You and Me (Plus Everyone In Between Us)

I Called

The next day was even more rigorous than the next. Annie and Lennon used the "Sing For Your Life" challenge to get me motivated into practising, and damn, it worked. My nerves raced at the thought of Friday's performance. It was only two days away and millions of people were going to be watching me sing again. I hope I'm interesting enough for them to vote for. Lennon said I needed to adopt a personality quickly or else something interesting would have to happen to me.

Whatever that meant.

At least Grace and Janelle were of help, though I'm slightly jealous their manager wasn't strange like Lennon. They had been so helpful with everything and were kind of fun to talk to. I hadn't repeated stuff in a while because they paid attention the first time.

My parents and Maria had called me every night. I couldn't say the same about Emmett. They asked how the competition was and I said that it was going well and I was learning a lot. Then I made sure that they were going to watch the show, and they said that they would. Then they reminded me that this was just a temporary thing, and as soon as I got myself eliminated, I was going to get a real job.

I focused on myself in the mirror, flanked by two background dancers whose names are Penny and May. I was inside a practice room that represented the stage I was going to perform on. Lennon stood in front of me, eyes glued to her iPad.

"Let's start from the top," Lennon said to me. "Ezra, you're going to walk around the stage. Make sure to make eye contact with the cameras first and foremost. Pretend like you're actually onstage because you need to get your performance down."

"Okay," I agreed, as my backing I recorded yesterday blared through the room speakers.

I sang into a fake microphone and felt my voice now melding with the studio track. I stayed in my place, facing the mirror. Penny and May did a slow contemporary routine behind me, their bodies moving like water. I prepared to belt out into the chorus, but Lennon stopped the song.

"Can I ask you something, Ezra?" Lennon asked.

"Yes," I said, seemingly having no choice. She whipped off her huge Ray-Ban sunglasses and leaned forward to analyze me. I sucked in a breath, ready for her to slash into me.

"Are you being held hostage?" Lennon asked as I raised an eyebrow. "Like I'm asking a genuine question."

"No," I replied quietly.

"You perform like someone is holding a gun to your head and threatening your family if you don't perform," Lennon sighed. "How many times this week have I told you to sing openly? You have an amazing voice, but you have the stage presence of a fish! Sing like you want to be here, Ezra, because I know you do. Okay?"

"Okay," I responded, ignoring the verbal lashing she just deposited onto me.

Lennon queued up the music but then paused it for a second. "Understand what the song is implying. Think about something or someone that you want and how they relate to this song. Okay?"

"Okay," I replied again.

Lennon finally played the song again, and while the beginning piano riff played, I thought about what Lennon said. Think about someone who relates to the song.

I hadn't had a formidable love interest in years. The closest someone had shown interest in me was when again, that friend of Emmett's called my ass fat.

What was it like to have someone yearn for you? To want you? To be so wrapped up in their mind that they couldn't even think straight anymore. Every time I felt some semblance or romantic interest being formed, I always suppressed it, just in case. There was no use.

The music finished, and I faced Lennon, whose eyes were as wide as they could go (not very wide due to Botox). I blinked back to reality.

"Wow," she awed.

"Was it good?" I asked.

"That was good," Lennon finished with a smile. "If you keep this up, I think you have a good chance of being successful on Friday."

The widest smile reached my face, and it reached Lennon, too. Partially, of course.