Chequered Nettle

Here I was again. In this strange house. Again waiting in this white room. At least this time, I wasn't there first. This time I was the last brought in. The Mike guy was here again. Which irritated me to no end. At least this time he choose to blab the ears off someone else. An unlucky guy who apparently had come just moments before I did.

They talked over and over again about what song they would sing to impress these people. Both of them played coy when the subject arose. They assumed if the song the other chose was better than theirs then they could change their chose to match or overcome each other.

Again, I didn't know exactly what to sing. Hearing those two talk about what song they would sing made me wonder which one to sing as well. I couldn't go unprepared like last time. That would just leave me open and venerable. Just like the two others in the white room, I couldn't decisively say what song I would sing.

"Don't get why they would choose a girl. If all they do is sappy love songs I don't think I wanna do this, no matter what they pay." I heard the third guy say. The one I didn't know. Then something started ticking inside me. Ticking, counting down until time ran out.

"What did you just say?" I said slowly standing up as I did. Mike sat idly by watching as a confrontation brewed before him.

"You heard me." The guy replied with a smirk. At that moment I felt the powerful urge to strike him. To cut him down where he stood. Physically I knew they're be repercussions. But biting words could deal just as powerful of a blow.

"We were chosen twice. Me and him." I reminded giving a sharp nod towards Mike. He flinched when it seemed I had brought him into the conflict. "What about you?" I asked him. "Were you not good enough to be even considered before?" The guy's smirk faded into something more serious, as he was pondering my question in his head.

"What does that say to you? We've come here before and they called us back? They liked us enough to get us back here. What about you? They haven't heard you. There were so many people here the other day and now it's only me and him. What makes you think that they'll like enough to get the same opportunity as us if you're less than brilliant today?" He opened his mouth to say something, but in an instant what ever he had to say died and he said nothing. I saw him glance down and he swallowed hard as swallowing my words slowly.

"My words they're in your head, aren't they? They've shaken your confidence to it's core." I said so emotionlessly and cold I almost didn't recognize my own voice. "How will you perform this state?"

"I'm still here with you guys aren't I?" He finally said in the first attempt to defend himself. "That means I'm just as good. I still know much better than a girl!" His confidence was shaken. It had to be if his only comeback was to attack my gender. Low confidence usually leads to poor performance. My job was done.

"Humph. We'll see." I said and sat back down. I leaned back in my seat and crossed my legs. There was no conversation after that point. The guy, whose name I didn't even know stared quietly at the floor, lost in thought. Even chatty Mike stayed silent. There was nothing he could say. He couldn't even try to comfort the sexist because deep inside he wanted him to fail as well.

A few minutes later, Ira came in and called the guy in. He called him Evan. As he passed me, he shot a determined look. Even if he didn't want to be in this band, he wanted to be chosen just so he could say that he beat me. It was perfect. If he tired to hard, then that could work against him too.

I only smiled as he passed. Anyone who didn't know what had just happened would guess I was wishing him luck. Maybe I was. Just not any good luck. I smiled because of this, and because just like this Evan person, I refused to lose.