The Future of Sulani | 5
Another day, another visit to the laundromat. It's amazing how much more quickly the laundry seems to pile up when your parents are no longer doing it for you. Speaking of parents, Nani and Malia bump into Noelani's mom, Gaby, who's decided to check out the new coffee shop now that the initial hype has calmed down.
"Oh, I miss having you girls over at the house!" Gaby exclaims. "You know you're welcome to visit any time. It's so much quieter now without Noelani around. I'm even starting to miss the constant stream of music blaring from behind their bedroom door at nearly all hours of the day."
She sighs thoughtfully. "I was a real rabble-rouser in my youth, you know. I miss those days sometimes. But Alvin says we're too old to be getting up to any trouble now. He's probably right."
Suddenly, Malia's eyes light up with a mischievous glint. "Oh my god, I just had a brilliant idea! You don't have anything important to do tonight, do you, Mrs. 'Aukai? We should totally go over to the bar and pester Noelani for free drinks! They love it when we do that."
"Now you're speaking my language, girl. Let's go! And, please, I've told you a million times, call me Gaby. Don't make me feel any older than I really am!"
The minute they see their friends sauntering up to the bar, Noelani rolls their eyes and heaves an exaggerated sigh. "What, you guys are roping my mom into your shenanigans now, too? You do realize all these 'free drinks' of yours get taken off my paycheck at the end of the week, right?"
"Make it a double round, bartender!" Malia shouts, blatantly ignoring Noelani's lack of enthusiasm. "We came to party tonight!"
"Fine." Noelani pulls out a pint glass and begins filling it. "But you're getting the cheap stuff. We do have bills to pay, after all."
"It's nice to see you, honey," Gaby quietly interjects.
"It's nice to see you, too, Mom," Noelani mumbles under their breath.
"Slow down, girls!" Gaby looks on in mild horror as Malia and Nani chug their beers one after the other. "You're going to make yourselves sick."
"There's no time to waste," Malia exclaims between breathless gulps. "We've got to lock down that karaoke machine before anyone else can steal it!"
"Anyway, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" Nani adds before moving onto her second pint.
Gaby forces down another swallow of the cheap, rather awful tasting brew. "I may regret this in the morning, but just give me a minute. I'll catch up with you in no time!"
"Oh, great," Noelani quips from behind the bar. "It's bad enough dealing with your drunk, off-key asses driving away business all night long, but now I have to witness you corrupting my mother, too."
"Oh, please." Gaby slams down her pint glasses, both empty. "I regret to inform you, sweetheart, but that shipped sailed long ago. Now who's ready for some karaoke?"
Malia squeals excitedly, and the two of them skitter away.
Malia, on the other hand, doesn't have much extra thought to devote to dating or romance. Her newfound spiritual enlightenment has begun to positively impact other areas of her life. For example, she's never felt such a clarity of vision in her painting before. Suddenly, she's producing her best work ever! More importantly, it feels like meaningful work, like she's finally succeeded in bringing the deepest, most formerly unknowable part of herself from her soul to the canvas.
She's also begun to have new visitors, whose presence gently awakens her from sleep in the silent, gray hours just before sunrise. These are not the amorphous, glowy blobs she's become used to seeing when no one else can but more like the apparition of her grandparents who visited her on that first night. They have the fluidity of spirits but the solidity of recognizable human forms. They are island ancients, she soon comes to learn, and although she can tell they speak an older dialect of Sulani's traditional language, she can somehow understand them perfectly.
Even so, their messages remain cryptic. They never have any specific quests for her, only vague assurances that she is fated to help "fulfill Sulani's spiritual destiny" so that not only the island but the entire planet continues to thrive "for the next thousand years and many thousand more to follow."
She still isn't clear why they've chosen her specifically. What's so special about her family in particular that they alone appear to be given the privilege of communing with the long dead? Sure, she loves Sulani, but it seems like there are other people better-positioned to ensure its continued survival, like Nani, who's always neck deep in environmental policy. She's just a girl who likes to paint and do yoga and meditate. She hardly fits the profile of someone who will one day change the world.
As the sun comes up, the spirits drift toward the water, and Malia follows with her endless questions that they refuse to answer straight. "But what am I supposed to do? Can't you give me one concrete action I can take to get the ball rolling on whatever is meant to happen?"
"Have patience, my girl," the female spirit tells her in a calm, all-knowing tone. "You must only live, and that life will shift the needle in the compass of the universe in the direction it is meant to follow."
"We will tell you this before we go," the male spirit adds solemnly. "One day, there will be a cataclysmic threat to the realm where all spirits go. Humans occupy this realm, too, humans with supernatural talents who coexist with us in exchange for the protection they offer. A human of modest background and raw power is the only one capable of defeating this threat. They will sacrifice greatly to save our realm from extermination. You will come to understand."
Abruptly, they fade away, leaving Malia with a million more questions and absolutely zero answers.
All she can do is try her best to clear her mind with yoga and pretend she isn't at an utter loss as to her ultimate life purpose. Just live, the woman spirit told her. That can't be so difficult, can it?
Meanwhile, Noelani has another ninja DJ gig to prepare for. Ever since Dinky Beats put their promotional efforts behind one of Noelani's songs, taking it from a modest demo on SimCloud to a proper single release on Simify and all other major streaming platforms, Noelani has noticed a slow but steady rise in their Simstagram following. It's almost enough to make them feel like their dreams of playing to massive crowds beyond Sulani's shores are within reach.
