Chapter 124 - False Friends

A month passed by without much incident and Scarlet was happy that she was able to walk without the help of crutches at last. The young writer had immediately signed up for weekly hip-hop dance classes with Alex when her sister expressed an interest in it.

Jasper was looking better now after learning the basics about how accounts worked. It was a very tough first two weeks as an intern with the company when he was thrown into the finance department without any knowledge about what journal entries were. Wilmer and Orita decided to sign Jasper up for some classes about basic excel uses and bookkeeping classes for beginners on the days that he wasn't working as an intern.

Orita decided to drag Scarlet along for a few sessions of martial art classes given by Claire instead of attending the boring physiotherapy classes. The head maid didn't go easy on either of her students so Orita quit after two classes while Scarlet stayed for six until she was able to run again. Wilmer forbade the maid from teaching his girls martial arts after that, fearing that they would transform into muscular swimsuit models.

For some reason, that strange development made even Wilmer excited about the band. He started talking about it to everyone. Orita wasn't any better. Everywhere these two proud parents went, they would tell everyone about their adorable children.

After showing some director and producer the video of Britannia's band practice, the children were told to submit their demo tracks for an audition. Naturally, Orita didn't hesitate to support Lin Lin when the girl brought up wanting to record their very first song in a studio. Wilmer was very busy with work so Orita took it upon herself to arrange everything with Jenna's help.

The three children were quickly measured for tailored clothing and Mrs Wilde called for Mr Leonce Le Beau to help them with the makeup and styling. Jenna arranged for professional photographers to do a private photoshoot in the penthouse's library.

Alex was most thrilled with her image that Lin Lin proposed. Mr Le Beau didn't disappoint with androgynous fashion. Jasper didn't look too different and refused all sorts of hair products when the stylist proposed it. He wanted to keep his eyes covered behind that thick wall of hair no matter what so the stylist had to relent but compromised by musing the thick straight bangs into something wavier that gave better dimension, suiting the look better. Jasper looked like a young noble vampire and perfected that mysterious vibe. Scarlet's design was a little more complicated to perfect because of her dollish features. Eventually, Lin Lin helped Le Beau decide on a lolita doll image that turned out to be a huge hit.

Wilmer cried when he saw the pictures of the photoshoot, feeling regretful that he wasn't there to witness it. He also cried when Alex told him she didn't want to wear skirts when she played the guitar. Orita had to drag her husband away to give the three children some space that evening. When Scarlet showed Debbie her photograph, the editor was pleasantly impressed by how doll-like Scarlet looked.

"I didn't think it was possible for a human to look like this... if you want to enter the entertainment industry, I think all three of you would excel very well," she smiled.

Scarlet was slightly conflicted. During the excitement of recording their first song, Scarlet started working on more lyrics even without Lin Lin's prompting. However, she wanted to listen to what Debbie had to say about it.

"Could you look over these lyrics I wrote? I don't know much about poetry but I'm hoping you might..."

Debbie looked through the five sets of lyrics and made some comments at the side.

"I think you have a very bright future more than just a writer. Your creativity knows no bounds and although you don't study literature or poetry, you did rather well on these. I can feel the raw passion coming from your heart through these words. The choice of words is explosive even if the rhyming sense is simple. All you need to take note of when writing lyrics and poems is the tempo. There are too many syllabi in the line before the chorus so unless you want to create a rap or a rushed build-up, I would recommend avoiding that."

Scarlet took down notes attentively and thanked the editor before revising the lyrics. She was excited about the band's activities. Jasper had taken to practising with them after he settled down with his internship's workload. Alex took an interest in dancing and keeping fit more than ever, even going as far as to study fashion. Orita noticed the change in her daughter who was beginning to take art out of the drawing block and canvases. If one didn't know better, they would start to think that Alex was at the age where she wanted to dress up beautifully to impress boys. Instead, Scarlet knew better. Alex was trying to transform herself into a work of art to express her artistic ideas better.

