A Different Beat

Jasey was never one to freak out. She never felt the need to worry over her appearance or what anyone else thought of it, she was confident in her grades and, because she had never sang in front of anybody besides family, she never had to worry about what people thought of what her voice sounded like. Sure, she got nervous just like anybody else in the world, but she always kept a cool, level head.

But now, pacing back and forth behind the curtains, Jasey was freaking out.

Nothing had gone right from the start. First, none of her family could come along with her because DJ got sick so her dad had to stay back and Oliver wasted all his sick days on partying too late so he couldn’t take off from work. Then she goes to change into her audition outfit but she can’t find it anywhere – then realizes Kailey had switched out the outfit for some ridiculous outfit she thought would be “more suitable for television”. And then she gets to the arena and realizes she’s forgotten her bag, which contained not only her phone but also the sheet of lyrics of the song that she’d chosen. She’d been worrying so much she could barely remember which song she was singing, much less the lyrics to it. She was going to end up making a fool out of herself and she had no way around.

“Ms. Sampson?” A young techie in a shirt labeled Crew asked, resting his headset around his neck.

Her head shot up and she froze in her spot. “Um, that’s me?” she replied unsurely. Oh God, what if they told her they’ve changed their minds and didn’t want her to audition anymore? Well, at least it’d save me the public embarrassment, she thought, now hoping that’s what he had to say.

But, as her luck would have it, that wasn’t what he needed. “Are you ready?” he asked. “You’re up in about a minute or so.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she could feel her hands start to sweat. All she could do was nod and hope for the best.

On the other side of the curtain, Michael was exhausted. They all were, really, but Michael had only one spot left on his team and he couldn’t find anyone to fill it. Although he didn’t regret his first four choices, he had been rather careless about it and had four spots filled before they were even halfway through the total amount of auditions. Now he had to be very careful and search for the contestant that had what he was looking for. Too bad he had no idea what he was looking for.

“You okay over there, Mikey? You’re looking stressed,” Luke, the only other one with a remaining spot and the one who had stolen the last person he buzzed for, asked him tauntingly.

“Fuck off,” he replied lazily. “I’m just focused on finding the right person that will kick all of your asses.”

Ashton laughed loudly. “Yeah, good luck with that, mate!” he called down to his band mate, beyond confident in his own full team.

The voices fell silent as their chairs turned around, the lights dimming as they waited for the next contestant. Michael got comfortable in his chair, ready to listen to another great singer he’d have to pass up. Familiar music filled the arena and Michael found himself tapping his foot with the music but he couldn’t quite place it. He immediately recognized the All Time Low song when the voice began singing.

”When I was younger I was certain, that I’d be fine without a king,
Just a queen inside her castle, with an ocean in between,
Now all I do is sit and count the miles from you to me,
Oh calamity…”

Jasey found herself relieved to remember the words as she sang, feeling the nerves only melt away a little bit. She found herself clutching with both hands the microphone sitting on the stand, her body swaying slightly with the music. She didn’t want to look as nervous as she was so she kept her eyes open, focusing her gaze toward the ceiling rather than the thousand faces.

We get older by the hour, watch the changes from afar,
Keep forgetting to remember, where we’ve been is who we are,
Now all I do is wonder, why we ever set the scene,
Oh calamity.
It’s such a shame that we play strangers,
No act to change what we’ve become,
Damn, it such a shame that we’ve built a wreck out of me,
Oh calamity, oh, calamity…”

Once again, Michael was unsure, but there was something about the girl’s voice. There was nothing professional about her voice – it lacked the confidence and strength most singers had – but it was still beautiful, strong enough and something Michael couldn’t put his finger on. It kept the sound of the original notes but still gave it a twist that made it sound like her own. Another thing that made him uneasy was the crowd’s reaction, or lack of. They looked interested and didn’t seem to hate her but there was not much of a reaction, bar a few quiet cheers.

Michael looked over at Luke, who hand his fingertips ghosting over the button, his face concentrated. Luke must’ve felt his stare because he looked up and Michael only raised his eyebrows in question. “I think I’m going to,” he said, his voice as quiet as it can be to be heard. As she began the second verse Luke pressed his button, leaving Michael still unsure. He saw Luke’s eyebrows shoot up, assuming she was attractive. Michael chuckled to himself, listening to her voice.

