One Night That Changes Everything

Chapter Eight

Very short chapter

"Valerie, dear, where are you?" she asks. 

She looks around and finally, I get up, walk to the front of the stage, and take the microphone from her.  My hands are shaking, and she puts the Justin Timberlake DVD into the player, so that the words can flash across the screen for me to sing along with.

It's at that moment I realize this is a horrible plan. Yes, the whole thing is a horrible plan, doing what the 318s say and letting my notebook fall into the wrong hands, but the more horrible thing is that I HAVE PICKED JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE SONG. "Sexy Back", no less!

I thought I was being coy, picking a song that no one would care about, but really, it's having the opposite effect. People are interested because they think it's so stupid. And when I think about it, it is a pretty stupid song. 

"I'm bringing sexy back"?  What does that even mean? Not to mention that it's pretty arrogant. Like, bringing sexy back all by yourself? Justin even got crap for it, I think. Can you imagine what these people are going to think about ME singing that I'm bringing sexy back?

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. My mouth starts to get all dry, and I really wish I had some water. 

The music suddenly starts then, and suddenly it's like a movie, one of those really bad movies where the person is supposed to be in a talent show or auditioning for something or singing in front of people, and they just FREEZE. That is what is happening right now. I am just freezing. 

The words are starting to move across the screen, but I can't open my mouth. Everyone in the whole place is staring at me , which is making it even worse, and I'm sure it's my imagination, but it seems like more people are coming in, like some kind of announcement got posted somewhere saying that some weird girl was singing Justin Timberlake in the hipster cafe and her name is Valerie and everyone should come watch.

I take a deep breath. Okay. There is nothing to this.  It is just singing. In fact,  I've sung this song tons of times, Of course, I was alone in my room at the time, using my hairbrush as a microphone and making up my own dance moves while pretending to be famous.  But still. 

It's just karaoke, and I am never going to see any of these people again. I try and picture them all naked. Then I close my eyes and pretend I'm back in my room. But nothing is working. Nothing is coming out of my mouth.

"Come on!" someone yells. 

I open my eyes. It's some jerk college guy who looks like maybe he's the type to put expensive whiskey in one of those sliver flasks and then carry it around, thinking it make hims seem super-classy ans not just like he's trying to get drunk in the middle of the day. 

"Show us how you're going to get sexy back!"

Then, suddenly, just when I think I'm crazy, drunk flask guy is going to get up and say something again, or maybe throw his flask at me the way people used to throw tomatoes, Justin is out of his chair and standing next to me. He takes the mic out of my hand and starts to sing. What? Why? Justin is now standing next to me, singing "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake!

"What are you doing?" I whisper. 

"Helping you," he whispers back. The thing about Justin is that even though he's a jerk, he definitely has, you know, that something. That thing I was talking about that allows certain people to be good at karaoke. He's suddenly gyrating all over the place, totally getting into it, and acting like he really is bringing sexy back. 

And to my surprise, people are actually starting to like it. Of course, I guess it's isn't really that surprising. Justin is very good-looking.  And charming. Which is how he charmed me into losing my mind and going out with him. He's also not that bad of a singer, although his strength definitely lies in his performance. I'm so caught up in what he's doing, that when he put the mic in my face to sing backup, I chime right in and sing, my panicked feeling gone. 

We do the whole song like that, him putting the microphone out once in a while and me screaming song lyrics into it. Finally, at the end of the song, Justin leaves me up there to do the last bit, and then takes a pic of me on his cell phone, I guess to text the 318s.  And then, just like that the music is over, and the nice British woman is taking the mic from me. 

"Thanks," I say to Justin because that was pretty nice of him. To save me like that, I mean. 

Ans so for a second, I let myself believe that maybe Justin was telling the truth, that maybe the 318s were the ones who took my notebook and turned me into the dean, that maybe he doesn't even care about what I wrote on LameHighSchool Boys, that maybe we can talk and I can find out why exactly he did what he did. I mean, he is wearing the watch I have him after all. But Justin just squeezes my shoulder, whisper, 

"You're welcome" into my ear, and then walks out of the Spotted Frog, leaving me there by myself.