Ein stood at the entrance of the venue with Amadeus, Hiroto, Mira, and her friends, tapping his foot impatiently. They were late, and the show was about to start.
"Finally!" Ein exclaimed, turning to face the others. "What took you so long?"
Amadeus, always cool-headed, adjusted his glasses. "Had to deal with some student council stuff—very important business," he said, as if that were a valid excuse.
Hiroto yawned. "Fell asleep while drinking my coffee. Didn't even finish the cup."
Mira giggled. "Mash took forever doing her makeup," she said, throwing her friend under the bus.
Mash shot a glare at Mira. "Excuse me? We were waiting on you to pick an outfit."
Annika being chill at the moment.
Ran chimed in, hopping up and down in excitement. "I got distracted looking at memes, okay? Time flies when you're laughing."
The group finally made their way inside, finding seats scattered toward the middle. The room was already buzzing with energy, various bands tuning their instruments or chatting with the audience. As they settled into their seats, Ein's attention shifted. Five rows below them, he spotted someone. He leaned forward, poking Amadeus and Hiro with an urgent tsk.
Amadeus followed Ein's gaze and frowned. "Why is she here?" he muttered.
Five rows down, Miro sat with a sign held high: "Go KIAN! <3 <3." Her new boyfriend sat beside her, grinning confidently.
"The audacity of this b****," Hiroto muttered between sips of his coffee, completely deadpan.
Mira, noticing the tension, turned to them with a look of concern. "What's going on? Who are you all glaring at?" Her eyes followed their gaze until they landed on Miro. Mira's eyes widened in shock, seeing the girl who looked eerily similar to her—same face, different eyes, different hair. "Wait... she looks like me," Mira whispered, feeling a flicker of competitiveness stir inside her.
Without hesitation, Mira whipped out a mask from her bag, tying it behind her ears. She then pulled out her own makeshift sign that read: "GO SHENANIGANS SYNDICATE" in bold, glittery letters.
The boys were dumbstruck. "Mira, what are you doing?" Amadeus asked, barely holding back a laugh.
Mash, Ran and Annika erupted into laughter. "You know what? I like this energy," Ran said, pulling out some neon markers and adding doodles to the sign. Soon, Mira's whole crew was in on it, hyping each other up.
As the next band stepped onto the stage, Mira's competitive spirit was in full swing. She waved her sign proudly, much to her friends' delight.
The stage lights dimmed, and a group appeared—Kian's band. Their performance was a loud, adrenaline-fueled rock set that had the crowd headbanging. Ein had to admit, they weren't bad. "Not gonna lie, they've got a decent sound," he said.
Amadeus, begrudgingly agreeing, nodded. "Yep, I might have to agree on that."
Mira, always the supportive one, chimed in cheerfully. "Don't worry! Nelly's song is better!"
The group collectively froze.
"Wait... Nelly composed the song?" Ein asked in surprise.
Mira grinned, bragging with a playful twinkle in her eye. "Yeah! He told me all about it. Hehe."
Before they could process that bit of news, the stage announcer's voice rang through the venue. "It's time for Shenanigans Syndicate!"
The audience erupted in laughter at the name. "What's with the name?" someone near them giggled. "It's hilarious!"
YOU ARE READING
EX-istential Crisis
RomanceNelly thought his world had shattered when the love of his life, cheated on him with someone new. Heartbroken, betrayed, and struggling to move on, Nelly questions whether he'll ever be able to trust again. But just when he's at his lowest, life thr...
