Choosing America's Next Superstar (11 page)

Jimmy reached down and grabbed Corey’s hand, squeezing it. “Good luck, man.”

“Thanks,” he said, and then he headed down the aisle toward the front of the auditorium.

“You like him, don’t you,” Tristan whispered into Jimmy’s ear.

Jimmy turned to the shorter boy, smiling. “Sure, don’t you?”

“Yeah… but not like that.” The kid must’ve seen Jimmy holding Corey’s hand. Jimmy didn’t know exactly what to say. “It’s cool,” Tristan said, “I won’t say anything to anyone.”

“Thanks,” Jimmy said, winking at him.

Ten minutes later, the first contestant was on stage. It was a girl named Brianna, and she was extremely nervous. Sadly, she botched her song, beginning in the wrong key and then forgetting some of the lyrics.

“That was painful,” Reuben chastised her. “I’ve heard lounge singers that weren’t half as bad.”

The entire crowd groaned at his remarks, and Jimmy empathized with the poor girl. She must be mortified. Krystal was much nicer. “Sweetie, I’m sorry. You were just so nervous, but that’s a part of entertainment. You have to be able to rise above your emotions.”

Needless to say, she was voted off by unanimous decision.

The next two contestants fared much better, both making it through. Contestant four did okay, but he was a little pitchy. He didn’t make it. At last it was time for Corey.

“Corey Dunham,” Raymond said, as Corey stepped to center stage. “What’ll you be singing today?”

“‘Flying Without Wings’,” Corey said confidently, and then he began to sing.

As he reached the climax of the song, he moved closer to the edge of the stage, stretching his arms wide and belting out the powerful lyrics. The crowd began to applaud as he hit his high note, and soon everyone was on their feet, giving him a standing ovation.

Even the judges stood, well, three of them, anyway. “Beautiful!” Krystal exclaimed. “Corey, that was absolutely amazing.”

“Dude, you set the bar! You’re in it to win it!” Raymond shouted.

Tyler leaned into his microphone, flipping his long hair to the side, “Man, that was incredible,” he said in his raspy voice. “You definitely can sing.”

Reuben sat there with his arms crossed. “Well,” Krystal said to him, “give us your words of wisdom, oh mighty Reuben.”

“It was okay,” he said, “though a bit karaoke. Corey, if you want to be taken seriously in this competition, you’re going to have to give a memorable performance. What I saw here today was nothing more than a rehashing of a 1980s boy band.”

Krystal reached over and slapped Reuben on the shoulder. “Don’t listen to him,” she shouted into her mic. “Corey, you were magnificent!”

The crowd applauded and cheered.

“Let’s vote,” Krystal said. “I say yes.”

“Yes.”

“Hell yes!”

“Very well,” Reuben conceded, “you’re through to the next round.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Corey exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air before heading offstage.

“I
MADE
it through!” Corey shouted into his cell phone.

On the other end of the line, Megan squealed delightedly. “I knew you’d make it! Now what?”

“Now it’s on to group competition, which will be Thursday.”

“You got a group picked out yet?”

“Sort of. Remember that guy from Kentucky? Jimmy. The one who’s brother was sick?”

“Uh, yeah, of course I remember.” Corey wondered if it was a tinge of guilt he was hearing in her voice. “What about him?”

“Well, he’s my roommate, and if he makes it through, we’re gonna be in group together.”

“Oh my God,” she gasped. “Corey, be careful!”

“What do ya mean?”

“After what happened in Detroit, I wouldn’t trust him.”

Corey couldn’t believe what he was hearing from his best friend. “Jimmy didn’t do anything back in Detroit. If anyone should be leery, it should be him. We were the ones who knifed him in the back… and ya know what? I feel like shit about it. I’m just glad I had a  chance to make it up to him.”

“Hold on a minute,” she said. “You didn’t do anything to that kid, and neither did I. We just did what we had to do to get you an audition.”

“I don’t know. He got an audition and made it through, and he didn’t have to lie about it.”