For now, though, they're happy to be performing at the local shipwreck-turned-night-club. Unfortunately, the main stage has already been booked by some lame, vaguely famous EDM bro, but the secret underground dance floor installed beneath the wreckage is way cooler anyway. It's where all the local music heads hang out, leaving the above-ground club for those with less refined taste to enjoy. Tonight, Noelani has already managed to wrangle up more interest than ever before, but they post one last reminder on Simstagram before heading down to set up.
"This is so exciting!" one guy gushes to Malia, barely able to contain himself. "Noelani's stuff is so refreshing. I can't get enough of it! Sulani is about to have its own homegrown musical superstar!"
"Well, I'm one of Noelani's best friends," Malia replies, shouting to be heard over the chatter of other eager club-goers, "and I can tell you there's more genius in store. Just wait until you hear what they've got cooked up for tonight!"
All of the sudden, it's like every man in the club pivots their attention toward her. Apparently, they all want to seize the opportunity to say they flirted - or maybe even went a little bit further - with someone who is possibly, maybe, potentially one day even a little bit fame-adjacent. Malia, completely uninterested, rebuffs their advances in no uncertain terms.
Nani swoops in to defend her friend when one guy gets a little bit too insistent. "Hey, man!" she exclaims, flashing him the dirtiest look possible, "she's clearly not into you. Give it up, or we'll have to kick you out!" He scampers off with a wounded expression on his face.
After a brief warm-up, Noelani is in the zone. This time, they add more of their own original music into the DJ mix than ever. They're finally feeling confident in their talents not only as a DJ but as a producer, too, and one never knows who might be in the crowd listening. Their next big break could come at any moment.
Luckily, the crowd doesn't seem fazed by the proportion of new and original music to recognizable club bangers. If anything, this is the first time it actually seems like people are there to hear Noelani specifically. Before, it always felt like they were just out for a good time and the person providing the soundtrack to that good time hardly mattered as long as they could dance. But this crowd seems truly invested in what Noelani uniquely has to offer.
Meanwhile, reports quickly come in from club-goers slipping back and forth between the bunker and the bar that the headlining DJ is playing to a practically non-existent crowd. No one seems to be interested in his cheesy, dated, and overly obvious set list.
"This is going so well," Nani shouts to Malia over the plank-shuddering bass.
"I know, but we need to make sure everyone is entertained, or people might start trickling out! Noelani's doing amazing, but we've got to come up with something to get this crowd re-energized."
Nani is thoughtful for a moment then cocks a single eyebrow. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
She scans the room methodically, as if formulating an intricate plot. She turns back to Malia and mouths one word, "Dance-off!"
Malia's face breaks out into a wide smile. "Okay, that's not what I was thinking, but I love it! As long as you don't mind getting your ass kicked, that is."
As soon as Noelani transitions into the next track, Malia busts out a series of precise, flawless moves, as though she's already choreographed an entire routine in advance. It's an extremely impressive showing, but...
What Nani lacks in actual choreography, she makes up for in sheer uninhibited energy. Honestly, Malia was expecting her to have two left feet, as she can't recall ever seeing Nani really dance before. But her moves are surprisingly fluid and rhythmic, and her naturally curvy form is perfectly suited to them.
"Wow, that was amazing!" Nani exclaims breathlessly when she's done. "I FEEL SO ALIVE!"
"The next round of drinks is on me!" she announces once Noelani has wrapped up their set. "There's still plenty of night left to enjoy. Let's keep this party going!"
"Thank God for french fries," they mutter between fistfuls, scarfing down an entire plateful in what must be record time. Still riding the high of their performance, they feel invincible.
The next morning, however, is a rude awakening to what an entire night of hardcore DJing can do to one's body. "Ugh, I feel awful," Noelani complains when they finally drag themself out of bed. "Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels like literal garbage."
"I woke up with the worst headache of my life," Nani commiserates. "I could barely even stomach making breakfast. In fact, I still feel kind of queasy now. That's not even mentioning the fact that every single one of my muscles regrets all those crazy dance moves I decided to pull."
Moments later, Malia enters the kitchen fully dressed for a day of work at the spa and as chipper and energetic as ever. Noelani and Nani can't stand the sight of her. "How can you be so cheery when we're both the walking dead?" Nani asks.
Malia shrugs and responds breezily, "I guess some of us are better suited to the partying lifestyle than others."
"You guys just need a little TLC and you'll be good as new. I know! You can come with me to the spa, and I can give you both massages. It'll be totally on the house. I need the practice anyway."
Nani scrunches her face up in displeasure. "Somehow, I don't feel like serving as your guinea pig is going to help ease this monster hangover." Noelani nods aggressively in agreement.
"Come on, I'm not that bad," Malia protests. "Just go run yourself a nice relaxing bath, get dressed, and then you can both come with me. I promise it'll make you feel so much better."
Although Nani's not totally convinced Malia has enough experience to be a trustworthy masseuse, she is right about one thing: a long, warm, luxurious essential oil infused bath is never a regrettable decision. Nani can almost feel the toxins releasing from her skin to dissolve in the foamy bathwater.
In the kitchen, Noelani takes a generous gulp from a bottle of cough syrup they find lying around. "You know, I don't think that's actually the best idea," Malia says gently, watching from afar with clear concern.
"Hey, if you're going to force me to try your way, then I get to try my way, too. We'll see which works better in the end."
Eventually, Malia succeeds in dragging them to the spa with her, grumbling all the way, naturally, where Nani subjects herself to a mostly very painful and not at all relaxing hand massage. Malia seems so invested in this new career path that Nani doesn't want to dash her enthusiasm, so she bears her suffering in silence.
