A Walk Apart (Episode 4: All In)

Chapter One

Adam pinned the latest addition to the lobby bulletin board.

Open Mic Night Contest. All talents welcome.

One event he would not be signing up for. He lacked the nerve to put himself through that kind of heavy scrutiny and the unsolicited criticism that came with it. The spotlight was not his friend. Anything involving dozens of eyes staring at him caused him to cave under pressure. He regretted posting "Canary" which thankfully remained under the hundred view mark, but even that little attention made him want to shut down his page. He shrank into his crab shell of self-consciousness every time he watched himself pour his heart out in a stairwell he thought was empty. At the time, he only had to deal with one viewer. That was more than enough for him. He'd leave the stage to the professionals like Maddie and Nate and find something more his comfort level. Like Senior Night Bingo in the conference room. That sounded promising.

He turned away from the board before he actually committed to calling out Bingo numbers, which could be an intimidating task depending on which senior guests attended, and saw Ashlee heading his way. He smiled and lifted a hand. She grinned and waved back until something caught her eye. She spun around and scurried off in the opposite direction. Maybe she forgot something. That girl was adorably loopy.

***

See you in a few.

Jared sent the text, put away his phone and moved for the elevators. It felt good to be in steady contact with Ronnie after that isolating hiatus. It was a relief, really, reuniting with someone who knew and understood him. Someone he could confide in. Someone he loved. The night he finally built up the courage to call her back, they talked for hours into the next morning. He missed those talks, sometimes about everything, mostly about virtually nothing substantial, and now that they were back on good terms, he could look forward to them on a daily basis. The silly, nonsense conversations where his favorite. It took the pressure off speaking about the things he'd rather escape from, if only for a few moments. She was good at that. Escapism. And she always knew how to reel him back in when the time was right, and they would deal with it. Together.

The elevator doors opened to Ashlee's sister Brie and the flower boy. They shifted apart from each other to make room for him. He was sure Ashlee told her sister all about the incident. He could feel the temperature rise the moment he stepped inside. Her face said it all. He had every intention of talking to Ashlee and clearing the air. He wanted things to go back to normal. To hit restart like it never happened. He would do everything he could on his part to show her there were no hard feelings. She had nothing to be ashamed of. All he had to do was get her to speak to him again. If he could get a hold of her. He reconciled one relationship only to lose another.

***

On her way to Mr. Santora's office, Madison reread the text message he sent her.

Need to talk to you and Nate about Open Mic Night. Meet me in my office ASAP.

Interesting...Was he personally going around inviting musicians to participate? That would defeat the purpose. Unless he was afraid no one would want to and hoped to secure a Daylight performance as a backup plan.

Or maybe it was about the undisclosed prize. A special Daylight meet-and-greet for the winner. Exciting, but not likely. At least not yet. Their neighbors literally got free meet-and-greets every day, along with the occasional selfie. They weren't quite at the crowd inciting stage, having no trouble blending in. Most of their fans were out of state and overseas. Not that she was complaining. She embraced these moments of being able to do whatever she wanted without being recognized and bombarded by cameras. If things went according to plan, one day her life would change completely and the tiniest details will be scattered all over social news feed. She wanted to hold onto normality for as long as she could before normal waved goodbye in her rear-view.

As she approached the main office behind the front desk, she spotted Adam reading the bulletin board a few feet away. "Hey, Adam."

Adam swung around and smiled. "Maddie. I was just thinking about you." He made a face, possibly wishing that came out differently. He pointed behind him at the Open Mic flyer. "And your music. Are you going?"

Maddie waved her phone with its cryptic text message. "Actually, I am on my way to meet wit Santora about that. Not sure why?" She took another look at the test, just in case she missed something.

Adam gave a sure nod. "Probably to tell you how highly overqualified you are. To give the amateurs a fair chance."

That would make sense. Though wouldn't it have been easier to just say so without summoning them to this mysterious meeting? There had to be more to it than that. "I will let you know. See you around."

"Sure thing," Adam cringed. "I will also make sure that comes out less creepy next time." Maddie laughed and headed for Santora's office. Whatever it is he wanted, knowing Santora, it would be worth her time.

***

Nate slapped his phone on his leg to the beat of the song he'd just been working on in The Song Bird music room backstage. So far, it sounded great and was everything he loved about writing. If only it had actual words. Before he got sucked into the whirlpool of music making, he headed for Santora's office to see what he wanted to talk about. Open Mic Nights were cool, and a great way to meet fellow musicians who could potentially become collab partners at some point. He was always open to new sounds. He had no idea what Santora had in mind, but he was interested in finding out.

On his way there, he just missed Madison as she walked through the door. And watching from a few feet away was who else but Adam. As always, he lingered around Maddie like a star-struck fan, hoping for one last glance. Or a spot in her entourage. It was time to put an end to it once and for all.

***

If you could sing any A Walk Apart original song for an Open Mic Night, which would it be?

-Love, Charly