Xen

"The camera crew is here." I open my eyes to see Vont's green head sticking through our doorway. "Feel free to pretend to still be asleep."

From my bed, I look at Raine whose face is snuggled into his pillow. I grip mine closer to my chest as I stretch. "Raine," I say, "the camera crew is here."

The only acknowledgment I get is a groan. I hope he heard us. Should I pretend to be asleep or should I start my image as an early riser? In the end, does it matter?

I sit up with my eyes closed, still contemplating my next move, holding the pillow I hug to sleep in my lap when a siren screeches from the hallway in front of our door.

"Time to get up, kids," Vont shouts, clapping his hands.

They didn't do this yesterday so I assume this military-like wake up alarm is only for the show. Raine is still in bed, unmoving. A Laeetuni steadily driving a drone camera steps into the room. The round ball-like thing hovers by my face, its lens rotating to get a better look.

I rub my eyes to act a bit and just in case there's any goo in the corners. Should I say good morning to the camera? Or is that breaking some fourth wall? Already, this is hard. Even though I came from a famous family, I never had to deal with being filmed like this or even photographed.

The camera spins and hovers over to Raine. I stand up, wondering if I should rouse him but I'm not supposed to step past this one board. So, I just stand awkwardly across the room, staring at him. His sleeping face is so pretty. It's incredible that someone can be born with a face like that. It's like all the beauty in the galaxy was just sprinkled into him when he was conceived.

Okay, his conception is a weird thing to mention now that I think about it. DG steps into the room, wearing harem pants which is typical during the day but not after waking up. But, obviously, with the cameras, he can't step out in his boxers as he usually does.

"Raine." He slaps the lump stretched out on the bed. "Time to get up."

Raine lets out another groan. DG bends down and shocks me by lying on top of Raine.

"Oh my sun!" Raine wheezes beneath him. "You're like a boulder."

DG laughs, then motions for me to come over.

Raine made the rules about me keeping my distance. But DG is the leader. And the cameras are rolling. I inch closer and DG grabs my wrist then gestures to his back.

He's got to be joking. He wants me to get on? While tall, Raine is thin and I don’t want to be the cause of his spine breaking. So I stand there awkwardly, again, glancing at the camera then back at DG.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Raine grunts.

Finally, DG stands up and says to the camera, "When all else fails, apply pressure.”

Instead of following up with something witty, I turn around to make my bed. Raine sits up and squints. But once he notices the camera, his eyes turn to saucers.

“Oh my sun.” His hands shoot up to cover his face. “I’m not wearing makeup.” He stands up and runs out of the room, presumably based on spatial memory since he can’t see with his eyes covered.

The camera hovers over to me for some reason. What am I supposed to say? I glance at the Laeetuni controlling the drone but he only raises his eyebrows slightly as if prompting me to engage. I guess I’ll just be honest. 

“Ha ha…” My eyes shift as I’m unable to make eye contact with the camera. “Why is he like that? E-everyone knows he’s a natural beauty.”

“Don’t get my eyebrows!” Raine yells to the second camera that follows him.

DG puts a hand on my back. “You’ll get used to it.”

I don’t know if he’s referring to Raine’s perception of his appearance or the cameras. Either way, me getting used to it seems far off.

***

When a staff member hands all of us paper cups of coffee in the studio, I just stare at it. I had no clue they had coffee in Canis. Where do they even get the beans? Is it an Earthian import? Wouldn’t I know if it was?

The producer, Kale, whose job I mostly took over, steps up to the coding station with hands on their hips. They’re another Laeetuni with beige skin and dark hair including a goatee. Their name has nothing to do with the vegetable apparently; the E actually being silent. “You kids ready?”

Everyone is too sleepy to respond.

“DG, you’re up first.”

DG raises an eyebrow. “Drums first?”

I don’t know how they usually do it but, in my opinion, the backing beat needs to come before the rest. Along with the sheet music, it’ll help both Leela and Raine time their parts. I just nod and DG steps into the studio and closes the door. He expands his L-drums and I’ll never get over how amazing Laeetuni e-instruments are. Each is powered by an energy core that, when activated, produces 3D holographic strings, snares, or whatever the instrument requires. The blue glow pulsates every time a note is plucked or beat hit.

With the sheet music on a stand in front of him, DG hits out the second part of the first verse, where the beat first begins.

“A little softer,” I tell him through the speaker and he plays it again perfectly this time.

Next is the chorus where the rhythm and volume pick up in sync with Raine’s powerful ‘F-you’ lyrics. DG messes up on a beat but continues until he reaches the end of the chorus.

“Did I do that wrong?”

