In the school they went first to the bathroom to get dressed.
"This isn't turning out exactly like it did when we were in my room," Alexis lamented as she struggled to put the black circles around Isaac's eyes.
"Can you not say that while you're in the middle of putting makeup on me? I'm embarrassed enough as it is."
"Sorry!" She wasn't normally so deferent, but he was, after all, doing this for her.
When they were finally satisfied, the two headed for the gymnasium. Along the way, Alexis praised herself for her brilliant strategies. This is it, she thought, they're going to be thrilled with my originality!
With a confident shove of the gym door, it swung inward to reveal a dozen girls on the other side, all holding their drumsticks, all lined up behind a set of drums to take their turn at an audition.
The door swung closed again on Alexis's face, and she just stood there staring. "They're not going to be thrilled with my originality!" She uttered in terror.
"Yeah, even I'm surprised by this turn-out," Isaac observed, peering through the slit of a window set in the metal door. "Well, at least you're the only one wearing an outfit befitting a metalhead. Or using skull drumsticks."
"How did this happen?" Alexis paced nervously in front of the door. "I'm supposed to get in by being a girl, but now the prettiest and most skilled person is gonna win, and we both know who that is!"
"You?"
"Stop joking around. This is serious!"
"Well, what do you wanna do?"
"I've got a plan!"
"Oh, good. What's the plan, boss?"
"We take off our ridiculous outfits and makeup, go outside and call Mom to pick me up before anyone knows we were here."
She turned to act out her plan immediately, but Isaac forestalled her by grabbing her elbow. "Hang on! You can't just leave."
"Why not? It's easy. I'll show you just as soon as you let go of me."
"Alexis, you've been practicing for the whole month. You're not telling me you expected to get in just because you're a girl, are you?"
"That was a big part of it, yeah," she said conversationally, but inside she was screaming. Fate had conspired against her.
Isaac let go of her arm. "Alexis. You've worked as hard as anyone else to do this. At least try. There's no harm in that, is there?"
"Other than abject embarrassment and ostracization from school?"
"I don't think that's how that works, and anyway, I'll be right there with you, O.K.?"
Alexis wanted to. She really did, but it was impossible for her to win. What was the point of trying? It suddenly hit her, with a shock of emotion, that she'd used that excuse to avoid trying anything for a long time. She looked back at the gymnasium door, with it's gray, rust-flecked paint. Maybe she was making more of the whole situation than was warranted. Go in, play the song, get out. She'd practiced it enough, hadn't she?
"Even if you don't win, it doesn't mean you're bad," Isaac said. "It just means someone practiced for longer."
"That," she muttered, "is exactly what I'm afraid of."
Approaching the door, Alexis went onto her tiptoes and peered through the window, while Isaac very carefully didn't look at the small of her back when her shirt lifted. What Alexis saw instantly made her break into a cold sweat. "Look at the other band members!" she cried.
"What about 'em?" Isaac shoved next to her and looked. "They're just boys from the school. I think that's Bradley and that's Jonah."
"You know them?"
"We don't hang out after school or anything, but—"
"Why are they so handsome?"
"What?" Isaac looked at her in a funny way that didn't seem to fit the situation. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Clutching Hector and Lenny, she said in a droning whisper, "I'm gonna make a fool of myself."
"Only if you don't go out there and try."
Isaac reached over and pinched her arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" She rubbed the pained spot, looking a bit hurt and a bit angry.
"I hear pain is a good motivator," he replied with a careless shrug.
Alexis thought that over. "Well," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "you better pinch me again, 'cause I'm gonna need a lot more motivation."
"You got it!" Isaac said cheerfully.
"Ow! Ow! Okay! I'm motivated, idiot!"