#3 Turn Up for Real (6 page)

“Yes, you're going to be okay. With or without him, Taylor is going to be okay,” I encouraged as she hugged me.

“What y'all talkin' about all loud, waking people up and stuff?” grumpy Dayna asked.

It's like the girl always had an attitude. Pulling away from the hug, Taylor rolled her eyes hard my way. I hated that she was so tense.

“Dayna, give me my caterpillar!” Caylen screamed out.

“Girl, wake up. You're talking in your sleep,” Dayna said as she took a pillow and bopped Caylen on top of the head.

“Let's have some munchies. Girl time!” Taylor said. Then she peered my way. “I'm feeling better thanks to somebody. Oh, I'm so glad you're in this group!”

Taylor gave me a thumbs-up before she went out to get snacks. Dayna was still staring at me, and it was not in a cool, fun, receptive way. Her eyes seemed full of hate.

Tired of the tension, I approached Dayna and said, “What's up? Why do you still have a beef with me? I thought we squashed all of that. We just sung our hearts out. We're trying to be a group here, and I sense that whatever I do you don't want that.”

“I don't need you trying to be the hero with Taylor.”

“Did you hear the whole conversation? You want me to let her stay down, and stay upset, and stay a basket case?”

“Just forget it.”

“No, no. Say what you have to say to me.”

“You don't even know much about a boyfriend. You ain't even had one. You cringed at the sight of someone having sex.”

“I don't want to watch it. I want to do it.”

“So then you haven't ever done it.”

“Oh, forget it.”

Dayna wouldn't let me walk away. “You were talking about a guy. You want to get close. You want to be cool. You want this group thing to work … then don't be such a closed onion. Peel back some layers.”

“Oh, look at you trying to be all literary,” Caylen teased.

Dayna winked at her and said, “Just trying to use some analogies so I can get some good marks on my SATs.”

“What do you want to know?” I asked her.

“The guy you were talking about. Is he your boyfriend? You said you were in a contest? What kind of contest? Who's the mystery guy?” Dayna asked.

“It doesn't matter. I'll probably never see him again.”

“Yeah, I got that part, but who is he?”

“I mean, I don't even know his name. I was running for Miss Teen Charlotte at this theater. I lost, and I was all upset. Backstage he just came up to me, and he was everything.”

“You met him where? Backstage at the Ren …” Caylen started saying, but Dayna covered her mouth.

“I think you might see him again. You believe in destiny, don't you?” Dayna cryptically told me.

Dayna lifted her hand in the air and wanted me to give her a high-five. All of a sudden, she went from cold to warm with me. I so wanted to believe what Dayna was saying about my mystery man. Though I believed for myself what I told Taylor about not needing a guy, if I were able to see the one that turned my frown into a smile again, it'd be on.

“So you really want to be in a singing group?” my sister Sloan asked me the morning of our big audition, giving me no privacy in the bathroom to get ready.

“Y'all have been in here forever,” Yuri said, joining us. “I've got to get ready for school too.”

“We're having a deep conversation in here, Yuri,” Sloan told her as she washed her face.

“What about the whole singing thing? We've seen those girls at school. They just don't look like your kind of people,” Yuri said. “Plus, Slade, we don't have you around as much.”

“Yuri, what's my kind of people?” I asked, cracking up at them having a hard time saying what their body language was displaying.

They would never admit it, but they missed me. Though they were like two pieces of bread stuck together, I was the flavor, the medium. I was the peanut butter and jelly. Dagonit, the bologna and mayonnaise. I made their world fun. Though I felt they didn't need me, it was pretty nice to know they wanted me around.

Seeing they weren't into talking about people, I said, “To answer your question, yes, I want to be in a singing group, but I don't know how it's going to work with these girls. I've got my doubts, too, but if you could just hear us.”

“Well, you've been practicing with them for the last week nonstop.”

“We've been talking about coming to your audition today, Shelby and Ansli too.”

“Really?” I said, truly shocked.

I'd love their support, but I didn't dare ask for it. They were all so busy—particularly my two older sisters—to even think about taking time to support me. It had been like pulling teeth to get them to come to the pageant.

“I don't know where this place is. The record owner had to change the place a couple times, but when I get all the information, I'll text it to you guys. I'm glad you're coming!” I said as I hugged the two of them.

“We want you to be happy,” Yuri said.

I uttered, “I'm going to get on stage today and give it my all.”

“You could be a day away from getting a record deal,” Sloan said.

“If you get one, does that mean you'll move out?” Yuri asked.

“I don't know. If we blow up, maybe.”

After school and before the tryout, we went to Taylor's mom's school to get ready. Just as we were approaching, we heard yelling coming from her mom's music classroom.

