Désobéissance - Palaye Royale

Chapter 10

X

THE STAGE

Carole sets the starting pace by tapping on a cymbal. Here we go. We decided to do the cover first. It's "Moth Into Flame"  by Metallica, which is very similar to us musically. I keep my eyes riveted on my guitar so as not to let myself be disturbed. The first riff immediately sets the tone. I quickly manage to ignore what surrounds us and enjoy playing with my three friends, with the same energy that inhabited us during rehearsals. It is only when I sing the first verse that I look up to the audience and to Palaye Royale. My gaze is immediately drawn to Emerson. He put his sunglasses back on, so it's impossible for me to know if he's looking at me or not. But I think I perceive a slight smile when my eyes land on him. I try not to distract myself too much. As for the others, Sebastian and Andrew move their heads, Brian is impassive but seems to appreciate, and Remington has a big smile.

The first title had the effect of putting a good atmosphere in the room. Under the applause of our competitors, we begin our second title, a composition that we have created together. The title is "Mort aux cons". It slower than the first song but it's one of our favorite. Maxine pours out to the public this energy which had amazed us so much during her audition. Ellie is more concentrated and Carole lets go completely, even allowing herself to throw one of her drumstick in the air in the middle of the song. Despite some small mistakes, we finish our set under the encouragement of the crowd. The girl who manages running-order thanks us and already announces the next group, inviting us to come down from the stage.

"Fuck girls! We kill it!" Carole exclaims, hugging us.

"I hope they will agree!" Said Ellie.

We gave back our guitars to the technician backstage. Matt is waiting for us there. He kiss Ellie with enthusiasm and tries to persuade us that we make a good impression on Palaye Royale. When suddenly, three girls approach us. Ellie and I immediately recognize the girls we had kindly criticized on their extremely provocative outfits. The tallest of them, a peroxide blonde with false airs of Taylor Momsen with her very strong makeup, comes towards me. I feel like I'm going to like what she's going to tell me.

"You, look at me in the eyes"

She points her finger at me with a certain aggressiveness. It looks bad.

"Do you think you can win just because you sleep with Emerson?!"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me well, everyone here saw your little game with him earlier!"

"Hey! You leave her alone!" Carole exclaims as she approaches the girl.

"Are you her watchdog? Isn't she able to defend herself on her own?"

The situation eludes me somewhat. I didn't expect this kind of accusation when coming here. I need to defuse the bomb before it explodes.

"Look, obviously, you drew hasty conclusions from what you saw earlier. In no case did I want to create confusion in the competition."

"So what did Emerson wanted from you?"

She crosses her arms, waiting for a answer from me. She can still wait for me to tell her the truth. It is out of the question that I bow to the demands of a girl who comes to me and attack me.

"It concerns me, I don't want to share it with you!"

Fortunately, the next group in the running begins to play on stage. The noise forced the three girls to abdicate. The blonde gives me a last murderous look then returns to the front of the stage followed by her minion.