Chapter 40

It's late afternoon by the time we get back to Lori's and we are all bushed. The events of last night catching up with us and our stomachs growling over the lack of food whilst we have been out. The majority of the purchases have been taken back to the Savoy where Ji-Ho and Min-Jun are still staying. They will pack them up and put them on a plane back to Korea. The boys have just bought a few bits back that they want to keep with them.

We decide to order in from the Korean takeaway that Jimin and I tried last week. Lori is excited to try the cuisine. We are all sitting in the living room, me and my two boys on one sofa, and Lori and Yoongi on the other. We are chilling and have music on in the background and Namjoon mentions my ability to rap. I quickly deflect from a conversation about myself and shout "but she can sing!" throwing a finger in Lori's direction.

She sits upright and holds her hands up shaking her head. "No I can't. I might be able to hold a note but I'm nowhere near a professional!" She slings me an angry face but then softens and sticks her tongue out before calling me a bitch and laughing. "What a double act you two would be then" Namjoon says. "A singer and a rapper".

We both laugh and tell them a story about a school talent show. We were 14 and entered as a duo. Lori was to sing and I was to rap. We had scoured the internet trying to find a good song but drawn a blank. Lori's older sister Mollie had said we should sing Waterfalls by TLC as there was a rap in that, and it would be perfect. Lori is the youngest of 3 girls and there is 16 years between her and Mollie and 8 years between her and her middle sister Mackenzie. I remember having a conversation with Lori once where she was so annoyed at her Mum for giving her sisters such great names and then lumbering her with Lorraine. By all accounts she was named after her Mums Aunty that she was very close with, but as soon as humanly possible started asking everyone to call her Lori and I don't think many people actually know her real name.

We had practiced this song for weeks, getting quite good at it and feeling really proud of ourselves, but come the day of the performance I had gotten so nervous I threw up backstage and then like the dickhead I am, I had slipped over in it and given myself concussion so we couldn't go on, instead having to head to A&E. We were both laughing hard remembering back 10 years ago when Jimin excitedly shouts "perform it now for us!"

Oh shit. Who brought up this conversation. I want to hit them I thought. I look at her with fear in my eyes and she stands up, holds out her hands to me and says "come on, we owe it to the 14 year old girls we used to be" and chuckles.

We ask Alexa to play the version from the album Crazy Sexy Cool and she begins to play. Lori taking the T-Boz and Chilli parts and I try to harmonise with her where I can. Then comes up the Lisa "left eye" Lopez part where I get to let loose. We get through the song unscathed and Alexa stops. We start laughing but the boys clap and whoop in appreciation. We high five each other, pleased we impressed them and sit down.