The Confession - The Music Freaks

The Competition

A/N: I was always kind of confused how the school can have a student band competition when there only seems to be one music club. I guess it could be an inter-school competition, but I didn't realise that until after I wrote this chapter, so I assumed that other talent acts are also allowed to compete.

The night of the competition was finally here. The equipment was all set up on stage, and the club was waiting behind the curtain to begin as soon as the current talent act ended. Jake took a quick peek at the audience, and saw the room was packed. In the back row were parents who had come to watch. He knew his own mom, as well as the other band members' parents were there to watch. Even Sean's parents had turned up to support him, despite some bickering when they arrived.

"How are you feeling Hailey?" whispered Jake.

"I won't lie, I'm nervous, but also really excited," whispered back Hailey.

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Jake concerned.

"Yeah, with you by my side, I think I can do this. I know I can do this."

Jake gave Hailey a reassuring smile, looking into her eyes perhaps a bit too long.

"And next up, we have the music club!" came the announcer's voice. She was a tall woman with long white hair, blue eyes, and dressed in black business attire. "My daughter, Daisy, has told me how much effort everyone has been putting in, and if the rumours I've heard during the school board meetings are true, then I think we're all in for something special!"

For the next few minutes, Jake forgot about all the pressures he was under, and let all his emotions out in his singing. While Hailey's voice showed a hint of nervousness at first, Jake stepped in to support her, and soon the two of them were singing together at the top of their voices.

The crowd clapped and cheered. Even Drew let down his usual uncaring attitude and let out a whistle to show his support.

Once off stage, the club hugged each other, then Hailey tugged Jake aside.

"So, Jake, are you going to finally ask Daisy out now?" asked Hailey.

"Um..."

"Don't tell me you're nervous?"

"Well, uh..."

Hailey sighed. "I know you like her Jake, all you have to do is be yourself and let her know how you feel. Beneath that cocky attitude, you're one of the sweetest guys I know. She'll be lucky to have you."

"Thanks Hailey," Jake replied blushing. "But it's not that. There's something else on my mind at the moment."

"Oh, you're nervous about the competition results, right? Well, there's still a few acts to go before they announce the winners, so in the meantime, let's just enjoy the other acts. Wanna sit together?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

The club moved to some seats at the front of the audience reserved for performers. While the music club was the only serious contender for the "band competition" category, Jake was amazed by all the other talents that his classmates had. Daisy performed a dance routine, which was executed flawlessly, but left an uneasy feeling of being almost mechanical. The highlight for Jake was the theatre club's performance. "Pssst... next year we should team up with the theatre club and do a musical," he whispered to Hailey.

"And now, time to announce the winners," came Daisy's mom's voice. "You are all talented, but raw talent is not enough. Only the few who are truly dedicated to putting in long hours of hard work and practice will rise to the top."

As Daisy's mom began to read out the winning talent acts for each category, Jake realised that he didn't really care anymore about the result. He had sung on stage with Hailey, and this was all that he really wanted. Anything else was just a bonus.

"... and finally, as winner for the band competition category, as well as best overall talent act, we have the music club! Come up on stage."

"Whooo!" yelled Milly.

Once the club was up on stage, Daisy's mom handed Hailey a trophy, and the crowd cheered one more time.

"And that concludes the evening," announced Daisy's mom.

Hailey gave Jake a nudge. "Come on, go get your girl!"

As Jake walked off to find Daisy, the other club members came over to Hailey.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Zander. "We know you like him, why did you just let him go like that"

"Because he loves Daisy," said Hailey, holding back her tears. "I haven't known Jake as long as she does, it's not right for me to take him away from her."

"Hailey, I thought we talked about this," said Sean. "You could have at least let him know how you feel."