“Lou, could you hand me that shirt?”
“Sure”
I catch it as he throws it across the room and fold it neatly before laying it gently on top of the other clothes in the bag.
“They’re going to get wrinkled like that” I warn him as he stuffs his clothes into his bag.
“Either way I’m going home today so I’ll get them cleaned and ironed.” He shrugs.
I sigh and walk over to fix his mess. “How long will we get at home before going to judges houses?” that is if I even go through.
“I think a couple of weeks.” He says while putting on his hoody.
I check the time after closing his bag. “Crap, we have to go to the lobby”
I pick up my bag and follow Louis out of the hotel room for the last time.
“So this is the third and very last day of boot camp. Out of the 200,000 who auditioned, you are the final hundred so you should be proud. But be sure to give us all what you’ve got.” Simon says once we’re all standing on stage. “This is the most important day of your lives.”
Suddenly, Nicole Scherzinger appears and walks over to the judges table and we all start clapping. She looks absolutely stunning. She gives a small wave and takes her seat beside Simon.
“Now that I’m well again, I’m here to help do the final cuts.” She speaks into the mic. “It’s time to separate the men from the boys and the pussycats from the dolls.” She smiles and we laugh.
Right after going backstage to wait for our turns I hear my name being called.
“Harry Styles, you’re up first.”
What?
I look back at the crew member. “Okay.” I managed to say in a small voice. I look at the others and they give me a thumbs up.
“Good luck!” some says.
Where’s Louis?
“They’re waiting for you” the crew member urges.
But as I get nearer to the steps leading to stage I start to get the familiar buzz and I smile to myself. I’ve done this before and I got through. I can do this. And once again it’s over too fast.
I walk down the steps feeling happy but also a little unsure. They didn’t tell me anything, they didn’t even smile or frown. What if it was horrible? I start panicking and find myself shaking as I take a seat next to one of the girls.
Maybe I shouldn’t have rushed to the center of the stage. Did that make me seem unprofessional? What if they don’t think I’m taking this seriously? I shouldn’t have smiled either. They’re going to think that I’m a stupid foolish kid. What if they think I’m not mature enough? I put my head in my hands. I feel someone approaching me after a few minutes. I look up to see Niall, one of the other boys.
“Why are you so sad? I think you did really well.” I’d forgotten that everyone is watching one another’s performances.
I groan. “Just not getting feedback is killing me.” I tell him.
He takes the seat next to me. I didn’t even notice the girl leaving. I probably freaked her out.
“Yeah, I guess we just have to wait then.” He smiles sympathetically.
I watch as people go in and out of the room. Some returning with big smiles while others coming back and going to cry in the corner without word. Most of the people crying are girls but I notice a few of the big boys getting a little emotional. Hell, I’m getting more emotional with every minute.
Finally, all the contestants are done. Now we only have a couple of hours until the judges come up with a decision. Great.
Sometime during those few hours of hell Louis decides to join me.
“Where have you been?” I ask rather sharply.
He cocks an eyebrow before sitting next to me on the carpet. I decided to move to the back of the room and sit in the corner when lunch came, just like a little kid in time-out.
“Sorry” I look down at my empty plastic container “I’m just a little nervous, that’s all.”
“It’s okay. I heard that they’ll be done in a few minutes.”
“Thank God” I exhale.
“Anyway, the reason I wasn’t here is because my mum is here and I went to see her” he continues.
“Oh, my mum’s here too but I don’t want to see her because I know I’ll cry” I laugh shakily.
Louis smiles and puts an arm around me. Niall managed to get his guitar and is playing again while singing Justin Bieber songs.
Before we know it, it’s time to find out the results. The knot in my stomach tightens again.
“Just relax. Do you want me to hold your hand?” Louis smirks. He’s clearly mocking me but he’s trying to ease my nerves so I just roll my eyes.
“So we’ve changed things a bit” Simon says right away. “Instead of taking six acts through from each category, we’ve decided to take eight.”
I sigh in relief. It’s only two more people but I could be the seventh or eighth choice.
“Good luck” Simon finally states.
Then each judge starts saying out names.
Again
And again
And again.
They’re at the last spot for the boys and Louis’ name wasn’t called out. No, this can’t be happening.
“And the last boy through is…”
Not me.
Or Louis.
