ArchivedLogs:Zero Points

Zero Points
Dramatis Personae Pedro, Yuehai	2016-05-31 "The only pest here is you, mi amigo."
Location
Despite its dingey exertior and shady-plush interior, this is broadly acknowledged to be one of the best karaoke places in Manhattan. The main entrance is at the basement level, and opens into a bar with two screens for open karaoke. The song selection is extremely eclectic and spotty, but generally covers English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Catonese top 40s from the last few decades. If you've got a group of friends and some cash to spend, you can get your own private room and wail away to your heart's content. There is even a VIP lounge on the top floor. "Did you think I crumble? Did you think I lie down and die?" The girl at the microphone is wearing a ruffly royal purple sun dress, matching strappy sandals and a look of intense concentration as she tries to keep up with the lyrics on the screen. "Oh no, not I. I will survive! Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I wi-stay alive." Yuehai's accent is only partly disguised by the music and the fumbling "I got all my life to live, and I got all my love to give. I'll survive, I will survive..." The song mercifully draws to a close before she starts falling behind by entire words, and she looks deeply relieved as she takes a deep bow before fleeing the stage (tripping on the steps as she descends, though she recovers without a spill). She finds a spot at the bar and orders a rum and coke, which a tall blond man sitting beside her promptly indicates should go on his tab. "Oh no, you do not need to do that," she blurts, smiling broadly. "I pay for my own drinks, yes." With a small bow. The man shakes his head. "Pretty little thing like you shouldn't need to. Consider it my treat for the lovely singing." He leans in closer, though he doesn't lower his voice /very/ much as he adds, "You've got a talented tongue." Yuehai stares at the man blankly, holding herself straighter. "{Thank you,}" comes out in short, clipped Mandarin. "English is a very difficult language." "I can give you lessons," the man offers eagerly. "I've got a pretty talented tongue, myself..." The bat-mutant carefully eases his way though the crowd, studiously avoiding eye contact with people. The girl at the microphone causes him to slow a little, and the song makes him grin. He makes his way to the bar while she works through the end of the song. The young man is already sipping at his rum and coke when she settles in beside him. While he appears to not be paying attention, the large ears give him away, and they flick in annoyance when the other man's goal becomes clearer. However, the woman doesn't appear to be annoyed by him, and so Pedro remains quiet, taking a longer sip at his drink. The man's last comment draws a noisy snort from the bat, and when he glances over at the man with the talented tongue, he rolls his eyes heavily. Yuehai does not seem to have understoood what the blond man meant, or if she did she only frowns at him. She looks over her shoulder at Pedro when he snorts, her eyes going wide when they take in his huge ears. She bows and starts to mumble something that would have probably become an apology if it had gotten so far, but right then the bartender delivers the drink she'd ordered and she thanks him profusey in Mandarin instead. The man who had been hitting on her looks past her at Pedro, as well, his mouth twisting into a sneer. "Looks like this place has a pest problem. You want me to get rid of Mickey Mouse for you, baby?" "I like rodents," Yuehai replies deadpan, not missing a beat. "And I am /not/ your 'baby.'" The blond raises his eyebrows, "Not yet you aren't, but give me a whirl, and I'll have you singing a different tune." Pedro smiles lightly when the woman looks over, and he shakes his head to her apology. He looks away a moment while she speaks to the bartender, but the man's comment causes the bat-mutant to look over again. "The only pest here is you, mi amigo. It's a known fact that liars have short tongues." Pedro casually sticks his out, rather lengthy due to his infusion of bat genetics. "And short tongues mean short penises. At least you have long fingers, so you're not totally useless sexually. Why don't you go bother someone who's actually in your league?" Yuehai's eyes open very, very wide when Pedro speaks. Her expression very slowly moves from one of surprise adn confusion to vague horror, and she leans back just a fraction when the bat-like young man sticks out his tongue. "Watch it, freak," the blond man growls, tossing back the rest of his drink (something fizzy and clear). He throws his shoulders back to emphasize his musculature, which is admittedly impressive. "At least I'm going for someone in my own species." Yuehai eyes darting between the two men to either side of her like a dog at a tennis game. "Oh, oh no. I don't know if I'm in your league but I am not on your team. No men! No matter how long your...uh...tongue." Pedro raises an eyebrow at the woman a moment, and his eyes reflect the realization of his error. "I'm not actually hitting on you, or uh, trying to score or something. Just trying to uh.. shoo this creep away." The bat-mutant looks to the blond man and shrugs. "We're all humans, just some are uglier than others." Looking back to the woman. "I do apologize for my behaviour. I know I look, well, like a freak, I didn't mean to scare you." "Stay out of my business, bat-boy. Where do you get off calling yourself human when you look like /that/?" The blond man shakes his head, and studies Yuehai thoughtfully. "Nah, you're way too pretty to be a lesbian. You just haven't had anyone do it to you /right/." He rises and extends a hand to her. "C'mon, baby, let's ditch this freak." Yuehai bows to Pedro. "Ah, {many thanks}. I misunderstood -- both of you, I guess. Sometimes the language is challenging. Maybe my tongue is not enough talented." There's just a hint of a smile on her lips here. But to the blond she says. "I think I will stay here. Have a good evening." She bows again as the blond stalks off in disgust. "I am glad you are not trying to score." She lowers her voice confidentially. "You would not get very many points." Pedro grins as the other man stalks off, but his face grows more serious when he looks back to her. "Be watchful when you leave tonight, okay? Chances are that dude will find some other woman to take home, but I would not put it past him to try something stupid later. Though, I probably drew more attention to myself." He nods to her and shrugs. "Eh. I don't score a lot of points with most people. No worries." His ears perk up as another song begins to play, a drunken man's rendition of 'Dragostea din tei'. Surprisingly, he seems to speak Romanian, Not so surprisingly, he is off key. The crowd begins to sing along as best they can. Smiling once more, he looks back to Yuehai, and offers up his hand-wing. "My name's Pedro. It is nice to meet you, though I wish that you hadn't been disturbed by either of us tonight." He nods in the direction the blonde man took off in. "Oh, I will watch, then," Yuehai says very seriously. "I do not know this man, but hopefully he understand I want nothing to do with him." As the song picks up, she does not sing along, but she does bob her head enthusiastically. "Points are ah...how you say? Overrated." She looks down at his hand, then at the wing attached to it, but finally does shake it, only a touch awkwardly, the grip of her hand uncetain. "I am Yuehai, and I am not disturbed. Well." She blushes. Ducks her head. "Maybe just a /little/ bit disturbed." His grip is firm, but warm, and he lets go rather quickly, hiding both his hands in the long sleeves of the grey hoodie he wears. Pedro chuckles, "Forgive me my crudeness, but guys like that get rather insulted if you imply that they have a small thingy, you know? I figured he was either going to leave, or start a fight, and at least then he'd get kicked out. At least now you can have a few drinks, relax, and sing some songs in peace." The bat mutant is quiet for a short bit before he looks over at her again. "Do you really like rodents? Like mice? Or uh, bats?" "I am sure it was not so crude by American standards, but I am still very new here." Yuehai finally starts in on her drink. "Maybe I will try another song after this." She swishes the lquid in the glass gently. "But I do. I have two pet rats!" Her smile brightens as she digs out her smartphone. "Here, I'll show you pictures..." Pedro nods slowly to her, "It must be quite the shock, the differences in culture, si? Hopefully you won't judge us too harshly based on my behaviour tonight." At the mention of pet rats, he grins. "Really? That's cool!" The batty one leans in to see. "What are their names?"