SEMESTER FINAL EXAMS IN Meadowbrook High School were in session, which provoked the living exhaustion out of each and every student. The countless nights of studying, the lack of sleep during the night, and the unhealthy amounts of coffee consumed within the past week had hopefully paid off for many students. Inez herself was unbelievably exhausted from all the pressure, especially with an upcoming choir concert on the way, but it was something to look forward to.
It was the fifteenth of December, the exact day of the performance. School had just let out for the day, and everyone couldn't help but be more than relieved to get home a little while before coming back. Most of the choir students completed two of their final exams today, so a little time at home should get them back to their normal selves before the performance.
"Remember to be here at five-thirty sharp either with your formal suits and dresses on or with them with you so you can change in one of the dressing rooms," Dr. Terry recalled as everyone went out the door. "Because this is a holiday-themed performance, you can bring any Santa hats since this is a winter performance if you want."
"So, that means a Santa hat, black shoes, and the formal choir dress," Jolien recited to herself as she and Inez dove into the broadened corridor as students spilled out of the doors. "Got it."
"Oh yeah, I kinda forgot that we'll have to wear our dresses for this performance," Inez grimaced to herself. "I didn't even shave my legs yet."
"Me neither," Jolien groaned as she slapped her hand across her forehead. "It's two-seventeen, so we have a little more than three hours to get fully ready. It might be enough time if we're lucky."
"Yeah, I plan on showing up all glammed up. For my last birthday, my cousin got me this cool make-up set and I haven't used it yet, so I'll even do my makeup," Inez raved as the pair climbed their way up a busy flight of stairs. "Let's hope I don't fuck my face up to look like a clown. I don't have too much experience in putting on makeup. I only know the basics, girl."
"A basic makeup style is just fine," Jolien grinned as her lashes fluttered. "Send me a selfie before you walk right out that door, however. I don't want you to come out of your house looking like Ronald McDonald."
Feeling herself giggle, Inez looked at her best friend from the side. "Okay, it won't be that bad. Like a clown level of bad."
The pair walked through mobs of students to get outside under the awning high above them. Like most days, their bus was parked directly outside the school, so they went inside and took their usual seats.
As they got settled, Jolien questioned. "Is there a certain makeup look you're going for?"
"No, but I can start looking for something on Instagram," Inez answered as she retrieved her phone from her back pocket. "All I know is that I'm going to have these natural looking eyelashes, a little bit of lipstick or lipgloss, I'm not sure yet, eyeshadow, and some powder for my face."
"You're going for a natural look? That's going to look so cute on you," Jolien said as she skimmed through Inez's saved posts of makeup on various model's faces. She tapped on a specific photo with exactly everything her best friend described. "You should try to imitate this look. It would match you so well."
"Yeah, it looks really cute," Inez nodded in agreement as she leaned onto Jolien's shoulder to get a better look at it. "I should try it one of these days. Hopefully my attempt won't be a complete fuck-up."
"You'll get there. I found this really cute one the other day that would also match you," Jolien mused. "I posted it on my Instagram story, so I'll search for it."
Her fingers hit the search button located on the bottom of Inez's screen. Before typing anything into the search bar, the brunette-haired girl couldn't help but notice her search history. One of the first things she saw was Alexander's page, so she squinted at the profile picture to see if it was Alexander from choir. With closer inspection, she confirmed that it was indeed Alexander Choi.
"Are you stalking Alexander?" Jolien questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Because his profile is right here."
"What? No! What makes you think that I'm doing that?" Inez asked in denial. "That was from a few months ago, not recently."
"Was his account in his 'suggestions for you' page?" Her friend asked. "I don't want to intrude; I just want to know the background of this situation."
"Yeah, it was. I couldn't help but take a look at his profile," Inez admitted before she bit her lip. "But there's no way I'm stalking him. I don't even care about him."
