A little out of breath, he raised his head and looked out at the audience. So sorry, folks,
he said. We had a little bit of a mix up there, but we're good now.
Are you ready for the real show? Mr. Wiles sat back in his seat and took a sip of tea. As
soon as Chrissy and the others saw Aiden, they seemed to come back to their bodies and
remembered what they had to do. They were ready.
Aiden sprinted back to the sat down and placed his hands on the keys. The smooth,
gentle sound of the piano reverberated through the field. The audience, which had been
out of control a moment before, suddenly grew quiet.
All chit-chat and laughter stopped. There was no more crinkling of potato chip bags or
groans of boredom. Everyone sat in perfect silence.
They were afraid of disturbing the scene. The audience closed their eyes and listened to
the melody. It awoke something profound within each of them.
It was painfully beautiful. Who would have thought they would experience something so
poignant at a high school competition? Tomorrow, Aiden sang out in his full voice. Will
you think of the diary you wrote yesterday? His voice was sharp and pure.
Will you still remember the ones who used to make you cry? Aiden's voice mingled with
the piano. Then, at the same time, the three others joined in. Chrissy on guitar, Chloe on
bass, and Jaden on flute.
The whole group sang together in harmony. It was magical and heartbreakingly sad. The
lyrics filled everyone with nostalgia.
The words made them think back to their childhood and reflect on how much had
changed. Even the most hardened jocks felt lumps forming in their throats. Others were
openly crying.
Aiden's voice echoed across the field. Will you remember? He sang with perfect clarity.
Who comforted you when you cried? Who braided your long hair? Who made your
wedding dress? The group sang the last line of the song in four-part harmony, a cappella.
When they finished the last word, there was silence for a moment. And then the crowd
erupted in thunderous applause. Everyone in the audience, old and young, stood up with
tears in their eyes and clapped for them.
There were whoops and cheers. They had completely won over the crowd. Aiden, in
particular, was the object of countless admiring gazes.
Young girls jumped up and down, screaming his name. The crowd was in near hysterics.
In the row where Aiden's classmates sat, Viola wiped the tears from her face and bit her
lip.
Will you still remember me? She couldn't help but wonder. An older classmate sitting
next to Viola wiped his eyes with a tissue. Aw, man, he said, his voice cracking a bit.
That really got to me. Day, singing for a thousand people, music ability plus five. Aiden,
Chloe, Chrissy, and Jayden stood in a row and linked hands.
They took a bow and then walked behind the curtain. Encore! Someone in the crowd
yelled, and then others followed suit. Encore! Encore! Soon, the entire audience was
shouting, one more song! They chanted, one more song! Aiden and the others weren't
sure what to do.
Thankfully, one of the hosts saw their predicament and rushed out onto the stage. All
right, folks, quiet down now, quiet down. He struggled to gain control of the rowdy
audience.
That was really something, wasn't it, folks? But if we let this group continue to sing, it
wouldn't be much of a competition, would it? It'd just be their concert. The host laughed
and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Eventually, the crowd started to settle down again,
and the host was able to announce the next performance.
Aiden, Jayden, Chloe, and Chrissy took this opportunity to walk down the stairs and leave
the platform. Chrissy and Chloe started to talk excitedly. Aiden, Chrissy exclaimed, did
you hear that applause? It's like a dream, Chloe said.
Jayden pulled Aiden's sleeve and pointed ahead of them. Aiden looked up and saw Chad
staring back at him. So, you decided to show up after all, Chad spat out.
He had clearly been stewing since Aiden had arrived, waiting to confront him as soon as
he left the stage. I have to admit, you sing well. Too bad that doesn't count for much
around here.
Chad smiled broadly, revealing his perfectly white teeth. Chloe and Chrissy exchanged
confused glances. The grand prize doesn't belong to you lot, Chad continued.
Good try though, pal, he said as he patted Aiden on the back. Really? Well done, guys. A
for effort.
Chad was still chuckling to himself as he walked away. Chrissy's face fell. She turned to
Aiden.
I don't understand. What's he talking about? Don't worry, Aiden said consolingly. It's up
to the jury now, not Chad.
Aiden shot a glance up to the jury seated on the stage above them. Just then, Mr. Turkle
picked up his pencil and decisively wrote zero next to Aiden's name on his scoring sheet.
The other judges were still deciding what to do Aiden's group definitely deserved a high score, but how high should they go? As each
judge considered what to do, Ms. Fortenberry coughed loudly. It wasn't too bad, I
suppose, she said pointedly. I mean, not the best we've seen, but definitely a strong
performance.
The other judges looked around nervously. If they gave this group the points it deserved,
Chad wouldn't get the grand prize. The important Ms. Fortenberry's remark was clear.
The judges were torn, but at the end of the day, they knew where their loyalties lay. The
choice was clear for most of them. Ms. Fortenberry watched as a few judges looked back
at their scores for Chad and adjusted their scores for the last group accordingly.
They didn't give low scores, just mediocre ones, enough to ensure that Chad would win.
Mr. Wiles, on the other hand, gave a score of 10 out of 10. The final score was calculated
by removing the lowest and highest scores and then averaging the remaining five
scores.
After all the remaining performers took their turn on stage, it was time to tally up the
points. As the scores were counted, the audience began to make predictions. What do
you think? A teacher asked the student beside her.
Who do you think will get first place? I mean, it's pretty obvious, the student responded.
It has to be the You at the Same Table group, right? No one else was even close. Yeah, I
think you're right, the teacher said.
They definitely deserve to win. Finally, all the scores had been calculated. The moment
everyone was waiting for had finally arrived.
Everyone who had taken part in the competition was standing on the stage behind the
curtain. They clenched their hands nervously as they listened to the announcement. Four
smiling hosts were standing by the mic.
They began to read out the awards one by one. Fourth place goes to the White Snails.
Congratulations to our very talented freshman group.
And third place goes to, as each place was announced, cheers rang out from different
sections of the bleachers. Second place goes to the performers of You at the Same
Table. At this announcement, there was no applause.
Instead, the audience remained strangely quiet. The crowd was incredulous. What's
going on? A student in the front row muttered in confusion.
They only got second? Second place was no small accomplishment, but it certainly
wasn't what the audience was expecting. Behind the curtain, Chrissy looked at Jayden,
then Chloe. Second place is great, you guys, she said encouragingly, even though she was a bit surprised herself.
That's amazing. We should all feel really proud. Jayden nodded and scratched the back
of his head.
He was trying to hide it, but he was definitely disappointed. I guess Chad was right,
Chrissy said as she scanned the performers backstage for his figure. When she found
him, he was staring straight back at her, smirking.
And finally, the winner of the grand prize is Chad Fortenberry. To the embarrassment of
the host, only a few people clapped. Well done, Chad, the host continued.
Let's hear it for him, folks. The host clapped enthusiastically, but the audience remained
stubbornly silent. There was a strange atmosphere amongst the crowd.
A few people shuffled nervously and a high-pitched squeak issued from the microphone.
The host cleared his throat. Okay, now I'd like to invite all the winners back to the stage
to receive their awards.
The host licked his lips and ran his fingers through his sweat-drenched hair. He was
trying his best to keep the whole thing moving, but the disapproval of the crowd was
palpable. The best option was to try to wrap things up as quickly as possible.
Mr. Wiles' face was a mask. He didn't speak. He simply got up without explanation, left
his seat, and walked through the curtain to the back of the stage.