Catastrophic Happenings

Azalea was surprised to feel a wave of flutters rush through her stomach as she gripped the top of the microphone stand. She was nervous. And she was nervous that everyone else in the room could tell.

She looked behind her at the members of the band. A lump in her throat formed when she saw three pairs of eyes directly on her. Azalea then quickly turned back around just to have her eyes involuntarily land on Rick and Mrs. Under. The former had his cell phone pointed at her. He said that it would be good to record the audition. The latter was wearing a soft smile that thankfully gave Azalea a small amount of comfort.

She closed her eyes and tried to center her thinking. Then after taking a few quick breaths, she turned back to the black drum kit, and gave a slight nod after finding Sammy’s eyes.

Sammy smiled back in return before raising his drum sticks high in the air. Then he hit them together, three times at an evenly spaced out pace.

Azalea shifted her weight from foot to foot as she heard the familiar sound of Austin’s bass and Sammy’s drum roll. She counted the measures until it was her cue. And when it came she dove head first and opened her mouth to sing,


Rick liked what he was hearing, and what he was seeing through the screen of his camera. He slowly started to pace around the band in a semi circle, capturing the audition from different angles.


Azalea let out a sigh of relief as she felt her fears melt away after singing the chorus for the first time. She rolled her neck around and started to bounce to the beat of the music. She lightly tapped her hands in time on the base of the microphone.


By then, she felt comfortable enough to remove the microphone from the stand and move across the make-shift stage.

Azalea jumped high in the air, landing exactly as Cade played the last note of the song. The room turned very quiet. Not wanting to catch anyone’s eyes, she slowly walked to replace the mic on its stand. When the four men saw that she wasn’t paying attention, the three band members and Rick all shared glances. Mrs. Under broke the silence with her applauding hands.

“Brava, Azalea! Brava! You made their song sound very nice.”

Rick stifled an eye roll as he stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Uh, I think it would be a good time if we had a band meeting.”

“You don’t have to look at me twice,” Azalea said with her hands defensively up. “Could I escort you upstairs Mrs. Under?” She walked over to the elderly woman with her bent arm extended.

“Certainly, my dear.”

The two left the basement linked side-by-side, leaving the men to discuss what had just occurred. Wordlessly they walked to gather around the couch that Austin and Azalea were on less than half an hour ago.

“Do you want to watch the video or talk about it first?”

The three band members looked at each other after hearing Rick’s question.

Sammy was the one to speak up. “She has a great voice.”

Austin nodded in approval. “Great projection, good showmanship. She was a natural singing with us. Although I would like to hear the extent of her range, the song didn’t let us see that. But I think she did well.”

Rick said, “Okay, positive feedback. Good, good. Cade,” he turned his attention, “any thoughts? Now would be the opportunity to speak.”

He wrung his hands, still upset that the audition took place. He merely shrugged.

“Aw, come on Cade. You at least have to admit that Zaley’s got a good voice,” Sammy said.

Cade shrugged, “And I don’t?”

“Not as good,” Austin replied. Maybe too quickly.

Rick intervened before Cade could instigate a situation. “So is there any negative feedback you all would like to offer up?”

“We’d have to work on the whole image of the band if she was our lead,” Cade surprisingly started to say in an even manner. “We’d have to tweak most of our songs’ lyrics, the music. We’d have a totally different sound with a girl lead.”

Rick sighed and leaned back on the couch. “He does have a point.”

Cade grinned at his words.

“No negatives from you, Austin? I thought you said that she would screw us over.”

“I don’t know,” Austin replied as he rested his head on his hands in his position on the floor. “I know that I jumped to conclusions with that accusation but I have the right to be weary. But I was watching her the whole time and I thought she performed great.”

“There was...chemistry,” Sammy agreed with a smile.

Rick nodded, taking their comments in. “Let’s watch the video.”

“I don’t have to,” Sammy said. “I vote ‘yes’.”

“Sammy!” Cade exclaimed incredulously.

“What? I like her and she has an amazing voice. I want her in the band.”

“So that’s one vote for Azalea.”

“This decision has to be unanimous, right?”

“Yeah, Cade,” Rick replied. “But here. Let’s watch the video now.”

The three men maneuvered themselves so that they each could see the screen of Rick’s phone. They watched in complete silence, from beginning to end. And even after the video ended, the silence still remained for several seconds afterward.

“We’ve never sounded that good,” Austin said flatly.

“And Jason wasn’t as entertaining to watch,” Rick added.

Cade didn’t say a word. Instead, he kept his eyes on his hands, which he started to play with in his lap.

Austin looked straight at Cade. “I think we have to take a chance on her, Cade. And we have the whole summer to see if she’s up for the work.”

Cade looked up slowly, with a sad look on his face.

“I know it’s your dream to be lead,” Rick said as he put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “But don’t let your pride and your selfish desires screw the band over. It isn’t just about you.”

Austin nodded as he said, “She has my vote.”

“Same,” Rick simply replied.

The two turned their attention to Cade, prying with their eyes for his answer.

He replied weakly, “Then I guess it’s unanimous.”