What We See, What We Forget

Part 12

"Shasfa!"

"Shasfa!"

I was given a tap on my shoulders. I was dazed by the 33 Degrees songs I had been playing repeatedly on my phone, which would be rehearsed during the audition. I peeked outside my car's window to see other girls stepping out of their cars, wearing white shirts and jeans and with heavy makeup on their faces. They were all looking nervous, just like me. I stepped out of the car with my parents, and we went up the elevator to the theater, where other hopefuls were there to attend the audition, some my age, some older. We were all there to audition for the seventh generation of the group. We walked up to the counter to hand in our confirmation form, and in return, they handed me my audition number, 63. Of the thousands or so that sent their videos to the agency, only seventy-five were invited to the audition, of which only fifteen will be selected to become trainees. Oddly, this year, they're adding the intake to twenty trainees; I don't know why, but I'm happy that I had a higher chance of getting accepted statistically! I was there very early, so it was quite the wait. I felt each second pass with more pressure being added as the numbers flew by. I held onto my mom's hands tightly, waiting for my number to be called. It was very warming; I even left some of my makeup on her sleeves, and she quickly retouched upon noticing. With ten more numbers to go, I looked up to the door to see someone exiting; at first, she walked as if nothing had happened, but only after her parents approached her did she turn into hysterics. She hugged her mom firmly while letting all her tears out. I tried my best not to get distracted, but it threw an anxious sense down my system. I wondered what she could have done to come out crying like that. My dad told me not to sweat it and to keep my confidence up; it was easier said than done, sir! After that charade, I kept on waiting until the moment the attendant opened the door and said my number; here goes nothing.

A hug and a wave to my parents, and I'm off inside the theater. Until this point, I had only seen pictures of the theater, but to be inside, it was something else. The attendant asked me to wait for a while in the entrance room. The room was the first thing the audience would enter after passing through the entrance; it was modeled after the hall of mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, only much shorter and had only a single chandelier hanging. On the sides of the room were portraits of the current members of the 33 Degrees; I was in for a poetic moment; it was like they were all staring at me with a welcoming gaze. The attendant called me over to her, taking me backstage and, finally, to the stage. The main auditorium was empty except for a table where five people sat. I thanked the attendant as I walked onto the stage; once I stood there, the person in the middle turned on her mic and introduced herself as Mdm. Evelina, the head of Liquid, 33 Degrees' parent agency's branch in Indonesia. She would then tell me about the audition guidelines. I was to introduce myself, and they would then ask some questions. Then, it would go to the dancing and singing part, where a random 33 Degrees instrumental was played, and I was supposed to sing and dance to the choreography. After a brief introduction, they went on to ask the questions. I had expected tough questions, such as my intent on joining 33 Degrees and my capability to live the idol life, but instead, they asked me what my favorite candy was and my opinion on ponies. The questions took me aback because they came out of left field. I was in the middle of answering the last question when suddenly the stage light and the spotlight shined at my face. Mdm. Evelina said that the previous question concluded the session and that I must dance now. I didn't know if it was my luck, but the song they played was "Smooth Sailing," also known as 33 Degrees' most famous song! I danced and sang my heart out and took a deep bow when it was over. I thanked everyone present for their time and walked outside the theater.

I rushed immediately to my parents, who happily hugged me back. After I returned my number, we went for our car and returned home. All I needed to do was wait another two weeks until I would be emailed about my results; at this point, it was just me and my prayers. On the Monday after my audition, I returned to my middle school only to be mobbed by my friends; all were asking about how the audition went; some even congratulated me on becoming an idol. I told them not to jinx it, as the announcements were still two weeks away. I guess the idol euphoria exists even when you haven't even become an idol; now that I have experienced the first glimpse of fame, it scared me when I thought about what true fame would look like, but I had already made a round decision, what's left is to hope. If I get accepted, my life will be flipped around; I've read that the contract will last seven to nine years, so it would not finish until I'm in my sixth semester in college, the fastest possibility! I hadn't planned my life that far out, although I have recently been quite fond of psychology, something worth digging into in my studies. Two weeks had passed, and no emails had been sent to my account. I was about to lose hope of becoming an idol. I began to think that whatever happened during the entire audition process was all part of a hard-earned experience that I'd keep on remembering in the future, heck at least I'd have bragging rights over my friends, I made it past the first stage of idol audition! Not everybody could say that. Accepted people would have more bragging rights, but I'll take what I can get. That school day went uneasily; I kept refreshing my email on my phone only to get nothing; it got to a point where my teacher noticed that I was constantly on the phone and called me out for it; she told me to put it down. As I was about to put it down, I felt a buzz followed by a ringing. I was receiving a call! I panicked and ran out of the room to pick up the call.

