"How did I do?"
Larry Jackson stared at the expectant face of the panting blond boy in front of him, the faces of the judges beside him, and the faces of the audience waiting with bated breath.
Truly, he wanted to fail Jamie and complete the favor to James Jones II.
He wanted to claim that since Jamie had collaborated with another contestant to produce the song, he had technically failed, but if he dared to open his mouth and say something negative here, especially after Bing Yongsun had already given his stamp of approval on Jamie as a contestant, he might find himself out of a judging job for the duration of the program.
Although Larry Jackson was successful in his own right, he was an aging musician who was not popular with the younger crowd.
Judging for the idol survival show was an opportunity to gain new eyes on his work and hopefully increase his fan base with a younger audience.
It was something he didn't want to mess up over a single favor to a friend.
With a bitter smile on his face, Larry Jackson decided to give in, "You did well. Ryan. Shall we look at the ranks the audience voted on and decided?"
At the brief compliment, the MC Ryan blinked before smoothly speaking, "Of course. According to our wonderful audience votes, they have definitely placed Jamie in the top 100, and he was even given 6th place. Judges, do you agree with this placement?"
Larry Jackson had a bitter expression on his face once more as both Selena and Bing Yongsun agreed with the placement, thereby putting Jamie squarely in the top 7 lineup.
Seeing that he didn't really have the space to disagree, he just held his tongue and smiled, while mentally making a note to be twice as harsh on the next contestant.
"Wow, then Jamie, you'll be kicking Suzuki Rei and everybody after him down a position. How are you feeling?"
"I'm feelin real good and quite relieved this whole bit is over. I'm glad y'all in the audience seemed to enjoy it and rewarded me accordingly. Thank y'all kindly." Jamie smiled happily as he gazed out at the crowd, removed his hat, and used it to fan himself.
- Woooooooooo!!!!
As the audience began screaming again when they saw his face, the MC, Ryan Leary, began laughing.
"That's good to hear. Now, one last question before you sit down, I remember you mentioning that you collaborated with a contestant to make a song. Is that contestant sitting on one of those chairs? Have they already failed, or are they coming soon?"
Jamie tapped his lips before smiling his pure smile and responding, "He's coming later. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to reveal a contestant performance order…" A quick glance at the judges, shaking their heads, made Jamie shrug before continuing, "I can't tell you what number he is, but I guarantee you can't miss him when you see him. He's very recognizable."
"Ohhh, you're making us very curious about this contestant who collaborated with you for such an amazing song. Could you tell us one last thing about him before you take your seat, Mr. 6th place?"
"Sure thing. If I had to say one thing about him… I think he's a genius."
"Really?"
"Yes! He's new at composing music, but I think he has the best musical ear I've ever seen. It was amazing to work with him, and he's actually performing a song he composed as well, so look forward to it!" Jamie finished off with a bright grin despite the judges shaking their heads to cut off his speech.
Catching their signals late, Ryan Leary quickly wrapped up his impromptu interview.
"Wow! Such high praise from a high-ranking contestant! We look forward to seeing his performance. Please go take a seat."
With one final wave, Jamie handed his guitar off to a staff member and sat in his assigned seat next to Choi In-su and the newly displaced Suzuki Rei.
The two boys smiled politely at him, but he could tell they were a bit offended at the fact that somebody had broken their chain of consecutive team members in the high ranks.
While keeping his smile, Jamie decided to focus on the next performances while waiting for Ari to come on stage.
Ryan Leary, after wrapping up some small talk with the judges, continued with his announcement of the next contestant.
"Alright! Coming up next is the man from South London. Big Ben himself, make some noise for Benjamin Moore."
******
Ari watched Jamie's performance with a worried expression before sighing in relief at the positive audience response and judge response.
Although Larry Jackson looked as if he had swallowed a bug, he had inevitably passed Jamie, which meant that whatever favor Jamie's father had asked of him, he wasn't able to complete it.
With half the burden on his heart relieved, Ari watched the next contestants, noting who had amazing performances like the British boy Benjamin Moore, and those who had lackluster performances like one of the boys who mocked him at the rehearsal yesterday.
As the show continued to drag on, he could visibly see the lowered energy and lack of enthusiasm coming from the audience. After all, they had seen over 40 performances back to back, had to actively vote and respond to the MC, and listen to the judge's opinion while maintaining a smile on their faces.
It was clear that they wanted to leave, but they couldn't because of the remaining 20 contestants.
But they communicated their tiredness and frustrations with lackluster cheering and clapping.
In fact, several of the last contestants to perform in a row hadn't even received any cheers, and nobody had made it into the now full top 100 seats.
As the camera panned over the chairs from 100th place to first, Ari saw Jamie's smiling face and then that bastard blonde prick who was currently number 1.
Seeing him cheerfully waving, Ari resolved his mind to make it as his fingers gripped the trumpet so hard that his knuckles cracked beneath his gloves.
Just wait for me you damn bastard!
Ari muttered the words through gritted teeth as he watched Rex and the rest of his team get on stage on the TV screen.
"Number 47, it's time to prepare for the stage." The stage director, Sherill Lanole, called Ari's name from the door.
"Coming."
Ari quickly stood up and followed her through the now mostly empty waiting room, taking a deep breath to calm his pounding heart.
This was it.
He was as ready as he was ever going to be after all the practice he had put in.
Finally.
It was time to hit the stage.
A staff member quickly attached a mic pack to his pants and attached a small mic to the rented trumpet in his hands.
As Ari shook his limbs out to try and shake off his nerves and stabilize his shaking hands, Sherill Lanole met his eyes.
"You'll head out in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Go." At her words, Ari began walking toward the waiting MC.
"Good luck. I hope you make it." The words were whispered so low that Ari could barely hear them.
But he did.
He paused mid-step, gave her a cheeky smile, and replied.
"Thank you."
Then, with a deep breath, he turned to meet the MC's surprised eyes at his appearance, and quirked his red painted lips.
It was time to make a big impression.