Long Island's Rising Popstar

Chapter 10: Jae-Len

Because according to Luke, it was about to get crazy.

This was it. The Saturday that everything was gonna go down.

Jay was feeling a bit better about Niayrah now, but he had to focus on music. Especially with what was happening on this night.

He woke up with a determination that he hadn't felt before. He thought he would be nervous in anticipation of the performance, but he was actually quite the opposite. Because he knew his team had his back, and nothing anyone said would tear him down.

He slid over to the table, sitting down with a grin.

"My son's performing tonight!" Tanya squealed, making Jay's breakfast. "You nervous?"

"Weirdly, no. I feel like I should be, but I think I'm ready. Maybe all the practicing and support from my friends paid off. I'm excited."

"As you should be. And we're all gonna be there for you too."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Mom."

"I raised you, and I'm gonna watch you grow up."

Jaida came out of her room, looking tired.

"I hope that's not how you act when I'm on stage tonight." Jaelen joked, Tanya giving him the side eye.

"Be nice to your sister. She stayed up late last night studying for her chemistry test."

Fresh nodded. "I remember that time."

"Seeing you will be my reward for passing it, which I'm definitely gonna do."

"We'll be praying for you. Won't we, Jay?"

"Yeah, we will." Despite his artistry, he still had respect for his Mom.

And today was the most important day of his life at this point. He'd agreed to take Niayrah to the show, and Nancy and Tammy would be waiting for him. They were planning to practice today and make sure everything was set 30 minutes before the show. With the limited amount of tracks, the set would be pretty easy. The DJ would cue up the tracks, and the artists would perform.

Jay felt a little bad for Eczavier, who was probably going to either miss out on the performance, or just feel down because he didn't get to perform or get his half of the money. But remembering the attitude he brought the previous week, he probably didn't care about The Fresh King anyway.

None of that mattered, though, because Jay's true friends were the ones that would be there for him tonight at Harlem's Paradise. And Cornell Stokes and his cousin Councilwoman Mariah Dillard were going to be blown away. New talent was coming, and they weren't ready.

As Niayrah left for school, Jay took this early day to head over to Young Ferb's place with Orion to do some early solo practicing. He already knew it was easiest to turn the song Hard At Life into "Hard Life" as that was what the lyrics said. But it was the fast rapping that he had to work on now. Orion stood behind him while Young Ferb ran the track multiple times through his big speaker. The drilling had begun.

The "15 years I've been a diabetic" made Darien chuckle, but he kept that stifled so he wouldn't offend his friend. As far The Fresh King of New York was concerned, this day was make or break for him. For one, he wanted to please his friends and family with a fire performance. He also wanted Mr. Stokes and Mariah to enjoy it, as well as those who didn't know him. This was the day that Jay Williams grew his audience.

Orion grinned. "This is gonna be sick, bro. The people are gonna love it, I guarantee it."

"Don't guarantee anything." Young Ferb interceded. "The people are probably gonna love it, yeah. But remember that party at Gabe's house?"