The New Manager (Pentatonix)

16.

Esther sat down outside the hospital room, rousing her brother from his focused trance.

"Hey." She said, not sure how to proceed.

"Hey... can I ask you something?" Avi started, confusion in his face.

"Sure... what's up?" Esther asked.

"Just... why? If he didn't want to be with us... why force him? Why make him get out of his comfort zone? Why bother with the facade? Why ask him for advice, when he's not qualified in the least?" Avi blurted.

Esther blinked at the onslaught.

"Okay. Why did I start talking to him? Av, I never stopped. Why talk to him about management? Because he bloody well missed everyone. It was nice to have an outside opinion. I made him get out of his comfort zone, which was a small apartment and the diner, and I made him actually live. Do I regret it? Not one bit. The lies were for his benefit- he didn't feel safe. I was giving him anonymousity. He needed us, and we needed him. It worked." She shrugged, facing the bass.

"I just hope that he's going to be okay..." He whispered, leaning against the manager.

"He will, I promise." Esther vowed, ignoring the tingle of doubt in the back of her head.

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A few weeks passed, with Kevin, Avi, and Esther visiting the tenor often.

A few times, they had done the whole makeup ensemble, and brought Scott and Kirstin over to see him.

The top five stopped by a few times as well, to check on her and get advice.

"I know who I want to be the new member, Essy," Michelle had announced at one of the private meetings.

Esther glanced up from her notepad.

"Oh? May I ask who?" She asked, not bothering to mask her surprise.

Michelle leaned over to whisper it into Esther's ear.

"Why her?" Esther asked, in full support of her choice, yet wanting to know the reasoning behind it.

"Well, she's nice, friendly, cares for others, already connects to most of the fans, and has really clicked with the group." Michelle gushed.

She paused for a second, then continued. "I'm just worried about what might happen with her little girl. It should be fine, though. I have a second choice," and she whispered it in Esthers ear.

This one was surprising. "Why her?" She asked, actually not that keen on the idea.

"Easy! She connects with the fans, is funny, is like another me!" Michelle smiled, looking to Esther for praise.

Esther shook her head sadly. "Mitchy, thats exactly why we can't have her. It would break Scotty's heart. I can't deal with that all over again. But your first idea? Thats exactly who I was thinking as well. She clicks. And she can sure sing."

Michelle giggled. "I think everyone would be happy with her. She seems to gravitate towards Avi, and he'll protect her."

"Are you up for a meeting with everyone?" Esther asked.

Michelle nodded franticly. "Yes yes yes! I love people!" She squealed.

Esther forced a smile, and left to get everyone.

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"Okay, so she forgot... Mitch? She forgot who she really is. Well, crap." Kevin said, after Esther talked to him.

"Yah. He dyed his hair today. The purple is now blonde. And he restyled the wig. It's no longer a formal, professional style... it's all layered. Looks good, though." Esther said, shrugging.

"Well, let's get everyone. We need to decide our final audition." Kevin said, and the two grabbed their phones to call Scott and Avi.

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"Okay. So we have Sydney, Deanne, Claudia, Tara, and Angel left. What do we want to do as a final audition?" Esther asked everyone.

Kevin jumped in, an idea jumping around in his mind. "Do we have to do an audition? Or could we just have them hang one by one with us, and see who clicks? That would work."

Michelle smiled. "That would be perfect, actually. Then we know we'll be comfortable with them."

Avi nodded. "That's rock and roll, Kev."

Scott seemed hesitant. "I guess it might work..." he allowed.

"Great! So we can do that. We'll start tomorrow. Just invite them to lunch, a writing session, and the studio. That should give us enough time to judge their characters, and see who would fit the best." Esther said, before letting everyone leave.

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"...so, to summarize, we just want you to hang with the group for a day. Get a feel for it. It's Friday today, so... how about Monday?" Esther asked through the phone.

"I can do that," Sydney said, a smile in her tone.

"Great. See you then!" Esther said, before hanging up.

She then proceeded to call Claudia, Angel, Tara, and Deanne. In that order, she assigned everyone a day.

Everyone was excited- except for Tara.

When asked why, she answered, "because River gets home before we're done. Thursday's a half day... I could try to work something out with one of her friend's parents, though."

"Okay, get back to me on that." Esther said, hanging up.

She groaned in frustration. Tara was a prime candidate! Of course there would be a problem!

Deciding that she would worry about it later, she put all her stuff away, and headed home.