More than Music

28

“It’s time to make your choice, Angel,” Ray said. “Which band stays on your team?”

“I don’t know.” She tossed her bleached hair, her brow furrowed like the decision was really difficult. “This is just so hard.”

Here it came. Our final moment on the show. I took Jared’s hand for support, then realized everyone would see that on TV and quickly reached for Kyle’s hand, too. Jared grabbed Hector, and the four of us all stood linked together on stage, united against our mentor.

Angel’s eyes narrowed at the sight of us together, and then she plastered on one of her big fakey smiles. “I choose The Static Klingons!”

I squeezed my hands into a death grip around the guys’ as the audience cheered. It was over. Our fifteen minutes of fame were up, and now the entire country would see us get kicked off on week two of the show. If only I hadn’t spilled coffee all over Angel, if only Jared had kept his mouth shut, if only we had picked a different mentor at audition, if only we’d practiced more… I wanted to rewind the last week and do everything all over again.

Ray went over to The Static Klingons, who were all jumping up and down and smacking each other on the back. The mic was thrust into Sean’s face, and he grinned at the audience. “Thank you, Angel!”

They left the stage, and Ray made his way back over to us. “Any last words for our mentors and the audience?”

He shoved the mic in my face, but when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. I was frozen, blinking back tears, wishing this wasn’t the end. What was I going to do now? I’d given up everything to be on this show, and now we were going home.

Jared leaned in, saving me. “We’re really happy for The Static Klingons. They’re great guys, and they deserve to be here.”

A loud buzzing rang out, and something around us flashed red and blue. The audience erupted into frenzied cheers. What was happening?

“A rescue from Dan!” Ray yelled into the mic.

Dan wanted us on his team! We weren’t done yet! I started laughing and wiped at my eyes. Kyle shouted, “Yes!” while Hector grinned and thumped Jared on the shoulder. Jared just looked shocked and squeezed my hand harder. We were still holding on to each other, even though the other guys had let go.

“I think this band has a lot of potential,” Dan said. “I wanted them from the beginning, and now that Angel was dumb enough to let them go, I have my shot.”

“Hey!” Angel said, glaring at him.

“What? You made the wrong choice.” He shrugged, and I already loved our new mentor. “Anyway, they’re really talented, and I’m excited to have them on my team.”

“Thank you so much!” Jared said into the mic.

“And that’s Villain Complex, the newest member of Team Dan!” Ray said, and our time on stage was over.

We ran backstage and had another group hug with lots of laughter, the relief making us all giddy. We had no idea if things would be better or worse on Team Dan, but at least we were still on the show for another week.

Monday morning we took a shuttle to our new recording studio, which was a bit too far to conveniently walk to. This studio was a big, boxy concrete building, with tiny slits for windows and no other distinguishing features. They sure didn’t like to advertise these places. Inside, the lobby was sparse except for modern white furniture and a display of all the awards Dan’s band Loaded River had won—Grammys, MTV Awards, and many others I didn’t recognize. Along the wall were photos of the band, plus shots of Dan and his husband, who was the drummer in another grunge band.

There were three other bands already there: a folk band with a bazillion people in it, a Christian heavy metal band, and a reggae band. They all gave us the side-eye when we entered. I got it—we were the new kids, the outsiders, taking the spot of someone else on their team. Even though the show liked to pretend there was camaraderie between team members, the truth was, we were competing against each other. With each episode, one band went home from every team, so in a way these people were more a threat to us than anyone else on the show. Until the final episode anyway.

“Tough crowd,” Jared muttered while we sat on the last remaining couch.

A camera crew was already set up around the room, and Steve, that producer from our recording session with the giant watch and expensive suits, supervised everything from the side. It still creeped me out that everything we said or did here could be aired on the show.

Dan arrived and handed out our schedules himself. “Everyone welcome our newest team members, Villain Complex.” The other bands grunted or let out a weak hello. One older woman with dreadlocks from the reggae band gave us a warm smile, but she was the only one. “Make sure you check your schedule for the week,” Dan continued. “You’ll notice you have a lot more interviews and all that crap, so don’t miss those or the producers will be on my ass. The live shows start next Monday, and each week has a theme. This first one is ‘Sick of It All,’ whatever that means, so start thinking about your song choice.” “He lets us pick the song?” I whispered to the guys. I thought the mentors always chose.

“Remember for the live shows, it’s all about appealing to the audience at home,” Dan said. “If you have any problems, let me know. I’m going to meet with Villain Complex now, and I’ll see the rest of you in rehearsal tomorrow.”