The next morning, Niu Nai awoke sluggishly. She let her eyes adjust slowly to the faint daylight peeking through the curtains.

Ouch. Why did it sting?

She rolled over to check the time on her night table clock. Eleven-forty-five AM.

What day is it? she pondered. Still trying to wake up, she wasn't sure of her daily routine, or if she had one today.

Thursday? Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday. What's the plan today? TV appearance? No...day off? Oh, day off! She closed her eyes again.

No wait – rehearsal? Ugh. Wednesday's rehearsal at ten o'clock! Annoyed, she rolled out of bed. Zombie-like, something made her glance back at the clock.

11:47 AM

What?

"Oh crap!" In a flash, she sprinted out of her room, realizing she was late. Then, in a second flash, she remembered where she'd left Zi Lun last night. Had her colleague woken up in time to leave with the others?

Dashing into the living room, she found her friend in practically the same position she'd left her in.

"Zi Lun," she croaked in her barely-awake morning voice.

"Zi Lun," she nudged her. The dozing girl didn't move. Hoping the sudden movement might rouse her, Niu Nai flung the blanket off her friend’s curled-up body. She still didn't budge. Niu Nai was getting nervous.

"Zi Lun, wake up!" she spoke in a slightly louder voice. "Come on, get up! We're in so much ," she shoved her shoulder repeatedly.

"Mmm..." Zi Lun mumbled, and squeezed her eyes more tightly shut.

"Wake up!" Niu Nai's voice finally rumbled with nearly its full force.

"Huh? Quit yelling!" Zi Lun tried to open her peepers, to see who was intruding on her sound sleep.

"," she touched her temple. Shooting pain forced her to keep her eyes shut. "What the hell!" she cursed.

"Zi Lun! You have to get up now!"

Niu Nai’s reluctant coach managed to force one eye open, "Niu Nai?"

Niu Nai was very agitated by now and grabbed her friend by the arms to try and hoist her off the sofa.

"Ouch! Stop pulling me! What the heck's going on?" Zi Lun kept one eye shut.

"It's nearly noon. We had practice at ten. Get your ready. An Na's going to kill us." Niu Nai retreated to her bedroom to get ready. Zi Lun muttered to herself as she stumbled to the bathroom, holding her throbbing head.

* * * * *

On the way to the studio, Niu Nai went through the text messages and missed calls she'd received while she was asleep. Zi Lun had received the two final calls on her own phone. They were not pleasant.

Zi Lun had nagged to stop somewhere for a coffee and muffin, but Niu Nai was too anxious to oblige. Zi Lun instead muttered under her breath the whole way to the studio.

The pair entered the rehearsal wearing their sunglasses and ball caps. Keeping a low profile would be next to impossible. Nevertheless, they bowed their heads, slouched, and more or less just tried to pass unperceived. Zhe Qiao stopped her footwork to give them a look that implied Why did you show up? Idiots, she'll have your hides.

An Na turned off the CD-player. She was surprisingly cool as a cucumber. Perhaps it was because she had already blown up in front of Qiu Qiu and Qiao, hours ago.

All she did was give the latecomers a cold stare and say, "I don't want to know. Get rid of the sunglasses."

The offenders looked at each other and then back at their leader.

An Na said, "Shades: off," and off came the sunglasses. Zi Lun squeezed a knuckle into her temple, and closed her eyes. Niu Nai looked at the floor to avoid the overhead fluorescent lights. As they squinted and squirmed, An Na flipped the CD-player back on, making sure to raise the volume about three notches.

She went right back to whatever steps she and Qiao had been practicing. Zi Lun wheeled round to stick her face in Niu Nai's jacket. The music was horribly loud. She felt her head might split right open.

Qiu Qiu stood between the two pairs, not quite knowing where to place her loyalties.

Zi Lun wanted black coffee and painkillers. And now her stomach was rumbling. She'd have to get through this with no nutrition in her body because Niu Nai hadn't let her make a pit-stop at Starbucks on their way over.

An Na dismissed everyone after an hour, she herself not wanting to pursue more time with unprofessional band members. And it wasn't fair to hold back Qiao and Qiu Qiu, who'd been working for hours already. She asked the stragglers to stay behind, but she wanted to speak to them individually.

Niu Nai seemed slightly more together than Zi Lun, so An Na decided to let the latter suffer the longest. She spoke to Niu Nai first.

"You, of all people?" An Na couldn't hide her disappointment.

Niu Nai looked her right in the eye and said, "I slept in. I'm sorry."