The recording session was four hours long with Jasper recording first, Alex second and Scarlet last. Lin Lin was equally excited at getting to direct a recording session for the first time. There was a very experienced sound engineer working with them in the studio who was rather impressed with the four children. Lin Lin's directing was professional and on point while all three band members worked efficiently without much drama.

A long-awaited week later, the finalised demo track was sent to the Wildes. Lin Lin was invited to listen to the end product and was very excited. Elfie had already started a live sharing session in the chatroom so that the E.C. Class and Special Class could enjoy it together.

The song's title was "False Friends" and Lin Lin decided to start it with a soft background of solemn violin with the light melody of the piano before bringing the heavy beat of drums and the high tension of guitar. Scarlet felt her heart pounding at the introduction and held her breath, not knowing how she would end up sounding in the demo track. She remembered having to sing each line repeatedly, some more than twenty times to get the best take. Lin Lin told her to leave everything else to the editors but Scarlet didn't know if it would sound good.

As the guitar dulled and the drums slowed, Scarlet's clear voice rang out and filled the room, robbing everyone's breath away with just the first verse.

Song Title: False Friends

Composed by: Lin Lin

Lyrics by: Scarlet Wilde

Performed by: Britannia

V1

She said she will not betray me

When haters come to hate me

So why is it when they come flocking

On the other side is where she's mocking?

Pre-Chorus

Trust no one, trust no one

The voices in my head were right

Trust no one, trust no one

They're all wolves in sheep disguise

Chorus

"False friends! False friends!"

The ravens cried

Why didn't I listen to their warning?

"False friends! False friends!"

The angels lied

When they said I could count on another

V2

He tells me we're in this together

That he would never tell the teacher

So why is my homework in his handwriting

While mine just a copy of his denying?

Repeat Pre-Chorus

Repeat Chorus

Bridge

Friendsh.i.p.s are fleeting

Like flowers that bloom in spring

False friends can't hurt me more than loneliness

Is that why I continue to seek forgiveness?

Repeat Chorus

End

Unlike the children who applauded the success of that demo track, Orita and Jenna looked slightly worried when they heard the lyrics written by Scarlet. None of the a.d.u.l.ts was expecting such dark emotions and thoughts. Hearing it was worrying but nobody knew what to do about it. Bringing up the topic of seeing a psychologist might not sit well with Scarlet who was still looking very vibrant on the outside. The song spoke of teenage angst and Orita quickly brushed it aside. It might be Scarlet's puberty and teenage rebellion that influenced her to write such lyrics. She showed no other signs of being depressed so far so the heiress decided to turn a blind eye to the matter and plastered a smile on her face to congratulate the children.

Claire's eyes never left Scarlet and the head maid wondered if she should try to subtly help Scarlet out emotionally. Those insecurities that Scarlet faced would eventually turn into demons that would paralyse her if not dealt with properly in the early stages. Mrs Wilde didn't look like she wanted to do anything about it and continued pretending that everything in her family was a bed of roses. Jenna would never do anything against her mistress' wishes and Wilmer wasn't observant enough to identify the problems.

Deciding to take the gamble, Claire wondered if she should inform Orita and Wilmer about her intentions or keep it from them. Scarlet blushed under the praises of the song's success as both the vocalist and lyricist. The young writer's happiness at the acceptance made Claire hold back. She couldn't tell Orita or Wilmer... the song wasn't simply about false friends. If the Wilde's started taking action to pry into the girl's mind when she was just beginning to warm up to them, it could have the opposite effect. No, Claire would do this discreetly.

Orita and Lin Lin decided to download a copy of the song and try sending it to various entertainment companies alongside the photos taken from the photoshoot to see if Britannia can secure a debut.

Jasper didn't seem to object to the idea but Alex looked slightly uneasy with her level of proficiency with the guitar. Lin Lin assured Alex that she was good enough and only needed a little more practice. The androgynous girl smiled and agreed.

Jenna called for pizza to celebrate the very first recorded song that evening and Elfie grinned. There was never a dull day with the Wilde's.