Apple Hair

Chapter 17 - CORRIN🐈

Halfway through month three, it feels like my feet are going to explode (and I'm trying not to dramatize).

Maybe it's the dancing. No, it's definitely the dancing. I've never busted so many moves before. I never pumped my fist so hard. Gosh. I wonder if the guys are feeling the same thing?

I guess I can ask. But with my new condition, I'm tending to keep a lot of things to myself.

I lean my head back in Shar's van, clutching my phone so hard I might crack the glass. Then, I jolt forward when we stop at a red light. "Hey, this might be our first major performance or something."

"Singing in the church choir?" Kaden says, a bit skeptical.

I don't know why he's skeptical, but I'm about to say something that I hope is witty. Then it escapes me (I think my meds make my brain sleepy).

"Thanks for coming along," David says. "But church is really important to me. I'm glad we can sing together on stage."

"Worship songs," Van says, probably wanting to say more. And he does after a second of him finding his voice again. "It's new for me."

"Same." Seiya, in shotgun, slaps on his shades after squinting at the sun. "I mean, I believe in God and da kine, but I never go. To church."

Before we reach the church, Shar reminds me to take my meds. She smiles at me kindly—she's always so kind—before sending us off and telling us she'll pick us up in two hours.

I bob my head while walking. Sunday—our off day. The day we get to crush the stage of the place where David grew up. The church, a large two story building, rises up in the middle of Honolulu. Or to be more exact, by the Bishop Museum in Kalihi.

"We should go to the museum after!" I say.

"Nah," Seiya says. "That place is haunted."

"There's no such thing as ghosts," Kaden says.

And then we all get quiet at that. Of course, we all saw the spooky things that have been happening lately.

"I think the existence of Apple Hair proved that ghosts exist," David says, leading the way.

We had to wake up extra early. The service starts at seven, which is pretty crazy for someone who likes to sleep until eleven. We'll be singing in the choir for the service at nine and eleven too (I lowkey can't wait).

I hum to myself—the worship songs David made us memorize last night. I put a bit too much step in my walk, because Van grabs my arm and makes a suppressing motion with his hands. Maybe the superpower of having this condition means that I can have lots of energy on a Sunday.

Inside, I'm surprised at how nice it is. The floors and walls are almost sparkly, the lobby filled with Christmas decorations since it's the middle of December.

The middle of December? Already?

I'm busy looking around like a lost deer. Seiya has to lead me backstage, where the rest of the choir is warming up their voices. Looks like we'll be singing with about ten other people. They all look like they got up at five and had about ten coffees.

I warm up my voice with trills. I must be way too loud, because David whispers into my ear, "I think the people in their seats can hear you already."

I give him a wink and quiet down.

The worship team greets us, a group of five who look like they had eleven coffees. They gather us into a huddle, where we pray and ask God to lead the time. As a person who doesn't really know whether God is real or not, it's still pretty nice.