"'Discussing company affairs on any social media, or to any other person is prohibited," I read aloud. "The hell?"
"They have to say that," Len explained over the clanking of dishes in the kitchen. "They don't really mean any of that stuff."
I picked my pen up off the couch next to me. "You guys post stuff about the company all the time on Twitter."
"Exactly. They don't care."
My shoulder slumped. "Then why do I have to sign this shit?" The stack of papers was heavy in my lap.
"We all had to do it." A clinking noise sounded as Len loaded the dishwasher. "And it's the only paperwork you'll ever have to do."
I scratched my forehead with the butt of my pen. "Yeah, I guess." Our new outfits sat in the box on a step next to me. I glanced at them every once in a while, my mind still racing from the fact that I was officially part of the family. At least, according to Erik I was.
I heard Len close the dishwasher. He walked down to the couch, and plopped down next to me.
"Hey-" I complained as he knocked my signature across the page. I frowned at the long line of pen I had drawn over the fine print.
"Shit," he said, looking over it. "Sorry."
"Ah, whatever," I dropped my hand on the papers, looking over my distorted signature. "They don't care."
"Anyways," he said, stretching his arms. "We need to get writing."
I took a deep breath. "I don't know if I can do it." I set the half-finished paperwork on the couch. "I'm all out of ideas."
He shrugged. "We're gonna have to come up with something."
I bit my cheek, brainstorming. "Well... what kind of instruments should we use?" My mind was drawing a huge blank. I couldn't even remember how Miku and I had started writing Rolling Girl yesterday.
Len rubbed his forehead. "I dunno."
I shot him an irritated look. "You gotta help me out here. 'I dunno' isn't gonna work."
He held his hands up defensively. "I have just as many ideas as you do."
"So... none?"
"Yup."
I let out a quick breath of annoyance. "Well... do you want to start with the lyrics or th-"
I was cut off by the sound of our front door opening. The two of us looked up at the fireplace, waiting to see who would come out from behind it. Gumi skipped into our view, and planted both feet on the floor when she saw us.
"Well, well, well," she exclaimed loudly. "What do we have here?"
Len rolled his eyes. "We have to brain dead people who are trying- and failing -to write a song."
Gumi shook his head, her hands on her hips. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a shame." She suddenly perked up, her movements comical and overdramatic. "Rin needs to come write with me anyway."
I laughed. "Um, what?"
She pointed at me. "Me and you are gonna write the best thing to ever bless the ears of the human race."
"We're kind of busy here," Len interrupted, sitting up.
She waved a hand at him, dismissing him. "This is important."
"Gumi, we're actually..." Len searched for his words. "...business partners. I would say this is more important."
"No," Gumi pleaded, putting her hands together as if she were praying. "You don't understand."
Len raised his eyebrows. "Then explain."
Gumi sighed, her hands falling to her sides. She hung her head down, defeated, for a moment, before looking back up at us. "Miku bet me twenty bucks that Rolling Girl is gonna sell more copies on iTunes than whatever me and Rin write," she explained.
Len and I chuckled. "Twenty bucks?" He asked.
Gumi's expression hardened. "It's not about the twenty bucks, Len. It's about my pride." She balled her fists, bringing them up to her chest. "My dignity. My credibility as an artist."
We laughed again. "Uh, huh." Len nodded.
Gumi's hands returned to her hips. She had a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Not enough Rin to go around."
I felt a slight blush rise to my cheeks. "I guess so."
Gumi leaned against the fireplace, crossing her arms. "So, writer's block, huh?"
Len nodded. "Yeah. We don't even know where to start."
She stared at us for a moment. I could see the gears turning underneath her leafy hair. Her expression turned mischievous. "I dare you guys to write a love song."
"Psh," Len rolled his eyes. "What would we get out of it?"
Gumi raised her eyebrows. "Twenty bucks." She smiled slyly. "And love."
I laughed, covering my face with my hand. I prayed that they wouldn't see my blush.
Len nodded. "You're on."
She stood up tall. "Really Len? Twenty bucks?" Her tone was mocking.
He matched her sarcasm. "It isn't about the twenty bucks, Gumi. It's about my pride. My honor."
"Hah!" Gumi yelled, pointing a finger at him. "I said dignity, dumbass."
"Oh my god, Gumi, get out." He countered jokingly.
I laughed through the conversation, only removing my hand when I knew for sure my face had returned to normal color.
She glanced at me, her eyes shiny from tears of laughter. "Tomorrow?"
I shrugged. "I'll try. I can only handle so much."
