ANYTHING BUT ENEMIES

10. let's do karaoke

"UGH, THAT'S DISGUSTING." Anaya coughs out after downing a shot of Vodka. "I don't know how you people can stand it."

"It's not meant to be enjoyable, but it helps to drown out the noise."  Reece says, downing his fifth shot of the hour and holding out the glass in a toast. "Viva la vida."

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine." Julia mumbles, and he smiles sarcastically before holding up a middle finger.

"Y'all, shut up." Marty halts his pacing on the other side of the room. He's writing his poem for tomorrow on his notes app, brows furrowed, tongue poking out his mouth. "I'm having a breakthrough."

Ruby snorts from next to me. "You've been having a breakthrough for the past twenty minutes. Can you go fetch me a water instead?"

"I don't fetch. I'm not a dog."

"Woof woof," Ruby mumbles under her breath before standing to go get her own water.

"Guys, what rhymes with hair?"

"Fair!" Marty perks up from across the room, gaze spinning to me. "Pair, rare, stare—"

"Pipe down, Shakespeare," Reece drawls before leaning forward so that his forehead is flush to the table. "I'm gonna hurl."

"Hey, don't do it here!" Anaya hisses, standing up at the speed of light.

I type some random words into my own phone before slamming the device onto the table. "I can't focus. We should do something—something fun."

"Karaoke!" Ruby exclaims upon closing the fridge door.

A collective groan fills the room. The girl has been trying to convince us to do karaoke for the past hour.

Without waiting for anyone to argue, she's pulling out her phone and connecting it to the TV with a cable. Where it came from? I couldn't be sure.

The second the first few notes of Britney Spears' Toxic bursts from the speakers, Reece's head shoots up, the rest of his body awkwardly stumbling after.

"Oh, now the party's getting started."

Julia shouts as he leans forward to pluck the bottle from between her hands and starts using it as a microphone, nearly slipping on his way to the middle of the room.

"This is not what I wanted!" I call over the bass to no avail.

Ruby's busy performing the Just Dance choreo down to a tee, black ponytail swinging with every turn, long nightgown fanning out into a circle. I must say even despite my annoyance, I'm a little impressed.

Then somehow ten minutes later, Reece and Julia are attempting to breakdance to Bohemian Rhapsody. Five minutes after that, the drunker one of the two is rushing to the bathroom with a green face and a hand over his mouth.

I roll my eyes at the foolishness taking place, startling as a foot bumps into mine, eyes taking me up a lima bean body to rest on a smiling face.

"Not into the oldies?" Marty asks from over a copy of Romeo and Juliet that he'd gotten from god knows where.

"Britney and Shakira are oldies?"

He looks up at the ceiling, brows furrowed before nodding. "I mean, I'd say so."

"A man of culture, I see."

A snort answers my comment before he's throwing the book down on the table. "So you are into the oldies?"

"How could I not be?"

"Ah, a woman of culture."

"Of course. As long as Ruby and Reece aren't singing though."

"Fair point. You wouldn't think two people could sound so awful together."

"Right? A whole dying animal."

I'm not sure exactly what I thought going to Fish Tank would be like, but I'd never really thought hard about the people I'd be meeting here—besides Ruby, of course.

I'd never thought about the fact that I'd ever have people to talk to besides my mom, Roselyn, and Sammy, content with my set support group. I didn't really need anyone else, especially since I hadn't been able to make any new friends after my last year of high school (and even then, those relationships hadn't lasted anything past a couple months after graduation).

It's nice to know that people are still willing to hang out with me, even if they are, by the looks of it, all mentally unstable and hyperactive.

I like having people to talk to.

A sudden knock on the door, startles me out of the conversation, and I glance back over at Marty to make sure I'm not hearing things.

"Are we expecting anyone else?"

"If so, they're hella late." He stands, adjusting the collar of his t-shirt. "I'll go check."

A couple minutes later, he comes back with word of a noise complaint, powering off Ruby's phone and chucking it across the room mid-Rolling-In-the-Deep after she refuses to lower the volume.

Three seconds after that, she's beating him mercilessly with a pillow, and Reece is stumbling back from the bathroom, fingers tightening around every single piece of furniture he passes—a baby deer just learning how to walk.

Somehow, Anaya was able to fall asleep through everything after karaoke started. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Terrible singing, dancing, and all.

Sleep that deep has to be some kind of superpower.

Now she wakes up, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "What did I miss?"

My arm spans out across the room at the chaos. "Hell."

She snorts before pulling out her phone and tossing a couple braids over her shoulder. "Not surprised."

I feel a smile tug at my lips as I lean back, surveying the room fondly. "...A good hell."

A hell I wouldn't mind spending a bit more time in.

***
wow would y'all look at that ! an update, that's crazyyy

Q: favorite 2000s throwback song?