DAY SEVEN
FANGIRLS
The girls sit on the floor in Jessica Lynn's room, armed with their cell phones. The radio on Jessica Lynn's stereo system is up full blast. One of Dante's songs, Sin 'Til Sunrise, plays through the speakers. However, the girls aren't paying attention to their favorite music. They're too busy dialing into the radio station.
"Are you getting anything?" Jessica Lynn urges. Her phone is glued to her ear as she waits on the line.
"Nooo." Amber wails.
"Just the busy tone." Erin scowls. "Try the home line again, Jess."
"Right." Jessica Lynn uses her free hand to scoop up the mobile home phone from off the floor. She dials in the hotline number and places the phone on speaker.
"Damn it," Amber growls when the home phone also picks up the busy signal.
"We've got to get through. We have to. We can win this," Erin says, a mixture of desperation and feeble hope in her voice.
"Me too. We'll keep—" Jessica Lynn starts, but is interrupted by the most beautiful sound in the world.
"Hello. You've reached 98X." A woman answers their call through the home phone. Erin and Amber let out simultaneous screams. Jessica Lynn, on the other hand, is breathless, too stunned to speak.
"Hello. Are you there?" the woman asks, sounding impatient.
"Oh! Uh, yes. We're here. H-hi." Jessica Lynn stammers. "We're calling about the contest."
"We? How many of you are there?" the woman asks.
"Three," Amber chimes in.
"Oh. Well, it should be fine for you to participate together. But only one of you can answer the questions at a time, alright?"
Erin and Amber elect Jessica Lynn as their leader.
"Um, okay," she replies.
"I can put you through after the commercial break. So hold on for a few more minutes."
"Okay," she repeats numbly.
"Good luck," the woman adds before flipping them over to the hold music.
As soon as she does, Amber screams again.
"Oh my god, oh my god," Erin says.
"You guys, focus. We've got to keep it together." Jessica Lynn tries to calm them down, but she's equally freaked, her hands trembling.
"Okay, okay. Breathe." Erin commands, taking a steadying breath. The two other girls do likewise.
"Ah! The commercial's ending." Erin squeaks.
"Ready, guys?" Jessica Lynn asks.
"Mmhmm." Amber puts her game face on. "Let's kick some ass."
The girls grab each other's hands for support, and then:
"And we're back," Jay the DJ says. "We've got our next contestant on the line. Hello, and who am I speaking with?"
"J-Jessica Lynn."
"Okay, Jessica Lynn. Are you ready to answer a few questions and grab those passes?"
"Yes."
"Alright. First off, which Dante's Inferno song contains the lyrics: you would bleed on the concrete sidewalk for a Hollywood star?"
"You're No Marilyn Monroe." Jessica Lynn's answer is instantaneous. She could sing the song's lyrics in her sleep.
"Correct! Next question. Sky mentioned in an interview with Rock It Loud News, he has recently bought a pet. What is it? We need the name and the animal, Jessica."
YOU ARE READING
Crescendo
General FictionHow would you stop your world from ending? Sky St. James asks himself this very question when his perfect life as a rock star starts to crumble. As the lead singer of the notorious band, Dante's Inferno, part of Sky's job is to keep the band togethe...
