The youth club was quiet at this time of the evening, with most of the town's young people being forced to do homework or eat dinner with their parents before being allowed to escape for a few hours. A couple of boys were hunched over a pool table in the back, while a girl idly flipped through a magazine on a sofa in the corner, oblivious to everyone else.
Ellie wandered in nervously, waiting for someone to tell her she wasn't a member and couldn't be there, or asking her where she was from, the moment she opened her mouth. She absentmindedly realised that Angela had been the first new person she'd met who hadn't asked about her American accent, or where she was from, or treated her either as something abnormal or like a new toy to play with.
Angela led the way to a karaoke machine in the corner of an empty room off the main youth hall. The whole building had seen better days, with peeling paint disguised by notice boards and graffiti-style art. The linoleum floor was cracked but clean enough. It seemed any funds had clearly gone into providing equipment to keep bored teenagers off Stokebridge's streets, with a Playstation, Xbox, big TV's and a fusball table all looking slightly out of place in the shabby setting.
"Karaoke? Er, no. You have got to be kidding, Angela!" Ellie recoiled in shock and horror, cringing with embarrassment. Even though the place was nearly empty, the thought of singing out loud, in public was enough to make her run for home! Angela smiled benignly and ignored her, and began plugging the machine in, flicking through a file of song choices.
"You should text your mom, Elle, and tell her you'll be home a little bit late. You don't want her to worry." It felt as though Angela was always ten steps ahead of her! Ellie quickly pulled out her phone, tapping out a short message and kicking herself for not thinking of her mom sooner.
"Okay! I think we're all set up here and ready to go!" Angela looked so pleased with herself it was hard to not be infected with her enthusiasm just a little. Ellie groaned and took the song choice file from Angela's outstretched hand.
"This is torture," she grumbled, good naturedly. "I don't think Stokebridge is ready to hear cats being strangled in the local youth centre..." Ellie poked out her tongue at herself, and Angela just laughed.
"Elllllllieeeeeeee oh Ellieeeeeee, just let yourself gooooooooo and sing from your bellllllllly.............!" Angela's sweet voice filled the room and she cackled at her own creativity. Ellie couldn't help but laugh along with her.
"Have you thought about a career in the music industry, Brittany Spears?" Ellie joked and throwing her hands up in the air in defeat, declared she was in. "Come on then, what are we going to sing? I vote no boy bands and nothing my mom is in to."
The sounds of Katie Perry's latest hit filled the room and they huddled around the microphone, waiting for the lyrics to display on the laptop computer. Angela bounced on her toes with excitement, reminded Ellie of one of the children in the library earlier.
A slightly shaky start which saw them collapse into giggles a couple of times gave way to more assured singing. Angela belted the lyrics with a strong and powerful tone, the richness of her voice bounding off the walls. Ellie felt her own voice gather in strength, their collective expression giving her confidence. They harmonised with one another over the chorus and ended with a flourish, arms stretched and striking poses like Katie Perry herself.
A surprise round of applause and a couple of whistles from the young people in the other room only added to their amusement. Choosing another up-tempo chart number, Ellie felt as though she were shrugging herself off, feeling freer and lighter than she had in a long time. Angela had this funny way of making you feel as though you didn't care what others thought, and that it didn't really matter anyway. Her easy temperament and wide smile just seemed to draw people in, for who she was, not what she pretended to be.
"Now you, Ellie. You sing this one alone," Angela nodded enthusiastically with encouragement, loading up 'Beautiful' by Christina Aguilera. Oddly, it was one of Ellie's favourites. The slow melody filled the room. Ellie closed her eyes, opened her lips and sang the lyrics she knew so well, as she had so many times before.
"I am beautiful
No matter what they say
Words can't bring me down
I am beautiful
In every single way
Yes words can't bring me down
Oh no
So don't you bring me down today."
Filling her chest with air, Ellie focused her mind on the words as they rolled up through her chest. Her heart stretched open with the passion of the lyrics as the song gained momentum, and Ellie let her voice gather strength and volume. Eyes still closed, she clung to the microphone, losing herself in the song, and feeling the joy of expressing herself. She delivered the final line of the song in soft, breathy tones, snapping her eyes open to the sound of loud applause. A group of around twelve teenagers and who she assumed were a couple of youth workers stood in front of her, clapping and whistling and rushing forward with praise.
"That was, like, amazing mate!" An older boy clapped her on the back.
"You're a wicked singer! You should join the youth club's band!"
"We'd love to have you!" a youth worker chimed in. "Come and get one of our flyers. We practice every Tuesday and Thursday nights, and we're looking for another singer as someone's just left."
Ellie felt herself flush with embarrassment and delight. Nobody was making fun of her for singing, in fact, they seemed to like it! She'd never had the confidence to do anything but sing in front of her mirror with a hairbrush before. Angela hovered at the back of the crowd, smiling proudly. She sidled up to Ellie as the others drifted off again.
"You were simply awesome!" she grinned, throwing an arm around Ellie's shoulders and giving her a quick squeeze of support. Ellie shrugged off the praise with an embarrassed wave of the hand. Angela just tutted. "A singer needs to share her gift! First we have to get you out of your head and just letting go. Next: we will work on getting you connected to your body!" Ellie wrinkled her nose with confusion, wondering what on earth Angela would have in store for the next time they met.
The pretty youth worker bounced up to Ellie, pulling her away to the office and thrusting various leaflets for clubs and groups into Ellie's outstretched hands. With a new sense of confidence, Ellie chatted with her, learning more about the centre and other things to do in Stokebridge.
It wasn't until Ellie turned to go that she realised Angela had disappeared. Quickly rushing back to the karaoke room, she found nothing but her abandoned backpack and coat. No Angela. Ellie felt her heart sink. Had she upset her feelings? Had she stolen the limelight? The other young people had dispersed back to their various tasks, but some called a casual goodbye as Ellie rushed outside to see if Angela might be waiting there. No such luck. Ellie remembered Angela's last words. She clearly had some plan for the next time they'd meet! Her face breaking into a wide grin of relief and anticipation, Ellie realised she couldn't wait to find out.
YOU ARE READING
Hello Me
Teen FictionMoving to England was never going to be Ellie's choice. The land of bad food, pointless Royalty and weird sports (do people actually watch cricket?) was cruelly forced upon her by unthinking, divorcing parents, and Ellie was determined not to like i...
