Stubborn

Mai won’t let a man tell her what to do. Raja never took the hint. Of course he wouldn’t. Why would he? He was a man. That was their nature. He wanted her to get married and have kids. Mai wanted her music. Neither wanted to back down.

“You already?” Subaru asked. The vocalist stiffened in place.

“Yes,” she said. She took hold of the mic. This was a big crowd this morning. Time to get to work.

“One! Two! Three! Four!” Yoko shouted as she clapped her drumsticks together. The music started up. Mai got lost in the notes. This was her. She has always loved to sing. It allowed her to be free. Yes, this was the real her. Why couldn’t Raja see that?

Her notes became sharp as they floated through the air. Everything came out. Rage, frustration, stress, anger towards men. It came out in the words and notes. Everyone loved it. Mai didn’t care. She did for her.

“Why are your songs so angry all the time?” a male reporter asked one day. Mai frowned.

“Because I am angry,” she said.

“Why?” he asked. Mai snorted.

“Why? Why?” she asked. “What kind of question is that?” The vocalist clicked her tongue.

“Calm down, Mai,” Kasumi whispered. The older woman glared at her. Her bassist drew back her hand.

Anger problem. That’s what they called it. So disgusting. Would they say that if she was a man? Probably not. Of course they wouldn’t. Women couldn’t get angry. Oh no. Women had to sit down, be nice and be quiet. That thought made her want to vomit.

The final notes came out ran and violent. Yes! This was it! The rise needed an escape. Here it came. The girls braced themselves. Mai took in a deep breath.

There it was. That famous loud last note in “Creep Rage”. Mai dropped the mic. Her lips curved into a smile. Oh yes. Nailed it.

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Isao has heard this song before. So crass. So angry. Why was she so angry? Who did this to her? He shook his head.

“Why is she always this mad?” Hideki asked. The vocalist shrugged. What could he say? Mai was one angry woman.

Still, he couldn’t take his attention away from her. Such anger. Such… passion.

Meanwhile, Mai grinned to herself. She braced herself for the next song. Rage was building. This would be a three-song set. It would be easy to burn off the rage. The trick would be to keep it going. Mai knew that she could do it. She had plenty of anger left over after all.

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Meanwhile, Raja sot to quail that anger. Only then could he really be happy.

“When can you start?” he asked.

“Right away,” the matchmaker said. Raja grinned.

“Excellent,” he said.