"Inez, if you didn't care, you probably wouldn't have looked at his profile in the first place. Let alone keep it in your search history," Jolien reasoned with a sigh. "Lately, you've been acting so differently about him. What's going on?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," Inez shook her head as she felt her stomach churn. That was the thing. Jolien was right. She did care, as much as she wanted to deny it, she did.
But more than ever, she just wanted to figure out why. Why did she care so much? Alexander was her biggest rival in choir. Together, they've shared tense moments, competitive moments, and far too many annoying moments. But it was all part of who they were. Inez figured that was the reason why she cared. Not having all those moments would be a weird change, especially since that's what she's experienced from Alexander from the start.
Come to think of it, within the past month, they haven't been their usual rival selves. They've eased down a bit with each other and had a few semi-normal conversations. To Inez, they were semi-normal because Alexander always annoyed her by calling her "Nezzie." If he didn't, maybe Inez wouldn't get so pissed off with him so much. Anyone would think that Inez would be used to Alexander calling her the literal worst nickname ever, she thought, by now. The thing was, she was used to it.
Far too used to it to the point where it was a piece of her whenever Alexander was around. Maybe she had given Alexander a whole lot of attention lately. Because according to her agenda made by her at the beginning of the year, she wanted to avoid all communication with him whatsoever. Things may change, and that's okay. That's exactly what Inez has come to realize.
Was the burning fire between them starting to go out?
Inez was finishing her last touches of makeup in an available not-so-private dressing room behind the stage as she heard a recurring knock at the door. Pushing her makeup bag towards the lone brightened mirror framed with bright lightbulbs, she looked up at the door. Someone was most surely behind it.
"Come in."
She watched the doorknob handle turn downwards as she placed her tube of lipstick and other cosmetic supplies into her black and white striped makeup bag. Paying no mind to her cosmetics, she watched a head peek into a door. A head with short and shaggy brunette hair and pink lips. It surely wasn't Jolien or her choir director. Taking a closer look, she realized that Alexander was at the door.
Inez couldn't help but wonder why he chose to show up at the dressing room. Sure, it didn't belong to her and it could serve purpose for multiple people. However, it's not like they talked on a normal everyday basis about normal things. Instead of grilling the boy with questions, she looked straight into his eyes so she could hear him out.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that this room was empty," he apologized. "The restroom is packed, so I can't take a good look in the mirror. Dr. Terry is calling us for a last rehearsal in about five minutes, and my phone won't be the most reliable mirror in these dim stage lights."
"You can look in my mirror. I'm almost done in here, anyway," Inez offered quietly.
Instead of walking out the room, Alexander slowly walked back in. The swing door closed shut behind him as he walked towards the vanity mirror, which Inez sat in front of. "Thanks, Nezzie."
"Don't call me Nezzie," Inez said simply as she adjusted her fresh, three-day-old box braids to land on her shoulder, so they could flow down her body. Through her reflection in the vanity mirror, she could see Alexander, who was adjusting his black suit, and the collared shirt underneath. Just from the steady motions, Inez could smell the masculine scent of cologne drenched into his clothes. Like any other fragrance she's smelled, her nose began to itch from the strong scent. It wasn't a bad thing, however. She had to admit, Alexander looked fresh and he smelled great. Everything about him was good that night, as if he's transformed into a different person physically.
He still had the same shaggy hair, but Inez decided to give him a pass.
Still sitting down in the plush stool below her, she looked at him through the slightly stained mirror, her voice quiet. "You . . . look nice."
A compliment. Inez has never given Alexander Choi a compliment before. It was safe to say that it slipped out, but it needed to be said sooner or later.
Stunned, Alexander's mouth dropped wide open. Getting a compliment from Inez was more than rare for him, but this was the chosen day. "Says you," Alexander returned with a smile before he adjusted his black bow tie. "You look great. Your makeup really brings out your face. It's great."
