A Different Beat

“This is a joke, right?” Desiree asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

Michael stood at the end of the picnic table sat in the busy park, staring at his remaining team as he munched on a bag of crisps. He wasn’t surprised that the only person who seemed to enjoy his idea was Jarren. “I’m not,” he replied, taking a seat on the closest open spot on the bench that was next to Kelli and across from Jasey. “I sent Anna home because she lacked heart and passion for the music but the one thing she didn’t lack was performance.”

“Mate, I did an ace job out there and you know it,” Jarren interjected with a smirk on his face.

Michael laughed. “You interacted well with the female audience but that’s only going to get you so far because I’m the one you’re supposed to impress the most and unfortunately, you don’t turn me on,” he replied before turning his attention to the rest of the table. “So here’s what’s going to happen; you’re going to tell me what song you’re gonna sing and you’re going to find a spot around here and perform it as if you were on stage. I’ll be making rounds to make sure you’re doing well.”

“I don’t think I can do that,” Jasey finally spoke up, her tone uneasy. She had enough trouble singing on stage but it was easier because that’s what she was there to do. Nobody goes this park to sing. People walked their dogs and played Frisbee and had picnics but they certainly didn’t sing like nobody was watching.

“You can, and you will,” Michael insisted, not missing the glare she sent his way. It wasn’t like it bothered him – at this point he looked forward to it. She was cute when she was angry, like an adorable little puppy. “You all can do it. If you’re able to perform in front of a bunch of strangers in the park, you’ll be able to do anything on that stage,” he encouraged. “I’m going to take this into consideration next elimination round.”

“Can you do that?” Kelli asked, her eyes widening slightly in worry. “I thought you only judged performances.”

“You’re all great singers but if I’m not confident in your performing – if you’re not confident in your performance – why should I keep you around?” Michael knew he was probably being harsh but he didn’t see any reason to sugarcoat it. It wasn’t personal, it was true. “Now, for how your performances went. Jarren, like I said, it’s nice to connect with the audience but focus a little more on your singing. You can hear that it’s lacking something and I think it’s because you’re distracted by seducing people.”

Jarren chuckled. “Nobody ever complained about it before, aye?” he countered, winking at Desiree who only rolled her eyes. Michael definitely acknowledged that Jarren could be a douche but through one-on-one time, he knew how much he wanted this and mostly it was for his lower-class family. ”And the ladies,” he cheekily threw in.

“What’d you wanna sing next week?” he asked.

“Guns n’ Roses by Jay Sean,” he replied confidently.

Michael shrugged. “I think that’d be good, breaking away from the soft stuff,” he said. “You can go find a spot and start practicing.” Jarren nodded and walked off, nearly getting distracted by a cute blonde with short shorts. Michael turned to Kelli. “You were great for the most part. You and Anna had the same style, basically, but yours was more… refined. It wasn’t all over the place but it was kind of off-key at parts. You definitely need to work on that.”

Kelli nodded. “I will,” she promised. “I’m doing Katy Perry’s International Smile.”

Michael nodded, smiling lightly. “I think you have the ability to kill it, so go get some practice, alright?” he suggested. She nodded and went the opposite way of Jarren. Turning to Desiree, he laced his fingers together. “If Anna didn’t do such a bad job, you would’ve gone,” he stated bluntly. “Your song was good and it sounded nice but it was boring. It lacked excitement and you don’t want a crowd of sleeping people, you know?” Desiree’s eyebrows furrowed as she nodded. “I don’t mean to sound like a dick, because really, you did well. It’s just you need to figure out what you sound like, you know? You don’t want to replicate the original and that’s what you did. Give it a twist.” Desiree nodded. “What did you wanna sing?”

“Only Girl in the World by Rihanna,” she answered.

Michael could definitely see her singing that song and really well. “Alright, just remember to give it something that’s you, okay?” he reminded and she agreed before going off to find a spot. That left Michael and Jasey seated, both staring at each other. Michael broke the stare first, running his fingers through his newly dyed hair – black with red mixed in it. “I don’t get you, Jasey,” he admitted.

