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Closing the door to their dressing room, Mila turned on her heel to face her bandmates. She had her arms crossed and her mouth was pinched.
"That... was a disaster," she said. "I told you we had to practice more and you all just blew me off. And you."
Mila went over to JJ who had wandered to the snack table to grab a bottle of water. "What happened to your voice? Hm? You sounded like you swallowed a bunch of nails before getting on stage."
JJ stared at his feet awkwardly. "I..."
"You what? JJ! Seriously, what the hell is going on?" she demanded.
"I have nodes!" he blurted out. "I... I have nodes."
Mila gasped, taking a step back. "You have... nodes?"
JJ looked up at her, crestfallen. "Yeah. I found out this morning."
"What are nodes?" asked Victor. He glanced around at the others for an answer, but they all seemed just as confused as him.
Mila sighed and took JJ's hand as a sign of support. "Vocal nodules. When your vocal cords rub together at an above-average rate without proper lubrication."
"They sit on your windpipe and crush your dreams," JJ whispered.
"Isn't that painful?" Victor asked, wincing slightly. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because... I love to sing. The people of Canada and the rest of the world need to hear my voice," JJ insisted.
"Mmm. I understand," Chris said. "It's like when my doctor told me that I shouldn't have sex for six weeks but I did anyway."
Yuri turned to him, incredulous. "You should really listen to your doctor."
“Eh.” Chris merely shrugged and cast a sly grin at Phichit who stifled a laugh behind his hand.
”The key is early diagnosis,” JJ continued. He then squared his shoulders and stood up straight, his eyes determined.
”I am living with nodes,” he declared. “But I am a survivor. I just have to pull back. Because I am limited. Because I have nodes.”
A moment of silence stretched out among the group before Yuri spoke up.
”Well, at least it’s not herpes.” His expression grew solemn as he studied JJ’s face. “Or do you have that as well?”