Tyler and the Valaholics: The Beginning

Chapter 14

Song of the chapter- 'Touch'
(because I love the sound of this!)

'Now my whole week, my whole week is golden,
Can you see me glowing? That's how I feel,
And I'm not afraid to feed into emotions'

I turn around and almost crash into another judge. Prying her fingers off my wrist, I massage my wrist a little whilst eyeing her carefully.

"I'd think you'd need to reconsider this opportunity, little miss Tyler. Do not let go of what could well be the break your career needs to kickstart itself," she tells me in a tone so carefully calm yet firm that it screams the fact that she's resolute in her words.

"I have made my decision. Please let me go through with it," I respond shortly.

She inches forward menacingly until she's bare centimetres away from me and growls, "Opportunities do not knock on your door time and again. You're in a prime position as of now and you could well benefit from it and, truth be told, so could we. It has been quite some time since anyone who started off here has been successful in this industry. Anyways, you're only a kid and you could make history if only you wouldn't let your sisters get in the way, Valerie."

I watch my eyes widen in the reflection in her nearly black eyes. She smirks and steps back, patting my shoulder as if to her words have already come true.

"Bu- But I only auditioned with them because they wanted to and they're going to hate me if I agree and if I choose this-"

"Honey, I doubt your sisters will hate you when they'll get to brag to all their schoolmates of their famous sister soon."

I shake my head as if to clear my thoughts and mutter, "I've made my decision and I won't change it."

"You better seriously reconsider this, Tyler!" the judge who apprehended me earlier snaps. He must've been listening in.

"Excuse her for a second," Stacie's voice interjects as she pulls me out of the female judge's vice-like grip and pulls me over to where the girls are sitting wide-eyed.

"Val, just go for it if it's that much," she tells me.

"Stace, that's not fair to them," I point to the three seated girls.

"Vallie, it's okay. You got to do this," Violet says, all earlier traces of wrath and disappointment having faded away.

"Yeah, it would be so nice if you became a popular star, Valerie!" Tracie tells me dreamily, her expression clearly indicating that she's already imagining it.

"See, they're all for it!" Stacie exclaims, pumping her fist enthusiastically.

I turn to Vanessa, who's eyeing me with distaste and something else I can only describe as hate. She shrugs and casually wipes her face clean of all emotions when she notices me pointedly staring at her and quirking up an eyebrow.

"Do whatever you feel you want to do. Doesn't really matter, to be frank," she utters in a low tone.

Stacie glares at Van before asking me if I don't have anything to tell the judges and gesturing at them.

"Stace, are you sure we can afford this?" I pull her aside and ask her in a low tone.

"Val, don't let any such issues come between you and your dreams. We can always work a little harder to make up for any lost money but opportunities like this are rare."

I take in a deep breath and turn to the judges, all four of them seemingly deep in discussion. Taking cautious steps as silently as I can although my footsteps sound deafeningly loud to my ears, I clear my throat when I near them.

"Well?" one asks, her voice impatient.

"I've reconsidered this and I'd be willing to take you up on your offer," I utter.

Her face widens with a grin as she hugs me and whispers in my ear, "Welcome onboard!"

The next couple of hours seem to flash by quickly as I'm given quite a few contradictory explanations and directions to follow before they eventually settle on me individually auditioning again.

I decide on singing 'The Climb' by Miley Cyrus and practice the first verse, accompanying it with my violin. Stacie apologetically pulls me aside and tells me the kids are getting too antsy, even Vanessa who's usually calm.

"I have to get home but you rock them off their feet now. Good luck!" she kisses my cheek and leaves after politely nodding at the judges.

So, as if nothing ever happened, I put on my excited slash nervous face as I enter the auditioning room. The judges must be quite good actors by the casual way they ask me to introduce myself and to 'take it away when I'm ready'.

Taking a deep breath, I mentally count down and start, the sound of my cracked voice startling everyone in the room, even me. One of the judges winces and all of them look surprised to say the least.

I immediately snap my mouth closed, a mortified expression coating my features. I apologize and clear my throat and hum a little, doing some basic vocal exercises before I restart, my voice startling all of us again but this time, it's because of how clear and pure it sounds.

My emotions sound clear in the tone of the voice that fills the room and reverberates to produce a full and lush sound. Props definitely have to go to whoever designed and designated this room for it has pretty good acoustics.

I finish with a run accompanying the swift tune I play on my violin. I let out a sigh of relief and look up at the judges who seem to be caught in a trance.

They stare in awe and shock, and, by their expectant expressions, it apparently hasn't still sunk in that I've finished my performance. After a couple more seconds of deafening silence, the male judge who had apprehended me earlier starts clapping and the room bursts into applause in mere seconds.

I smile a little as I take a bow, joy bubbling up in my very blood as I hop around like a child who's consumed way too much candy as the judges snicker.

I have to remember this for it's probably the last time I'll get to be a kid for quite some time.

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Hey, here's the next chapter and don't kill me for my absence! I'm going to be dead meat pretty soon though. I mean, I'm going to be tackling an entire academic year's portions worth of six subjects in about three to four weeks so yep...

In the meanwhile, Eddie released music videos for Castle on the Hill and Shape of You!

Toodles!

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