Stacey re-entered the auditorium and snuck back to her seat between Flail and Ken. Down on the central stage area, Beryl was talking about dealing with the pressure and limelight of stardom.
"Feeling better?" Ken asked and Endo leaned over him to hear her answer.
"Yeah. Thanks, guys."
"Good on you," Flail grinned at her. "You honestly didn't miss that much. The only thing worth seeing was how almost everybody here is already with an agency. It looks like independents like Ken and Endo, you and me are pretty scarce. Most everyone else has awards, certificates and trophies. Looks like it'll be a hard slog for us."
"Right. Thanks."
Stacey turned her eyes back to the front and Telea caught her eye. Stacey smiled at Telea's querying look and showed her two thumbs up. Telea smiled with relief and nodded, looking elsewhere.
It was nice and warm in the auditorium. Unlike the previous few days where Stacey had been shivering in the cold day and night. The cold, hunger and anxiety had prevented her from sleeping properly. Now, with a warm atmosphere and the droning voices of different speakers, she began to nod off.
Eventually, Ken put her head on his shoulder and patted her back reassuringly. With that, Stacey fell asleep until she was woken by the roaring cacophany of teenagers who had been freed from the restraints of sitting quietly for more than an hour. Ken shifted under her and Flail poked her awake.
"Hey, Stacey, wake up. We're going to have a mini competition for people to have first dibs on bagging a bed. If we win, we get to go into the dormitory building earlier to choose our own beds and rooms. Come on," Flail said.
"Ugh," Stacey stood up and sat back down, stomping her feet at the numbness and ensuing flood of pins and needles that made tears come to her eyes at the intensity. "Hang on. My legs have gone to sleep."
"So has my arm," Ken grinned at her, rolling his shoulder and moving his arm around.
"Sorry," Stacey said, reaching out to knead his shoulder. "Thanks for the shoulder. Let me help you a bit."
"Ooh. You're good at this," Ken exclaimed. "Left a little. Down, down a bit. Yeah. There. You got it."
Stacey continued stomping her feet until the numbness, pins and needles had mostly gone.
"Come to think of it, where have you been sleeping these past few nights? It's been cold the last few nights," Ken said.
"You been sleeping outside?" Endo asked, draping an arm over Stacey's shoulders and pushing Ken out of the way.
"Under some stairs on the other side of the carpark," Stacey admitted, slipping out from under Endo's arm. "It wasn't so windy there. And yeah, it's been freezing. I don't think I've had a proper sleep ever since I came into town. I had no money. No one would give me any work or food, so I had to make do."
"Respect," Endo nodded and nudged her gently with his fist. "You're tough, man. I mean, girl," he fumbled with his words. "You know what I mean."
"Yeah," Stacey smiled, glad she had met these boys. They were good kids. Endo was a bit too much of the touchy type for her but she liked how they were so simple and innocent. They didn't overthink things and just took her as she was.
"Come on," Ken urged. "We need to hurry. We only have an hour to come up with a song and choreography."
"Are we a group?" Stacey asked, allowing herself to be swept along by the three boys.
"Yeah," Ken, Endo and Flail chorussed.
"We decided earlier while you were still asleep on Ken's shoulder," Flail explained.
"Oh."
"Hope you don't mind?"
"Not at all," Stacey shrugged. "I'm easy. Fine by me."
"Cool," Flail said. "I'm glad."
They ran to get a practice room but all the rooms had already been taken.
"Man, we were too slow," Endo sighed.
"Sorry for holding you guys up," Stacey apologised. "Did you have a plan in mind?"
"I was thinking of that song you sang and played in your audition," Ken told her. "You know, the one where you twisted yourself around on the piano while you barely missed a beat. It was a cool song and it's got a good rhythm."
"Oh," Stacey rubbed her nose. "In that case, it is a pity we can't practice it. I don't know if I could do it again."
"Let's just find an empty corner somewhere first," Ken said. "Do you remember how the song goes? Sing it for us. It was pretty simple. Let's try and learn it quick."
Stacey sang the song a few times through and the boys slowly learnt the lyrics of the cheeky song about showing off. It was a good thing the song was short and catchy.
"Hey, what if I do a rap just after the first climax and did something like this?" Flail asked after the four had settled in an empty corner at the back door of the auditorium. A camera man had followed them and set up two stationary cameras while they discussed.
Flail made up a short rap section and the group discussed the wording and rhythm.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's good," Endo joined in, dancing while Flail rapped. Ken partnered with Endo.
"Oh, that looks good," Stacey clapped her hands. She cartwheeled in.
"Jump high," Ken demonstrated a star jump. Stacey did so and Endo slid under her legs. Once she had landed, Stacey grabbed Endo by the shoulders, forcing him to stay on his knees.
"Stay still," Stacey told him and flipped over him.
"Ni-ice," Ken whistled. "That's a good idea. We can make it like a comedy routine where we're trying to stay in front - since the song's all about showing off."
"I don't think I can do that again though," Stacey said, holding her lower back. She was way out of shape. The last time she had done any flips was at least eight years ago. Why had she suddenly felt the need to try one again? It was so tiring and required way more power and energy than she remembered. She'd jarred her back a bit.
"Don't do the flip then," Ken waved a hand at her. "We don't have much time, so we should keep things simple. We need to work as a group and move to the beat. You can be our main singer, since you know the song best. We can separate different parts of the song, so everyone has a chance in centre stage. If we have time, we'll change some words when we repeat the song."
"I can sing first and then do the rap later," Flail raised his hand. "The rest of the time, I can beatbox for you guys but then I won't be able to dance as well."
"You can beatbox? Cool. Respect," Endo gave Flail a fistbump. "I gotta learn some from you. Ken says I'm all outta beat whenever I try."
"I can cover the beatbox beat for you while you're rapping or singing then," Ken said, "but I can only do simple stuff."
"We can do other things to keep the beat too," Stacey said. "Beatboxing almost the whole time might be tiring for you, Flail, and if we keep the beat in other ways, it'll ease the pressure on you, Ken, if you don't feel confident."
Stacey wrinkled her forehead.
"Simple is fine, Ken. External beats are a good idea, Stacey. We can make it a part of the dance. So long the beat isn't interrupted. A pause somewhere for effect would be cool though. This performance is only a few minutes long, so it's not hard. We'll be fine," Flail said. "Stacey, let's focus on helping you learn some dance moves. You're so stiff."
"My back's sore. Let me just stretch it out for a moment," Stacey said, holding up a hand and stretching.
"Yeah. We should work on some harmonising too," Ken agreed, signalling the other two to join in on a few stretches. "While we're all stretching and warming our bodies up, let's figure out when and where and how we should harmonise. Then we'll also know what actions or dance moves will best help support those notes."