A New Song [mxm]

7. So What

Alex stayed in the practice room for a while, not realizing that someone listened in or was discussing him. He only focused on building his song.

He finally yawned and checked the time. 5:00 AM.  He groaned a little because he had his dance class today at 9:00 AM.  Although, it wasn't like he would be able to participate. He wished that he could be a little more active, but his injuries and his agency suppressed him.

He put the instruments he was using away and turned off the recording of his phone that had drained his battery. He stretched a little in his casual clothes and started to walk home. There was a small morning chill was in the air, but it was comfortable. He took the half-hour walk to the quiet dorms and was pleased that no one was awake. Chen must have stopped by when he was working and cleaned out the bags he had piled up.

He set his alarm in a few hours and crashed on the bed.

His alarm was a terrible noise, but Alex was extremely self-disciplined and woke up with the jarring sound.

He took a quick shower and changed into workout clothes. Based on his memories, the instructor would have 4th, and 5th-tiered artists sit and watch, staying out of the way of the higher-tiered artists. Of course, the 5th tier level included him.

Alex packed a notebook and pens to keep him busy during the useless class. LuxStar only focused on their popular talents but spent no time building up the others, causing a huge rift between talents and agents.

LuxStar was a third-rate company with poor business sense. Alex was counting down the days to break free, which was just before the Amateur Showcase.

In order to attend classes, the agency would pick up the artists at the dorms in vans and shuttle them to the studio. Alex sat with the other lower-tiered artists.  They were unmotivated and were trying to make themselves as little as possible.  As they were walking to the vans, someone roughly ran into his shoulder, making him stumble for a moment. He quickly caught himself and stood straight.  A small sting from his stomach reminded him to take it easy. He took a deep breath and saw that the person who ran into him was Luke. He pursed his lips. How could Alexander be lovers with such a petty man like that?

Then again, he was the last person fit to judge. Besides their love for singing, they shared the same hopelessness in choosing a lover.

Alex and the others piled into the van. Alex opted to put on his headphones to listen to the recording he made last night. At the same time, he started to write out the music on his notepad, correcting it even further.

The other artists gave him odd looks because he looked and acted differently from before. Finally, one of the artists tapped him on the shoulder. Alex paused the recording, looked up at him, and recalled his name was Shane.

"Are you ok?" Shane asked while looking at the messily written notepad filled with lyrics and his unique shorthand. 

Alex enjoyed this self-created shorthand because it matched his fast paced and ever-changing creative process but also complimented his already messy handwriting.  After Remy, it brought him some sense of security, especially because he only transferred his songs to a music sheet when it was time to record the song.

Alex smiled. "I am. Just jotting down some ideas."

He noticed that the van stopped, tossed the notepad in the bag, and they all climbed out of the van.  The instructor pulled them all into the room and made Alexander and the others sit on the back wall while the higher tiers stood in the center of the dance floor.

The instructor glared at the ones sitting. "The Amateur Showcase is being updated to honor Preston Green. We will start learning his dances and songs. Because the ones that show potential-" he swept his hand across, indicating the group standing, "-have already started to practice, I expect you to just watch in silence and try to learn something."