Kaija spent the rest of the morning at a café nearby the Performance Building, chewing the boba in her tea with pure pleasure.
Around noon, just as she was about to head out for lunch, a guy with green hair and light brown eyes came sprinting toward her table like he'd seen a ghost.
He was wearing a colorful flowery shirt and pants so colorful it was hard not to pay attention to him, the moment he entered the room.
As soon as he approached, he slammed both hands onto her table and shouted, "My God, Kaija Sepala! Where have you been all morning?!"
Kaija blinked up at him, the straw still in her mouth. "Eh… You know me? I'm sorry but, who are you?"
"I'm your manager, Miss!" he yelled again. "Esko!"
Recognition bloomed on her face at the name. "Alright, alright, easy," she said, raising both hands up. "Lower the volume, please. I've heard of your name before. You're looking for me?"
"Of course I am!" he said, voice 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?" She raised a brow at him. "Well, if so, you must've heard from that golden-eyed instructor that he'd kicked me out."
"Kicked you out?" Esko groaned, dragging a hand down his face, already feel a headache coming.
"Ah, it's just... it's just typical Antony!" he exclaimed. "Look! Antony isn't exactly known for being nice and kind, alright? He just... he does that to every trainee!
"But here's the thing! He is also the best at what he does! So if you're training under him, Miss, you are guaranteed a very, extremely bright future coming out of this training!"
"No, no, no," Kaija replied with a deceptively bright smile, wiggling a finger. "I'm very sure he made it clear that he didn't want to teach a one-person class.
"I'm also very, very sure that the guy said he didn't want to teach me, specifically, for... whatever reason he might have. Maybe he just doesn't like my face!
"Anyway, can I just skip the whole dancing thing altogether? Just get me a chair and I'll sing for you hours and hours!"
Esko slammed the table again, practically screaming now. "You can't, Ms. Sepala! Who listens to a singer who can't dance these days?"
Kaija's face drooped down along with a heavy sigh.
Weren't singers supposed to just… sing?
"Alright," she said, rolling her eyes. "First of all, just call me Kaija, since you're my manager.
"Secondly, I guess... I'll try to go back to that class tomorrow. It's too late now anyway.
"Thirdly, I'm heading out for lunch, Mr. Manager. You wanna come? We're gonna work together, I guess we should, you know... Get to know each other. Sort of."
Esko gave her a suspicious look, clearly not buying her cheerful tone.
A long while and a sharp exhale later, he relented. "Alright, Kaija it is, then. Come! We have a lot to discuss."
After lunch, as if to make sure she wouldn't skip the vocal class in the afternoon, Esko escorted her all the way to the classroom's door.
"Listen to me, Kaija," he said firmly, raising a finger at her. "Do not leave this class. At all costs. Okay?"
She shot him a skeptical look.
The way he'd said those words... How come she had feelings the upcoming vocal class wasn't exactly something as digestible as she'd imagined?
"Erm... okay, you're scaring me now," she mumbled, turning around at turtle speed. "Well, thanks for accompanying me all the way, I guess... though it felt more like I'm under your surveillance... Anyway! See you soon then!"
"Yes!" He spun her around sharply. "I am going to see you very, very soon, indeed! Now good luck, my new star!"
With one last firm push to her back straight inside the classroom, Esko left, but not before giving her one last "I'm watching you" kind of look.
Inside, the classroom turned out to be a massive theatre hall, and it was packed.
Kaija spotted Liisi's pastel-pink hair right away. The girl was sitting in the front row with the four members of her group, Lipstick.
Plenty of other familiar faces were there too. Many big-name artists, plus some of the younger faces that she didn't know, but they didn't look any less handsome or beautiful than the famous crowd.
She almost thought she'd stumbled into a star-studded concert, rather than a vocal training class.
"Why are you still standing here?"
An abyss-deep voice suddenly came from behind her, the timbre and irritation in that voice unmistakable.
When Kaija turned around, what met her eyes were a pair of familiar turquoise eyes. The moment those eyes recognized her, they narrowed with pure contempt.
"You again?" Karl grumbled, his angelic face already twisting into a devilish look.
