Roll Over Beethoven

As soon as the midterms were over, the campus was in a festive mood. The founder’s day is near and the university commemorates it by holding a week-long celebration on campus. Not only can you see the hustle and bustle of the preparation all over the school, you can even overhear a lot of students anticipating the different events they were looking forward to.

It wasn’t one week of no classes, however. Classes would still be ongoing while some events were occurring for Monday through Wednesday. They were mostly academic in nature, though, so barely anyone goes to it unless they’re participating, which is probably why those weren’t scheduled on the main days so any potential participant won’t choose the festivities over them.

It was only on Thursday and Friday where there would be no lectures held as the celebration would be in full swing with stalls, exhibitions and various spectacles.

However, it doesn’t happen immediately after the tests. There's a one week gap between both events, but, amid the preparations you see around the campus and the relief of the exams being over, you’d be forgiven to think the festival would be happening this week instead of the next given how much everyone seems to be anticipating it.

Of course, despite the distractive atmosphere, everyone still attended their classes all the same. The professors and lecturers expected us to take them as seriously as we normally would. The stricter ones, especially, would explicitly warn us about missing their classes. Then, the sadistic ones would announce a pop quiz or two, despite the midterms still fresh from everyone’s minds, just to keep us on our toes and keep us from being distracted from our studies, or so they say.

Anyway, unlike high school and middle school, the attractions aren’t driven by individual self-organizing classes. In fact, there isn’t one driven by a class at all, which makes sense when you think about it.

One thing I’ve noticed in my second semester is that the students in each of my classes started to vary. Of course, I still see some familiar faces from the previous term, but I no longer have each of my classes with every one of them as they picked different schedules and electives.

On the other hand, I’ve seen new faces but sometimes only for that one class. Not just individuals as well as it could range up to a clique or two. Some weren’t even freshmen like us. There was one class where it felt like Naomi and I were the new faces as we didn’t know anyone there at the start.

Basically, the point is, the concept of a homeroom class doesn’t exist in universities, which makes it hard for a class to organize and participate in these kinds of events.

Instead, the various stalls and attractions are organized by the different clubs. The stalls, I’ve heard, aren’t all run by students as well as there will be stands for local businesses, especially those owned by selected alumni. That doesn’t mean students who aren’t part of a club can’t have their own attractions, however, as they, too, can apply to the student council and organize one if they wanted to.

But, for the rest who had nothing to contribute except spend and consume on the festive days, it was business as usual on campus.

That applies to me.

So, the week passed by uneventfully.

The first day of the new week, Monday, didn’t really feel too different from the previous. There was a bit more excitement and anticipation for the coming festivities since all the happenings will be held at the end of the week. But, if you weren’t participating in those academic events, you were only on campus to attend classes all the same.

Tuesday wasn’t different either.

Although, our department seems to have organized a hackathon in the computer labs so we were told to take a look if we had the time. I wasn’t sure what sort of activity it was despite having a look myself. All I saw were a bunch of people busying themselves over something I can’t see and we weren’t allowed to disturb them so we couldn’t ask.

Naomi joked the participants were trying to get into government databases or something because “hack” was in the name of the activity.

I spotted a couple of my lecturers there as well. I’m not sure if they were observers, advisors or participants themselves, but they’ve canceled their classes to prioritize the event.

Apparently, it was a two-day event so it was a scene we would still see on Wednesday, except there were now plenty of sleeping bags strewn all over the venue. It seems like the participants went at it overnight.

It went without saying we had some classes canceled as well.

Meanwhile, I was wondering if Ken and Marie were participating in it. I haven’t seen them all week. Usually, bumping into them was a common occurrence for me since we have classes in the same building on around the same schedules. However, I haven’t seen them since Monday so it made me wonder if they were a part of the hackathon event.

I didn’t find them there, though. It seemed like something they could make a bet over so I was fairly confident I would spot them, but they weren’t part of it.

I also wouldn’t see them on the following day, Thursday, when the festivities begin. Walking around the campus with Naomi, seeing the sights and visiting the various stalls, I thought I would spot the pair playing some game somewhere and competing against each other. But, again, they were nowhere to be found.

