Chapter 17: The Failed Notes

Yuna's POV

The next morning, I walked into the clubroom, fully prepared to deal with whatever disaster awaited me. And of course I wasn't disappointed.

Leo was pacing dramatically, gesturing wildly like he was trying to conduct an invisible orchestra.

Noah was hunched over his notebook, furiously scribbling like a tortured poet in the middle of a creative breakdown. Ethan sat in front of the keyboard, absentmindedly pressing a single key over and over, producing the same dull note like he was trying to summon some kind of ancient spirit.

Milo was… just kind of existing, watching the chaos unfold with the expression of someone who had already accepted his fate.

Lena, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, looked like she was seconds away from walking out and never coming back.

Kai was slumped in a chair, head resting against the table like he had given up on life entirely. It had only been one day since we recruited him, and he was already questioning his choices.

Meanwhile, Erika was sitting on the couch, calmly sipping her drink like she was in a completely different reality from the rest of us. She didn't look stressed, which was honestly impressive.

Before we could even address the actual problem—finding a singer—I had a much bigger question.

"...Wait. Who even is our club adviser?"

The room went dead silent.

Leo froze mid-pace, his mouth slightly open like he had something to say but forgot what words were.

"Uh."

Ethan tapped a random key on his keyboard. "That's... a great question."

Noah blinked and looked up from his notebook. "We have one, right?"

Milo, ever the enigma, nodded. "I think so."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"

Lena sighed like she had been waiting for us to figure this out. "Oh, it's Mrs. Tan. But she doesn't really do anything."

I frowned. "Who's Mrs. Tan?"

Ethan snorted. "You've probably never seen her because she's never around."

Erika finally chimed in, swirling her drink lazily. "She's a legend. The kind that exists only in rumors."

Leo clapped his hands. "Alright! Time for a field trip!"

And that was how, five minutes later, we found ourselves outside the faculty office. Leo knocked.

Silence.

He knocked again.

More silence.

"Maybe she's not here?" Noah suggested.

Then, from inside, a very exhausted voice answered, "What do you want?"

Leo pushed the door open, and there she was—Mrs. Tan.

She was sitting at her desk, slouched over a pile of paperwork, looking like she had already given up on life.

Her glasses were slightly crooked, her hair was in a messy bun, and she was sipping coffee like it was the only thing keeping her from walking out and never looking back.

Her tired eyes flicked up at us. "...You guys are the band kids, right?"

Leo beamed. "Yup!"

Mrs. Tan sighed. "Cool. What do you need?"

I stepped forward, already regretting this. "We need a singer. And maybe, I don't know, actual guidance?"

She blinked. "That sounds like a you problem."

I stared at her. "Aren't you supposed to, I don't know, help us?"

Mrs. Tan took another sip of coffee, her expression completely indifferent.

"Technically, yes. Realistically, no."

Leo shifted uncomfortably. "So... what do you do?"

She shrugged. "I make sure you don't burn the school down."

Ethan pressed a few keys on his keyboard like he was adding dramatic background music. "That's it?"

"Yup."

A long silence stretched between us.

"...Wow," Noah muttered. "We're so lucky to have you."

Mrs. Tan ignored him and pulled out a folder, flipping through it with the energy of someone who wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Look, as long as you guys don't cause trouble, you can do whatever you want. Just—" she sighed, rubbing her temples

"—just don't make me do extra work, okay?"

Kai blinked. "So, you don't care if we're terrible?"

Mrs. Tan shrugged. "It's not my job to care."

Leo, ever the optimist, grinned. "So you won't stop us from performing again?"

Mrs. Tan gave him a tired look. "I probably won't even watch."

Noah clutched his chest. "That's... actually kind of sad."

Lena, who had been silent until now, scoffed. "I respect it."

Erika smirked. "Honestly? Iconic."

Mrs. Tan leaned back in her chair. "If it makes you feel better, I don't watch any of my clubs."

"It doesn't," I deadpanned.

Ethan sighed and played a slow, tragic tune on his keyboard. "Okay, so we're on our own."

Mrs. Tan nodded. "Pretty much."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Great."

Leo, still somehow unbothered, turned back to us. "Well, at least she won't get in our way."