She nodded. "Makes sense. I guess I'll talk to you guys later, then." She grinned. "And just for the record," she pointed at both of us. "I ship it." She disappeared behind the fireplace, and we heard the door shut.
I laughed. "At least we know it's gonna be a love song."
He leaned back and crossed his arms as he thought. "Now we just need to figure out everything else."
I cocked my head to the side. "What do you do to get inspired?"
"I wait until I think of something."
My brow furrowed. "But that could take forever, and we only have until Saturday."
He sighed. "I know. What about you?"
"I like to go places."
"Go places?"
"Yeah." I smiled. "Like... to the mall, or the coffee shop, or the museum. Anywhere, really."
Len thought for a moment. "I mean..." he rubbed the back of his neck. "I would say we could go somewhere, but... it might not be a good idea."
"Why not?"
"What if someone sees us? The press will be all over it. Especially when they know there's a new Vocal coming out."
He had a point. "How did you walk around town the day you gave me the tickets?" I asked. I was unprepared for the uncomfortable look that darkened his face; I guess he didn't want to think about that day.
"I just, uh... I just kept my head low and walked fast. It's not that hard. But going out with you... It's too risky." He didn't look at me as he answered.
I sighed, looking down at the soft fabric of the couch. And idea came to me. "Maybe... Do you have any disguises?"
He let out a small laugh. "Disguises?"
"Yeah," I said, suddenly feeling timid. His laughing at me made me feel dumb.
"Like what?"
I shrugged, afraid to say any more.
After a pause, his expression softened. "Fuck it, let's just go. If they recognize us; so what?" He stood up, jumping up the steps. He entered his room, and reappeared a moment later with a hat and a pair of sunglasses in his hands. "We just need to get you some of these."
I stood up with him, brushing the wrinkles out of my dress. "But... as long as they don't recognize you, it shouldn't be a problem if they recognize me," I pointed out. It was partially true, but I also wasn't much of a hat person.
"True." He walked over to the front door. "You ready?"
"Uhm-" I yanked my bag off the floor and fit my newly found white bow in my hair. I liked it better than the red one from earlier, anyway. "Yeah." I slung the bag over my shoulder. "Where we goin'?"
He shrugged, pushing the hat down onto his head. "I hoped you had a place in mind."
My feet carried me over to the front door, next to him. "I... I dunno."
Len grinned. "You gotta help me out here," he teased. "'I dunno' isn't gonna work."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever."
"Come on," he held the door open for me, and followed me into the hall. "The first place that comes to your mind."
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. We began to descend the staircase.
"Anywhere," he urged.
A place popped in my head, but I held my breath. "You're gonna think it's dumb," I said aloud.
He shook his head. "I'm all ears." We walked down the rest of the stairs in silence as I mentally debated whether to suggest it or not. I had no idea how this place would inspire us to write a song, but you never know.
We reached the garage, and strode past all the cars to Len's. It was parked in the same spot as last time; I assumed they all had their own spaces.
"Well?" He asked as he stopped and turned to me. "Where we goin'?"
I grabbed the strap of my bag nervously, suddenly taking interest in the tires of Len's car. I didn't look at him. "I dunno," I said sheepishly.
He took a deep breath, staring at me. He didn't say anything.
The weight of his gaze eventually broke me. "The zoo," I said shamefully, an embarrassed smile creeping up my face, bringing with it a distinct blush. "I was thinking about going to the zoo."
After a pause, he smiled. "What's wrong with the zoo?"
I shrugged. My knuckles were turning white from clutching the strap of my bag. "It's... childish."
He chuckled. "Are you kidding?" He strutted to the driver's side and pulled the door up. "Lions are cool as fuck."
I smiled, still shy, and sat in the passengers seat. I set my bag on my lap, fumbling for my wallet. "How much do the tickets cost?"
"Hah, you're funny." Was his answer.
I put my wallet away.
Around half an hour later, the car finally found a parking spot in the crowded parking lot of the zoo. Len turned the car off, shoved the keys in his pockets, and slid his sunglasses on. He looked a little strange with both a hat and sunglasses, but I guess it was better than getting caught.
We walked through the lot. He rested his hands in his pockets, and I held my bag with mine. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and I could already feel the intense heat on my bare arms. I couldn't imagine how Len felt in long pants and a long sleeve shirt; I was dying in a dress.
"So, why the zoo?" He asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"I used to love coming here as a kid," I explained. "I haven't been here in so long." We came to the front entrance. The line for the ticket booth was empty.
"Why not?" He pulled his wallet out of his pocket.
I looked down. "My parents couldn't really afford to take me out anymore."