“Yes,” I reply. “Let’s go again.”

I back the track up to record a fresh take. After DG finishes, it’s Leela’s turn. The way she rocks from side to side, plucking from above looks so cool. I always liked watching her on online videos. Not as much as Raine, of course. Leela kills it and I combine the recordings. Both DG and Leela are amazing. Their timing is perfect and I don’t have to make any edits. If they always record like this, we’ll get out an album in no time. Now, it’s my turn.

The e-guitar is what will tie it together and provide the lead for Raine. Kale handles the coding station while I play. While strumming, I watch Raine through the glass. The camera hovers over to him and he gives it an unhappy double take before pasting on a smile. I squint to read his lips.

“...guitar… focus… singing… pissed… dance.”

DG makes a sweeping motion with his hands, probably telling them to cut that last part out. I try to piece together what Raine might have said. No longer on guitar, maybe he can focus on singing? Or maybe he’s saying Jo’lanae took him off guitar because she wants him to focus on singing. The end is pretty clear; dancing is not something Raine is looking forward to.

I finish my part then listen to the recording, analyzing the notes.

“My turn?” Raine asks.

His expression is eager. It’s probably the nicest look he’s given me since I arrived here. “Uh, I just want to record one of my parts again. I want it softer.”

Raine pouts and oh my god, it’s so cute.

“I’ll be quick,” I say, entering the studio. After re-recording my mistake and fixing it in the track, I look at Raine. “Your turn.” For good measure, I throw in a smile.

He steps into the side room with the microphone and puts on the wireless headphones. The song starts off with just bass and after a short intro, he opens his mouth to begin singing. Even after years of listening to him, his voice sends shivers up my spine when it’s right in my ear. His voice type and range is that of contralto or countertenor. Similar to the way he talks, his voice is whisper-like yet clear. And the way he exhales at the end of some notes draws you in even when the song isn’t meant to sound sexy. He sings through the first verse and bridge with his eyes closed. Before he gets to the chorus, he waves his hand at me and takes off his headphones. I stop the recording. His blue eyes are wide as he looks at me expectantly.

Pressing the button to the speaker in the room, I mumble out, “That was good.”

Raine’s gaze gains flatness along with annoyance. Like he isn’t satisfied with my reply. Does he want me to talk him up more?

Pressing the button again, I add, “You sound great. Perfect.” Kale throws in a thumbs up.

I expect Raine’s expression to brighten but that annoyance turns into sadness. God, as much as I love his music, this person is so moody. I have no clue how to read him. He slides the headphones back on and I start from the chorus for him.

This time, he sings with open eyes, lazily, though his voice still comes out flawless.

Kale motions for me to stop then turns on the speaker. “What happened to that emotion? Let’s try again.”

At least Kale said it and not me, hopefully sparing me from any lashback from Raine later.

Raine inhales deeply. “Start from the beginning then,” he tells us. I do, and he sings it all again, verse, bridge, and chorus.

Open-mouthed, I gaze at him. Will I ever not be awed by his voice? I notice the camera hovering beside the coding station and flinch. How long has it been there? Did it catch me looking stupid? How embarrassing. I really hope they delete that.

Raine takes a sip from his water bottle before we move on to the second verse. The rest of the recording goes smoothly.

The three band members stand around me as I play back their individual recordings. "So, I'll create our demo from this," I tell them when it's over. "Over the next few days, we'll use it as a guide to record multiple times and I'll combine the best recordings so we get the optimal result."

"Which means when we do our lives, we won't sound as good."

I really didn't expect that comment from Raine. "If you work hard, you can," I challenge because I'm a little tired of his negativity.

Raine hesitates then silently nods.

Ugh, why can't I hate him? Damn, he's so cute.

"Are you okay, Xen?" DG's hand touches my shoulder and I lift my head from where I'd absentmindedly buried it in my arms.

"Huh? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah." I hope the cameras didn't catch that. I seriously need to pull myself together.

Vont claps his hands. "Raine, you'll be recording the day after tomorrow. Now, it's time for your dance lessons."

Raine grimaces and runs a hand through his hair. His lip is trembling as he walks out to head to the dance practice room.

"We're gonna go support our queen," DG says, giving me two thumbs up.

I wish I could see Raine dance too but that'd probably make him hate the lessons more. And I need to get a start on the music.

"Let me know when you're done," Kale says as they stand up. "I doubt you need my input."

I'm left alone in the room. Surprisingly, I don't feel that much pressure. Maybe I've adapted to all the expectations after living 18 years as a Hannachi and being polished to be the best. I switch into work mode and get started on the demo.