Battle of The Bands

But What If It Were A Competition?

Chapter 2 

But What If It Were A Competition? 

     As I arrive at school I'm quite surprised to see no one's around. Like, the halls are empty. Am I early? I look up at the nearest clock. No, I'm not, I got here at the same time as always. So then.. where is everyone? As I go further down the halls I begin to hear voices. It sounds like.. singing? But where's it coming from? The further I go, the louder the voices get. Are they coming from the auditorium? But groups don't normally perform in the morning right before class.. 

     I make my way over to the auditorium and it seems I'm right, the voices are coming from here. But I also hear yelling now.. Just what exactly is going on behind this door? With a deep inhale and a deep exhale, I open the doors to the auditorium. My eyes widen at the sight before me upon entrance. Everyone is.. arguing with each other. Different groups are screaming insults at one another. But then up on stage are three students dressed professionally, they're just standing there, harmonizing. What the hell did I just walk in on..

     I don't even recognize most of the people here, it's like the whole school is here.. In fact, I don't even recognize those three guys? Who are they? With the way they've got the school acting, you'd think they'd be a well known group. Maybe they are well known and it's just me that doesn't know them, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Being surrounded by this absolute chaos is so.. suffocating. I feel like I'm going to drown in this negative energy. I can't stay here. I need to get out. Not turning back, I rush out of the auditorium and go straight to my locker. I frantically open the locker and pant as if my life depends on it. I don't know what's happening but I'm getting out of here while I still can. I grab my belongings and shut my locker. However as I do so, I hear another voice. 

     "Jeongin?" Fuck, it's Seungmin. "You alright?" "Clearly not." "Did.. something happen?" I turn to face Seungmin. "Did you not see what was going on in the auditorium? It's chaos in there." "I didn't go in there, I just assumed a group was performing so I walked right past it." "Did you not hear all the yelling?" I say in shock. "Yelling? I just heard singing." "That was probably before when they were actually performing.. But anyways, something isn't right at all. I went into the auditorium out of curiosity and saw that like the entire school was in there. Everyone was yelling at each other while three guys on stage harmonized." "What. You're joking, right?" "I wish I was.. I have no idea what's going on but we need to leave. It's not safe in there." "Leave the school? C'mon, that's a bit much, don't you think?" "Seriously? Why don't you go in there and see what's going on for yourself?" Seungmin frowns, probably hurt by my harsh words. There's no way or reason for me to sugarcoat my words though, especially when I know I'm right. 

     Seungmin sighs and grabs my hand. "I'll go but you're coming with me." "What? No-" without letting me protest, Seungmin drags me back to that hell hole of an auditorium. As we enter his hand slips out of mine. "What the.." "See?" Nothing's changed since I was in here, class is literally supposed to start in a couple minutes but everyone is too busy arguing.. It's then that I notice the principal walking up to the stage, the three boys now off the stage. Hopefully the principal can put a stop to this. 

     The principal stares at the crowd, not showing any signs of emotion whatsoever. Don't tell me they're affected too.. "Excuse me?" The yelling continues. The boys, despite being nowhere to be seen, begin harmonizing once more. At the sound of their voices the crowd settles down, forming a uniformed audience. They're drawn to the voices, waiting in anticipation for more. "After some discussion it has been decided that this year's talent show will become a competition instead." I'm sorry, what? Seungmin turns to face me, he's just as shocked as I am. "Groups will compete with each other for the title of best group in the world! That being said, only groups can enter, soloists will not be permitted." Whew, that means I don't gotta get myself involved in this shit any further. Seungmin swears under his breath. "You wanted to participate in the show, right?" I say as I turn over to look at a very disappointed Seungmin. "Yeah, I wanted to perform but I'm a soloist." "Maybe that's for the better, look at how all the groups are acting." "True.. Oh shit! I have a friend who is in a group, I hope he isn't acting all weird too.." Seungmin grabs my hand once more and drags me out of the auditorium, now dragging me to some random practice room. 

     Upon our entrance, the people inside stopped what they were doing. It seems like they were arguing or something. "Jisung..?" Seungmin says to one of the guys. One of the guys sighs. "You came too late, I think he's a lost cause." "He's acting weird too?" "Weird? I'll show you weird!" A guy with brown hair says, he tries to approach Seungmin but gets pulled back by the other guy. Seungmin sighs. "What is even happening.." "I dunno either man, three pretty dudes showed up, started singing and dancing and now everyone hates each other." What in the magical girl shit is this? Not wanting to get involved in whatever it is that's happening, I shove myself into the corner. When I'm stressed out singing always calms me down. I hate singing in front of others but this is just too much stress for a single morning. 

     I'm actually a pretty big fan of an artist that attends this school. I find it hard to believe we're in the same grade, honestly. But her songs give me comfort. Deeply exhaling, pretending as if it were me here all alone, I begin to sing. Words flow from my lips, trying their best to follow the melody. Seungmin and the two others stop what they're doing to listen to me. I'm aware I caught their attention but I have no choice but to block them out. I need to keep my focus, it's the only way I can calm down. I keep singing, making sure to not sound flat. By the end, I look up and see Seungmin wide eyed staring at me and the other guys looking at me with this enthralled look in their eyes. 

     "Did I sound bad?" "No, not at all." "Ugh, my head hurts." says the brown-haired guy. Seungmin slaps him across the face. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" "Are you implying that they sounded bad?" "What? No. I'm just saying I have one hell of a headache right now. Ever since I watched those three hot guys perform my head's been hurting." Me, Seungmin and his other friend all stare in confusion at the brown-haired guy. "What? Why are we staring at me?" "Ji, you have been calling me an emo rat that can't rap this entire time." The other guy says, staring the brown guy dead in the eyes. "Shit, really? I kid you not, I completely blanked out after watching that performance." "What kind of fucked up magic are those guys working.. More importantly, how the hell did Jeongin's singing bring you back to normal?" Seungmin asks, in utter shock. 

     "Magic?" I say jokingly. "I never thought magic could possibly be real but with everything that's going on, it's definitely a possibility.." Seungmin says as his mind begins to wander. "Are you saying those hot guys SOMEHOW used magic on me?" "Precisely. It's not only you too, everyone else in the school is being affected by it." "Spooky." "Now's not the time to joke about it, Ji, this is serious." "But what are we going to do? If the entire school is acting up, there's basically nothing we can do about it." The blonde guy says. "Well, I mean, my voice managed to fix.. Jisung was it? Maybe my voice can fix them as well?" "True, but is your voice only enough to go against an entire school?" Seungmin asks. "I dunno.." "Let's join the competition. Maybe through our performances we can do something. Besides, it's not like there's anything else we can do." Seungmin suggests, shrugging his shoulders. Christ almighty, what have I gotten myself into.. I didn't mean to become a part of this, not in the slightest. But of course my voice just so happens to be magical enough to make raging teenagers less pissy.