“But you can't get rid of the arts program! If you do that, what are these kids going to have? Some of them, that's all they're good at. It helps them do better in other subjects. Who do I need to talk to about this? The decision can't be final,” Taylor's mom argued.

“Mrs. Dale, you need to calm down. It's not a done deal yet, but it looks like that's the way it's leaning. I just didn't want you to be caught off guard. I thought you deserved to know. You've been the backbone of this school for years now. You and I both know the kids who go here are economically challenged, and I agree with you that the arts lift their spirits, but if the board cuts the funding, it's out of my control. I'm going to have to let you go,” the principal told her.

“When is the vote?” her mom said.

“In a couple of weeks.”

“Are you kidding me? So in the middle of the school year, they're just going to drop music?”

Taylor rushed into the classroom. The three of us followed. She hugged her mom, and the two of them began to cry. I probably couldn't understand everything that this class meant to them, but I could tell the school was old, and I could remember that she told me her mom had been here since the beginning. I detested that some people felt that the arts were expendable. If it helps to free a person's mind and gets a child to extend his or her creativity and positivity in life, why in the world would a school district cut it? Shouldn't they look at cutting people's salaries instead of a program that touches lives?

The principal left, saying, “I'm sorry. I need to get to a meeting.”

My heart broke as I watched Taylor console her mom. I so wanted to help. I smiled, seeing their connection was strong.

“Listen,” her mom finally said as they pulled apart. “You girls have to go get to that audition.”

“But, Mom,” Taylor said in a caring tone, “What are you going to do if they cut the program?”

Mrs. Dale explained, “I'm not going to focus on that right now, and I don't want you to focus on it either. I hate that you overheard it, but you've got to forget about it. Get it out of your mind.”

Her mom walked over to the piano and started striking chords. On her snap count, the four of us started warming up. We had a dope sound. Her mom certainly needed to be a music teacher. She was on it.

Mrs. Dale stopped playing and said, “You're ready. Go get them. I'm going to finish up here, and then I'm going to make some calls. I don't think I'm going to be able to make it, but I know you'll give me great news.”

Taylor didn't want to leave her mom, but Dayna and Caylen pulled her away. I knew it wasn't just about the money, though being without a job these days certainly wasn't a good thing. It was about the passion her mom had for what she did. Shame on the school board for wanting to take that away.

I'd been asking Dayna for days for the address to where we were going to the audition because I wanted to tell my sisters. When we pulled up to the same theater I was at for the pageant, I was surprised. Immediately, I texted it to my sisters, hoping they would have enough time to be here.

When we stepped inside, the guy I thought I would never see again was standing on the stage, working a crowd with his hips to his lips. I remembered him serenading me, but I never even imagined that we had the same dream. I didn't even realize I was smiling all over, but how could I help it? His voice melted my heart, and his sound made me dance. He had amazing swagger.

CHAPTER FOUR

SNAKE

“Slade, Taylor … snap out of it. We've got to get backstage,” Dayna said to the two of us.

It was so hard for me to take my eyes off of that superb performance. We had a good show prepared, but how in the world were we going to top that? Honestly, I wouldn't be upset if the hottie won the contest over us. That's just how strong of a connection I felt to the guy.

As we were walking down the back corridor, Dayna turned around and said, “You know you've got to be initiated into the group.”

“I thought that's what watching all of those crazy DVDs was about. I'm fully in,” I said as I cocked my head and looked at her like she was tripping.

“Nope,” Dayna said as she puffed up her lips. “Now you got to put some of those skills to work.”

“We're about to go on stage. Shouldn't we be concentrating on that?” Taylor said.

“Exactly,” I replied, happy somebody had some sense.

Dayna gave Caylen a real cold stare, which made Caylen speak up. “Yeah, um, ya know, Dayna's right. It's only fair. Right before a performance is when you've got to really show us you want to be a part of the group; so either you're in or you're out.”

“What do you want me to do?” I asked, really fed up, knowing that I just wouldn't do any ol' thing.

“Yeah, I mean come on, Dayna. I'm ready to win this thing. And as you just saw, it's not going to be easy,” Taylor said. “Besides, Sloan needs to really concentrate.”

Dayna argued, “I'm just saying. It's only fair, and she needs to flirt with the next guy who comes around here.”

“No …” Taylor uttered. “We need to continue doing the steps because y'all changed some. The stage is larger than what we thought we were going to have, so …”

“No, no, no, it's fine,” I said, cutting her off as I completely changed my view of their hazing when I saw the stranger coming our way. “I have no problem complying. I'll show you I want to be in the group.”

“Yeah, show us,” Dayna said as her head was looking in the same direction as mine.