Wednesday,” Paige suggested, and
Claire nodded, excitedly.
“Yeah. Whereabouts
do you live?”
“Selhurst,” Paige
said instantly. “In the High Street. Above the pound shop.” Claire
giggled and Paige nodded. “Yeah I know. Real classy!”
* *
* * *
“Wow!” Claire said
the moment she entered the small bedroom. Although the room was
cramped with a bunk bed to her right and posters of pop stars and
film celebrities on the wardrobe door, there was a big karaoke
machine taking pride of place in the corner of the bedroom. “How
did you get that from the pub?”
“I wheeled it on a
supermarket trolley,” the girl told her proudly. “I had seen it and
wanted it when we were in the pub for a birthday party. Someone my
Dad knows turned sixty or something, but the moment the posters
went up to say the place was shutting, I just had to go and get it.
It'd only've gone to the tip.” Claire listened, and Paige snorted.
“I met two guys with knives as I left. They scared the hell out of
me, but they just went in to try and get some booze. Didn't give a
monkeys 'bout the karaoke machine.”
“Did they find
any?”
“What? You think I
stayed to find out?” Claire giggled, and Paige pulled a laptop out
of the cupboard and set it up on the floor. The fan strained and
whined as it booted up; it was old, but once it had loaded, the
hostess set up the output from the karaoke machine to go into the
laptop and passed Claire a chunky microphone. “What shall we start
with?”
The folder
containing the CDs was huge and Claire started leafing through
them. She selected Katy Perry's Teenage Dream; it was one of the
few disks containing songs from the past eighteen months, but
despite Paige's selection of disks leanings towards older music,
Claire was still in awe at the choice open to her.
Claire and Paige
sang well, but when they replayed the recording, their voices were
“clipping” and Paige had to turn a few buttons. They tried again,
and although they sounded OK on the recording, there was crackling
and interference coming from the laptop.
Claire didn't care
and just enjoyed spending time with Paige who, after messing up
three songs in succession apologised to her friend and removed her
trousers, shirt and underwear. “I can't sing with clothes on,” she
told her friend. “It's not right. I always do it naked. It's why I
froze on the school talent night.”
Claire giggled,
and Paige told her to try singing without any clothes on. Claire
hesitated, the last time she started getting undressed at someone's
house she was accused by the parents of trying to seduce their
offspring. She had no intention of seducing Paige, but had no idea
what her friend's parents would say if they came in!
“It's much
better,” Paige promised her and to prove a point selected Sinead
O'Connor on the karaoke machine, before singing it pitch-perfect.
Claire was spellbound at her talented friend's voice as her hairs
on her arm stood up.
“You should record
some of this,” she told her. “I mean properly. I play the electric
guitar. If we could get someone on the keyboard, your vocals are
just incredible.” Paige blushed so that her cheeks matched her
hair.
“Well it's just to
chill. I'm not that good.”
“You are, I know
it's just an escape. But … wow!”
“You could sing
just as well, you just need to strip off. Try it,” Paige encouraged
her with a grin and Claire relented. She gently folded her clothes
and put them on the bottom bunk before attempting Whitney Houston's
signature ballad. She cringed when it was played back to her, and
Paige smiled. “Better at Pop and Rock?” She teased, and Claire
nodded.
“But I get it,
it's good to sing naked.” She closed her eyes for a moment and
hummed. “You know, I wonder if we could get access to a recording
studio you could do something and put it on iTunes or
something.”
“We could do stuff
together,” Paige suggested. “I dunno. I don't think I'm that good
to
Claire nodded, excitedly.
“Yeah. Whereabouts
do you live?”
“Selhurst,” Paige
said instantly. “In the High Street. Above the pound shop.” Claire
giggled and Paige nodded. “Yeah I know. Real classy!”
* *
* * *
“Wow!” Claire said
the moment she entered the small bedroom. Although the room was
cramped with a bunk bed to her right and posters of pop stars and
film celebrities on the wardrobe door, there was a big karaoke
machine taking pride of place in the corner of the bedroom. “How
did you get that from the pub?”
“I wheeled it on a
supermarket trolley,” the girl told her proudly. “I had seen it and
wanted it when we were in the pub for a birthday party. Someone my
Dad knows turned sixty or something, but the moment the posters
went up to say the place was shutting, I just had to go and get it.
It'd only've gone to the tip.” Claire listened, and Paige snorted.
“I met two guys with knives as I left. They scared the hell out of
me, but they just went in to try and get some booze. Didn't give a
monkeys 'bout the karaoke machine.”
“Did they find
any?”
“What? You think I
stayed to find out?” Claire giggled, and Paige pulled a laptop out
of the cupboard and set it up on the floor. The fan strained and
whined as it booted up; it was old, but once it had loaded, the
hostess set up the output from the karaoke machine to go into the
laptop and passed Claire a chunky microphone. “What shall we start
with?”
The folder
containing the CDs was huge and Claire started leafing through
them. She selected Katy Perry's Teenage Dream; it was one of the
few disks containing songs from the past eighteen months, but
despite Paige's selection of disks leanings towards older music,
Claire was still in awe at the choice open to her.
Claire and Paige
sang well, but when they replayed the recording, their voices were
“clipping” and Paige had to turn a few buttons. They tried again,
and although they sounded OK on the recording, there was crackling
and interference coming from the laptop.
Claire didn't care
and just enjoyed spending time with Paige who, after messing up
three songs in succession apologised to her friend and removed her
trousers, shirt and underwear. “I can't sing with clothes on,” she
told her friend. “It's not right. I always do it naked. It's why I
froze on the school talent night.”
Claire giggled,
and Paige told her to try singing without any clothes on. Claire
hesitated, the last time she started getting undressed at someone's
house she was accused by the parents of trying to seduce their
offspring. She had no intention of seducing Paige, but had no idea
what her friend's parents would say if they came in!
“It's much
better,” Paige promised her and to prove a point selected Sinead
O'Connor on the karaoke machine, before singing it pitch-perfect.
Claire was spellbound at her talented friend's voice as her hairs
on her arm stood up.
“You should record
some of this,” she told her. “I mean properly. I play the electric
guitar. If we could get someone on the keyboard, your vocals are
just incredible.” Paige blushed so that her cheeks matched her
hair.
“Well it's just to
chill. I'm not that good.”
“You are, I know
it's just an escape. But … wow!”
“You could sing
just as well, you just need to strip off. Try it,” Paige encouraged
her with a grin and Claire relented. She gently folded her clothes
and put them on the bottom bunk before attempting Whitney Houston's
signature ballad. She cringed when it was played back to her, and
Paige smiled. “Better at Pop and Rock?” She teased, and Claire
nodded.
“But I get it,
it's good to sing naked.” She closed her eyes for a moment and
hummed. “You know, I wonder if we could get access to a recording
studio you could do something and put it on iTunes or
something.”
“We could do stuff
together,” Paige suggested. “I dunno. I don't think I'm that good
to
Similar Books