On one hand, at least, they wouldn’t be roping me into one of their shenanigans. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but feel there was something big in store for me to be their judge, referee, scorekeeper or whatever. That thought distracted me from fully enjoying the festival since I feel like me getting involved with Ken and Marie’s games is an inevitability.

For the record, it’s not that I don’t want to hang out with them anymore. Rather, I was hoping that, if I were to get involved in some match between them, it would be something normal like how we played cards before the midterms and not like the thing at the salon and the matchmaking.

The suspense of not knowing what they were up to made me unable to relax until late in the afternoon when I finally stopped glancing around as if I was looking out for my would-be killer. However, like some sort of ambush predators, they appeared before me once I finally let my guard down.

“Yo, Kat!” Marie greeted me enthusiastically.

She seemed to be in a festive mood.

I also noticed she was wearing a rare black shirt. I recall her saying it was a cool color, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen her wear one.

I returned the greeting and noticed the both of them were carrying guitars over their shoulders. I wasn’t aware they were able to play an instrument so I couldn’t help but be curious about them.

“What’s with the guitars?” I asked.

“Oh, these? We’re going to play in the battle of the bands later”, she answered. “You and Naomi should come and watch.”

She mentions Naomi because she was still with me. In fact, we spent the whole day together.

“Is that why I haven’t seen you two around all week?” I asked the two, continuing the conversation.

“We still attended classes if that’s what you’re asking”, Marie replied defensively. “But, yeah, we spent our breaks just practicing. We have a friend whose dad built a soundproofed studio in their home and we’ve been practicing there. In fact, we’ve been practicing there since morning.”

“Well, goofing around, more like”, Ken interjected. “We didn’t want to exert ourselves too much on the day of the performance so it was light practice in the morning and playing around until now.”

“Where’s the rest of the band?” Naomi asked.

“They already went there ahead of us”, Ken answered. “We stayed behind to scout the stalls since there was still time.”

“Huh? Scout? What for?” Naomi reacted, understably confused.

It very likely meant Ken and Marie were planning on going around the stalls to plan some sort of competition between themselves, but I wasn’t sure if I should be the one to explain to Naomi.

“Well, for stuff”, Marie answered vaguely, probably thinking it didn't need more of an explanation.

Naomi didn’t ask for further elaboration, though.

“So, what are you guys going to play?” I then asked.

Marie playfully hummed before replying, “That’s a secret and you have to watch if you want to know.”

She didn’t need to keep it from me since I was planning to go regardless, but I guess she wanted for it to be a surprise.

After confirming with Naomi if she also wanted to go see, the four of us headed for the gymnasium, which is just behind the Central Building, where the battle of the bands was going to be held. When we arrived, the sound of live music and a cheering crowd permeated from inside the building. The event seems to already be ongoing.

Upon entry, Marie and Ken split from us to head backstage where the performers were all probably standing by. Naomi and I headed for the bleachers. The crowd was bouncing to the music and it seemed fun, but, at the same time, it was intimidating so the two of us decided to stay on the sidelines.

When the next performer was announced, we realized that we forgot to ask Ken and Marie what their group’s name was. But, we agreed we will find that out soon enough when we see them onstage.

It took a few more bands until we finally saw Ken on stage with his guitar. Or, more accurately, when we heard squeals from the crowd. Naomi and I somehow became distracted after the last performance and busied ourselves looking at our phones so our attention wasn’t on the stage until the crowd notified us that there might be something worth seeing in front.

After seeing Ken, Naomi and I started scanning the stage for Marie. But, we were struggling to find her up there. I spotted that emcee from the beef bowl eating contest, who seemed to be the other guitarist, but she was the only girl up on the stage.

Probably wanting to confirm if it’s just her, Naomi asked me “Do you see Marie?”

“I don’t know”, I replied. “I don’t see her either.”

Then, out of nowhere, a familiar voice joined in our conversation. It asked, “Who are you not seeing?”

To our surprise, it was Marie.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you going to play on stage?” I asked her.

“Surprise!” she exclaimed, proud that she was able to surprise us. “Actually, Ken and I are in separate bands. It won’t be my turn until after the next band.”

“Huh, is that so?” I reacted, unimpressed by the pointless surprise. “So I’m guessing you two are trying to see who’s the better guitarist.”