"Thank you," Inez mused quietly with a slight smile. She couldn't help but notice that this was the first time they've ever exchanged compliments to each other. True, genuine compliments, in fact. It was quite an accomplishment, and she had to admit, it felt good. Better than all the times she's had some kind of brawl with Alexander. The ice was already starting to break, but not enough. The room was dim and quiet, so she wanted to keep the conversation going. "Are your parents coming? I know mine are, and so is my cousin, her kid, and her husband."
"Yeah, my dad and sister are coming," Alexander nodded as he took a hairbrush out of his pocket to brush his hair in place.
"What about your mom?" Inez blurted without hesitation. "Is she going to come?"
Tilting his head sideways, the Korean boy frowned. "No, my mom passed away several years ago."
Feeling her eyes widen, a spark lit up in the girl's brain at that exact moment. She was already getting ideas and making rather strange connections. Maybe that's what he meant in his Instagram bio several months ago when he said he missed someone, she thought. Inez was curious, but now just wasn't the right time to ask.
She already fucked up, and fucking up again was never the ideal of a icebreaking conversation. Inez cupped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't kn—"
"It's okay, really. Like you said, you didn't know," Alexander intervened as he placed his hairbrush on top of the vanity. "We should head onstage now. Dr. Terry is expecting us."
"Yeah, good point," Inez nodded as she grabbed her purse. She placed it on the fuzzy stool she was sitting on, then turned to face Alexander, who looked at her the entire time. Inez found herself looking him in the eye. It wasn't a glare, but it wasn't all smiley either. It was neutral. Alexander stopped the stare down with a nonchalant chuckle as he reached to the side to hold the door open for Inez. They both walked to the stage area, slightly distancing themselves by a few meters as they joined many other choir students on the singing platform.
Inez joined Jolien, who was all glammed up and pretty with makeup, a few cute hair accessories, and a Santa sitting on the top of her head. "Look at you! You look so nice."
"Thanks, Nez," the girl acknowledged with a gleam sparkling through her brown eyes.
"I'm a little bit late, but which song are we getting in formation for? Santa Tell Me?" Inez questioned with the slightest of guesses.
"Yeah, it's what Dr. Terry said," Jolien informed as she looked ahead at the empty auditorium ahead. "In about forty-five-ish minutes, this room will be full of family and friends. It's going to be so exciting," Jolien beamed as she slightly tapped her assigned microphone to test it out. The tapping of her finger blared throughout the room's overhead speakers, which was way, way above them.
"I'm excited, too. My cousin's coming, so is my mom and dad," Inez squealed with excitement. "I love it when my family comes out to things like these."
"Especially when it's before a big break like winter break that's coming up," Jolien nodded. "After this performance, we'll only be three days down until winter break officially begins."
"That means sleeping from four in the morning to two in the afternoon, shopping for things we don't need at the mall, going out to eat, texting 'till three in the morning, and online shopping. This shit is going to be so fun," Inez raved as she noticed Dr. Terry stepped in front of her music stand podium to adjust her pages of music in a binder. That meant that it was time for a last-minute rehearsal.
"I couldn't have said it any better," Jolien agreed before the choir director got the chance to speak.
Dr. Terry clasped her hands together before she cleared her throat. "Alright, everyone, let's start on scales."
A chorus of groans erupted from the chorus because frankly, a lot of them didn't like scales. It was time consuming, and they always felt weird. Though they may not have been liked, they were completely vital to a successful last rehearsal before their performance.
Within about forty minutes, Dr. Terry managed to make last adjustments to their arrangements on the singing platform, squeeze in an efficient, heavy practice for both of the choir's songs, and make sure that the sound system was working correctly with the help of the school's stage crew. And that was all before family and friends began to spill into the auditorium, taking their seats in all sorts of areas of the auditorium, whether if it was in the back, in the front, or towards to left, or to the right.
"With all these people, I hope I don't fuck up those high notes now," Jolien grimaced to herself as she watched more people walk into the auditorium.
