see that one on youtube so… now I only have one veto left!" I should have listened better to James when he warned me at the beginning of the game.
"You wasted them all at the beginning! You have to learn!" She shakes her finger at me.
"This is my first time playing this stupid game! And I didn't get 'Sweet Caroline'! You didn't even have to sing for that one! Everyone else sang for you!" I point out. I certainly didn't sing along. She doesn't need any help here.
"And it sounds to me like you're being a sore loser…" Liz rolls her eyes, lifting her beer to her lips. "By the way, it's your turn."
"Right. Let's see what I get stuck with this time…" I climb to my feet and head towards the machine of doom. She got 100% on Sweet Caroline, which made up for her mere 85% on the Mariah Carey song. That was her lowest score yet. I am screwed.
" 'Take My Breath Away'… Berlin… what's that one?" I read off the screen.
"You know… from Top Gun…" James explains and I rack my brain.
"The only song I remember from Top Gun is the one that they sing drunk in the bar…"
" 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling'…" Liz offers knowingly.
"Yeah that one…"
"That's not it…" She smiles.
"Wow. Thanks." I offer sarcastically. "Pass."
"That was your last veto!" James points out, seemingly shocked that I would waste it.
"It's fine," I assure him. He looks like he is going to have an aneurism, as he looks back at the group of guys still hanging out but not really paying attention anymore. They only look up when the scores come up, otherwise their eyes are diverted to the local 'talent' working tonight. I get that James doesn't want to be chirped for siding with me here, especially if I lose badly, but he needs to calm the fuck down. He's not helping anyone.
"I. Will. Be. Fine." I say slowly but confidently. Liz mutters something under her breath, causing James to give me a stressed out, exasperated look. Great. She's not helping.
" 'I Wanna Know What Love Is'… Foreigner…" I read off the screen. "What the fuck!" This machine is against me.
"Sing it Crosby…" Richards laughs from the back of the room. Figures now he pays attention. Cock suck.
"He doesn't have to… he could always give up…" Liz reminds me of the rules.
"Yeah right…" I don't give up - apparently even when I should. "Give me the damn mic."
-.-
"Okay, what's up for me…" I climb to my feet and take the mic out of his hand. I hate that he did good on that song. I really do. I really thought I had him on that one. What guy can shamelessly sing an 80's love ballad? God damn it anyway. I thought this would be an easy win. I find myself putting way too much effort into this stupid game. I haven't cared about this stupid game in years!
" 'You Don't Own Me' by Lesley Core?" James reads the screen. He clearly doesn't recognize the song. I do. It's perfect.
"Easy, peasy…" I brush my hands together and glare over at Richie, who has some damn blonde sitting in his lap. I hope he gets the point of this song. It sums up our entire relationship – if you can call it that.
"Fuck you!" Sid mutters and rolls his eyes at me getting another easy song and it brings me back to the reason I am here. It's not to prove a point to some over entitled millionaire… oh wait, yes it is. Just a different one then normal. I am going to belt out this bad boy.
-.-
"Your turn…" Liz stomps off the stage, handing me the mic. Wow, she sang that song with passion - to say the least. Luckily for me, that passion took her a little off script and her score was not so great. She seemed to be singing it at someone. It didn't take long to figure out who and I loved watching her stare Richards down. Half way through the song, he moved the ditz off of his lap and seemed to have clued in. I don't entirely understand the tension there but… if it helps me win… I'll take all the help I can get right now.
"Let's see what hellish nightmare this things churns out…" I moan, taking my spot on the stage.
" 'What A Wonderful World'… Louis Armstrong," James, our self proclaimed MC, reads out.
"Sweet! Finally! A break!" YES! I can do this song! I practically jump up and down with glee as the tune of the song begins.
-.-
"Happy now?" Liz asks, as my score comes up on the screen. 100%! That's right! I rocked it! I smile proudly. I know she thought that she was going to win this but I am NOT going down without a fight. All those times being forced to sing karaoke while babysitting Mario's kids have totally paid off!