I knew Marie’s statement was headed to her and Ken competing over something, but I asked anyway.

“Not really, no”, she said, contrary to my expectations. “That’s kind of hard to judge when we have different roles.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ken is playing lead guitar so he’ll be doing solos and stuff while I’ll be singing and playing rhythm guitar”, Marie replied.

I wanted to continue the conversation and ask what kind of bet they had for this event, but Ken’s band started playing. While Marie and I were talking, they were still tuning their instruments, but now they were ready and played a quick tune as if telling the audience to start listening to their performance.

After a quick introduction by the vocalist, the music started. Along with their frontman, their band was composed of two guitarists, a bassist, a keyboardist and a drummer. Their song started, but, among those with an instrument, Ken hasn’t started playing yet for some reason.

“Interesting”, Marie said as loud as she could over the music. She seems to have recognized the song, but I was unable to get all the words she said when she told me something about a drag and the number four.

I wasn’t really sure, but she gave the impression that it was a cover song.

In any case, I was more interested in why she seemed like it was her first time seeing Ken and his band play the song when she said earlier that they had been rehearsing at the same studio. It took me a few tries to actually get my question across due to the loud and heavy music that was now playing.

“We didn’t listen in on each other”, Marie replied.

I don’t know if that's what she said exactly as I wasn't able to completely hear it over the music, but I think I got most of the key words to understand what she wanted to say. Given that, I can imagine their respective bands took turns rehearsing in the studio without anyone from the other group to watch. Their reasons… I guess I can ask that at a later time.

Once the first verse hit, the music turned lighter where only the emcee from the beef bowl contest was strumming and the vocalist singing in low notes.

Meanwhile, I heard Marie give some piece of commentary. She said, “Let’s see if they last their set after this.”

The song then picked up, not just with its loudness, but its energy as well. The music being played is heavy, plus the drumming is so fast that each note and beat reverberated around the entire gymnasium. Not only that, but their vocalist was singing in energetic high notes which added more power to the already loud song. Overall, it was pretty intense.

They maintained that intensity up until the second chorus ended. The bridge started with a rest for everyone else aside from Ken, who started shredding his guitar with a solo. After a few rests, the music picked back up again with the same intensity as Ken continued his piece. Not only that, but the emcee from the beef bowl contest was shredding at parts, too, and she and Ken seemed like they were doing some form of duet but with guitars. It was lengthy as well as I think it went on for almost two minutes.

The third chorus came and I thought that was it for the band’s first song when the vocalist hit that high note, but Ken started playing another guitar solo. It seems to be the outro and it went on for another minute or so.

When the last note from Ken’s guitar faded, they were met with loud cheers and squeals.

Meanwhile, I only realized how long the song actually was when it was over. Marie’s earlier comment started to make sense, especially when you consider the length and the intensity of the song Ken’s band just played.

It only took a few seconds until the music started again. People were still applauding, in fact, when their next song began with Ken strumming and the vocalist humming until the drummer entered with some beats to signal the others to join along. This time, it was a slower song and one that I was familiar with.

It was a favorite of my dad’s. He had the song on an old scratched-up CD, which he always played on his ancient stereo equipped with a CD player. I’ve never heard the song live, but my dad played it so much when he was at home that I was able to recognize what Ken’s band was playing as Guns N’ Roses’ version of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.

I wasn’t sure if Marie recognized it as well as I wasn’t able to make out her latest commentary because the music drowned out her voice when she spoke. The song may be slow and moody, but there are still parts that are still loud and heavy, and its intro is one of them.

As for the performance, the second song may be more somber, but it wasn’t any less thrilling. The vocalist’s ‘oohs’ were hair-raising and Ken’s guitar solos even more electrifying.

When the song was done, I wasn’t sure if it’s because the crowd were more familiar with the song or they liked it better than the last, but the reception was a thundering applause.

“It feels like they have a shot at winning”, I said to Marie as the noise from the crowd petered out.

Ken’s band didn’t immediately start with their next song this time as the vocalist took the opportunity to talk to the crowd about stuff. At the same time, it was also an opportunity to exchange comments with Marie.

“Maybe”, she replied, unconcerned. “Let’s see if they can keep it up on their last song.”