“Let’s not argue, okay? I’m just happy you made it through! All I’m asking is that you watch your back.”

“Thanks,” Corey said, “but I don’t think I’ve got anything to worry about, not with Jimmy. He’s a great guy, and he’d never betray me.”

“Did you call your mom yet?”

“I’m doing that next. I just stepped outside to call you. Then I’m going back in to watch some more of the competition.”

“Okay, baby. Good luck in group, and let me know. I can’t wait to tell everyone you made it through the first round.”

“Love you.”

“Love ya too, sugar.”

Corey ended the call and turned around, nearly crashing into Jimmy, who was suddenly standing behind him. “Oh,” Corey said, “how long have you been standing here?”

“Long enough,” he said. Jimmy reached out and placed his hand on Corey’s arm. “That was a nice thing you said about me.”

“Well, it was true.”

“But you didn’t tell her everything.”

“You mean about us? About us kissing?”

Jimmy just smiled.

“Megan’s got a big mouth. When I’m ready to tell the whole world about something, I just tell her. She doesn’t need to know every detail of my life.”

“Now you can relax,” Jimmy said. “For a day or two, anyway. It’s my turn to be nervous.”

“Well, if they liked me, they’re gonna love you,” Corey said.

And Corey was absolutely right. The judges did love Jimmy, and even Reuben was kind in his remarks. Though Reuben had previously made no bones about the fact that he didn’t particularly like country music, he couldn’t deny that Jimmy’s performance was spectacular.

It was when Tristan took the stage and began to sing that Corey held his breath. The kid definitely had a fantastic voice, but it was obvious he was extremely nervous. At one point during his performance, he faltered, and Corey feared it would be his demise.

Raymond immediately voted no. Tyler was undecided, and Krystal voted yes. The deciding vote went to Reuben. “Not the best song choice,” he said, “but you have the stage presence and the voice. I vote yes.”

The three of them had made it through! And it all happened on the first day. This was a cause for celebration. After sitting in the auditorium the entire day, the three boys left a bit early. They were all starving and took a cab to the Hard Rock Café.

It was after eight o’clock when they made it back to the hotel. Their spirits were high, and they were chattering nonstop, mostly about the competition, debating which song they’d choose for their group performance. As they walked into the lobby, Sam was at the front desk, and she had her suitcase.

“Sam, what’s going on?” Corey rushed up to her.

“I got called to sing today after all. They made it through about thirty of the contestants on the Day Two list. I didn’t make it through.” Her voice cracked, and tears formed in her eyes.

“Oh no,” Corey empathized, grabbing hold of her and hugging her tight. “Sam, I’m so sorry.”

She pulled back and shrugged, tossing her head to the side and flipping her hair from her face. “I guess it’s my own fault. I never really recovered from last night. I still don’t completely have my voice back.”

“It’s not really fair,” Corey complained. “All day long you weren’t even planning on singing.”

“I wasn’t even there for most of the day,” she said. “I happened to go back around four thirty and discovered they’d started calling from Day Two, so I had no choice but to hang around.”

“Can’t you stay here one more night?” Corey asked. “You’ve got twenty-four hours.”

She shook her head. “I just wanna go. It’s too hard… seeing everyone that made it. I’d just rain on your parade.”

“Aw, no, you wouldn’t.”

“It’s too late now anyway. I already got my ticket. My plane leaves in three hours. But listen, you’ve got my number, and you don’t live that far from me. We’ll have to get together. I know you’re gonna go far in the competition, and I’ll be rooting for you.”

“Thanks,” he said, feeling his own eyes well up with tears.

“And I’ll vote for you too, once you make it to Hollywood.”

“Do you know if Jeremy and Teri sang today?”

“No, Teri will be one of the first ones tomorrow morning, and I bet they’ll get to Jeremy by the end of the day.”

Sam’s departure was sobering. It was a stark reminder of how quickly everything could change. Of course, she wasn’t the only one that day to face defeat. More than half the contestants received the crushing news that their journeys had ended. Although Corey was ecstatic that he and Jimmy had made it through, he couldn’t help but feel sad about Sam.

