Star Struck!

“♫Nothing can stop the whim of fate, it strikes with irony, but it’s never late!♫”

I sang with passion into the microphone of the karaoke room. The two girls I’d invited were wrapped around my arms, supporting me with their beautiful voices as I led them on with a heavenly tune.

Glasses, the girl to my right, was the dominant voice between the two tandem singers. It was clear she had a profound respect for modern American pop with how she stretched her voice at certain key points in the song. She might not have done too bad in jazz, which made me queue up a jazzy song next.

As for Pigtails, the girl squealing on my left, she didn’t have nearly the same control over her voice, but could hit higher pitches and had this squeakiness to her that I absolutely adored.

“This is so much fun!” Glasses said as a song picked for her concluded.

“Haa hee heaae!” Pigtails squealed with glee. For those of you who didn’t speak the tongues of fangirls, allow me to translate… (I had fun too!)

Their excitement was music to my ears, because it told me all was going according to keikaku. ᵏᵉᶦᵏᵃᵏᵘ ᵐᵉᵃⁿˢ ᵖˡᵃⁿ I was nothing if not entertaining, and I promised these ladies a fun evening. But for all that pleasure I graciously handed out in the form of a song, there was a problem.

I was getting bored. I'd heard girls like them hundreds of times now and I couldn’t come up with an excuse in my head as to why I’d want to keep coming back to them. Glasses had potential, but she’d have to improve a lot to lose that amateur idol feel. And as much as I thought Pigtails was cuter, her squeaking was going to get old fast if I had to hear it every day.

All that to say I wouldn’t regret moving on to whoever came next.

I wasn’t just going from girl to girl like a player for fun though… I mean, it was fun. Very fun… But I had to sift through the sea to find that perfect pearl hidden in the water. I couldn't just settle for anyone, now could I? The Chosen One had to have an equally special gal at his side.

But hey, even if I had to let them down softly, everyone benefited from this. I narrowed down the pool of potential partners a bit, and they got a benchmark for perfection in a man.

“Heeeeaaah hee? Hhhaaaa,” (Hade-kun, are you okay? You’re spacing out.) squealed pigtails in her fangirl dialect.

“Is something wrong?” Sensing my brooding contemplation as well, Glasses leaned down low to look up toward me, a cute low brow painting concern on her. “We weren’t so horribly bad that we offended you, did we?”

Now, I wasn’t going to say that. These girls could sing, and that was the baseline I could tolerate for a date.

“Nah.” I disarmed her worry with a grin. “Just thinkin’ about the lovely time we’ve shared. But it’s getting late. How about we go one more song and give it our all?”

Both of them begged and pleaded for more, but I had to cut things off eventually. Couldn’t go abusing my voice, could I? I needed this tool to be in top shape at all times if I wanted to make the most of life!

***

When our time in the karaoke room concluded, we made our way out of the building. But before I could bid the girls farewell and step out the door, I heard a tantalizing voice call my name…

“Hade-kun…” A receptionist called to me as she leaned over the counter, hearts in her eyes. “This is your third time here this week. Must be awfully hard on that wallet of yours…”

As a man on a part time WcDonald's salary, she hit a money shot with that assumption.

“It’s nothin’,” I replied, smugly so she didn’t think I was broke. “Every yen is worth it to see the smiles on these ladies’ lips.”

“He’s so noble!” Glasses cried.

“Haaa heee!” (So noble!) Pigtails cried as well.

Not only did I save face, but the girls were impressed at my self-sacrifice for their sakes. 

I'm such a good person.

“What if…” Receptionist poked her lip with comically long gyaru finger nails. “...What if I could make that burden just a bit lighter on you?”

“I’m listening.” I tilted a smoldering gaze her way.

“I’ll give you a freebie tonight, if…” Receptionist’s face scrunched up mischievously, “...if you give me a smooch♥”

Woooah… Now that was a bridge too far!

I was all for some lovey dovey fun and play, but when a girl started getting frisky, next thing you knew she’d be talking about wedding plans!

Wooing women was a dangerous game of balance. If I came on too strong, they’d get the wrong idea and turn me into a stud muffin. I didn’t want to be a stud muffin! But if I didn’t work ‘em up a bit, there was no passion. Clearly this one was heading in the wrong direction, so it was time to pull back a little.

“Listen…” I leaned over the counter, giving her a new grin and raised brow to show I was ready for some negotiations. “How’s about dinner and a show, on me?”

“I get to eat dinner on you?!” she swooned.

Commas matter, folks.

“No…” I momentarily lost my smile. This one was dangerous. But she was a high risk high reward. A free karaoke night hung in the balance, which oddly cost more than dinner and a show in this town. “I take you to dinner at a restaurant, then we sing together up on stage.”

Glasses and Pigtails both gasped hearing that offer. I rarely pulled out that card from my deck without a good reason, because it was considered a high honor to sing with me in public.

“He’s actually offering to sing with her on stage…” Glasses uttered in shock and awe.

