Falling Slowly

Pt.1|Ch.8

A Week Later

•••••Austyn's Perspective

The wind blew the days by, brushing them aside like dead leaves on the street.

It blew seven or so days away, slowly enough that I felt every little twinge if anxiety for my upcoming audition.

If I thought I was nervous before, it was nothing compared to the day that I actually had to do it.

I woke up that morning and found that I could barely move.

And when my mother made breakfast for the both of us, I couldn't eat.

"I feel sick." I said, pushing the plate away from me.

"It's just nerves, sweetie." She squeezed my hand. "You're gonna be fine."

I shook my head. "I don't think I can do this."

"Did I raise you to give up that easily?" She asked sternly.

"No, but—"

"Then don't. You'll be glad you didn't. Benjamin will be there, won't he?"

"Yes, but why are you condoning that?"

She shrugged. "I'm just trying to find an upside."

"I mean, I guess that is an upside, but I'm not sure how much that's going to help."

She smiled. "You did enjoy your time with him last week, didn't you?"

I nodded. "I enjoyed it very much. I hate to say it, but I did."

"And he's the one that heard you sing first, right?"

I nodded again. "Yes."

"Then sing to him today. Don't think about anyone else."

Sighing, I relented."I'll try, Mama."

She glanced up at the clock. "It's time for you to go."

The digital clock on the microwave read 9:30.

"So it is." I moved to stand up, picking my jacket up off the back of the chair.

"Good luck." She said as I slipped it on and headed for the door. "Call me right after it's over."

I smiled, sliding my feet into a pair of sneakers. "I will."

The walk to the theater seemed to go too fast this time, and I was at the entrance sooner than I preferred.

Josh stood by the door, jumping up and down. "You made it! You made it! You made it!"

"Josh, I live ten minutes away."

"I know, but I was worried you'd back out!"

I laughed. "You're right to worry about that."

He stopped jumping. "Are you nervous?"

"Yeah." I breathed. "My stomach is flipping all over itself."

"That's normal. You've got a couple minutes before the audition anyway."

I nodded. "Okay. Is Ben here yet?"

"Yeah, follow me." He led me through the auditorium, into the backstage, down a couple halls, and eventually into the same music room as before.

Ben was there with Aiden, and, to my despair, Sky was also present.

"You look nervous." Ben said when he saw me.

"Shocker." I replied, my voice devoid of emotion.

"Here," he handed me a slip of paper. "Fill that out before Mr. Calhoun gets here."