Overrated | The Voice France / MIKA & OC

6.2 - Semi-Finals. Where is Emily?

- The video shooting. They told Mika, Mika told Gaspard, and he told me!

- Who cares? - Lucas is already dialing our ex colleague, - Let's just hope she will pick up.
- So what's your predictions? - Flo raises her glass, - I'm going for 'another talent show'.
- Me too, - Karen responds, - There's still La Voix Belgique left for her.
- I think she's done, - Lucas shrugs.
- I pass, - Gaspard mumbles, hiding behind me.
My turn.
- Could it be that she got picked up by some indie label? - I suggest then.
- Too little time for that, - Flo shrugs.
- Three weeks is too little, really? - I'm about to object, but that same moment Emily finally picks up. Her loud and musical voice fills the room, and it feels like we're three weeks back in the past:
- Well look who that is! - she exclaims cheerfully, - Is that Gringoire himself! Hi Lucas.
She sounds very content and confident. I think she's gotten over the Voice and is on to other things. Of course, she tells us everything we wanted to know without us even asking her.
And the thing that she's working on is far from anything we've expected.
- You won't believe what happened, - she says, - Right the next day after the show, I got a phone call. Guess what that was?
- A talent show?
- Nah, think bigger! A freakin role in a new Jean-Jacques Goldman musical! They're still trying to come up with a title, something like "When the Music is Good" or "Little Hats", don't know yet. It's far from being done, but holy cow, it's epic!

- You've got a main role? - I can't resist asking, and Emily reacts to my voice immediately:

- Oh hey Alice! Well yeah, one of the three, but mine is still a main character. Who would have thought!

She talks more about the details, like the songs she's assigned to perform, and when the musical is to premiere, but then, remembering that it's all a secret and she shouldn't talk about it, she quickly says goodbye and hangs up.

So, yeah, like Mika once said, "don't have to win"... She's lost, and she's the winner. Can't tell if I'm more jealous or happy for her.

At least there's nothing to blame myself for anymore.

- Guys! - I cry, standing up on my chair in a sudden wave of emotions, - I think... We all have lost the bet!
Our little group agrees discordantly with glasses up.
- What should we do with us, losers, - I continue, - In honor of the avenging Emily?
- Probably redo the thing we did with her last time, - suggests Lucas, - That thing with numbers.
- Call Mika, you mean?
- No, call someone random and confess in love.
- That doesn't make any sense, - Max grumbles.
- Yes, - Karen agrees, - What's gonna be better is to call someone you really like and say something.
- That's stupid, - Gaspard says.
- Yeah, what if someone we like is among us too?
- Text message, then, - Flori shrugs.
- Then what's the point, we all have our numbers!
- Then put them down on paper and delete!
- That doesn't make any sense, - Lucas repeats.
We pass a few seconds in our silent thinking. Then Max speaks up:
- Fuck it. I'm not gonna talk to my crush ever again if I don't do this right now.
And it pushes us to action. We write our numbers on a piece of paper, throw our phones in a pile and pull out a random one. The room falls in silence again. I hear only buttons clicking, and sigh.
Mister Brown's number I know by heart. So I write a message:

Hi. It's Alice. Just wanted to say how glad I am to have you in my life. >
I think it sounds kinda strange, so I add:
Don't weird out, I'm just in a mood, ok :D >
The reply is rather quick for a busy guy like Mika:
< And I'm glad to hear that! I'm happy to have such a good friend too :)
Then:
< And totally not weird! Just gives me a chance to write you some cute silly things too
A wide smile creeps onto my face. How does he always manage to rise this sweet little tingling in my chest?
And, looking up at others and having found at least two of them with the same wide grin as mine, I can't help giggling. Well, Flori - it's understandable, although I don't really know what secret crushes she left home, but Karen? I've never seen her smile like that before, she looks so happy!

Flori catches my gaze and points in my direction, cunningly squinting:

- I see someone's got texted back, right?
I just let my hair cover my burning cheeks and quickly hide the phone. She laughs at my embarrassment.
- Ok, the pointless stupid thing that makes no sense is done! - Karen says, as if nothing happened, - Now let's do something more interesting.

- Something else we will regret tomorrow, you mean? Oh hell no, I had enough today, - I decide to back out before they come up with something worse. Surprisingly, they all agree.

So I join sleepy Gaspard on the couch and already start dozing off, when Flori sits up next to me and inches me in the shoulder.

- Sorry to interrupt your rest, - she says, - But I need to ask someone. Have I ever told you why I came here, all the way from Canada?

- No. I always wondered, though.

- So, it's really stupid. There's one person next door who I have a massive crush on. I see her every day, and I just can't bring myself to go and talk to her. I mean, what if she doesn't even like girls? And if I tell her, she's just gonna be forever creeped out by me, right?

- Well it depends. In most cases, she would probably be fine with it, if you weren't being creepy yourself... Why are you telling me this?

- The thing is... - she shows me her phone, - Apparently, one of my friends back there knows her number. So I'm drunk as hell, I'm fearless as hell, and all I need is a yes. Yes from you. You say "do it", and I text her right now. It's now or never.

- Why me?

Flori looks around.

- Gaspard is out. These guys, - she points back, to our group... what are they doing there, really? - Are a bit busy. Besides, I trust you, Alice. You won't say things you don't mean, right.

- I'd say, if you know what you're going to tell her, then give it a try, yeah, - I agree, and then, after a second of thinking, repeat, - Yeah, go for it!

All good things that happened to me took place because of one reckless decision like this. Maybe it will work for her too.

- Yeah? Wish me luck, then, - Flori echoes, grinning, as she stands up and leaves.

***

It was a bad idea to go back to the dorm on our feet! Whose idea was that, I wonder? Probably someone suggested I need some exercise and we decided not to call taxi...

Silently cursing the author of such a great thought, I come into my room and plop down on the bed, suddenly feeling tired like I've walked across the whole Paris. Healing still takes more energy than I realize.

I can just hug the pillow and fall right asleep. But I somehow find the courage to roll down and crawl my way to the bathroom.

- Nighty! - I wish to Gaspard across the corridor, through the open door.

- Yeah, you too. And hey, charge your phone, - he says for some reason, but then I remember myself complaining about it being half-dead the whole way to the dorm. Right.

Having found the charger, I'm back in the bed, and wrap myself in the sheets like a baby. Now I'm ready to sleep.

Only one thing left, - I remind myself, and spend my last drops of energy to grab the phone from the bedside table to turn it off.

That's when I see the unread message.

Received somewhere at 9, when we were writing our strange confessions.

Oh. That's interesting.

I open it.

The message reads this:

You don't know me at all. But I see you.>

<You don't know me at all. But I see you.

Weird.

I frown, and scroll to the next message, following the previous one, a few seconds later:

Oops, it sounded too creepy :P Didn't mean to>

< Oops, it sounded too creepy :P Didn't mean to

It kinda sounds like something Mika would type. But the way the message doubles itself...

I check the sender, and make sure it's not a mistake.
I got the message from myself.