Blood Money

Chapter 2 - The Real Thing

I've been in such a rush to tell you about the contest, that I haven't even told you about myself. My name is Mo Brandon. My rapping persona is Borfotron (don't ask). I live in Scrillaville, as you know. My best friend is Dexter Lorne, who's rapping persona is Hammer Daddy (again, don't ask). My favorite color is green, my favorite food is just plain flour tortillas. I'm a Christian. I have four brothers that won't be participating in the competition. They're not old enough. You have to be at least twelve, and I just turned twelve back in June. So you can get why I'm excited. I've sat through nine of these things, even when I was a baby I watched it. I've watched the amazing talent, the ability. I wanted to be a part of it. And so I am.

The contest is in twenty minutes, and I'm prepared. I have a song ready, and I'm shaking in my boots (even though I don't have boots). I have a little bit of stage fright, always have. The only time I've ever been on stage is in the third grade play, where I acted as a bush. And I still got scared. See what I mean?

Anyways, here I am, standing in between Dexter and Dang Dung. That guy creeps me out. He's from Vietnam, and was trained to be a ninja. I have no idea why he turned to rap. 

"Uh, are you scared? I'm scared. I'm really scared!" Dexter mutters. He has more stage fright than me, but I know he can get through it.

"It's okay, you'll do fine", I say, encouragingly. 

"Thanks for the help, I'm just a little jittery.", he whispers back. Just then, a voice came through the overhead speakers. 

"Hello People of Scrillaville, and others! Welcome to the 10th annual Big Rap contest!" 

Cheers echoed in my ears, making my head spin. "That's a LOT of people", Dexter says, shakily. 

I tensed. I can feel the testosterone coursing through my veins. This is so stressful. A big risk of public humiliation. Then again, I have the chance to become a famous rapper, and a shot at half a million bucks. Participating seems like the best option... to me anyway. Okay, back to reality. 

"Ladies and gentleman, we have 14 very talented rappers here, and 1 of them is a rapping duo, which we have only had once before! These rappers will go head-to-head in random matchups! Whoever gets the best score wins, and from those remaining, the rapper with the lowest score loses! You all ready to get this on?!"

 Everyone cheered, including me this time. "Alright, first I'll introduce our fabulous judges! First up, the sweet, the sensational, the 'Cowboy'... Woody Erle!" More cheers. 

"Next up, the amazing, the solid, the 'Rhyme Chime'... Shaun Davey!" Still more cheers, and my voice cracked. I must be really stressed. 

"Next, we have the slick, the buff, the 'Slide-E'... Horatio Herbert!" Still cheers. My ears are gonna explode soon. 

"Last, but certainly not least, the sharp, the stunning, the 'Triple-Whammy'... Hardy Carter!" Finally, the last round of cheers. Still burns a lot, though. At times like this, I curse my exceptional hearing. 

"Now that we've gone over the judges", says the announcer, "It's time for the real thing! If you would all turn your attention to the big screen up there", he motions to a huge screen over by the stage, "The randomizer thing (Copyright) will choose a random two rappers to go against each other! First match up is..." The screen starts mixing up a bunch of different pictures and names. I'm crossing my fingers, hoping it doesn't pick me first. Then the screen stops. 

"And the two rappers that are first up..." It's still going...

"Mo Brandon and Joshua Roe!" 

My heart stops beating.