I walked down a long corridor into a lobby type area. I could hear music coming from a room that turned out to be the auditorium. I laughed. ‘A Thousand Miles.’ The girl was sitting up there belting it out and playing the grand piano.
“So glad I didn’t pick that.”
“Yeah, one down and outta your way to fame.”
I rolled my eyes. There were lights on the stage, but it was a little darker in the audience. I could see the backs of heads, probably the judges and other auditioners.
The next act was a band. A female lead guitarist and a male drummer and keyboardist.
They were decent.
“It sounds like they wrote that song... there’s their brownie points. It was pretty good,” I sighed.
“Excuse me, no one’s allowed in this building unauthorized,” a woman came up and informed us.
“Hi... I’m auditioning.”
She peered at me skeptically through her glasses. “Name?”
“August McFadden.”
The music faded and the band exited the stage in the background.
“Your name is not on the list, I’m sorry.”
“I was at an Open Mike Night on Saturday... Kevin Richardson, a member of the Backstreet Boys, was there and said...”
“Mmm-hmm,” she said, obviously not believing me and motioning for us to follow her out.
“Look, lady, I don’t know who you think you are...” Carmen started, her short temper starting to blaze.
“Do you know how many teenyboppers we get that come in here, pretending to be auditioning, but really wanting to propose to Nick Carter?”
“I’m sorry, that would probably be a hassle... but I’m not planning to propose for anyone. I just want to perform. I came here to perform,” I insisted. I heard a muffled laugh in the background.
“Are you going to leave or do I have to call security? You are not scheduled to perform.”
“I had a note from Kevin... but security outside took it already.”
She picked up her walkie-talkie.
I gave Carmen a 'what do we do' look.
“August! It’s about time you showed up!” a voice came from behind her. I had recognized Kevin through his trademark eyebrows. Now there was also no mistaking the Kentucky accent.
“You know her?”
“Of course, Edith. She was asked personally to come. Sorry, it was short notice, she probably wasn’t posted.”
She looked slightly annoyed, but smiled and said, “of course.”
“Come on in, August,” Brian put an arm around my shoulder in a friendly gesture and let me inside.
He turned around to make sure Edith had left.
“Umm... thanks....” I said. A second later, “how’d you know my name?”
“I heard you talking to her. I’ve had a long day, needed some humor.”
“I don’t see what was funny about her pushing us around,” Carmen said, still agitated.
“Sure there was... like the look on your face when she asked you to leave. And when she thought you were teenyboppers... both of you looked genuinely surprised when she thought you wanted a hug, autograph, and wedding ceremony. That’s when I figured you were probably really here just to audition. It’s okay even though you don’t have an appointment... I’m sure we can fit you in.”
“Excuse me? We weren’t lying about that... if you were listening, then you heard her say that Kevin Richardson told her about today.”
“Oh, I apologize then.” The boy had manners, I had to give him that. And an open sort of friendliness. Like he didn’t meet people he didn’t already know. But I could tell by the twinkle in his eye that he still wasn’t sure we were supposed to be here. But I couldn’t blame him for that. I didn’t doubt that many other people could be here saying the same things we were and not mean any of it.
“Yo, Kevin,” Carmen waved. Maybe Brian wasn’t the only person who acted like they knew everyone. But Carmen used this personality trait much differently.
He turned his head and walked over.
“You remember us, right?”
“Yeah, hi, August. And I never caught your name...” he shook my hand and then hers.
“Carmen.”
“Glad you all could make it.”
“Thanks,” I smiled, laughing on the inside.
"Umm... see that table up front where that woman is sitting? She has a form for you to fill out. They’ll be able to give you an idea of when you can audition,” Kevin said.
"OK, thanks,” I walked up to where he had pointed and got the form he spoke of. Carmen and I sat down a few rows back.
“Wow, I didn’t think the Backstreet Boys would actually be here for the auditions... I figured other management people would be.”
“Well, good thing they were, or that old witch would be fist fighting with me right now,” Carmen laughed.
“I guess they wanted to be part of the decision making process. That’s pretty cool,” I continued.
“I think I could take her, too... Edith, was that her name?”
I laughed. “Yeah. I’m glad Brian came up.”
“Brian? So he’s another Backstreet Boy?”
“Yeah, he’s Kevin’s cousin.”
“Really?” something sparked in her eyes. “Should’ve been nicer to him... I mean, he’s going to be my... what? Cousin-in-law one day.”
“Yup, you’re definitely going to marry Kevin. I mean, he knows your name and everything,” I said sarcastically. I looked at the sheet. The usual... Social Security Number, Birthdate...
“Do I have any kids? Who inspired me musically?“I read off some more unique questions.
I spent about fifteen minutes filling out the sheet. “I’ll be right back, Carm, I’m gonna turn this in.”
I went back up front once a three person male singing group that reminded me of LFO performed.
“So who were these guys?” I heard Howie saying. I couldn’t believe it. He was sitting there with Kevin and Brian. I wasn’t sure where AJ and Nick were.
“Jive sent them. They thought they would be a good heart throb group.”
"But we're supposed to be the hot throbs," Brian laughed.
“They couldn’t hit the high notes they were aiming for...” Kevin noticed, ignoring Brian. “They might be good on CD covers, but not musically. They wouldn’t stand out from any of the others.”
“So, no go?” Howie asked. The others nodded. He wrote something down. He was probably acting as the scribe.
“Oh, I’ll take that,” Brian noticed I was standing there. “Thanks a lot,” he smiled. I did, too. Something about the sincerity in his eyes could make anyone smile.
I started to walk away.
“Oh, August, you’ll be up there... around three,” Kevin commented.
“Okay, great,” I smiled again, being as polite as I could be.
The afternoon passed slowly. I watched many other groups of a variety of talents... there were guitarists, bands, and piano players. Some didn’t quite have what it would take and some were going to be tough to choose between.
Finally, some woman found me and told me I could head up to the stage.
I was nervous. I knew they could tell. I was worried everyone would hear my pulse racing.
I sat down and looked at the piano. I had already heard how it had sounded from watching others perform.
There aren’t any more people in this audience than there were in the coffee house... less, actually, I thought. Most people had already performed and gone home. Of course, another thought popped up, you weren’t being judged at the coffee house.
That didn’t help. But I started the intro. I wasn’t sure whether any of the guys would recognize it or not. But I started to sing.
I did the last chorus, and tried my best to sing the high notes with the difficult piano part and key changes. I exited the stage without looking at the audience. I was trying to calm myself down.
When I met Carmen, I finally forced myself to look at the judges. Kevin was glancing at Carmen, I noticed. Howie was glancing at my sheet with the other people I didn’t recognize. Brian, however, glanced at me and smiled. I smiled back, nervously.
“Ready to go?” I asked Carmen.
Chapter Two
Chapter Four
Dreaming of Destiny
Frick's Fairytales