"You're hung over. Both of you. Sleeping in, I can understand. Alarm clock, maybe? Remembering a commitment to a pre-scheduled rehearsal? Advised. Late-night drinking, unacceptable. We already talked about this," An Na was exasperated.

"Boss, there was no late-night drinking. I was in bed before you got home last night. I had two beers." Niu Nai heard herself say this and still wondered if she'd had a third, or if the mystery bottle had indeed been consumed by Zi Lun.

"I was really tired." Niu Nai continued, "During the extra-curricular last night, I even remembered you telling me to get enough rest. I told myself I'd jump into bed directly after the lesson. I must've forgotten to set my alarm, or even what day it was for that matter, because I was exhausted."

"I'm not happy about this, and I'm sure that's obvious. Scolding you won't help. I'm hoping that if you know the kind of thin ice you're now on, you won't let something like this happen again." With that, she walked away to find Zi Lun.

Niu Nai ran nervous fingers through her un-styled hair. Even though it wasn't her fault, she wouldn't rat out her trainer for having force-fed her booze. She could have said no. She could have remembered what day it was and to set her alarm. She of all people couldn't afford to get on An Na's bad side.

In the dressing room, An Na found Zi Lun with her head on the counter. She wasn't sure if she was awake, so rather than playing the blasting-music trick again, she opted for the more humane approach. She gripped the small girl's shoulders. Had they been on better terms, this could have resulted in a quick invigorating massage. Now it was more akin to a momcat grabbing her naughty kitten by the scruff of its neck.

Zi Lun sat up. She was wearing her cap and shades again.

An Na sat next to her.

"Not impressed."

Zi Lun had her eyes shut behind her sunglasses. She said, "I know. I'm sorry. Don't take this out on Niu Nai. It's entirely my fault."

"She didn't set her alarm clock. How is that your fault?" An Na grunted her disapproval.

"Not that. I made us a treat at halftime yesterday. I made alcoholic coffees. She didn't even realize." An Na listened in silence, as Zi Lun continued, "Then I wanted to unwind a bit after our session. She initially refused the beer I offered her. Really. She tried to stay within whatever guidelines I assume you gave her. I was the devil. I was the one that went overboard. I don't even remember what I drank after the second beer."

"You've never done this kind of thing before. You are so hung over. What got into you?" An Na was incredulous.

Zi Lun shook her head. "Ouch!" the subtle head movement was enough to send searing waves of pain through her skull. An Na stood up. She rummaged through a drawer and brought back something for Zi Lun.

"Open your hand," she instructed. Zi Lun obeyed. A bottle of Ibuprofen glowed in her palm like a miniature angel. An Na was up again, but quickly returned with bottled water.

"Thank you," Zi Lun swallowed back two pills. Quietly, she said, "I have no excuse. I just made a mistake and I apologize. Believe me, I'm regretting it now." She pointed to her aching noggin'.

"That's fine, but what about Niu Nai? Do you understand how much you've jeopardized her position in the band? I trusted you to work with her in private. To improve her band participation, not make it worse!"

"Yes. I'm not sure what I can do to make up for it, but please go easy on her. She's been working so hard, and she doesn't want to disappoint you. I'm a rascal and I ed it up for her." Zi Lun knew how to calm her inner-clown when she needed to.

"I know you didn't mean harm, so I don't want to be rough with either of you. Sneaking booze into her coffee and then feeding her beer was childish. It's her responsibility to make every possible effort to hang onto her position in this band. I’d hoped you'd be responsible to acknowledge her efforts by not hindering them. Next time you want to act frivolous, please don't include Niu Nai. Her situation is too precarious, okay?"

Zi Lun nodded, carefully.

"How's your melon?" An Na asked.

"Still pounding."

"Have you eaten today?" An Na was sure she'd had no time.

"Not a crumb," Zi Lun stated.

An Na extended a peace offering. "Early dinner's on me. As long as we're clear."

"Clear," Zi Lun said, "But don't you think it would be nice to ask Niu Nai to join us?"

An Na checked her watch. Not much time had elapsed, but Niu Nai had probably dashed by now.

"Do you want to call her and see where she's at?"

"I think she'd be happier if the call came from you," Zi Lun suggested.

Exiting the building, An Na and Zi Lun found Niu Nai smoking her first cigarette of the day.

"Good, you're still here. Saves me a phone call," An Na stated.

Niu Nai mentally ducked, awaiting another blow from the boss. She was pleasantly surprised to discover she was merely being asked to dinner.

"Peace," An Na smiled. Niu Nai cautiously returned the smile.