He paused. "Oh," he replied, obviously not knowing how to respond. Especially with his bursting wallet in his hands.
I smiled, trying to brighten the suddenly dark mood. "Let's go get tickets."
We bought our passes - $36, for the record - and went inside. The place was packed. I should have expected it, considering it was a Friday afternoon with great weather. I didn't know whether it was a good thing or bad thing for Len; I figured the more people there were the harder it would be for him to be picked out, but at the same time... If he were caught, we'd both be fucked.
"Where to?" He kept his head down. He looked just like he did that day at the coffee shop.
"You said you liked lions," I suggested. We stood right in front of the entrance, trying to stay out of the crowd.
"Yeah... but we're here for song inspiration, remember?" He had an amused smile under his chin-length hair.
"Who knows, maybe we can write a love song about lions," I declared, my voice overflowing with sarcasm. "Have you ever seen The Lion King?"
He chuckled. "Alright, alright. Let's go check out the lions."
So we did. Their habitat was right at the beginning, right in front of us. We waded through the crowd, leaning against the glass railing. They were sleeping, however, and it wasn't very inspiring to watch a sleeping animal, so we moved on. The more we traveled, the more disappointed I became. I remembered the zoo being a magical place as a child, and I had loved seeing all the animals. But now... now they just looked sad. Locked in those cages...
The main path of the zoo went in a circle around the whole property, and we had made it about three fourths of the way around when I couldn't take it anymore. This wasn't inspiring, this was depressing.
Len eventually seemed to catch on. "You okay?" He asked as we rounded the giraffe pen.
I sighed. "They look so sad."
Len put a hand on the railing to the giraffe pen, looking at them. He nodded, but didn't say anything.
I looked around. We had been here for quite a while and no one had noticed us yet. Part of me was surprised.
"Do you just wanna go home?" He asked.
My eye caught on a building with a sign over it that read "Reptile House." I perked up slightly, and grabbed Len's sleeve. "Let's go in there," I suggested, pulling at him. He turned in the direction I was looking, and nodded. We trotted down the sidewalk and into the exhibit.
The relief from the hot sun was the first thing to hit me as we walked in. The second was the tropical smell. I breathed it in deeply, and let out slowly. For the first time since we arrived, I smiled.
"Look at that!" I yelled, feeling like a little kid. There was a statue of a snake whose body was thicker than my arm right in front of the entrance. It was wrapped around a pedestal. "I remember this," I said, my eyes full of wonder. "Last time I saw it, it was taller than me." I giggled, petting it's head.
Len shivered. "Snakes scare the shit out of me." He took his sunglasses off. It was dark enough in here anyway.
"Come on," I said, waving for him to follow me. We walked side-by-side down the path. As he passed the snake statue, I playfully jabbed him the side.
"Agh!" he jumped away from the statue, and I erupted into a fit of laughter. "Not funny," he shot me a serious look, but I could hear the humor in his voice. "Not funny at all."
I kept laughing until we went through the first set of doors. The seconds room was a long hallway of glass windows. We scanned each one, looking at everything from snakes, to frogs, to fish. We didn't run into nearly as many people as outside, which I found odd. I had expected to see more people inside sheltering from the blazing heat. Each room seemed more interesting than the last.
We entered the final room of the building. It was much smaller than the other ones, with a single, thin gravel path leading between two small forest areas. The ceiling was tall and made of a milky glass, and the trees planted on either side of the path could nearly reach it. The only thing separating the path from the habitat was a lining of small stones along the edges of the gravel. No rail, no glass wall. On the right there was a little pond. I could hear frogs. I could also hear the singing of birds in the trees. There were no other people in the room, which made it even more magical.
"Wow," I whispered, looking around the room in awe. "This is kinda cool." My voice echoed.
"Yeah," Len agreed, not bothering to keep his head down.
My eyes scanned the room. I looked through the trees, trying to find the birds, when I noticed a butterfly flutter out from behind it. "Look," I said softly, pointing at it. I watched it beat it's wings as if I were in a trance. I had never seen anything like it. It's wings were a bright shade of violet with black lines running across them in patterns. I didn't even know butterflies could be purple.
My arm fell back to my side. The insect flew closer to me, and I held my breath, not wanting to disturb it. From the corner of my eye, I could see Len watching me intently.
I stood completely still as the butterfly's wings fluttered inches away from my nose. It floated in circles around me for a few seconds, then settled softly onto my right shoulder.
