Trust Issues (Book #1 of the Defy series)

Chapter 11: Caged (Ace POV)

Trust Issues (Book #1 of the Defy series)

Ace:

It's been about a week since we've discussed the ins and outs of the competition.

We are currently in StarPort, the official filming location of Stardom. The establishment is huge - fitting in so many rooms that I haven't been able to keep count and I constantly find myself lost. There are music rooms, sleeping quarters, a lunchroom, and other eating locations provided for all contestants. And there's a huge concert arena where most of the competition will take place.

It can hold a capacity of thousands.

Yesterday the filming crew did some practice shots of us. And I must admit, it does feel a bit invasive to have cameras on you at all times. But I find it's not that bad if you pretend they're not there. Which is a hard thing to do when the crew is practically shoving their equipment in our faces.

This show has a pretty high production, offering the contestant's magazine shoots and media coverage through news interviews and social media posts. They have practice rooms for us; which of course have cameras in them.

They also have dorm-type rooms that don't have cameras in them, but they do have film crews that come in every so often to see if anything interesting is happening. The building has a few rooms with no cameras and spaces where filming crews aren't allowed to enter. I guess the powers that be considered that at some point the bands are people (who will need some type of privacy at some point.)

We just moved into the accommodations that the show has provided for all the contestants. Each band or group has their own rooms that they share with each other. Actually, we've met a few of the other contestants already, and they all seemed super prepared.

Today is the shoot for the first episode, which includes a live audience. The guys and I are all ready for the audition portion of the show. We've tuned our instruments and our minds. For our performance, we've dressed up in matching color-cordinated blacks and blues. I have my dark brown hair slicked back and my face freshly shaven.

The audience arrived about an hour ago, and the turnout is huge. I can see the sea of people from the waiting room which features a large screen TV that allows us to see the performances and the audience. The judges have their own VIP section set up with a table and microphones. They just get to offer their opinions on the performance, but the real judges are the viewers.

This first episode will be pre-filmed and the next will be a live broadcast.

Looking at some of the other bands in the waiting room, I could tell they were excited to get on stage. Knees were bouncing, and the chatter was none stop unless someone was actually performing. Then everyone would quiet down, silently judging the competition.

B.A.D is one of the groups. They have five members and they each play an instrument and dance. I personally think their band name must mean something about their music, kidding, of course. Overall, they seem like some cool dudes. There's a girl band called Impact 9; I heard them practicing in the practice room by accident and they can really sing... like really sing. 

I would feel threatened if I weren't such a good vocalist myself.

In all seriousness, we'll have to bring our A-game if we even want to have a shot at winning the competition. I know that this won't be some walk in the park - the jungle maybe - but definitely not a park.

A good portion of the bands that had performed already are good. But some weren't so good. I'm not saying this out of bitterness, it's just some of their singers had shaky vocals and some of their drummers were offbeat.