"You won't. Plus, you did great at rehearsal, so I don't see why you'd do bad on them now," Inez mused with encouragement. She skimmed through all the people entering the auditorium to see if any of her family was here yet. From her view she couldn't see either her parents or her cousin, so she continued to skim through the layers of people locating a place to sit at.
At the left side of the auditorium, she finally spotted her cousin Rylie and her husband taking a seat towards the front of the auditorium, followed by her mom and dad. Once they were seated and situated, they all waved to Inez with the best of smiles. The girl waved back with a broad grin.
"We love you, Inez!" Jared called out loud, which gained attention from the people in their surroundings. Feeling her mouth wince, Inez slapped her palm against her forehead in response. The concert hasn't even started yet, and her father was already embarrassing her.
Tonight was yet to be a long night. But putting aside the humiliation, she was glad her family was there to support her.
"Can I borrow one of these microphones, ladies? I just need to make this welcome announcement before the principal takes over," Dr. Terry questioned as she stood in front of them.
All three ladies, Monique, Jolien, and Inez nodded. Their teacher ended up taking Inez's microphone before she headed up to the edge of the stage with the school's principal, Ms. Rodriguez. They patiently waited a minute or two for people to settle down so they could make their announcement. Once the auditorium doors stopped swinging and the chatter was low, Principal Rodriguez tapped her finger on the microphone before she raised it to her mouth.
"Good evening, family and friends. We're glad to see you all here for this wonderful performance," Principal Rodriguez announced as she primped a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear. "As principal, I am . . ."
Her words began to fade away in Inez's ears as she continued to listen. Currently, it was the moment of truth. The choir was about to complete another large milestone, meaning that they had two more planned performances to complete. It would also be the last time the choir would sing Santa Tell Me and Mary Did You Know as a whole. These were both songs that Inez has grown on and highly fond of, especially Santa Tell Me. Even though she wouldn't be singing it with the choir anymore after today, she could always sing it alone in the shower, like she always did.
Inez took a deep exhale as Dr. Terry announced their first song, Santa Tell Me. She returned the microphone to Inez's stand before she stepped up to her podium, which was placed behind the solo singers.
Turning around slightly, Inez could see her teacher do a thumbs-up to someone controlling the sound system. She raised her hands in the air to begin directing the choir when the song began. The brief introduction part played through the speakers, which served as the choir's additional warning that the song would begin. Once the introduction concluded, the choir erupted into one single note, which fell into many as they sung the main chorus. That part of the song was smooth and steady, which faded out as Monique took over with her solo. She sang the words beautifully, as if the chorus part of the song didn't even end.
The same happened with Inez and Jolien. Except with Jolien, when it was time for all the high notes, she absolutely slayed her part. With all the stamina Dr. Terry taught her over the past few weeks, she successfully sung all the high notes efficiently without straining her voice. When the song concluded, it earned an eruption of claps from roaring parents and excited children, as well as a bunch of fellow Meadowbrook students who came on their own.
"See? I told you that you'd do great on the high notes," Inez confirmed to Jolien. "All those people . . . they're clapping for us all. You did great."
"I guess I got lucky this time," Jolien mustered a small smile.
"Great job, ladies," Dr. Terry acknowledged with a bright smile. "You can now get in your place for Mary Did You Know." She took two of the microphones stands and brought them to the side of the stage so it couldn't be seen by the audience. All three of the ladies took their places on the singing platform, which all happened to be on the first row.
Dr. Terry announced the second song the choir would sing as Alexander stepped up to the stage. Distant cheers from a few choir members and from the crowd erupted. Within moments, the teacher was back to her podium as she raised her hands up in the air. The brief introduction music played from the speakers beside the singing platform as the choir fell into a hum. The females went first, followed by the males, which created a solid sound.
