More than Music

33

Mohawk Girl was filling up on coffee, too, wearing a green plaid skirt with a studded corset and matching choker. “Hey,” she said as I grabbed a cup.

“Hey.” I wasn’t sure what to say to her. We’d never really talked before. I didn’t even know her name.

“You’re a lucky girl.”

“Huh?” Had I missed something? Maybe I was more out of it than I’d thought.

“You and Jared,” she said, nodding to where he sat with Kyle. He looked over at us, as if he’d somehow heard his name, and winked.

“Oh. We’re not together.” I dumped a bunch of sugar and cream into my coffee and stirred it, hoping this conversation would end already. She was not helping with my plan of thinking about Jared as little as possible.

“Yeah?” She leaned against the table, with no intention of leaving. “I tried to get him up to my room the other night, but he wouldn’t go for it. I figured it’s cause he’s with you.”

“Nope. We’re just friends.” I was tired of repeating that phrase, but maybe if I said it over and over, I’d start to believe it, too.

She nudged my side with a bony elbow, which kind of hurt. “Uh huh. He can’t keep his eyes off you. If you’re not tapping that now, you need to get on it before someone else does.”

I was sure my face had turned bright red, despite the layers of makeup on it. “Um…thanks for the advice.”

“No problem. Good luck tonight.”

“You too.”

She went back to her band and I sipped my coffee, going over her words. All the rumors I’d heard about Jared made it seem like he would sleep with any girl who offered, and Dan had told him to encourage this reputation. But to be honest, I’d never actually seen Jared do anything beyond flirting, and hearing he’d turned down this girl who had thrown herself at him was a huge relief. But even if Jared was interested in me, he and I had to stay apart as long as we were on the show. Besides, I doubted he wanted anything beyond a quick fling, like his former bassist had been.

Bands moved in and out of the lounge as they waited for their sets or recovered afterward, and I admired all of their costumes. Compared to some of them, our band’s sleek, futuristic, black-and-red military uniforms looked almost tame. Of course, mine had a short skirt and a low-cut jacket with nothing underneath, while the guys got pants and a jacket that completely covered them. Dan said it was necessary for the “young male vote,” but the blatant sexism still made me want to set my costume on fire, even if I did look pretty hot in it—especially with the tall black heels that made my legs look longer.

The Static Klingons took the stage and performed “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People, which the audience seemed to enjoy. When they were done, Sean ran over to me with a giant smile. “Maddie!”

“Hey, Sean. Great performance!”

“Thanks!” He reached out a little, like he wanted to hug me, but then pulled back when I didn’t respond. “I’m so sorry about the Angel thing. I just feel horrible about how it all went down.”

“Don’t worry about it—really.” Not this again. I’d seen Sean a few times in the hotel lobby since our battle, and he always apologized for getting us kicked off Angel’s team. Truthfully, I should be apologizing to him, since we now had a better mentor and he was still stuck with Angel.

“Are you doing something tonight after the show? Do you want to get something to eat or…?”

While Sean talked, Jared watched us with a scowl on his face. Probably worried I was giving away all our secrets again.

Hang on, was Sean asking me out on a date? I must have waited a little too long to answer because then he added, “You know, to talk strategy and stuff and, uh, just hang out… ”

Now I was even more confused. Did he actually like me or was he trying to get info out of me? I couldn’t tell, but it didn’t really matter because I had no interest in going out with him. “Sorry, I can’t tonight. I have a meeting with the band.”

“No problem. Maybe later this week?” His drummer called his name, and he turned to wave at him. “I’ve got to run, but we’ll talk later!”

He bounced off to join his band, saving me from further conversation. I’d need another excuse to avoid a date with him later, assuming we both lasted that long on the show. Who knew if either of our bands would still be around after tonight?

The Quiet Battles, the folk band on Team Dan, went before us with a song I didn’t know, and there were so many of them they barely fit on the stage. Did they even have enough instruments for all of them to play? I saw a harmonica, a violin, and a banjo, and one guy even “played” a plastic bag, if you could call it that. I’m not sure crinkling it in front of a microphone counted as playing, but I was trying hard not to judge. They also had two complete drum kits. Who needed two drum kits? If The White Stripes could be the loudest band ever with only two members, there was just no need for that.

Next it was our turn. Our equipment was already set up on the back of the revolving stage, and we quickly got in place and waited while The Quiet Battles got comments from the mentors. The thrill of going on stage made every nerve in my body tingle. I wasn’t scared this time; instead, I was anxious to get back out there and perform again. Playing on stage was my drug, and I was an addict now.

The stage began to revolve, and the crowd swelled in front of us. As red lights flashed behind us and smoke filled the air, the guys started playing. I waited, tapping my foot along with the beat, and then my fingers took off across my guitar with the eerie opening notes.