Write off the Fear

Chapter 11

Winter break is coming to an end and Mim can't believe how much difference a few months can make in the life of a high schooler. Five months ago she didn't know what she was doing with her life, she didn't have her sisters, she didn't have any confidence in her music, she didn't know if she'd even have friends in the new school year. But, here she is now with supportive sisters, supportive friends, she's building up her confidence, believing in her music, believing in herself and, and this is a big and, she had, cue drumroll, a girlfriend. That's right, she and Katelyn made it official two days ago and maybe some might say that it's a little soon to put a label on it, but they talked about it together and made the decision to be official. So yeah, Mim's life has changed quite a bit in five months, but evidently, maybe not enough. There's still one problem; Jason.

One of the things they've all been doing together is hanging out in the Carr's reading room, which to Mim was really more like a home library than a 'reading room'. Reason being the comfy seats, cozy atmosphere with a nice roaring fire to keep them warm through the wintery cold and it was free. Right now, Mim and Katelyn were cuddled together on one end of the couch, each reading their own books, Tiny and Nash were on the other end, sharing a laptop and earphones, watching a movie, Nova was lying on her belly on the floor, reading through a graphic novel she was currently obsessed with, Mia was in the kitchen making them some hot chocolate and Liza was by the window in an armchair, sketchpad in hand, periodically looking up to look around then back down to continue her sketch.

They were in a comfortable silence, each lost in their own world, doing their own thing. It's only when Mia scurries into the room, as quickly as a tray of hot chocolate will let her, shouting, "Guys. Guys. GUYS!" that the calm is broken and all eyes glare at her as she places the tray down on the coffee table.

"Amelia! What the hell! You scared the crap out of me and now I've got a line through my sketch!" Liza exclaims while holding up her sketchpad for emphasis.

"Whoopsie. Sorry Liz." Mia says remorsefully but then adds on, "But guess what news I just got!" while waving her phone in the air.

"What?" Nova asks as she sits up and takes a sip of her hot chocolate.

"They released the list of musical artists performing at the Sound of The Heat for next summer," Mia answers and everyone is suddenly giving her their full attention, "and you'll never guess who's one of the acts."

"THE FIDDLESTICKS!" Nash exclaims in excitement and all of them turn to stare at him weirdly.

"Okay...? But no." Mia says slowly, unsure of what that was, "It's Jason." She finally divulges.

At the announcement, there are various responses, Tiny whips out her phone to look for the listing herself as Nash looks over as well, Nova and Liza exclaim in disbelief, 'No way!' and 'Are you kidding me?', Mim groans and forcefully tips her head over the back of the couch and Katelyn sighs next to her, holding onto her hand, rubbing her thumb soothingly over her knuckles.

"You weren't kidding." Tiny finally says then continues to read the article out loud, "Joining us for the first time is Jason Porter, 17, who over the last few months has garnered a rapid following after releasing his self produced album, It's A Vibe, early in September. We, at Sound of The Heat, are thoroughly impressed with his potential and are looking forward to seeing more from him next Summer." Tiny finishes.

"It's actually legitimate." Nova adds and she too has her phone out now, "There's another article from Music News Today" she says then continues, "Today, the Sound of The Heat summer festival team released the musical acts that'll be performing over the week long event next summer. Among the many popular acts were a few lesser known names like Rebelicious, The Mats, Stony Crew and a few others, blah blah blah." She scrolls through her phone until she finds what she's looking for, "Ah hah!" Then continues again, "Jason Porter, Massachusetts born and raised, is a typical high school kid with big dreams. He recently released his self produced album, titled It's A Vibe, and we have to say, we are very impressed. Jason not only sings but he writes and produces his own material. We were deeply moved by the lyrics of his songs as they connected in some way to each of us here at MNT. I personally felt an attachment to one song in particular, 'Did Music Die?', which sings of losing someone close to you that all music just sounds like a single monotonous tone. The song is carried by the same consistent voicemail tone which, I think, is a genius move as it really brings you into the story the song is trying to tell. I have nothing but high hopes for this teenager and I can't wait to see what else he has to offer the world of music..." Nova finishes and everyone is silent for a while.