Chapter 25: The Big Announcement

Yuna's POV

The gym buzzed with the restless energy of students forced to sit still for too long. The air was thick with boredom, scattered conversations, and the occasional sound of wrappers crinkling as people secretly ate snacks.

I sat next to Erika, trying not to slump in my seat while the teachers took their sweet time settling in at the front.

"Good afternoon, students," the principal finally said, his voice echoing through the gym.

A half-hearted "Good afternoon" mumbled back from the crowd.

"Louder," one of the teachers scolded.

"GOOD AFTERNOON," the students chorused, voices dripping with forced enthusiasm.

Satisfied, the principal cleared his throat. "We have an important announcement regarding this year's founding anniversary event."

I perked up a little, though mostly because I needed something to stay awake. Beside me, Erika had already pulled out a notebook, ever the responsible one, while Leo—seated a few rows ahead—looked about two seconds away from dozing off.

"As you all know, every year we hold different events to celebrate our school's founding. This time, we've decided to make things a little more exciting." The principal smiled.

"This year, we will be holding a major band competition—open not just to club bands, but to any student-led group who wishes to participate."

Silence.

And then chaos.

"No way!"

"That means the seniors are joining?!"

"Oh, we're doomed."

Students broke into frantic whispers, some excited, some panicked, some already making plans.

From across the gym, I could see Kai leaning back in his seat, arms crossed, watching the madness unfold like he wasn't even remotely concerned.

Meanwhile, Leo turned around to shoot us a wide-eyed look of pure horror.

"Did I hear that right? ANY student-led band?"

I nodded slowly. "Yup."

"We're so dead."

"We were already dead," Erika muttered, scribbling in her notebook.

"Now we're just being buried."

I sighed, leaning back. Our band, The Failed Notes, wasn't exactly known for, well… talent.

We were infamous, sure, but for all the wrong reasons.

If we entered this competition, we weren't just competing against other struggling club bands.

We were up against the actual musicians of the school—the people who had reputations, skills, and fans.

Milo, sitting somewhere behind me, groaned.

"Do we HAVE to join?"

Lena, our wonderfully lazy manager, didn't even bother looking up from her phone.

"Technically, no. But if we don't, everyone's going to assume we're too scared to try."

Ethan nodded solemnly. "And we do have some pride left. Right?"

Kai finally spoke, his voice calm as ever. "Depends. Do we actually think we can pull this off?"

Silence.

I exchanged glances with Erika. Leo was still staring at me, probably waiting for someone to say something encouraging, but all I could do was let out a long breath.

"...Well. It's not like we can embarrass ourselves worse than we already have."

Leo groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "Why would you say that?! Now it's going to be WORSE!"

"Too late to back out now," Lena added.

"This is happening whether we like it or not."

I slumped forward dramatically. "Great. Can't wait for the entire school to witness our downfall in HD."

Kai chuckled, low and amused. "Guess we better make it entertaining, then."

The moment the announcement ended, the gym erupted into excited chatter. Students were buzzing, some already forming groups, others hyping up their favorite musicians.

Meanwhile, in the middle of all this, we were sitting in absolute silence.

I mean, what was there to say?

"…So we're doomed," Leo finally muttered, staring blankly ahead.

Ethan slumped forward, face buried in his hands. "We don't even have a vocalist."

"A vocalist and decent public reputation,"Milo pointed out in his usual calm, almost bored tone.

"We're kind of a joke."

Kai leaned back against the bleachers, arms crossed. "Kind of?"

Erika sighed, massaging her temples. "We have, like, a month to prepare. Maybe we should focus on, I don't know, not sounding like a dying cat before worrying about the competition."

"Wow, thanks for the confidence boost," Leo deadpanned.

Lena, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke up. "Just don't join."

We all turned to her.

She looked up from her phone, completely unbothered. "I mean, you guys suck. Why embarrass yourselves on a bigger stage?"

I almost choked. "Lena, you're supposed to be our manager!"

"Yeah, not a miracle worker."

Ethan groaned. "We can't just not join. It's literally our club's only chance to prove we're not a total failure."

Milo glanced at him. "But we are a total failure."

Ethan made a strangled sound, like he wanted to argue but couldn't. Because, well… he wasn't wrong.

Then, as if things weren't already bad enough, we heard a group of students nearby talking.

"This is gonna be insane. Did you hear? Some of the senior bands are joining too."

"No way, even them?"

"Yup. And I heard Liam Reyes might be performing too."

My stomach dropped. Liam Reyes. Who was he?

Ethan looked horrified. "We're so dead."

Leo clutched his chest. "I knew I should've just stuck to playing random anime openings."

I slowly turned to Kai, expecting him to say something reassuring—because, let's be real, he's probably the most competent one here. But instead, he was just staring ahead, deep in thought, fingers tapping against his arm.

That was when Erika, ever the babysitter, clapped her hands. "Okay. Panicking gets us nowhere. First things first—we need a vocalist."

We all turned to each other.

Silence.

Kai just sat there, watching everything unfold, looking way too amused.

Leo sighed dramatically. "If only we still had a vocalist…"

Everyone turned to Lena.

She raised an eyebrow, completely unfazed.

"What?"

"You were our vocalist," Ethan pointed out.

"Yeah, and you demoted me."

"Because you can't sing!" Erika snapped.

Lena gasped, clutching her chest. "Excuse me? My voice is raw—it's emotion, it's passion, it's—"

"It's just screaming," Kai interrupted.

Leo nodded. "Literal screaming. You don't sing, Lena. You summon demons."

Lena huffed. "Well, excuse me for bringing energy into our performances!"

"Energy?!" Ethan exclaimed.

"Lena, the last time you sang, a teacher thought someone was being murdered backstage!"

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Look, since Lena is legally banned from touching a microphone, we need someone

Erika clapped her hands, trying to refocus everyone. "Look, the fact is, we're running out of time. We need to fix our sound, get a proper vocalist, and somehow not make fools of ourselves in front of the entire school."

Ethan dramatically fell onto Leo's shoulder.

"We're doomed."

I stared at the ceiling, letting out the loudest, most dramatic sigh known to mankind.

"Great. More work for me."

Then, without a care in the world, I lay flat on the floor of the practice room, arms stretched out like a person who had just been hit by a truck.

"Yuna!" Erika scolded, nudging me with her foot.

"Get up! This is serious!"

"Is it, though?" I mumbled.

"Because I distinctly remember not signing up for a full-blown battle-of-the-bands-style competition."

"None of us did!" Leo wailed, gripping his drumsticks like they were the only things holding his soul together.

"We're doomed!"

"That's the spirit," Ethan said, patting Leo's back like a war veteran comforting a fallen comrade.

Kai, who was sitting on an amp, tapped his fingers against his knee, unimpressed.

"Are you really just gonna lie there?"

"Yes."

"Even though this competition will determine the future of our club?"

"Absolutely."

He tilted his head. "Even if we might actually—"

"Do not say win," I cut in, finally sitting up.

"We suck. And I say that with all the love in my heart."

Lena smirked. "See? That's the energy I like. Just accept the chaos."

"That's not what I'm saying—"

Milo, who had been silently staring at his bass like it had personally betrayed him, finally spoke. "Okay, but seriously, what's our plan?"

Everyone turned to Erika.

She blinked. "Why are you all looking at me?"

"You're responsible," Leo said.

"You keep us alive," Ethan added.

"You are our babysitter," Lena finished.

Erika sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I hate this club."

To be continued.