Mrs. Tan waved a hand. "Knock yourselves out. Just don't make me fill out paperwork."

With that, we shuffled out of the office, now painfully aware that we were basically unsupervised.

Ethan sighed, tapping at his keyboard like a dramatic soundtrack to our despair. "Okay, new plan—let's just do whatever we want."

"That was already the plan," Noah pointed out

Leo clapped his hands. "Alright, so we just need to find a singer, and we'll be set!"

I groaned. "Yeah, just that. No big deal."

Kai shook his head. "I'm starting to think the universe wants us to fail."

I crossed my arms. "No. If the universe wanted us to fail, it wouldn't have made me get lost and find you guys in the first place."

Leo grinned. "So, you do believe in fate!"

"I believe in bad decisions."

Lena smirked. "Same thing."

Erika took a sip of her drink. "Honestly, I think our bad decisions are fate."

Ethan played a single dramatic note. "Well, fate or not, we still need to find someone who won't make us sound like a dying cat."

I sighed. "Alright. Let's start looking."

And just like that, our next mission began—finding a singer before our band became the biggest joke in school. Again.

Just as I was about to storm out and put this entire mess behind me, Mrs. Tan, still lounging at her desk like she had all the time in the world, decided to drop one last bomb on my already fried brain. 

"Oh, by the way," she said, not even looking up from her phone.

"Did you guys ever settle on a new band name? Or are you still calling yourselves The Failed Notes?" 

I stopped mid-step. The room went completely, terrifyingly silent. 

Slowly, I turned back around. "I'm sorry. The what now?" 

Mrs. Tan finally looked up, blinking at me like I had just asked if the sky was blue.

"The Failed Notes. That was your original name, right?" 

I turned to the rest of the band, waiting for them to be just as horrified as I was. Surely, surely, they weren't going to just accept this. 

Instead, Leo looked a little nostalgic.

Ethan sighed. Noah shrugged like this was completely normal. Even Milo, the most rational one here, just stared blankly like he had long since accepted his fate. 

"We tried to change it," Ethan muttered, running a hand through his hair. 

Leo rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, but we never really settled on anything else, so…" 

"So you just… left it?" I asked, my voice rising in sheer disbelief. 

Kai whistled. "Wow. That's tragic." 

Mrs. Tan smirked, sipping her coffee. "I think it's fitting." 

"FITTING?!" I nearly screeched.

"That sounds like a band made up of middle schoolers who got rejected from the talent show!" 

"Well," Noah said, adjusting his glasses like he was about to give a TED Talk,

"technically, it was a joke name we came up with when we started, but then we kind of… forgot to change it, and now it's… a thing." 

"You forgot?" My voice cracked.

"How do you forget to change something *

that bad?" 

Noah just shrugged. "We had other things to focus on. Like music." 

"You mean failing at music?" I shot back. 

Leo sighed dramatically, gripping his drumsticks like he was about to give a heartfelt monologue.

"We're artists, Yuna. Labels don't define us."

"Maybe not," I said, rubbing my temples, "but they do make you sound like a group of people who should never be allowed near instruments." 

"I mean," Erika said gently, "it does kind of… set expectations." 

Kai snorted. "Yeah. Low ones." 

Mrs. Tan stretched and yawned like this entire conversation was exhausting her somehow.

"Hey, at least it's honest." 

I groaned, staring at the ceiling like divine intervention would save me. "This just keeps getting worse." 

Leo shrugged. "It could be worse." 

"HOW? HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY BE WORSE?" 

Noah perked up. "We almost went with The Off-Beat Orchestra." 

I slapped my forehead so hard I saw stars. "Oh my god." 

Ethan shook his head. "Yeah. That one didn't test well." 

"WITH WHO? THE DEAF COMMUNITY?" 

Kai clapped his hands together. "Alright. New band mission—find a better name before Yuna physically explodes." 

Mrs. Tan waved a lazy hand. "Good luck with that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a very important nap scheduled." 

I didn't even have the energy to argue anymore. With one last exhausted sigh, I turned on my heel and marched out, the rest of the group trailing behind me. 

Our to-do list just kept growing—find a singer, fix this disaster of a band, and, apparently, erase all evidence that we were ever called The Failed Notes.

God help me.

To be continued.