HAZEL FINE SINGS ALONG (WATTYS 2022 Winner!)

Chapter 18: Getaway Car

The next morning, Hazel stood in the hallway outside one of the conference rooms with a camera crew feeling excited. She was wearing an outfit that she'd found at a thrift store—a vintage wrap dress in a bright print that fit her better than something off the rack had any right to. Her hair was in a side braid, and she was wearing her signature cowboy boots, her guitar slung over her back.

She was waiting to make her entrance to meet her musical mentor. For this segment of the Sing Along, each of them would be assigned a mentor who'd already made it in the business and would help navigate them through the live rounds.

There was a lot of speculation among the contestants about who they'd get. The fame-level of each mentor varied from year to year, but they'd run the gamut from ex-contestants to huge pop stars like Bebe Rexha and, early on, Britney Spears. Hazel doubted it would be anyone of that caliber this time around, but Zoey had speculated all through breakfast about who it might be, shouting random names out like "Carrie Underwood" and "Maren Morris."

Hazel didn't have the heart to tell her that it was more likely to be the fourth runner up from season 4. She wished she could feel Zoey's enthusiasm for the whole process, but her interaction with Martin the night before had hung over her happiness like a net, keeping her heart from soaring the way it should.

But now that she was about to meet whoever it was, she felt the tension lifting. She wanted to enjoy her time on the Sing Along when she could, and meeting her musical mentor was one of the moments she'd most been looking forward to.

"Hey, Hazel," Benji said, ambling by her. They hadn't had a chance to discuss the whole kiss-in-front-of-his-mom last night. They'd watched the show together, and his mother had been lovely, but then he'd had to drive her home and Hazel hadn't had the energy to track him down after what happed with Martin. Instead, she'd hidden Checkers under a bunch of towels and got him to the room without further incident.

"Hey, Benji, hold up a second."

He stopped. "What's up?"

Hazel walked closer to him and lowered her voice, checking that her mic was off. She didn't want the cameramen to overhear her. "I wanted to apologize for last night."

"What for?"

"Is your mic hot?"

Benji checked the mic pack on his belt. It was off. "What's going on?"

"All that stuff in front of the camera. The kiss, your mom. We didn't discuss how this was going to work."

Benji tossed his head in that practiced gesture he'd done the day they met. It made Hazel remember their initial connection—their shared ambition to succeed.

"We just pretend to be together for the cameras, right? Should be easy enough. Not like they're going to be checking our rooms for sleepovers."

"No, I know."

"So, easy peasy."

"And what about the other thing?"

"What's that?"

"What I said about my parents being dead. I know honesty's important to you."

Benji shrugged. "Sure. If we were dating, it would matter. But we're just friends, right? I'm sure you have a good reason for saying that."

"They're just not a part of my life. Like I told you. And I didn't want to have to explain that to Bella and everyone in front of the cameras."

"No worries." Benji rocked on his heels. "Anyway, I should jet. I'll be late to meet my mentor."