Xen

I’m in the breakroom between recording sessions, snacking on red berries the staff brought in. They’re more tart than sweet and every time I bite into one, I cringe. At the same time, the sourness is kind of pleasant.

In walks Gleam and some camera crew. “We’re going to interview you,” she says. “Just be relaxed.”

I don’t know how to be relaxed in front of the camera, but I pretend I do by popping another berry into my mouth. It isn’t my first interview, though. On the first day, they interviewed us individually about the basics: our names, ages, and role in the band. I don’t know what to expect right now, though, and hope they don’t expect anything witty.

“How’s Light City so far?”

“Ah, I haven’t really been out much. Just mainly gone between the dorm and here.”

“What are some Light City landmarks you really want to see?”

“Um…” I shift my eyes. Honestly, I didn’t imagine sight-seeing before I came here. Working with Raine was the only thing on my mind. “LC Tower?”

“What’s your favourite Laeetuni food that you’ve tried so far?”

It’s all pretty mediocre to me, to be honest. I hold up a berry between my fingers.

“How do you like being in the band? What special things have you learned about the members?”

These questions are a bit boring; are fans really interested in this stuff? “I’m grateful they accepted me. I know they were a band of three for four years.” Wait, no, their first year, they had another member on keyboard. “Or three. So I’m thankful for them being so welcoming. As for special things I’ve learned… Uh...” Say something interesting, Xen. “DG likes to sleep in his underwear.”

The camera people and Gleam give small laughs and I wonder if I should lie and say they have bunnies on them or something. Before I can decide, Gleam asks, “Which band member do you want to get closer to?”

“Uh… I want to get closer to all the band members. They’ve been together four years already so I know it’s tough to accept someone who came in unexpectedly. But, I hope we can get closer and live like family.” Finally I can say something honest and easily. “Especially Raine, he's a little scary but he told me he likes me last night, so I think that's a good sign."

The sound of shuffling comes from the doorway and I turn my head to spot none other than the person just mentioned. How long has he been standing there?

“Raine,” Gleam says, waving her arm. “Join in.”

Raine walks over to the table and sits down in the chair beside me.

“What do you think of your new member Xen?”

Raine’s hand goes through his hair. "He's a great addition to the team."

“What about on a personal level?”

My eyes jerk to Gleam. This can’t be approved. Is she trying to start drama?

Raine doesn’t even flinch. His hand goes to my shoulder as he leans closer and says with a smile, “I don’t know Xen that well yet and hope to learn more about him.”

***

After dinner, Vont rounds us up in the center of the common room of our dorm. The couch has been pushed back so we can all sit on the floor. There’s a good meter and a half between me and Raine as he cuddles up to Leela.

“Spread out,” Weyn instructs. “Evenly.”

With a sigh, Raine lifts himself from Leela and scoots over. We’re all about an arms length apart now. Each of us is in casual clothes the stylist prepared. DG has on abstract printed harem pants and a black muscle shirt. Leela is wearing a cropped shirt with a tank underneath and black shorts that are covered by mesh pants. Raine is in a tank top, jacket, and lounge skinnies which look exactly like his daytime wear. And I’m wearing a t-shirt, baggy joggers, and for some reason, a wide headband wrapped around my head, lifting up my bangs. I guess this is the image they want me to have, and I honestly don’t have any problem with it, but I also don’t understand its appeal. I think we’re all supposed to look like we’re chilling before bed, but normally, people wouldn’t wear earrings and makeup to sleep...

“Okay,” Weyn says, “Tonight, we are going to film a special segment. The staff heard the members want to get closer to each other, so we are going to play some games that will increase your bonding.”

The cameras are already rolling, capturing our reactions. DG nods with pursed lips, like he approves and totally understands why they would do this.

Leela grabs Raine’s knee with an excited smile. “We haven’t played games in so long.”

“First,” Weyn says, picking up a box with their hands. “We will play this Earth game. It’s called Jenga.”

The blocks spill out on the floor and a staff member quickly stacks them.

Meanwhile, Weyn explains the rules. “Each of these blocks has a number on it. And each number corresponds to a question we have here.” They point to another staff member with folded pieces of paper lined in front of her. “You have to answer the question. If you pull out a block and knock down the tower, you have to complete a challenge.”

Raine raises his hand. “What if we don’t want to answer the question?”

“Then you'll have to do a challenge. But please be cooperative.”

DG shoots Raine a glare but Raine evades eye contact as if he knew it was coming.

The blocks are stacked now and Weyn moves back behind the camera staff. There are four hovercams in front of us. One is placed right in front of the block tower. Another catches us from the front and two shoot from an angle at the sides of our little arrangement.

“Who goes first?” DG asks.

“How about we do oldest to youngest,” Weyn says.

DG rubs his hands together and scoots closer to the tower. He pulls out an easy one without making the tower shift at all. “Two.” The staff with the papers hands DG a slip labeled 2 and he unfolds it.

“What do you like best about the person to your right?”

We all look at Leela. DG hums, thinking as he looks Leela up and down. After a few seconds, he then places his hand on his chin, his contemplative expression exaggerating.

Leela slaps him on the arm. “Don’t pretend like you can’t think of anything, we’ve been together practically all our lives!”

That’s right. DG and Leela are childhood friends. The fact that Raine only entered their lives four years ago and is this close to them gives me hope.

DG laughs. “She’s a good person.”

Leela rolls her eyes.

“What’s good about her?” Weyn asks.

“Uh… She cares about people. I like that.”

That seems to satisfy Leela as she grins. She pulls a block on the opposite side of DG’s. “15.” After receiving the question, she reads off, “What part of your body do you wash first?”

Raine scowls. “Why do we need to know stuff like that about each other? Who made these questions? Perverts.”

Leela laughs and I can’t tell if Raine was acting and joking for the camera or not. I do have to say, this isn’t what I thought of when I imagined learning more about the members.

“My toes.”

We all double back in shock. “What?”

DG says, “Why would you start with your toes? That’s where you should end.”

“They’re the most important part, so I want to get them clean first.“

Raine shakes his head. “I can’t believe we’re friends. I want out of this band.”

The staff laughs. Now would be a great time for me to say something funny, or anything really. I blurt out the first thing I can think of. “I-isn’t there more important parts than your toes?”

DG and Raine glance down at their laps which causes Leela to double over laughing. Some of the staff are shaking their heads.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that,” I try to recover.

“We were supposed to learn about Leela but I think we learned that our youngest has a dirty mind.”

“I did not say that!” I point at DG, smiling despite myself.

Wayne shoots us a thumbs up from the back. Although I didn't do it on purpose, he likes this sort of interaction. I'll have to keep it up.