The Alliance

Chapter 2: Honorable Mention

By the end of the week we had figured out what we were doing. Cole wanted me to use my (however terrible) keyboard skills to accompany his jazz saxophone. I was simply to play a chord riff (that was my idea) while he syncopated and "jazzed out".

So we were at the competition, waiting for our turn to come on. I was feeling a little agoraphobic... okay, a lot agoraphobic...but Cole was pretty motivated. He had worked hard on this all week, and had to deal with homework and Lukas as well, so I was pretty darn impressed.

Our school had the strangest layout, I swear, what with the roof gardens, and the stage was in the gym, of all places. Apparently they didn't like the idea of making space for a gym and an auditorium so they just merged them together. Cole and I were up in the sound booth with the rest of AV club. He was the stronger of the two of us so he had spotlight, and I got soundboard controls. It wasn't too bad; all I really had to do was turn speakers on and off and manipulate echo effects. Again, we are maximum nerd-swag.

So this one kid, our team director, whose name was Kitt Coralls, he was keeping track of all the competitors, making sure we had the right settings and everything, and he announced their names through his loudspeakers and stuff. Kitt had wavy brownish hair that covered his ears, and metallic-rimmed glasses that looked a lot cooler than mine. He was a senior, and dorky like us, except he was a bit more cool and a little full of himself. He liked to think he was the most crucial member of the club. So anyway, he ordered us to go down and get ready with his usual jaded yet authoritarian tone. Cole kinda gave him a stink eye for his rudeness.

So we went backstage and set up our stuff. My keyboard was all ready and the stage crew would push it out onto stage, so really all we needed to do was organize our music and Cole had to put his sax together. I sat there nervously waiting. Cole must have noticed, because he tried to motivate me.

"Don't worry about it, man. We practiced. And plus, my nerd cousin Alex led a mass rebellion against the cool kids at his school. All we have is a little music performance. We got this."

Man, he told that story a lot. About his cousin. I don't know how true it was. But he used it as a rationalization for his universal optimism quite often.

"And now, with a self-composed jazz duet, juniors Jordan Akroinon and Cole Bennett!" came Kitt's Vader-y voice echoing throughout the gym. The crowd applauded. I felt a million pairs of eyes staring at me as I proceeded over to the keyboard. When Cole signaled that he was ready, we started our song.

It went better than I thought it would. Zero mistakes, on both of our parts. We bowed out as the crowd cheered, and for once in my life, I felt liked. I felt like I might actually win something. For a moment, visions flashed through my head of Cole and I parading through the hall holding our first place trophy, with a cheering throng of fans behind us.

We breathed a sigh of relief when we made it off stage, partly because of the blast of cool air we got after escaping those spotlights, but mostly because we never had to do that ever again. I was starting to feel relieved, but then I felt freaked out again when Kitt announced the next competitors:

"And our final act, with a synchronized dance routine, juniors Chase Thalia, Aidan Rigel, and Lukas Flare!"

Cole and I exchanged worried glances and stopped in our tracks. Turning around, we suddenly felt the thump of the subwoofer in our chests and were near blinded by Kitt's lighting scheme. We looked out and we saw the "grand trio" "breaking down". They had used moves from their fear-tactic dance-off on the first day of school and copied some of ours as well. Is it any wonder I hate them?

The thing about close friends is that they can tell what you're thinking by your expression. Cole slipped me a "we're screwed" look, and I responded with an "I know" look. Then he did a "no chance of winning now" look, and I did a "no kidding" look, and he gave me a "why don't we just go outside and hide behind the dumpster until this stupid event is over and we can destroy our school records, run away to Guatemala, and change our names to Pepito and Juan Pablo" look.

We rushed back up to the sound booth as quickly as we could, so as to avoid Kitt's wrath. I have to say, this was the most freaked out I had ever been.

"Not bad, boys..." Kitt whispered when we got back up, brushing his long brown hair out of his eyes. When you got a compliment from a hotshot like Kitt, it was pretty meaningful. That lifted my spirits a little.

It wasn't long before we got the judges results. Cole looked like he was about to have a stroke when we looked at it.

First place: Chase Thalia, Aidan Rigel, and Lukas Flare's dance routine

Second place: Grace Sage and Addie Janisson's vocal duet

Third place: Ezekiel Devon, Damian Whited, Ely Bridge, and Josiah Septarian's percussion quartet

Honorable mention: Cole Bennett and Jordan Akroinon's jazz composition

Honorable mention. That essentially means, you suck, but you get an award for trying. That hit me like a bullet in the butt.

"Huh. Crazy," said Kitt. "Those three first-prizer juniors barely practiced at all and they still managed to pull that off."

I gave him a confused look.

"They asked me to watch them practice and get my feedback. They're kinda my bros."

Kitt Coralls, best friends with Lukas Flare. That was the most ridiculous thing I've heard all day. And Lukas, caring about feedback?!

After Kitt had announced the three prizes and the (ughhh) not-so-honorable mention, he told the school to go into the cafeteria for "refreshments". Man, that's gotta be the cheesiest announcer line ever.

After Kitt had turned off all of the controls and we had stowed all the equipment, he looked right at me and said something that really stood out for me that day:

"I know you don't like that Flare kid, but believe me, being his friend...it has benefits," he said. I had never seen Kitt this serious. He turned to Cole and said, "You boys did good up there. Go get snacks. I got the rest of the load-out."

I was a little confused by Kitt's sincerity in that moment, but I knew it really meant nothing. What stuck with me as I followed Cole down the stairs was what Kitt had said about Lukas and his horde.

I didn't end up getting any snacks. While Cole went and pillaged the pastry section, I stood in the corner and people-watched. There were hardly any parents there, all kids. And it was even weirder that the only light that shone through the windows was moonlight. It just felt unnatural.

I shoved my earbuds in my ears and played Ride of the Valkyries. I love classical. it always makes me feel like I can actually forget about my worries. When Cole returned, he yanked my earbuds out of my ears.

"Ah! You rip out my headphones, I rip out your lungs!" I said in a brief moment of rage. It had no effect on Cole, who was too busy stuffing his face with cupcakes. I swear, I don't know how that kid stays so skinny.

Cole is my neighbor, so he drove the both of us home. He had this great BMW with seat heaters and nav systems and all. The only thing that bothered me was that it was a bright orange. That color drives me nuts. More than it should, really. When Cole and I got back, he told me I could come over to his house for some late night Star Wars on the Xbox. I declined, saying I was tired, and I really was. Losing is enervating.

I thudded down into my bed, but for some reason I couldn't fall asleep. For at least an hour the words Kitt had said to me echoed through my head...

"I know you don't like that Flare kid, but believe me, being his friend...it has benefits..."