"Okay what do we have…" She turns to James who hits 'next' on the game consol. He pauses before reading the song and I watch as his finger hovers over the next button. "What? What is it?"
" 'You Say It Best When You Say Nothing At All'… Allison Krause…" James reads off slowly, chewing on his bottom lip.
"Veto."
"Ha!" I burst out, maybe a little too enthusiastically.
"That was their wedding song you dip shit…" I hear from behind me, not sure who said it but I feel bad instantly.
"Oh, whoops… sorry…" I offer, sinking a little in my seat. How can I get blamed for not knowing that?
" 'I'll Make Love To You'… Boys to men…" James reads out, as we watch him hit 'next' again.
"I am NOT singing that song…" Liz protests. "I can't believe that's in there… That's gross…"
"What are you talking about? That song got me laid like crazy in Junior!" One of the guys in the back adds and everyone laughs and high fives him.
"You're gross!" Liz adds, throwing a balled up napkin towards the back of the room, rolling her eyes. "NEXT!"
James dutifully presses 'next' and we wait to hear what has come up. "Extreme, 'More then Words'," he informs us and the smile returns to her face. Normally I enjoy seeing a smile on a beautiful woman but this one means I am fucked.
"This is locked down! That is my all time best song!" Liz clicks the mic to 'on' and James takes his seat. I watch as she sings, not even looking at the words on the screen. She hits every damn note, every up and down. As she wraps up the last line, James gives me a look of pure pity, as we wait for the score to come up onto the screen. Yup, she nails it. She doesn't even look at the screen to check her score, she knows she nailed it. She takes a seat and waves over another drink for herself. She seems so nonchalant about the whole thing. It just makes me wish I could beat her more. Damn it anyway. Oh well. At least I did my best.
"James, would you like to do the honour and collect our final scores?" She asks him, as a waiter places a large beer glass down in front of her. He nods and climbs to his feet, slowly heading to the machine, determining my fate – my humiliation ensuing.
"You know, I just wanna say, whatever the outcome, I had a lot of fun, so…" I offer, extending my hand for a peace making hand shake.
She looks down at my hand and back up at me and shakes her head. "Oh yeah? You think being diplomatic now is going to get you off easy when I beat you?"
"You don't know that you beat me…" I point out matter of factly and she quickly responds with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh pullezzze…"
"I guess we will see…" I shrug and look over to James who is fiddling with the instruction book.
"Dude? What's the freakin score?" I snap at him.
"Ummm… 92% for Liz and 93% for Sid," James reads slowly.
"HA! I beat you! I win!" Shit, this is almost as good as a Cup!
"Nope…" Liz smiles and shakes her head. At first I think she is just in denial but everyone in the room seems to be laughing at me again. It's getting kinda old. Did James just bring me here to be the bud of every joke? "The computer doesn't determine a winner if you are within 2% of each other, assumes computer error… so you go into sudden death… song for song…like a shoot out."
'What? That's bullshit!" Damn, I was so close.
"Computer error… 2% leeway…" James points down to the instruction manual.
"So I have to keep singing?" I ask, just to clarify the hell I am in.
"Until you beat me…" Liz smiles sweetly and then adds, "Or give up…"
"I don't give up!" I snap at her and grab the mic off the table.
"We're going to be here all night…" Someone adds from behind us. Damn right we are.
I stomp up to the stage and slam the 'Next' button. 'How Deep Is Your Love' the Beegees. Great. Just fucking great.
-.-
"Okay, next up is Miss Elizabeth," Sid watches the computer scroll up the next instructions. I think we have been singing now for three hours. I am tired. He is tired. My throat hurts, his throat hurts. The only difference at this point of the night? I am drunk, he is not. I should have laid off the beer about six songs back. "No veto's left – you gotta sing whatever it picks…" Sid reminds me, as I slide off the seat, trying to not look as inebriated as I am. It's all good. I can still sing.
