𝘞𝘦'𝘙𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘛 𝘴𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘕𝘨𝘦𝘙𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘠𝘮𝘰𝘙𝘦

ᴅᴇᴀʀ ᴅɪᴀʀʏ, ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡꜱ ɴᴏᴡ

♪♫♭♬♩♪♫♭♬♩♪♫♭♬♩

"You're thinking about forming a tribute band?" Alex asked, a single eyebrow making an appearance above her glasses frames. "Should I... do I even need to ask why?"

I frowned, my gaze trained down on my science book which I'd been doodling in (don't worry, I was going to stick the sheet over top, I was safe, I'm sure we all know about how science teachers can be). I was already regretting saying anything... after all, Jade only texted me the idea last night. I guess I'd just kinda got used to telling Alex everything. "Well. I mean. I personally think it's an awesome idea."

"Yeah, I'm not disputing that, but Alice, you don't do any music lessons or anything," Alex pointed out. It was true, I hadn't done music since Year Eight, when we had to, and I'd never exactly committed to learning an instrument, unless you counted the clarinet in primary school, and you can't sing with a clarinet. And I... well, I was rethinking the I-don't-sing thing. "I mean, it's a great idea in theory, don't get me wrong, but how are you two even going to find time to practise? Especially with mocks coming up, and things you do with your family... have you even told your family you're thinking about this?"

"I'll tell them when we're certain about it," I said, tucking a stand of my hair behind my ear. It was being annoying. "And anyway, we both know my dad would love the idea. Hol's Hol. It's just mum."

Alex seemed to get it. "Yeah. I guess you're right." She picked up her scissors and started trimming the edges of her worksheet to make it look like she was doing work. That was a telltale sign Mr Benjamin was within a ten metre radius, so I lay my own sheet flat over my doodles and started tapping my pen on it like I was thinking. Suspiciously my tapping sounded like Blasphemy. More quietly, she continued talking. "So, is there any point me asking what band you'll be a tribute band of?"

"Nah, it's the one you're thinking of," I assured her, realising I knew the answer to this question and writing it down. Made my act more realistic anyway.

"So, you're two girls, making a five man band," Alex summed up.

I stopped writing mid-word. Embarrassingly, I hadn't thought of that, and I didn't think Jade had either, when she texted me. "Um. Yeah, basically. We'll figure that bit out."

"And I'm assuming there's at least three different instruments, yes?" she added, and now she was just taking the point too far. "Do you have any of those instruments? Or even play them?"

"Four, actually, and yes, I know people who have all of them," I said, pointedly. "And I'm probably gonna be frontman slash woman, so I don't have to play anything." Alex raised an eyebrow again, and I crumbled under her glance. "OK, sure, it's not looking great, but we have time to figure this shit out. We proposed the idea literally yesterday, we don't actually have a plan yet. And we won't until later."

"Aren't you two a bit young to propose?" said a voice, and shit, it was our science teacher making stupid, unfunny jokes again that just... no. We looked up to see him standing to the side of my side of the table.

Honestly, I think Mr Benjamin was the only person in the school who has ever shipped Alex and I. I swear he's convinced we're together - which isn't true, FYI. Not one bit. The way he speaks to us gives the impression he thinks it's obvious, despite the fact we both have an asexual pride badge on our blazers. Maybe he thinks it's the lesbian colours. That's what my mum thought at first. For some reason she got mad at me about it...

"Proposing an idea is completely different to proposing to a person, sir," Alex pointed out, smartly, bringing me back to the present. Poor kid was also in his tutor group... meaning she was his favourite student. Meaning I was indirectly also favoured. That was probably the only reason we got to sit with each other.