When they got back upstairs, Tristan headed back to his room. He said he was going to take a shower and maybe a nap. Corey was kind of relieved. At last he’d have some time alone with Jimmy. Corey flopped down on his mattress as soon as they entered their room, and he let out a huge sigh. He felt an odd combination of exhilaration and sadness.

“I can’t believe Sam didn’t make it,” he said. “How disappointing.”

“I know, but we knew it could happen. Overall, we’re lucky. Both of us and Tristan all made it through….”

“You know every single one of us is in the same situation,” Corey said. “Every contestant wants to win. For most of us, it’s been a lifelong dream. The worst thing about Sam’s case is that she got voted off on the first day. There’ve been all these weeks of anticipation after the auditions in Detroit.”

“I know what you mean,” Jimmy said. He sat down on the bed beside Corey. “I’d lie in bed at night and listen to my own heart pounding in my chest. Then I’d close my eyes and imagine what it would be like to be up on that stage performing for the whole world.”

“And you know, we could be the next ones to go. Any one of us could be cut. In fact, most of us will be cut, and when I think about it that way, I’m scared shitless.”

Jimmy placed his hand on Corey’s chest. “No matter what, we’re in this together,” he said.

Corey stared directly into Jimmy’s eyes and nodded. “I’m so glad it was Sam and not you,” he whispered.

Jimmy leaned over him and they kissed.

Chapter Six

R
EUBEN
had just finished with a bath and was relaxing in his silk pajamas and robe when the phone rang. He set down his scotch and picked up the receiver. “Yes?” he said curtly.

“Mr. Jameson, there is a young man here to see you.”

“Very well, send him up,” Reuben said.

About four minutes later, he heard the knock on his door, walked over, and let in the boy he’d summoned.

“Hello, Tristan.” Reuben smiled as he motioned for the boy to enter.

“Mr. Jameson, I got this note. It was delivered to my room, and it said you wanted to see me.”

“Yes, yes indeed. Won’t you come in? Can I offer you something to drink? A beer, perhaps?”

Tristan laughed nervously. “Is this a test or something? I’m not old enough to drink, and it’s against the rules.”

“Ah, well, I won’t tell. And no, it’s not a test. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken.”

“It’s okay, sir. I don’t drink anyway. Maybe a soda or a water.”

Reuben stepped over to the bar and opened the refrigerator. “Cola?”

“Sure, that’d be fine. Thank you.”

Reuben led the boy into the living room area of his suite. “You’re probably wondering what this is all about. Why don’t you have a seat? Get comfortable. I just want to talk to you.”

“Thank you, sir,” he said again. Reuben could tell the boy was nervous. “I really appreciate you giving me another chance today. I know I screwed up a little bit.”

Reuben laughed. “Indeed you did. It was quite horrendous, actually. You must’ve been quite surprised to make it through.”

“Pleasantly surprised. Like I said, sir, I really appreciate it.”

“Where are you from again, Tristan?”

“Denver,” he said, sipping his cola.

“Ah, that’s right. I remember now. I’ve thought about you quite a bit since that audition. You were quite impressive, and like I’ve always said, success in this industry is about memorable performances.”

“Thank you,” Tristan said, gulping.

“You have a decent voice, young man,” Reuben went on, “but more than that, you are the whole package. You have the look. The perfect, cherubic face with the big blue eyes. You’re angelic, and you’re sure to be the next teen heartthrob.”

He could see the boy’s cheeks flushing. His embarrassment only added to his appeal, and Reuben sat down beside him on the sofa. “You’ve nothing to be embarrassed about,” Reuben assured him. “I’m only speaking the truth.” He reached over and placed his hand gently on the boy’s shoulder.

“Thank you, sir.” Tristan’s voice was quiet, very meek.

“But if you’re going to truly succeed in this business, you need someone to guide you. You need a mentor, someone to look out for you. There are a lot of vultures. A lot of people would be eager to take advantage of boy like you—so pure and innocent.”