Loco Loco

After upsetting the Romanian singer, I was worried no one else would talk to me. That would certainly upset Stephanie. I looked around the room for anyone to talk to.

My eyes automatically drifted over to Marco. He was talking to another male; I could barely make out a Croatian flag pin on the lapel of his Jacket.

Although I was glad to see Marco was sociable, unlike me, I also found myself jealous that he was talking to another guy. I mean, the Croatian guy was reasonably good-looking. What if Marco likes him more than me? I couldn’t bear the thought of it.

“Hiya, who ya lookin at?”

A voice from behind startled me. I turned around to see a gorgeous girl with bleached blonde hair and a black and red dress that only further showcased her gorgeous hair.

“Umm N-nobody,” I stammered.

“Hmmm, ’cause it looks like ya’re staring at Marco Ferraro, Italy’s rep,” She replied.

Damn, she had caught me. I could feel my cheeks turning red.

“Okay, I may have been.”

“Do ya wanna talk to him or somethin’? We could go over together if ya want.”

“That’s alright, I already know him. In fact, I was told to keep my distance and talk to others.” I mumbled, shifting my gaze to the ground. “So now I’m just trying to find someone to talk to. Looks like it worked.”

“Hehe,” She began to grin like an idiot as she scratched the back of her head bashfully.

“Thanks for chatting with me. I’m terrible at initiating conversations, and I think everyone else has found more exciting people to talk to,” I thanked her.

“I thought a buncha people would’ve swarmed ya,” She replied.

“I don’t think anyone knows who I am,” I replied earnestly.

“Are ya kidding?! You’re Blake from Jane Doe, ain’t ya?!” She exclaimed.

“Yes, you actually recognise and know who I am?” I was honestly surprised she knew who I was. I mean, unlike most of the other acts, we were some pub rock group with no prior albums or major performances. We were essentially nobodies surrounded by major performers at the biggest song contest in the world.

“Of course, your band is quite the talk amongst the entrants.”

“I hope it’s good talk.” The thought that the other contestant may have despised us sat uncomfortably with me.

“Of course!” She looked genuinely shocked. “We were saying how amazing your band is. You’re super popular in my country?”

I felt awkward. Not just because the thought that we were super popular anywhere seemed unreal, but because I also had no idea where she was from. Now I felt twice as guilty.

“Um, sorry, I don’t know any of the other entrants yet. I was hoping to learn as many people as I could tonight. I don’t know who you are or where you’re from. Sorry,” I apologised again.

I was worried that my seeming lack of awareness would upset her, but instead, she responded awfully cheery.

“Not ta worry, my name is Aina Mäkinen. I’m the Finnish entrant. Nice ta meet ya Blake.”

“Yeah, umm kiitos, thanks, it’s lovely to meet you.” I greeted her back.

“Wow, ya know Finnish?” She seemed extra excited now.

“No, sorry, I just learnt how to say thanks in a bunch of languages in case I needed it.”

“Well, that’s more than most people. Anyway, this Gala needs some life. Come on, let’s go party!” She grabbed my hand.

“Umm… I was kind of told to behave myself,” I responded as she dragged me along.

“Where’s the fun in that? Let’s have a few drinks and party.”

“I really shouldn’t.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“Well, maybe. What were you thinking?”

“How ’bout we shoot a short video together for our social media?”

“Okay, I can do that.”

Stephanie did want us to socialise and get noticed and become likable. This would certainly make her and the rest of the delegation happy.

Aina got out her phone and pressed record. “Hiya, Imma Aina. And I am with the very gorgeous queen of rock Blake,”

“Queen?”

“Yes, slay my queen.”

“Got anything to say to the folks?”

“Ummm thanks for the support.”

“Will you come to Finland soon?”

“I would love to.”

“You heard it here first. Jane Doe will come to Finland.”

“I don’t think I said that.”

“I repeat, Jane Doe will come to Finland.”

“Knock it off, dummy.” A male voice said as a hand came down and chopped her on the forehead just as the clip ended.

“Ow.”

“Aina, stop dragging people around without any thought about what they might like.

“Hehe, sorry,” she apologised, smiling and scratching the back of her head as she did so.

Hello, Blake, I assume? You look stunning tonight. I am Jukka, Aina’s brother and the other half of Punainen Aamunkoitto.

Now, I felt even worse since I had assumed Aina was representing Finland by herself, not as part of a duo. Also, I had no idea how to pronounce that.

“I apologise on Aina’s behalf; she’s an idiot.” He said bluntly.

“Hey!”

“It’s true,” he shrugged.

“So what?!”

“Once again, I’m truly sorry about her. She can be a bit of a handful sometimes.”

“No, I’m honestly grateful she was willing to talk to me.”

“Well, I’m glad. I hope we can all be good friends during the contest and beyond.”

“Yeah, I would love that,” I responded. I made another friend. I was happy I was getting along with the other contestants. I thought that given we came from so far away, our cultures would be vastly different. So it was nice to know we could still be friends.

They both left, and I was honestly surprised at how different the two siblings were. Aina seemed like a chaos gremlin, and Jukka was a polite, respectful man. Yet, despite their differences, they were both clearly kind people and individuals I was glad to have met. We would definitely get along.

Suddenly, there was a squeal.

─── ༻ ☼ ༺ ───

End of Chapter 12