"Okay, is everyone here already?" Manna shouted, clapping her hands together as we gathered near the bus. “Keiko, Ruka, Miko, Aki, Ryuko, Suzuka.”

“Here!” we all replied in unison.

“And… Nani, Moana, Kiana,” she continued.

"YES!!" came the enthusiastic, overly cheerful reply in perfect English. I blinked. Did they rehearse that?

Keiko, standing near them, smiled. She looked calm and natural. I always knew Keiko was smart, but seeing her casually chat in fluent English with the Hawaiian staff trio made my jaw slightly drop. Apparently, she had trained them last year. Huh. Sensei Keiko.

“Okay! Did you guys already introduce yourselves to each other?” Manna asked. “I don’t want this company trip to be awkward.”

Aki, in full social butterfly mode, beamed. “Of course!”

Then she turned to the trio and, without a hint of shame, blurted out in the thickest Japanese-English accent I’ve ever heard,

“Hai eburywan! Mai nemu ish Aki! You can coru mi Aki! Naish tu mieet you!!”

I… I almost dropped my bag. Suzuka coughed, trying not to laugh. Miko gasped in secondhand embarrassment, clutching her face like someone just slapped her with an English textbook.

To my shock, the Hawaiian girls clapped. Nani replied brightly, “Nice to meet you, Aki!”

Moana gave her a thumbs up. Kiana giggled and said something I didn’t catch, probably too fast and too fluent.

“Wow Aki, that’s confidence,” Suzuka whispered behind her hand.

“She needs subtitles though,” Miko whispered back.

“I’m next!” Miko piped up, switching to her awkward, textbook-like English. “Hello. Mai name Miko. I amu veryu happyu tou meetu you!”

“...Okay that was worse than Aki,” Suzuka snorted.

Suzuka then stepped up. “Hai, mai name izu Suzuka. I rikeu pineapple.”

“What the hell—” I started, then remembered Suzuka probably just panicked.

I followed next, trying to keep it normal. “Hi, I’m Ryuko. Nice to meet you.”

“Hi, Ryuko! Nice to meet you too!” Nani said warmly. “Hope we can all be friends!” Moana added. Kiana nodded with a gentle smile.

Then, of course, Aki opened her mouth again.

“Wow Ryuko! Your pronounciaton ish bery gutto!! You mustu beu secretu native speakeru!!” she said with anime sparkle eyes and way too much volume.

“P-please don’t exaggerate,” I said, hiding my face as Suzuka and Miko giggled like mad.

---

We all climbed into the bus. Keiko, naturally, had to sit near the front to assist Manna. That meant the rest of us had to scramble for whatever seats we could.

I secretly prayed I’d sit alone. Two hours, I thought. Just two peaceful hours. I spotted a seat and slid into it quickly, but I saw the reality of the situation.

The bus was almost full. Which meant… someone was going to sit next to me.

My eyes darted anxiously around like a small animal sensing danger. Not Aki. Please not Aki.

Then I saw her—Aki—already sitting with Suzuka. They were already trying to connect their phones to the speaker, and that should’ve been my first warning sign.

Then came a familiar voice. “Is this seat empty?”

I looked up in relief. “Oh! Ruka. Yeah, sit here!”

She smiled, sitting next to me. I gently helped her with her bag. “If you need anything, just tell me, okay?”

She gave me a soft glance, surprised. “Thanks.”

Ruka drifted off to sleep almost immediately. That girl was like a cat: quiet, graceful, and immune to chaos.

Then I checked my phone and saw 20+ unread messages. I sighed. It was Junpei. Again.

He was texting every two minutes asking about Ruka. Where is she? Is she okay? Did she eat? Why isn’t she replying—it’s already been 5 minutes?! Is she kidnapped?!

I replied:

She’s sleeping. Calm down.

Then turned my phone off, leaned my head back, and tried to nap.

But... I couldn’t.

Why?

Because chaos was coming.

---

“ALRIGHT! WELCOME TO THE FIRST-EVER MANNA'S KITCHEN KARAOKE COMPETITION!!” Aki announced from somewhere in the middle of the bus, using a water bottle as a mic.

“Oh no,” I muttered. Ruka was still peacefully dozing next to me like she had noise-canceling dreams.

“First challenger: Miko-chan!” Aki announced.

Miko stood up dramatically like a soldier going to war. She took the mic and belted out a horrifyingly loud and slightly tone-deaf rendition of "Let It Go."

Suzuka clapped like an MC, “Wow! That was like… Elsa after eating wasabi!”

Next, Suzuka took the mic and started singing “A Whole New World,” but halfway, she forgot the lyrics and replaced everything with random food names.

“Don’t you dareu closed youru eyes… I’ll give you curry and fries…”

I buried my face into my bag. Please make it stop.

Then came Aki’s turn.

“THIS SONG IS DEDICATED TO MY ENGLISH TEACHER IN HIGH SCHOOL WHO SAID I’LL NEVER MAKE IT.”

She danced to “Uptown Funk” with… interpretive movements. She did the worm in the aisle. Then she started headbanging.

Even the Hawaiian trio—Nani, Moana, and Kiana—got caught up in the chaos, laughing and clapping as they joined the karaoke madness with surprising energy, trying to mimic Aki’s wild dance moves and belting out English pop songs with adorable accents.

That’s when it happened.

BANG!

Aki hit her forehead on the side of a seat and went down.

“Oh my god!” Miko screamed.

Everyone froze.

Then Aki slowly sat up, holding her head. “…Did I win?”

“No,” Suzuka said solemnly. “You won our respect.”

Manna yelled from the front, “KEEP IT DOWN, WE’RE ALMOST THERE!!”

That ended the karaoke.

Bless you, Aki’s forehead.

---

We finally arrived.

Keiko stood up at the front, looking way too fresh for someone who just survived nearly two hours of musical crimes.

“We’ve arrived! Please mind your belongings and your step as you get off the bus!” she said cheerfully.

I, however, was a zombie. I hadn’t slept a single second thanks to the chaos trio’s full-volume concert.

And Ruka?

She was stretching and yawning like she had just napped on a cloud.

“…You didn’t hear any of that?” I asked her weakly.

“Hear what?” she blinked.

I wanted to scream.