"Bring it." I can't believe I just said that. What am I, a sixteen year old cheerleader? Shit…
"Ohhhh…" The guys - who are way drunker then me – are egging me on. I blame them.
"I'll take ten on Lizzie…" I can hear them betting.
"No way, put me for a twenty note on Sid, the dude is rockin it!"
"Wow, winning at Karaoke… I don't see this getting added to his Wikipedia page…"
"Especially when he loses…"
"Hey you guys? Would you mind?" Sid snaps behind him. The guy is taking this deadly serious. It's pretty funny. Everyone apologizes to him but I can't help but giggle. Sid snaps his head back to me fiercely and I stop laughing. Serious face engaged. Not for long though, as I start laughing again for no particular reason.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry," I apologize, trying to get a handle on my giggling fit.
"Are you ready?" Sid asks and I nod, pulling the mic up to my chin with two hands. "And the song the game has chosen for you is… 'Nothing Compares To You,' Sinead O'Conner…"
"Oh, fuck my life," I utter barely above a whisper. Unfortunately the mic is on, so everyone heard me. I look up and scan the crowd. Nobody is laughing anymore. James appears at my side and places his hand on my far shoulder, pulling me into him protectively.
"You don't have to do it," He offers softly.
I consider backing down, tapping out, but that just simply isn't me. "I'll be fine."
"Lizzie?" Richards appears at the far side of the stage. He's the last person I want offering support. Fuck him.
"Just get me another beer would you?" I bark at him and he nods, getting the point and backing away. I turn and nod to James who moves back to the table and takes his seat, not once taking his eyes off me.
The computer begins its short beginning riff and I brace the microphone. I can see all the guys in the room looking up at me, all of them ready to jump up and help me but I am determined to prove that I can do it. Even it it's a total lie.
"It's been seven hours and fifteen days, since you took your love away…"
Oh fuck. The first line and I can already feel tears swelling. So much for acting tough. This song… it just kills me. Mike and James both climb to their feet again, ready to drag me off this stage but I am not giving in.
"I go out every night and sleep all day, since you took your love away
since you've been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whomever I choose
I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant
but nothing
I said nothing can take away these blues,
'cause nothing compares
nothing compares to you
It's been so lonely without you here
like a bird without a song
nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
tell me baby where did I go wrong?
I could put my arms round every boy I see
but they'd only remind me of you
I went to the doctor guess what he told me
guess what he told me
he said girl you better try to have fun
no matter what you do
but he's a fool
'cause nothing compares
nothing compares to you…"
I have made it this far… I can make it through the god damn musical interlude… if it would hurry the fuck up! I know the next verse is the hardest to get through but then I'll be done… just sing the words, don't hear them…
All the flowers that you planted mother
in the backyard
all died when you went away
I know that living with you, baby, was sometimes hard
but I'm willing to give it another try
"Nothing compares, nothing compares to you"
I finish the last three repeats of the song and then put the mic down. Everyone in the room is silent and staring at me. I brush away the tears on my cheek - I don't even know when they started - and slowly walk towards my chair, where there is a large beer waiting for me. I reach for it, lift it to my lips and drink the whole god damned thing.
"You're up…" I say to Sid, placing the empty glass down on the table.
"I think you won…" he says softly, clearly avoiding looking at me.
"What?" I snarl.
"You win."
"Are you fucking kidding me? Get up there and sing!" I yell at him.
Sid just shakes his head. I look at James and he lowers his eyes to the table.
"Don't be a fucking pussy!" I yell again, tears springing to my eyes again and I fight to hold them in.
"Okay Lizzie, let's go…" James stands and places his hands on my shoulders.
"Why won't he sing?" I sob burying my head in James chest. I feel him place his hand on the back of my head and stroke my hair.
"Because you're crying… you win by default…" Sid shakes his head.