Choke on the Drama

"I think we really have a good shot at this," I stated, sitting with Jeremy in my room for the moment. We were currently all being provided rooms in a hotel nearby the stadium that we'd be using for the show.

"I just don't know," He replied, sighing.

"Well, Kaycee is pretty good, but I don't think she'll get a lot of votes because of her age, she's nearly as old as my mom. A lot of teens are starting to watch the show. That's why I'm getting to be here. They need younger contestants to draw in the younger crowds who will vote for the younger people. And Adam isn't all that great. He's just a total hottie. And Carissa is really, really good, but she's a total skank bitch, so people probably won't vote for her. So that just leaves, you, me, Sheeny, Christa, Jamie, Ryan, Bria, Jordyn, and Thomas," I realized that I was blabbing on and on about the other contestants and I was probably getting on his nerves. So I stopped myself before I said anything else.

"Adam and Jordyn were both put through on looks. Even they know that. Thomas is this year's Scotty. Good, but not amazing and cute enough to make it work. Sheeny is amazing, but she does really bluesy stuff and that's hard to work with on this show,"

"So, who does that leave? Bria... Christa..."

"Ryan and Jamie."

"You guys are outnumbered. It's seven girls to five guys," I laughed a little, smiling.

"And you think that means you have a better shot at winning?" He teased me, chuckling.

We both shook our heads and had a little laugh. Only in a perfect world would it be six boys and six girls in the top twelve.

"Have you decided what you're gonna sing this week?" I asked. I hadn't a clue what song I was going to sing. The theme for this week was country songs and I was at a complete loss.

"I'm gonna sing 'Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy'," He said and I giggled at the name.

"That sounds cute."

"What are you gonna sing?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I have no idea. Lainy, my producer, suggested this song called 'Whiskey Lullaby.' She said it would show my sensitive side. I've never heard it before, and I really don't want to sing it at all."

"It's a really depressing song," Jeremy said, frowning a little. "I'd be careful trying to sing that."

I frowned and sighed, shaking my head. "I just don't want to get voted off first. I know I can sing rock or pop, but I don't think I can do country."

"If you think like that then you won't be able to. You have to believe in yourself, Ellie. I believe in you."

"I believe in you, Jer," We shared smiles and a hug before he decided to retire for the night. It was getting late and I was tired as well.

***

The week flew by and before I knew it, I was sitting backstage watching them play my interview on the jumbo tv screen. I'd be performing on national television in minutes.

"Oh, God. When they said the theme was Country songs I almost had a heart attack. Sure, I'm from the south and I have a bit of a country accent, but that doesn't mean I know how do this. I was thinking, 'I know I can sing rock, but I've never tried country.' I really don't want to be the first one to go. If I win, I'll be the youngest American Idol ever. That's itchin' me something fierce. I want it so bad. Anyways, I just really hope that I do well, not just because I want to stay, but because I chose the song for my grandparents and I hope that they hear it from heaven."

And the interview was over. Ryan Seacrest was announcing me as the second to perform tonight and I smiled as I made my way to the center of the stage with my acoustic guitar.

The cameras didn't actually cut to me until I was already seated in the stool right in front of the microphone with my guitar in my lap. My fingers hesitated on the strings for a moment before I started playing. I felt like my voice wasn't going to work, but when the time came to sing, I knew that I had to suck it up and sing.

Every day I drive to work across Flint River bridge
A hundred yards from the spot where me and grandpa fished
There's a piece of his old fruit stand on the side of Sawmill Road
He'd be there peelin' peaches if it was twenty years ago
And what I wouldn't give
To ride around in that old truck with him

If heaven wasn't so far away
I'd pack up the kids and go for the day
Introduce them to their grandpa
Watch 'em laugh at the way he talks
I'd find my long lost cousin John
The one we left back in Vietnam
Show him a picture of his daughter now
She's a doctor and he'd be proud
Then tell him we'd be back in a couple of days
In the rear view mirror we'd all watch 'em wave
Yeah, and losing them wouldn't be so hard to take
If heaven wasn't so far away

Sit on a cloud and visit for a while
It'd do me good just to see them smile

If heaven wasn't so far away
I'd pack up the kids and go for the day
Introduce them to their grandpa
Watch 'em laugh at the way he talks
I'd find my long lost cousin John
The one we left back in Vietnam
Show him a picture of his daughter now
She's a doctor and he'd be proud
Then tell him we'd be back in a couple of days
In the rear view mirror we'd all watch 'em wave
Yeah, and losing them wouldn't be so hard to take
If heaven wasn't so far
If heaven wasn't so far
If heaven wasn't so far away
So far away
So far away

I took a deep breath and swung my guitar around on its strap so that it was on my back and stepped forward so that I could hear what the judges had to say.

"I hate to say it so early in the night, but I'm fairly certain that is going to be the best vocal performance of the night." Jennifer started off and I smiled. I loved to hear good reviews.

"It wasn't just vocal. It was theatrical as well. The song told a story and she delivered it. I felt it." Randy tacked on, giving his approval.

"I honestly don't even know what to say. It was beautiful, Gabrielle." Steven finished off for the judges.

"Thank you," I stated quietly, turning and doing my best to get backstage quick enough to wish Jeremy luck. He goes on next.

Thankfully, I found him and told him to 'knock 'em dead' right before he had to go on.

The song already had a slight rock edge to it, so of course Jer rocked it up even more. By the second chorus he had the whole crowd singing along with him, myself included. He was a natural performer. It was adorable. All of the judges praised him, like I knew they would and as soon as he was backstage we tackled each other in a big bear hug. Again the cameras focused on us. I'm sure it'd be on tv. They briefly asked us how we thought we did and we tried to keep our answers as short as possible.

"I felt really good about it. The judges seemed to like it, too. Hopefully, this won't be my first and last week," I answered.

"Performing was a lot of fun tonight. The crowd got really into it and the judges gave me positive feedback. So I think I did pretty good. Vote for me?" Jeremy smiled and held up the number three on his fingers at the end.

We chattered away excitedly for the rest of the night while others performed and we wished each other lots of votes. Neither of us were nervous at the moment, but tomorrow, when we stand on the stage again, I knew that my heart would be pounding and I'd be sweating like a sinner in church. I would be so dreadfully nervous. But anxiety would kill me until then. I'd be dying to know results.

"I wish that I had a time machine," I said, sighing.

"What would you use it for?" Jer asked me.

"To go to tomorrow, silly. I wanna know who goes home."

"If I had a time machine I would just skip all the way ahead to the end. So I could know who wins the whole thing."