“Sorry,” she responded shortly.

His lips parted, completely at loss. He didn’t know which approach to take with her so he chose to be straight up while trying to make sure he didn’t offend her. “You’ve proven that you’re capable of a lot and quickly,” he started. “Your audition was this nervous, stiff girl who had a good voice but not much performance. But your performance was this gorgeous, confident singer that knew she was doing absolutely killing it.”

Jasey felt her cheeks darken at his words and hoped he didn’t notice. “Your point?” she asked, not entirely sure about how to respond.

Michael noticed the color and he licked his lips, biting his bottom lip to withhold a smile. “My point is that you stumbled quite a bit, I saw how shaky you were in heels – I’m assuming it’s because you’re not used to them – and I heard your voice crack in the first chorus. But I also saw your passion in the way you moved and I heard it in your voice,” he explained. “You have what it takes, Jasey. You just need to work with me and take my advice so we can bring it out. Despite what you may think, I’m here to help you. I want people to hear your voice and fall in love with it the same way I did. You just need to let me help.”

Jasey couldn’t deny the butterflies that filled her stomach. ”I want people to hear your voice and fall in love with it the same way I did.” She couldn’t believe it. “Fine,” she finally said. “I’ll try to keep my rude comments to myself as long as you do too.”

Michael grinned before standing up and holding his hand out to her. “So… truce?” he offered.

She couldn’t help but crack a smile. Michael noted that this was probably the first time she’d smiled because of him and he found himself wanting to be the reason for the smile on her face all the time. “Truce,” she agreed, standing up and shaking his hand.

Michael nodded but when Jasey went to pull her hand away, his grip tightened gently. His eyes scanned her choice of clothes; a pair of white jean shorts and an oversized black sweater, the words RAD written in white and placed with white high-top Converse. Her hair was thrown back in a messy bun and her big glasses were perched on her nose again. When he met her eyes again, she looked confused and her cheeks remained pink, causing Michael’s grin to widen. He kept the grip on her hand but took a few steps closer, leaning in close to her ear. “By the way, you look beautiful.” And he meant it.

Jasey’s eyes widened and she accidentally let out a squeak, causing her cheeks to redden even more. She quickly took a few steps back, nearly tripping over her own feet, but she successfully pulled away from Michael’s hands – and lips. “R U Mine? by Arctic Monkeys is what I want to sing,” she blurted out. But then she began to think that Michael would believe she was singing that song because of him and she didn’t want that to happen because it wasn’t true. She wanted to believe that she was only over thinking (as usual) but Michael’s curious eyes only scared her more.

Michael had to pull himself together to speak professionally. All he wanted to do was make up for that comment he made before – the one that he was genuinely beginning to feel guilty about – but he wasn’t expecting her to react like that. And he wasn’t expecting to enjoy how flushed she got. “I think that’s a nice choice,” he observed. “You think you can do it well with only a bit of practice? It’s not a simple song to do, with the different tones and such.”

“I’ve been practicing since I got off stage last time,” she said defensively.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t do it, Jasey, I was just making sure,” he said with a slightly exasperated tone. “I literally just told Desiree that she did the second worst and she didn’t even get defensive with me.”

Jasey scoffed. “That’s probably because she was too busy trying not to strangle you,” she retorted, causing Michael to laugh. She felt the corner of her lips turn up at how genuine but she quickly pressed her lips together to keep them straight.

“Jasey, get to work,” he instructed, beginning to walk backward. “And remember, sing loud and pretend you’re on stage. I can guarantee nobody here will dislike what they see.” Jasey felt herself blush even more – how was that possible? – and she could’ve sworn she saw him wink at her before he turned to walk forward. But when she saw him stumbling over the cement sidewalk, she couldn’t help but giggle.

Pull yourself together, Jasey, she mentally instructed herself. She didn’t want to lose sight of what’s important because a really cute decent looking boy was speaking to her. She was here to win, not to get a little crush on her coach. And that’s what she repeated to herself anytime she found herself thinking of the colorful-haired boy with the ear piercings.