Melody 5 - Rising Stars

7 (iii) - Amy

--- AMY ---

Amy stood in position behind the curtain with the girls. She could hear the audience murmuring, chairs scraping on the floor and glasses clinking. She turned to her left - Rhian looked like she was about to faint and Olivia was smoothing her poker straight raven hair. Amy looked to her right - Jadine was mouthing the words to her rap in Melody Vibe then she locked eyes with Molly.

"Are you okay?" mouthed Molly, ever the concerned one of the group.

Amy nodded. She still wasn't sure what had gone on between Derren and Molly earlier, but it had been pretty intense with Molly chasing him down the corridor. Were they having a secret fling? Amy wouldn't put it past Derren, but it surprised her that Molly had fallen for his charm. What Amy had managed to glean was that Derren knew about their extra song - Melody Vibe. She just hoped he wouldn't bust them.

Suddenly Sherri and Tony appeared on stage.

"We wanted to say 'break a leg,'" said Sherri. "We know you'll be amazing."

"Yeah, you've done a great job girls," echoed Tony.

Amy knew he was lying through his teeth, because at the end of their last recording session he said he'd never worked more a more awkward bunch of singers in his life. Then as they'd been leaving the studio, Tony had told Amy to stay back and asked her on a date. Once again she'd delicately fended him off, saying that she didn't want any distractions before the showcase, but it seemed he hadn't forgotten as now he sidled over and whispered, "we can go a drink later, eh Princess?"

Amy gave a small smile and shuddered as Tony gave her bum a little squeeze. As he walked away, she tried to brush him from her mind and forced herself to focus on the next 30 minutes. This could be the difference between her longed for pop career or a lifetime working with her dad at Carpet Magic!

Suddenly Lena appeared at the side of the stage. "Glenn Davies has just arrived. We're good to go!"

Sherri had assured them that Glenn Davies, her old boss and the President of Riva Records, would take them on - providing they were good enough. Amy felt the rest of girls take a collective intake of breath. Even Olivia looked nervous. Good. It didn't pay to be too relaxed before a gig - especially one as important as this. Like Jadine, Amy had her reservations about Tony's songs, but as long as Glenn Davies stayed until the end and saw them perform Melody Vibe, then Amy was sure they'd be okay.

The lights went down, the curtain pulled back and the opening bars of Tony's track Candy Kisses rang out. It was time.

There were a couple of minor mistakes during the first track - Rhian stumbled over her first line and Olivia ended up in the wrong place at the end, but other than that it went okay and they got a small round of applause.

"We've got to take it up a notch," whispered Molly as they got into position for the next track. Jadine and Amy nodded in agreement.

"Sorry about my first line," hissed Rhian.

"Don't worry about it," said Amy. "You're doing great."

Amy was glad the second track was one they'd written - it was just a shame it was such cheesy production on the mix. Lyric would have done a much better job. Even so, Amy could feel them starting to relax and get into it and even Olivia looked like she was enjoying herself. This time, the applause was more enthusiastic.

The next track was their cover of Ellie Goulding's Burn - and Amy felt like the girls were on fire now. Derren had created a stunning lighting state that made them look like shimmering sparks and his killer choreography added to the impressive effect. Amy saw him out of the corner of her eye. He was leaning against the bar and as usual he only had eyes for Molly, who looked radiant as she put her heart and soul into her performance. But so did the other girls - Rhian was now brimming with confidence, Jadine was rocking her sassy socks off and even Olivia was playing her 'super classy' card with supreme elegance. Amy started to believe this could actually happen for them. She threw herself into the routine and no longer cared about Derren, or Tony, or her dad, or anyone. This was her time and she was going to make the most of it.