I slip in through the back door of the karaoke bar and my ears are immediately greeted with the easy first notes of an unidentifiable dance-pop song. Heading down the hallway and peeking into the actual bar part of the building reveals that the evening crowd hasn't come yet. Just five, maybe seven people at the various tables scattered through the place, with Berry Punch on stage singing. I give her a little wave and she nods, then continues singing. Girl's got a good voice.
The DJ sitting at the turntable looks bored when I come in, snatching his glass of amber liquid and hustling out. I can't remember his name - Rising Star? Eh. It doesn't matter. I take the seat he left behind and watch Berry sing. Most people just get up and sing on a dare. Berry pours her heart into it, her eyes shining. It's an escape for her, just like being the disc jockey is an escape for me. As I listen to her sing, my mind wanders back to the days when we first moved here.
My mom has always wanted to be a singer. But nobody gets discovered in the tiny town of Ponyville. Nobody. It just doesn't happen. So she got it into her head that we should move up here, where she went to college. Good idea on paper.
We do not have a ton of money. That's just the reality of things. We have enough to pay the rent on our tiny apartment, and we have enough to sustain ourselves in general. That's not the problem. The problem is that everything is always so tumultuous, going from all of the money to none of the money, and from all of the free time to none of the free time. So I decided to apply to be the disk jockey at this here karaoke club on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so both me and Mom could take a break.
Funny how some people get shafted and some don't. Berry is an amazing person. But since her family makes wine, there are rumors all around school that she's going to be an alcoholic just like her dad. She will be if you people quit freaking treating her like a druggie. How does that get decided? How does whoever created us choose who gets the short end of the stick? Does he or she or it roll one of those twenty-sided dice Button Mash and his friends mess around with?
The bell above the door rings, and two girls step in. Two of the Dazzlings, from the Battle of the Bands a few weeks back. My memory of that night is kinda fuzzy. Lots of light and sound, and people were singing. That's about it. Their smiles are small and hopeful, the kind of smiles I see often on my mom and Berry and in the mirror. They pick their way around and through the tables, mumbling apologies to anyone they bump into. They're coming over to me. Time to actually do my job. I quit slouching and sit up straight as they come forward. The blue girl looks shy, opening her mouth to speak but not saying anything. The purple one pipes up, "How does this place work?"
"You pick a song from this list," I tap the thin red binder that contains the laminated song list, covered in permanent marker graffiti by the various other people who have occupied my chair. "and you go up on stage to sing it. The lyrics are up on that screen." I point to the aforementioned screen, which is hooked up to the laptop in front of me and currently on a screensaver of colorful swirls. "So you don't have to memorize 'em. The lyrics, that is." I push the binder over to them. "Pick a song, any song."
The blue one pages through it, biting her lip. "I recommend this one." I tapped one song in particular. "Not hard to follow."
"Then...then I guess I'll do that one." The blue one nods, then runs onstage.
"You going up there too?" I ask the purple girl.
She shakes her head. "Sonata told me on the way over that she wanted to sing a song by herself."
So that's her name. Sonata. Okay. Sonata taps the microphone, I scroll through the various PowerPoints saved and pick the one for the song she chose. "Hi, everybody. I'm...I'm Sonata Dusk, and I'm going to sing for you." Her smile receives a syringe full of confidence. "I hope you enjoy."
She starts singing, and smiling because she knows she's got this, and I'm smiling because I am so happy that this girl's found a place she's comfortable. Everybody needs a sweet escape, and I'm really happy that this bar can be hers. She looks like she needs one. Her and her friend both. As my mom says; My prayers go out to the both of them.
About halfway through the song, she starts dancing a little she's so happy, and the purple girl is smiling wider than ever. "Hey." She turns toward me. "If you guys ever need anything, feel free to tell me. I'll do my best to help."
The girl looks like she's about to melt. "Thank you so much."
"It's no problem."
Sonata hits a high note, and everyone's heart soars along with her voice.