Without wasting a second, I got up and walked straight out of the door without looking back, then closed the door carefully without making a sound.
I had no idea why Antony's face twitched slightly as I passed him. Wasn't he the one who told me to leave? What he'd said was exactly what I wanted to hear at that moment.
So, I spent the rest of the morning at the café nearby, chewing my boba tea with pure pleasure. I had plenty of witnesses from that class who could confirm the instructor himself had told me to leave.
Around noon, just as I was about to head out for lunch, some guy with green hair and light brown eyes came sprinting toward my table like he'd seen a ghost. He was wearing a colorful flowery shirt and even more colorful pants.
He slammed both hands onto my table and shouted, "My God, Kaija Sepala! Where have you been all morning?!"
I blinked up at him, the straw still in my mouth. "Eh… I'm sorry, but who are you?"
"I'm your manager, Miss!" he yelled again. "Esko!"
"Alright, alright, easy." I covered my ears. "Lower the volume, please. I've heard of you before. You're looking for me?"
"Of course I am!" he said, still far too loud. "Why didn't you attend the Beginner Dance class? I've been searching for you all morning!"
"You went to the dance studio? If so, didn't that silver-haired instructor tell you he'd kicked me out?"
"Kick you out?" Esko groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Ah, typical Antony. He does that to every trainee. Just his little power play."
"No, no, no," I said with a bright smile. "I'm very sure he made it clear I'm too old for that class. Can I just skip the whole dancing thing altogether?"
Esko slammed the table again. "You can't, Ms. Sepala! Who listens to a singer who can't dance these days?"
But weren't singers supposed to just, you know… sing?
"Alright," I said, rolling my eyes. "Just call me Kaija. I'll go back to that class tomorrow. It's too late now anyway. I'm heading out for lunch. You coming? We can talk on the way."
Esko gave me a suspicious look, clearly not buying my cheerful tone. Then he relented. "Alright, Kaija. We have a lot to discuss."
After lunch, as if to make sure I wouldn't skip the vocal class in the afternoon, Esko escorted me all the way to the classroom's door.
"Listen to me, Kaija," he said, raising a finger at me. "Do not leave this class. At all costs. Okay?"
The way he said that made the upcoming vocal class feel like something not exactly digestible like I'd imagined.
"Alrighty, my almighty manager." I winked at him. "Thanks for accompanying me all the way, see you soon."
Esko left, but not before giving me one last "I'm watching you" kind of look.
Inside, the classroom turned out to be a massive theatre hall, and it was packed.
I spotted Liisi's pastel-pink hair right away. She sat in the front row with the four members of her group. Plenty of other familiar faces were there too. Many big-name artists, plus some of the younger ones I'd met in the morning. I almost thought I'd stumbled into a star-studded concert rather than a vocal training class.
"Why are you still standing here?" someone asked from behind me.
I turned and met a pair of turquoise eyes. The moment those eyes recognized me, they narrowed with pure irritation.
"You again?" Karl growled.
"What are you doing here?" I raised an eyebrow.
What I really meant was, "You are already ultra famous, mister. Why would you even need vocal training?"
Then a thought suddenly hit my mind.
Wait a minute, don't tell me this platinum head is...
"I'm in charge of this stupid class," Karl said, smirking at my contorting face.
I turned around immediately. "I'll take my seat, then."
"Stop right there."
I froze mid-step.
"So you're already signed yesterday?" he went on, his tone sneering. "What's your name again?"
I shot him a sharp look over my shoulder. "It's Kaija Sepala."
"My, my. Kaija Sepala. Your skills must be something else," he scoffed. "In bed, I mean."
"Are you going to start this class, or are we just going to stand here chatting all day?"
"Guess I can't keep those brats waiting," he said with a shrug.
When I turned around, every pair of eyes was on us.
From the front row, Liisi waved cheerfully at me. "Sister! Come sit with me and my group!"
I had no choice but came to the front row. If I rejected someone as famous as her in front of all these people, I'd not only embarrass her, but also earn myself a basket of hatred right on my first day.
As I took my seat, Karl took the stage. The moment Liisi turned her smiley gaze from me to the stage, her smoky brown eyes sparkled with something that resembled admiration as she looked up at that platinum head.
"Listen up, idiots," Karl said lazily into the mic, his voice echoing through the vast hall. "I'm bored of this. You're bored of this. Let's get it over with. As usual — seniors first, juniors last. Get your ass up here."
As soon as he finished, Karl stepped down from the stage, took a seat at a table right in front of it, then leaned back casually with both legs propped up like some jaded judge on talent shows.
One of the big-name artists took the stage, picked up the mic, and started singing without any background track. Just his raw, powerful, beautiful voice, and a song I was pretty sure wasn't his.
Me, of course, I had no idea what the hell was going on.
"Hey," I leaned over Liisi, "Can you please tell me what's happening?"
"You got your homework, sister?" She asked back.
"What homework?"
"Karl always sends out a homework song before class. When you come in, you go up on stage and sing. Then he judges you."
"But what's the point of having everyone doing vocal training together? You're already famous. You're not on the same level as trainees like me?"
"Karl says it's to train us to sing under pressure," Liisi explained. "We feel pressured being watched by our peers, and trainees feel pressured being watched by us. It's supposed to make everyone better."
I thanked Liisi and sank back into my chair, my nerves twisting in my stomach. Not only did I have no preparation and no assigned homework song, but I'd also called the instructor scum just yesterday.
Given how Karl had slandered me without even knowing me yesterday and his general lack of manners, I could already guess what judging meant in his vocabulary.
Before the singer on stage could even finish, Karl raised his hand.