”I’ll remember nights alone, and waking up to dial tones,
Always found my greatest moments, in the sound of your hello’s,
Now I struggle to recall, the reasons you would come to leave,
Oh calamity.
It’s such a shame that we play strangers,
No act to change what we’ve become,
Damn, it such a shame that we’ve built a wreck out of me,
Oh calamity, oh, calamity…”

Jasey almost stopped singing altogether when she saw one chair turn around, revealing a guy with blonde quiffed hair and a lip ring. She didn’t know why he raised his eyebrows but at the point she didn’t care; somebody actually liked her voice and she could feel her remaining nerves going away.

Michael made his decision shortly after Luke turned his chair. It must’ve given her a confidence boost because her voice became much stronger and the bit of shakiness had gone away completely. He knew he could very well lose a second person to Luke – and he wouldn’t hear the end of it, surely – but he sat up anyway and pressed the button.

”If I catch you on the corner, will you even know it’s me?
Will I look familiar to you? Do you offer me a seat?
Can we find a new beginning? Do you turn the other cheek?
Oh, calamity…”

Michael was shocked the second he laid eyes on her and he understood Luke’s reaction completely; this girl’s appearance didn’t match her voice at all. The first thing he noticed was her big glasses with the pink tape in the middle, taking up half of her face. Her dark chocolate hair was pulled into a messy bun, sloppily held out of her face with a red bandana. It was something he’d seen plenty of girls do but it looked as if she didn’t even care to find out what it looked like. Then he paid attention to her clothes; a red polo shirt tucked into a high-waisted denim skirt that reached a few inches above her knee and a pair of white high-top Converse shoes, the only thing he actually understood about the outfit. Overall, if he’d seen this girl on the streets, he barely would’ve even taken a first look.

Luckily, Michael snapped out of it by the time she’d finished the final chorus and the crowd broke out into applause. He watched as Calum and Ashton’s chairs turned, waiting for them to say something as he was still pretty put off. “What’s your name, darling?” Ashton was the first to speak, a big smile on his face.

“Jasey Sampson,” she replied excitedly, a big smile on her face. At least she has a genuine, beautiful smile, Michael thought.

Ashton laughed, his dimples prominent and went to speak before the tanned one with fluffy dark hair spoke. “I wanna speak!” Calum cut in, raising his hand as if he were in class. He looked to both sides of him to make sure he could before turning to Jasey and offering her a smile. “Alright, so my team’s full, unfortunately, which is why I couldn’t offer you a spot on my winning team, but I love your voice and song choice. I think your voice could’ve worked better with a more upbeat song, I suppose? But either way, you did a great job!”

Jasey laughed. “Thank you,” she said sincerely, loving the depth of his response.

“You know I liked your voice, which is why I obviously turned around, but it looks like Michael wants to go head-to-head again,” Luke started, clearly proud of himself for stealing a previous choice of Michael’s. “So you get to choose. You can either fill the last spot on my team or the last spot on his.”

Jasey thought it over in her head. Luke had turned first, obviously having enough faith in her first, but that’s exactly why she wanted to pick Michael. He took longer, which meant he was probably unsure, and she wanted to show him that he didn’t make a mistake by wanting her to fill the final spot on his team. “Even though you did pick me first,” she started, looking at Luke. “I’m gonna have to pick Michael.”

Luke held his hands up in surrender as the other boys laughed, Michael going out of his way to walk over and standing in front of Luke to flick him off. “Ha!” he taunted, excited to have Jasey on his team. Unlike when he first saw her, he no longer doubted his decision. Sure, there were standards when it came to appearance in the spotlight – standards he knew she most likely wouldn’t meet – but he thought she could make it far with her voice and, with his help, even further with her appearance. He was ready to accept the challenge and get the credit for turning Jasey Sampson from this to a star. He walked up the stage and over to Jasey, giving her a hug that she awkwardly returned. “Welcome to Team Michael, Jasey.”