Throughout class and rehearsals, Dr. Terry described the song as a "balancing act." Without maintaining balance, the song would fall apart. Fortunately, the choir managed to maintain a balance between dynamics and vocals all throughout the introduction. When it concluded, Alexander raised the microphone to his mouth to sing the first verse. Inez couldn't help but notice how steady his vocals were, how still he stood, and how he didn't skip a single beat. Alexander Choi was a good singer, she had to admit. But since they've been rivals since the start, she didn't have the guts to say that out loud. But things were beginning to calm down, so maybe Inez would find the guts to tell it straight to his face. It would be a relief, in fact.
When the song was towards the end, the choir erupted into a joyful noise — angelic and beautiful. In terms of singing, Alexander trailed behind them as his solo continued. From the audience, multiple phones dove out of pockets and purses to record the stunning sound of the choir. When the song concluded with the last bits of Alexander's solo, the audience erupted into claps, cheers, hollers — you name it. And it was all for the choir.
Dr. Terry motioned the choir to bow before she made a brief announcement, which was a thank you for coming out. Afterwards, she released the choir to head backstage to grab their belongings so they can head home.
"Looks like another success," Jolien said with a smile. "I'm going to go find my family real quick. Text you later?"
"Yeah, of course," Inez nodded her head as she walked back to the dressing room she used earlier. She retrieved her purse, and to be nice, she grabbed Alexander's hairbrush to give it to him whenever she'd see him. The boy was actually on his way to the dressing room already, so when they clashed, she handed it to them.
"Thanks," he acknowledged with a slight smile. "And . . . good job on your solo."
"You did great on yours, too. Seriously, I'm actually impressed," Inez remarked as they headed to the stage area so they could meet their individual families below the stage.
"Ah, don't mention it," Alexander flashed the girl a broad smile. "I'm gonna go find my family. See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, of course," Inez nodded. Soon enough, she watched the boy disappear into crowds among crowds of people. Tonight was certainly a night of compliments for them, believe it or not. It surely was a breath of fresh air for Inez, one that probably wouldn't last in her opinion, but with a deep exhale, she trudged a few meters away from where she was standing to join her immediate family, as well as her cousin and her family so she could brush it all aside.
She was supposed to be celebrating, not thinking too hard of things that weren't relevant at the moment.
"Inez!" Rylie extended her arms to give her cousin a hug. "You did so good. You sing like an angel."
"Yeah, that's my little angel right there," Jared remarked.
Feeling her cheeks flame up from the generous complements, the family began to trudge out of the school auditorium to celebrate the girl's success at a restaurant for dinner. It truly was a success and a night to remember.
Just like Inez, Alexander was gathered towards the back of the auditorium with his family members to celebrate the success.
"Son, I'm so proud of you! You did so well on your solo," Jason raved as he patted his son's back. "Let's go out to celebrate at the buffet we went to last time, my treat."
"Oh, Dad, you don't have to take us out to eat because I did good on my solo," Alexander laughed. "Leftovers will be just fine."
"Believe it or not, that's not the only reason why we're going out to eat," his father informed as he held the door open. They all gathered in the broad hallway near the windows, where it showed the night sky. "The supervisor from my job interview called and . . . I got the job!"
"Yes! Daddy got the job!" Constance beamed as she practically jumped for joy. "Now he can buy me more Barbies so I can be just like my friends."
"Slow your roll, Constance," Jason laughed as he glided a few fingers below his daughter's chin, which caused her to giggle before she yanked her head sideways.
"I'm so glad you got the job," Alexander said with a big smile. "You deserve it so much."
He couldn't help but keep smiling as they walked out of the school doors to the parking lot ahead. Just like that, his father had a new, better paying job with better benefits. As a whole, the Choi family would be under less stress. Things were finally starting to look up, and Alexander couldn't help but look forward to the future.
Tonight was really a night to remember.
a/n: two performances down, two more to go. but we NEED to talk about Inez and Alexander today. did y'all how see how they were complimenting each other for once? how do y'all feel about that?
Alex's father also got his job as an IT specialist. i'm so happy for him, and i hope you are too 💗
like always, thanks for reading, and i'll see you the next chapter.