Kaija raised an eyebrow back, equally contemptuous. "What are you doing here?"
Wasn't this rude dude already ultra famous? Why would he even need a vocal training lesson?
Then another thought suddenly hit her mind.
Wait a minute, could it be that this ash-blond head here was...
"I'm in charge of this stupid class," Karl said, face turning smug upon seeing the shock on Kaija's contorting face.
She spun around immediately. "Alright, bro. Don't mind me. I'mma take my seat, then."
"Stop right there."
Kaija froze mid-step.
"So you're already signed yesterday?" he went on. "What's your name again?"
"It's Kaija Sepala," she muttered, shooting him a sharp look over her shoulder.
"My, my. Kaija Sepala. Your skills must be something else," he scoffed. "In bed, I mean."
Her face twitched even more violently now. "Oh, indeed, they are," she sneered, "Would you like to find out yourself?"
Now, it was Karl's face that was twitching unbidden.
"Fucking hell, no!" he shouted. "I don't wanna find out! Go to your fucking seat now, and stop wasting the class' time!"
"Well, you brought it up first, mister," she replied, smirking faintly.
When she turned around, every pair of eyes was on them.
From the front row, Liisi suddenly waved cheerfully at her.
"Sister!" she called. "Come sit with me and my group!"
Kaija stood frozen, considering her choices.
Although she wasn't exactly fond of the idea, if she rejected someone as famous as Liisi in front of this many people, she'd not only embarrass Liisi, but also earn herself a basket of hatred right on her first day.
Reluctantly, she started toward the overly-excited pink-haired girl.
As Kaija took her seat at the front row, Karl took the stage.
The moment Liisi turned her smiley gaze from Kaija to the stage, her smoky brown eyes sparkled with something that resembled admiration as she looked up at Karl.
"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. Now, get your ass up here."
As soon as Karl finished, he 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.
He picked up the mic, and started singing without any background track. Just his raw, powerful, beautiful voice, and a song that Kaija was pretty sure wasn't his.
Of course, Kaija didn't have a single clue what the hell was going on.
"Hey," she leaned over Liisi, "What's going on here?"
"You got your homework, sister?" Liisi asked back.
"What homework?"
"Karl always sends out a homework song before class," Liisi replied cheerfully. "When you come in, you go up on stage and sing. Then he judges you."
Kaija's brow drew together. "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?"
Liisi's voice brightened further. "Karl says it's to train us to sing under pressure. We feel pressured being watched by our peers, and trainees feel pressured being watched by us. It's supposed to make everyone better."
She thanked Liisi and sank back into her chair, a bead of sweat running down her temple.
Not only did she have no preparation and no assigned homework song, but she'd also happened to call the instructor scumand jerk, just yesterday.
Before the singer on stage could even finish, Karl suddenly raised a hand.
The singer stopped mid-line.
"Not bad, but not bearable either," Karl said flatly. "You sing like you're begging the audience to love you. Next."
The next artist went up. Then the next. And then the trainees. Karl's comments only got nastier each time.
"Too mawkish. Next."
"Boring. Next."
"Just give up on singing altogether. Next."
Even Liisi's group was called "tone-deaf, talentless dolls who couldn't do anything right except shake their hips."
Kaija's frown only deepened at Karl's every comment.
At that point, she was fully convinced that not only did the guy have serious ear problems, but being an asshole was also written in his DNA.
He didn't single her out. He simply treated everyone like trash.
Liisi's lovely face was visibly hurt when she left the stage.
"You're okay?" Kaija asked, feeling somewhat sorry for that pretty face.
"It's fine," Liisi quickly replied with a smile, "Karl is always like that. It's his method."
Kaija sighed, giving up on her concerns for Liisi altogether.
The way this girl was defending Karl that much, along with the sparkly way Liisi's eyes became whenever she looked at Karl, Kaija had started suspecting Liisi had something more than admiration for the guy.
Hours later, it was finally Kaija's turn. She was the last one to go, being the newest face in the room.
By then, the air in the room had grown suffocating.
When Karl saw her step onto the stage, his bored face suddenly lit up with malicious interest.