"Hello, is this Shasfa Hashifa?"

"Yes, yes, it is!"

"Cong- "

I'M AN IDOL! I yelled across the floor, probably too loud, because multiple doors opened to check up on the earsplitting noise that they just heard.

"Uh, hello. Are you still there, Shasfa?"

"Oh, yes, I'm still here."

"As I said, congratulations, you have passed the audition process, and we welcome you to the 33 Degrees family! An email regarding your inaugural meeting as trainees will be sent to your email account shortly. See you then!"

My friends again surrounded me, along with my teacher, whose mood had switched from reprimanding me to congratulating me for the acceptance; since it was the last class of the day, the entirety of what was left of the lesson was discarded because everyone was too distracted by my news to be bothered continuing the lesson. Then the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day; I ran to my mom, who was picking me up from school with my great news. She was so glad she stopped by an ice cream shop after picking me up to celebrate. When my dad returned from work, he brought home a feast from a restaurant near his office to celebrate. My grandparents from both my parents phoned me to congratulate me. I honestly can't wait to see what the idol life has waiting for me. I was due to report to the inauguration next Saturday. I'd expected it to be held in the theater, but it would be held in another building, supposedly their training center in a separate building from the theater. The email also contained what I needed to bring for the inauguration. I still can't believe this is happening. One of my yearnings in life had finally come true. I did the cliché thing of pinching myself to check if it was a dream; thankfully, it wasn't.

Saturday arrived, and now it was counting the hours until the inauguration commenced; I was so prepared that I slept right next to my inaugural clothes! My parents were excited as well. We all smiled non-stop on our way to the training place. It was located not too far away from the theater, in an office building right across from the mall that had the theater. The training center itself was situated on the thirty-second floor of the building. Once there, the parents were separated from the children; before anything started, they presented a PowerPoint presentation of Liquid's activity and a prototype of our training schedule as a trainee; it was surprisingly accommodative to my school schedule. I had fears that it would interfere with it. After all that was overcome, the part where we signed our contracts, I know for a fact that every one of the girls there went and scrambled to look for the pay section, me as well, just out of curiosity! And wow, was my curiosity fulfilled, that high of a pay? That did not include the sign-in bonus we received for passing the auditions. It is no wonder people are fighting tooth and nail for a spot on the team. With full intent and hope, I gave the contract to my parents for them to sign since my signature was not yet eligible for a legally binding document. With the two signatures, I officially became an idol trainee, thus beginning my journey as an idol. The inauguration was not over; however, after the presentation, Mdm. Evelina got up on the podium and gave a speech congratulating us on being accepted. Then, members of 33 Degrees entered the room to congratulate us, too.

To most of us there, we hadn't fully comprehended that we were a part of the 33 Degrees family, so seeing the idol girls appear ahead of us without any barrier in between left us more than starstruck seeing them this close to us. They then performed a dance number of their most famous song, Smooth Sailing. After the number, they got close to us to start a conversation; the girl next to me yelled excitedly without saying any cipherable words. The team's captain, Reissa Andini, approached me to shake my hands; I guess I was starstruck as well because I left her hanging for a second before finally realizing that she was gesturing for a handshake. She welcomed me and congratulated me for being accepted into the team. I shook her hands tightly while saying thank you to her. Then came around the rest of the members before the inauguration concluded with a picture together; from this day, I am an Idol!