I made it backstage, where the guys were having a chat. "Hey, hey, hey!" Wolf said with a wide smile after noticing me. "What's up?" He was balancing one of Tres' drumsticks on his nose, trying not to let it fall of his face. It looked pretty interesting, to be honest, and I chuckled a little.
"Well, gang, I have some news," said Anthem as he walked in. "Aria's joining the band!"
Wolf screwed up his balance immediately, and Tres' drumsticks fell to the ground. "Band?" Sid questioned.
Tres stood up. "Woah, woah, woah, Anthem," he said, shaking his hands and head. "Why in the hell is this happening? You can't just allow some person join our band. Plus, when-"
"Listen, Tres," Anthem interrupted. "I was just thinking, 'Hey, what if we had a girl singer?' I mean, we could have another voice in our gang."
Tres shook his head. "As much of a friend she is to us, which she is a great one right now, we shouldn't really just make her a member." He looked at me. "Besides, can she, uh... sing good?"
Anthem nodded. "She might not sound good to you, but trust me, it'll work along the way, man."
Sid stepped up. "Wait, are you saying she can't sing well?"
Anthem shook his head in disagreement. "No, she's fine, but I'm just saying, you guys being you, I'm certain you'll lash out on her like bloody Simon Cowell!" He then sighed. "Just... give her a chance." Oh, dammit…
Without any words, I sung the same thing that I sung to Anthem. Feeling nervous now, feeling like the situation might get bad, I still did my best and kept myself calm. It was over nice and quick, but I was still wondering what in the hell was gonna happen.
Tres looked at Anthem. "You know what... she might use-"
"Some practice," Sid finished for him.
Anthem slightly nodded. "Her voice sounds like a true punk girl, and would be great! I'll just... help her with her singing, and we'll be fine, k?"
Sid and Tres both shrugged. "Sure, I ain't saying she isn't joining," Tres said. "She's welcome to join, I guess."
Wolf nodded. "I like her as a friend, though the voice... it's at par."
I honestly expected more negativity. It made me wonder if these guys were just very nice, or if they really meant it, because I would turn down singing like that. I didn't really have a whole lot of faith in myself, but these guys did, somehow.
Anthem pulled me aside. "Hey, I know you don't think that was your best. I can tell by the look on your face. But I'll help you get better. Take some voice lessons with the ole chap himself." He chuckled. "Welcome to the band!"
"You don't have to do this," I said. "All of this is really nice, but... are you really sure about having me alongside you guys? I'm a huge fan of your music, but... it's like taking a fangirl and making her the lead signer. I don't think-"
"Aria," he said, "I get what you're saying. The guys think I'm crazy, you think I am, and even I think I'm insane, myself. But listen, you just seem... special, that's all. And we ain't gonna make you a singer off the bat, I'm helping ya. Trust me." He winked at me. "I have faith in ya, and you'll soon be glad you're singing with us. You’ll be a backup singer at first, but you’ll get some spotlight soon."
I shrugged and nodded. "You know... alright. Let's do this." We continue to walk backstage towards the gang.
Anthem takes me to a room with a bright light, with some equipment scattered around on the floor, along with steel chairs. "So, how bout we get working on those pitches, eh?"
"Huh?" I wondered if he was gonna be like some sort of choir teacher? God, I hate those teachers. I actually hate all teachers, period.
"You know, like voice pitches." Anthem did a low pitch with his voice, then quickly switched to a pitch so high that I didn't know he could reach it. "Aaaaaaaaaaah!” he sung. “You try."
"Um... okay." I cleared my throat, and let out my voice. It sounded bad, with awful cracks at my lowest pitch, and got worse when I got higher. "Oh God..."
"Eh, no worry, Aria. Think of it kinda like learning a song’s lyrics; if you listen to it enough and try singing it over and over, you'll learnthe song AND sing it perfectly at the same time!"
"Great," I muttered. I sighed and sang the same thing again. And again. And again. I counted fifteen times, and my voice started to hurt, though as I thought about it, my voice seemed to do a bit better on the fifteenth time. I went for it again, singing low to high. Anthem listened closely and grinned.
"Great! Starting to hear different things in your voice?"
I was surprised at my own answer: "Yes. I'm actually doing better... sorta."
"A little more and you'll be golden!" He tossed a water bottle at me, and I caught it. I drank the cool liquid, and smiled. My voice was actually starting to get slightly better. Slightly. I still had a long way to go…
We did another fifteen minutes of the same thing over and over again, and it got progressively better. My voice cracked less often, it sounded more harmonic, and I was feeling all sorts of good vibes. I felt like I might be able to sing again!
"Woo!" I screamed. I didn’t want to turn into Sonata, but I couldn't help feeling happy and gleeful! I wanted to believe my singing voice could get back to normal in no time! Maybe this whole thing ain't so bad after all... maybe… Thought losing the gems would suck, but this new life can be something I can handle.
"See? I'm telling you, you're fine," Anthem said.
I was about to say something back, until I felt a buzzing in my left pocket. I pulled out my phone, and saw a text from Sonata.
'Help.'
Huh?
'Hurry plz.'
This felt a little... not like Sonata... "Say, I gotta get somewhere. Mind if I take off?"
"No problem," Anthem said. "You got all the time in the world. We all don't, sadly. Little practice there and there. Actually, please come back once you get situated, please. We need you for some time."
"Alright. See ya!" I rushed out the door, yet wondered. Where is Sonata? What is happening? Is she alright?
'At school grounds'
Perfect. That wasn't far from where I was. I started running toward the school, a little worried. What could be happening to my little sis?