Losing My Mind

Chapter 14

It's a new day, and they're looking forward to the next challenge. Ryleigh wore nothing special to these events, just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Yesterday became a burden, and she had wiped her mind clean. However, her conversation with her mum shouldn't let her second guess that this new change will be better for Ryleigh and everyone she cares for.

They were standing in front of the judges, and none had expected it.

'We need you to do a song that involves some screamo. It can be up to ten to thirty seconds or a whole song.' Marcus told them.

"Oh fuck", Ryleigh thought.

'For those who can't do it, we have some training.' Bruce said. 'This is to make the competition fair.'

She wasn't sure if the camera was fixed on her, but she was terrified. After recording, Ryleigh met Kelsie and gave her a new rehearsal schedule.

'I'm going to be sent home this week - I just know it.' She said to Kelsie.

'Relax, that's why they have these lessons.'

'What if I'm no good?'

'You'll be fine. Just listen to what they say and if you can only do ten seconds, then so be it.'

Ryleigh moans.

'Great job with the schedule K.' A guy walks past, patting Kelsie's shoulder, and Ryleigh remembers him talking to Rory. He's got to be Josh. His dark hair was parted on the left, and he was dressed in a black graphic t-shirt and a grey flannel shirt. Kelsie began to flush.

'Thanks, Josh.' She responds.

Ryleigh observes her friend being giddy.

'Did you tell him about the "idea" the other night?' She asked to take her mind off the task.

'I did, and he thanked us for it.'

Ryleigh nodded, and Kelsie bit her bottom lip as she cast another look at Josh.

'Just ask him on a date, Kel. It's the 21st century.'

She shook her head. 'Nice try with the distractions, but you have a new schedule to go by.'

According to the screamo practice schedule, they'll be in groups by their teams, which means she'll be with Rory, Ashton, and Blake, and they already can do it. So she had more pressure on her to be good and be at the same level as the others.

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Arriving back at the house, they agreed to have a night out with the producer's permission. It gave the girls an excuse to spend the whole day getting ready. Rory got a bit down because he couldn't spend time with Ryleigh, despite being surrounded by Elliot and the rest of the lads. When they announced the challenge, he saw the fear in Ryleigh's eyes, and he was revealed that they would be parasitising together because he knew that she would like someone beside her to calm her down when it got too much.

He tries not to show how much he misses Ryleigh and doesn't want to get clingy, but she makes him feel comfortable with himself and treats him like a regular person rather than an ex-con.

Elliot was the polar opposite of Rory, but they've developed a fantastic friendship that he'd like to hold, thanks to their boyish banter and dark humour. Elliot does not tell him, but he senses Rory's feelings for Ryleigh and wonders if he does anything about it.

While the girls were upstairs choosing their outfits, Ryleigh sat on her bed and began strumming her guitar for a tune. She knew she wanted this song to have a significant impact, so she wrote about how being stuck in a routine and being here has broken the mould and hows she's changing but doesn't know if it's better or worse.