I looked at Len, my eyes wide. Oh my god, I mouthed to him, not wanting to speak for fear of scaring it. He grinned as I focused my gaze back at the butterfly, watching it incredulously as it opened a closed it's wings slowly on my shoulder.
Taking a quiet, deep breath, I spoke. "Hi there, little guy," I whispered. It continued opening and closing its wings. My shoulders rose and fell as I breathed, and the butterfly rode along with it, unmoving. After a moment of beautiful silence, I spoke again. "I think we can write a love song about butterflies," I suggested. "Unless you're still set on the lions."
A few days later, I was in the soundbooth again. But this time, there were two mics in the live room, and while I stood at one, Len stood at the other. The only people in the control room tonight were Gumi and Erik. Len had insisted on not having the others come see the recording, except Gumi. We were going to need our twenty bucks.
For some reason, all it had taken was a simple butterfly for us to come up with one of my favorite songs I've ever written. We hadn't completed it all in one day like I had with Miku, but I personally liked this one better, though I might have been a little biased.
It felt strange to be in the booth with someone. I couldn't close my eyes while singing this time, so I instead stared down at the mic.
Erik gave us the normal thumbs up, and I held the sides of headphones nervously. I looked over at Len, who was close enough for me to get a breathful of cologne. He raised his eyebrows, flashing a thumbs up like Erik and smiling. In the control room, Gumi had her hands together in the shape of a heart.
Erik held up three fingers, and counted them down.
Three...
Two...
One...
"Migikata ni murasaki choochoo...
"Kisu o shita kono heya no sumi de.."
I started singing the intro, very aware of Len next to me. I was thankful when the rest of the music kicked in along with his part; I felt awkward singing by myself in a booth with two people. In my headphones I could hear him singing as if I was outside, listening in. The presence of another person in the room made me unable to get to the perfect mental state for singing. It was too distracting.
I was even more thankful when the music cut out, and we were finished. I hung my headphones, eager to get them off. I don't know why, but it was too uncomfortable in there.
"I think what we're gonna do," Erik informed us as we came back into the control room. "Is make Rin's singing a bit quieter - you know, more in the background - and put it up on YouTube tonight."
"T-tonight?" I stammered, sitting on the couch for the first time. Gumi and Len sat in the two chairs at the control panel.
Erik nodded. "It'll be like a little teaser, if you will. We'll make you a little quieter 'cuz we don't want to give them too much info about you." He smirked. "But we'll let them know you're Len's partner."
Gumi held up her hands, signaling quotation marks. "I think you mean 'Business Partner,'" she interrupted. She giggled at Len, who rolled his eyes for the hundredth time today.
I took a deep breath, ignoring them. "Wow."
"I'll get some producers to throw a little lyric video together really fast. It should be up by midnight," he continued, which was pretty impressive, considering it was already pretty late into the night.
Gumi sat in her chair with her legs crossed, her posture perfect. She smiled, pulling out her wallet. "Worth it," she said as she pulled out two twenties. She handed one to Len, and threw the other at me. It fluttered helplessly in the air before falling on the couch. I snatched it, and tucked it away in my bag. "After watching that," she nodded towards the live room. "I ship it even more." She held up the heart again.
Len sighed, looking away from her with a grin. I did the same.
Erik shook his head, a smile forming around his now-prominent stubble. "Twenty bucks," he muttered. "Anyway," he looked back at me. "Do you have your paperwork finished?"
"Oh, yeah. I left it in Len's car." I stood up. Len dug his keys out of his pocket and threw them to me.
I fetched the paperwork, turning in the impressive stack to Erik. He accepted it.
"Well," Gumi started, standing up as I handed him the files. "I'm turning in for the night." She waved, turned toward the door. "Night guys."
"Night," Erik, Len, and I said in unison.
Erik nodded, holding the papers in one hand. "This is awesome," he said after a pause. He wore a smile that made his eyes sparkle. "I don't know how else to say it. This-" he made a circular motion- "Is all awesome." He turned toward me. "I'm really glad we found you, kid."
I beamed. "Thank you."
"No," he countered. "Thank you." He walked down the hall to the front desk. "Good shit, guys," he added, before disappearing behind the door.
Len stood. "I hate it when he gets all emotional," he added quietly, an amused look on his face. I noted for the first time that he never smiled very big. I had never seen him smile wide enough to show his teeth, or smile sincere enough for it to reach his eyes.
My blonde "business partner" walked past me to the back door. I followed him out into the cold, handing him his keys.
The sounds of the cars speeding past us on the road seemed especially loud tonight. "You know," he began as we both sat. "We make a pretty good team."
I laughed. "Yeah." I agreed. "We do."