De Nelson's Senior High

Chapter 26- Sympathy

" Don't say that. We needed some humor for the house anyway, Manhattan is way too serious if you haven't noticed." Veronica assures her taking the pail off her head and handing her a bottle of orange juice she had in her straw tote bag.

" I feel so sore all over, I can't even feel my legs. Do you know they had the school's photographer take photos of us after forcing us to ran around the whole school chanting the school's anthem?" Mae says after downing half of it's content.

" That's insane...and still kinda funny." Faye says forcing her self not to laugh.

" You think I am funny, have you seen the guys in Kaba and Slit?" Mae laughed though she was in the same predicament.

" Where are they?" Amina asks.

" They should be in here at any moment." She says and turned to look at the entrance, " Oh here they come."

Sarah let's out the laugh of her life when she recognized some of her classmates in various mismatched clothes; bright coloured dresses over trousers with scarves tied around their heads like local market women.

Some had make up on, ranging from eyeshadow, blush, lipstick and were dressed in Kaba( an African top or blouse sewn locally) and Slit ( a long skirt sewn with local African print locally and of various styles), all over neon coloured shoes.

Everyone soon begun to turn from the performance to find out the cause of the chaos and majority begin to laugh.

Heather recognizes Pious from class looking weirder than the rest because of his skinny frame. His long legs looked lanky in the girls' uniform consisting of the white feminine shirt and grey burberry skirt including the vest. He was in the prescribed knee-highs with soccer cleats instead of the Mary Jane's. This time Faye couldn't hold back her laugh. Someone from Leviticus house literally fell out of his seat laughing whiles the victims panted from the long run they'd just had.

Later when all was calm, the two arts students who were MCs for the night, Baaba and Isaiah show up on the stage to call out the next act.

Ashanti's act was right after that so she leaves for the backstage.

" Hey, I haven't seen Kobby or any of his friends' performance yet" Efua says to Ciarra.

" They love attention, you'll see." Ciarra says.

Ashanti's act comes on soon and they see her behind the school's piano which was connected to Rebecca's mixer and turntable, in a purple top over a pair of light blue jeans and white hightop converse introducing the song Faded by Alan Walker.

A girl from her class by name Lily sung to it like she really related to the song in someway. Rebecca fused in the bears to the song whiles fading out all the back noises. Anel was in charge of the lightning of the stage and he had done pretty well obscuring all other parts of the stage that takes your mind away from the ongoing show. Lily soon leaves after the first phase of the song when Anel had turned the spotlights off. By the time it came back on, she was already gone and this time Rebecca put on her headset and on Ashanti's cue, switched two songs by the same DJ unto either sides of the turntable. Memories on the left and Sunday on the right.

Ashanti switched the piano into Electric piano mode suitable for tecno music. Every key Ashanti hit was either amplified or contrasted with another sound making her sound more like a pro to the audience. At the same time, Rebecca was cross-fading her own tunes into it. They had rehearsed it only a few times and knew they were both great at this. The speakers in the auditorium were so powerful that they convened the reaction and message each of them had in mind.

Keeping up with Rebecca's beat was gruelling for Ashanti since she had to play both songs simultaneously. Her housemates were astounded by her skill even though Rebecca kept challenging her a few times by fading out the sounds so what she was playing could be heard and she'd laugh to herself and beat her to it.