“Haeeehaa eeee?!” (I don’t know if I’m jealous that we aren’t getting that offer, or delighted that he’s negotiating this for a free date with us!) Pigtails squealed yet again.

Receptionist was blown back with my offer and nearly toppled over. Thankfully a chair caught her fall.

“How can I say no to that?” she uttered with a high pitched breath of bewilderment. “Okay… You win, Hade-kun…”

“You’re a doll, sweet thing," I said as I finally found the opportunity to bid farewell to the girls and this lovely karaoke club.

***

It was now just me, myself and I as night fully fell over town. This place was still bustling with students and familiar strangers frequenting leisure establishments to blow off steam, but I was working my way out of their midst. It was good though to see my people were still lively here, because I didn’t want this place to turn into a ghost town. Of course, they had me to thank for that, since I made sure to set a good example for them as their unofficial leader.

People think that governments and businesses ran the world, either out in the open or from the shadows. But the truth is that in this age of connection, it's those of us charismatic voices that can sway opinions. We didn’t need money or shady partners, we could just do something controversial, get in the public eye, and boom. Instant fame and a cult following. And my controversy? Having such a damn smooth voice.

If I wanted something, all I had to do was ask for it, and all the lovely ladies would come running. I was like a king who hadn’t been crowned yet.

Speaking of ladies, my mind wondered who the next girl would be. Would she be cute? What would her voice be like? A particular image came to mind of a sassy girl with a pony tail. It didn’t take too long for me to realize I was just thinking about Mimi.

A sudden streak of light blazed across the night sky.

Another came and went by in a flash.

Many more followed.

“What was-?” I uttered as I remembered there was a meteor shower tonight. “Oh…”

Those meteors were so bright, and there were so many of them. How close were they? I could have sworn if I reached up I could have caught one.

It was mesmerizing, like looking into my own eyes.

There were too many trees here, so I walked toward the river to get as clear a view as I could of the whole night sky. Twinkling and bright, I was suddenly struck with wonder of truly how big the universe really was.

My eyes glimmered brightly as a grin broke through. I wanted it. I wanted it all! Every last star would be mine! My voice would reach them all, and I would conquer it through the radio!

“My kingdom!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, spreading my arms out as far as they could go.

A meteor flew by my view, slower than the others, leaving a hot trail as it crackled across the sky, reflecting brightly off the water as it missiled its way to the horizon.

Something brighter caught my eye just then. A girl with blond hair reflected the moonlight brilliantly as she stood at a balcony overlooking the river to watch the celestial show.

I lost my breath for a moment as she gracefully leaned over the railing to catch as much of the sight as possible. Thankfully she had enough grip to keep from falling… But even if she did, I bet she hid a pair of white wings under that school uniform.

She was beautiful. Perhaps the most beautiful person I’d ever seen. Was she a student at our school? I’d never seen her before, and I would’ve remembered a blondie like her. Stunning figure, crystal blue eyes and maybe even an angelic voice too.

This was it. The girl of my dreams, maybe? A gift from above, like a fallen angel. It was my destiny to see her tonight. Every star aligned just right to set this fateful encounter up perfectly.

I approached her, making sure my presence was known with each heavy footstep on the concrete. With all the charm I could muster, I smiled, allowing the moonlight to bathe my back in its radiance like a halo. I would have preferred the sun, but I’d take what I can get.

Finally I was in earshot, and I took a breath to bring out the right words.

“Hey, babe,” I said as I stroked my hair, tilting my head up with appeal. “Is Heaven missing an angel? ‘Cause I swear I saw you just fall from above.”

She didn’t turn around. Did she not hear me? That was some good material right there! For her sake, just this once I’d repeat myself.

“Is Heaven missing an angel?”

But she still didn’t turn.

“...because…”

There’s no way she couldn’t have heard what I said. Absolutely no way! I was close enough that I could practically touch her.

The only logical conclusion was that she was ignoring me. That’s it! But why? Why would someone do something so vile and neglect to give my words attention?

Nobody’s ever been able to ignore something I said. NOBODY. Not a soul. This was something else. Something sinister, as if she was denying the power of my birthright.

“Don’t ignore me…” I grit my teeth. “This isn’t right. You’re not supposed to do that.”

What power did a priest have if not given from above? Maybe the gods were stealing my gift back. Was I getting too powerful, my aspirations exceeding my predestined limits?

“Please, say something to me!” I shouted. “Say something!” my voice exploded.

I needed her to notice me. It didn’t matter if she would reject me for being a prick. Whatever. At least then I’d have some closure that I existed. Even as much as I drove Mimi nuts, she still reacted to me.

My arm stretched toward her and my hand pressed against her shoulder, grappling tightly so I would force her to acknowledge me.

“Please…” I whimpered. “Don’t…!”

She finally reacted to me…

…by smacking my jaw with one mother of a book.

The next thing I knew, I was face down on the floor, barely able to register the pain through my utter shock.