A calendar invite popped up on Helen’s screen, “Team activity,” the subject read as Helen eagerly opened the invite, wanting to know what fun activity her department had planned for her team this time. “Karaoke, seriously,” Helen stood up as she read the words in contemplation, she loved to sing but had never been to a karaoke nor had she ever sang in front of other people, suddenly she felt both excited and nervous as she clicked Accept Invite.

Three weeks later, she and her team were sitting in a dark room, in front of her were plates of hors d’oeuvres – deli meats, chips, and nibbles of a variety of cheeses – while her co-workers prepared to sing. As she ate, she watched her co-workers have fun as they sang their hearts out to songs they seemed to know like they’ve sung the song a thousand times, should I attempt, Helen wondered as she ate, she could just sit there and eat the entire time but at the same time, she really wanted to sing.

A few minutes later, a co-worker handed her the mic, “here, your turn,” she said and began to teach Helen on how to select songs. Several moments later, Helen found a song she knew and hit play and crossed her finger to hope she’s not as tone-deaf as her mother.

Written for Six Sentence Story. The prompt is “Tone”.