“How many songs does each band play?”

“Three, but we have to play one original composition”, she said.

Marie was about to speak again, but she was cut off by one loud note which reverberated throughout the gym. It seems that Ken’s band is about to perform their final song.

This time, however, the song they were playing wasn’t slow like the previous one, but it wasn’t hard and fast like how they started either. It lacked the intensity and wasn’t electrifying. It wasn’t inducing hairs to rise or give goosebumps. It didn’t give any other feeling besides the vibrations coming from the speakers.

When they finished, the reception from the crowd was lukewarm. They were still applauded, but I wasn’t sure if they were being courteous or genuinely enjoyed the song that was just played. There were still squeals, but I would guess they were dedicated fans of Ken.

In short, that last song was underwhelming.

Marie then, sounding confident, stated “I’ve got this!”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Oh, sorry. I was talking to myself”, she said. “Just feeling confident in my bet with Ken.”

“Which reminds me, what are you two competing on this time?”

“The original songs. We both wrote a song for each of our bands and we’re trying to see whose composition is judged to be better.”

After answering, she excused herself to return backstage.

“When was her turn again?” Naomi, speaking for the first time in a while, asked me.

I told her they were the next performer after the ones that have just come up on stage. She then pulled out her phone again, seeming disinterested in watching the new band.

Meanwhile, I watched them perform their first song before pulling out my phone as well. They didn’t seem interesting.

We were again alerted by loud cheers that there was something worth paying attention to up front. There, we spotted Marie standing in the middle of the stage adjusting the microphone stand. It seems to be her band’s turn now.

Marie’s band had a similar number of instruments to Ken’s. They also had two guitarists, a bassist, a keyboardist and a drummer. The only difference is their vocalist, Marie, was also playing the guitar.

“What’s Marie going to play?” I heard Naomi say, but the question wasn’t directed to me despite her looking at my direction.

She was looking past me so I looked to see who she was talking to and found that it was Ken. I hadn’t noticed he had stood beside me, in the same place Marie was earlier.

“I’m not sure”, Ken answered Naomi. “She hadn’t told me.”

I already knew the answer to it, though.

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough”, I added.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t filled with anticipation, however. I knew Marie had a good singing voice from that time when we went to the karaoke place so I was expecting something which would play to that strength of hers.

Then, the music started with Marie letting out a shrilling scream. A second blood-curdling scream followed. It wasn’t Marie as it seems that there were two of them in the band. The accompaniment by itself was already loud, fast and aggressive. All of that combined, it felt like they could shatter glass, and it looked like they might when I thought I saw the windows on the other end of the gymnasium shaking. I had to cover both my ears as it felt like it was piercing my eardrums.

I wondered, is this death metal?

I wasn’t sure if I said that out loud, but Ken showed his smartphone to me. On the screen, it said “It’s screamo, actually.”

“Death metal is something different”, he added, typing the message anew.

I wasn’t sure why he was telling me this, but, anyway, the song continues. I thought Marie’s band was just doing it for impact, to get attention from the crowd, but the screaming pair kept it up until what I think is the chorus when Marie started singing normally. The screaming and the singing alternated from then on, but neither has really felt like they formed proper words.

Their next two songs were the same. Marie’s band’s entire set consisted of fast and aggressive music with lots and lots of screaming.

The crowd’s reception was mixed. There were some cheers, but I couldn’t tell whether they actually enjoyed the performance or were just dedicated fans of Marie. Looking around my general area, I could see a lot of confused faces not knowing what we just had witnessed.

Naomi, though, was blunt with her feelings.

“That was horrible”, she commented as she massaged her ears.

Meanwhile, I could see Ken smiling smugly beside me. It was easy to imagine what he was thinking.

When the event was over, neither Ken nor Marie had a podium finish for the competition. But, later that night, the full results were posted online.

Marie’s band… Well, they weren’t dead last, but they were pretty low in all categories.

Ken’s band had high scores, actually, but they seem to have been penalized for going over fifteen minutes. There seems to have been a strict set time limit for each band. Otherwise, they would have been close to the top.

Their original song was placed somewhere in the middle, though, but it was still higher than Marie’s band.