A
LTHOUGH
the flight consisted of several passengers who were
America’s Next Superstar
contestants, Corey didn’t recognize any of these fellow travelers. The two faces he’d hoped to see were Jeremy the punk rocker and Jimmy the Kentucky cowboy, but he had no way of knowing whether or not they’d made it through. Even if they had been successful in their auditions, they were from other cities. Jeremy said he was from Toledo and Jimmy lived near Louisville.
Corey had thought a lot about that Jimmy, and he wondered if the kid’s little brother was doing okay. He deeply regretted the tactic that Megan had used to secure Corey’s audition, and he was afraid that Jimmy probably pretty much hated his guts at this point. He didn’t blame him. Corey hoped that Jimmy was there in New York, and if so, he’d apologize to him.
He had to admit that his interest in Jimmy stemmed from more than just his guilty conscience. From the moment they’d started talking to each other, Corey had felt a connection to him. For one thing, the guy was hot. He was smoking hot, and with his tight Levis and form-fitting muscle shirt, little had been left to Corey’s imagination. The guy was built like a brick house, and every brick was in place.
Of course, it made no sense for him to allow his thoughts to head in that direction. He was going to New York for a sole purpose. He was going to focus every bit of his energy and attention on winning the competition. He didn’t have time for romantic fantasies. They were a distraction. Besides, fraternization was forbidden. It was right there in the contract in black and white. Contestants were not allowed to become sexually involved with each other or with any member of the
Superstar
staff.
Still, thinking about Jimmy was a difficult thing to avoid. That deep, baritone voice. The broad shoulders and blond hair. Though not exactly the type of guy Corey had always considered himself attracted to, he just couldn’t get the Kentuckian out of his head. It was crazy—silly, even. The possibility that Corey would ever see him again was next to nothing. Out of all those thousands of contestants, only four hundred from across the country had been chosen.
“You must be a Superstar.” A voice beside him pulled Corey from his pensive state back into the present.
He turned to the girl and smiled. “And you too,” he said. “You just have that look.”
“So, you from Michigan?” she asked.
“Clear up north. Petoskey.”
“Ah, up in ski country. My family vacations there sometimes, at Boyne Highlands.”
“I have a friend who works there,” Corey acknowledged. “My name’s Corey, by the way.”
“Sam,” she said. “Samantha, officially.”
“Nice to meet ya, Sam. Is this your first year?” he asked.
She nodded. “But it’s been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember.”
“Me too,” he said, turning slightly in his seat to face her. “I’m so psyched.”
“Psyched and scared shitless. I’m so afraid that after all this anticipation I’m gonna be voted off right away.”
Corey sighed, placing his hand on her forearm. “Believe me, I totally know what you’re sayin’. There are, like, four hundred of us, and over the next two weeks that number will be whittled down to only forty. The odds of survival are
not
in our favor.”
“I just can’t think about it,” she said. Sam had wavy, shoulder-length auburn hair, and it seemed to bounce when she got excited. Corey thought she should be in a shampoo commercial. “If I let myself obsess on it, I’m gonna go crazy.”
“I know,” he agreed. “So where are
you
from?”
“Saginaw. Born and raised.”
“Wow, my mom has a cousin or something from that city.”
“You ever been there?” she asked.
“Nah. I’ve never been anywhere, actually. This is my first time on a plane. It’s my first time out of Michigan.”
“Seriously? You’ve never even been to Cedar Point or Disney World or anything?”
He shrugged and shook his head. “What can I say? My family… well, it’s just my mom, sister, and me… we never had a lot of money.”
“Well, that explains why you’ve been staring out that window,” Sam said. “First time fliers always do that—look out the window at the clouds and all the little tiny buildings and mountains below.”
“Yeah.” He smiled at her. “I guess I was kinda obvious. So, ya know, even if I don’t make it through the elimination round, I’ll always be thankful for the adventure. The trip itself is pretty exciting.”
“After this is done, you should come visit me. I’ll take you to some clubs.”
“Really? I’m not even old enough….”
“Don’t worry. I can get us in. There’s a really cool gay club right in Saginaw. You ever hear of Bambi’s?”
Corey felt his face getting hot. “A gay club? Why you think I’d go to a place like that?”
“Oh, I don’t know… because maybe you’re, um… gay?” She cracked up. “Dude, you
are
gay, aren’t you?”
Corey released a sigh of defeat. “How the heck did you know?”
“Sixth sense,” she said. “Half my friends are gay. I can sense it.”
“But you’re not gay yourself?”
“Fuck no.” She lowered her voice. “I love cock too much.”
At this point Corey was certain his face was bright crimson.
“You’re kinda cute when you blush like that,” she said. “And don’t worry. Three-quarters of the music industry is gay… at least.”
“There are always rumors that Dylan Seagraves is gay.”
“Oh, he totally is,” Sam stated, matter of fact. “And maybe Reuben. I’ve heard that rumor too.”
Corey made a face. “Ew, I wouldn’t wanna think about that possibility.”
She laughed again. “Not your type, huh?”
“I don’t know. He’s just so unattractive to me. I think the fact that he’s so mean to everyone just makes him seem ugly.”
“I kind of like him,” Sam admitted. “I know he sounds mean, but he gives very blunt, honest advice.”
“You think so? I think he’s half-cocked most of the time. Some of his so-called advice is just meanness. I could see if he offered genuine criticism, something constructive. But what Reuben does is belittle people. He rips them to shreds and tries humiliating them.”
“How was he during your audition?”
“He rolled his eyes a couple times, but overall he wasn’t too mean. He voted me through.”
“Wow,” she said. “I wish I could say that. He voted against me, but the other three liked me.”
“All that matters is you got through,” Corey said, smiling. “And now we all start with a clean slate.”
The captain made the announcement that they were preparing to land, and the seat belt lights came on. “Oh, wow, I can’t believe we’re here already,” Corey said.
“Look out, New York, here we come!”
F
ORTUNATELY
, Jimmy was not the only
America’s Next Superstar
contestant on the flight from Louisville to New York City. He’d never been to a big city like New York. He found Louisville and Detroit to be challenging enough. When the plane landed and he stepped into the terminal, he just followed along, trailing behind the excited group of fellow contestants as they made their way to the baggage claim area.
He’d never seen such diversity. Thousands of people surrounded him, all different ethnicities, speaking different languages. It seemed odd that so many people shared the same space at the exact same moment and yet didn’t even notice one another. Where Jimmy came from, people greeted each other. Being friendly toward strangers was just the proper thing to do. Jimmy had been raised to be mannerly, to always demonstrate hospitality. Those values appeared nonexistent in this city. Everyone just hurried about, pushing and shoving their way to the head of the line. After a mere twenty minutes in JFK airport, Jimmy was already beginning to feel homesick.
At the baggage claim, he spotted the sign for
Superstar
. Relieved that he’d made it that far, he just had to retrieve his two pieces of luggage and guitar from the conveyer and check in with the company representative. As he tried edging closer to the revolving belt, others crowded around him, pushing him back. “Excuse me,” he said politely. “Oh, I’m sorry, ma’am, pardon me.” Ten seconds later: “No please, after you… go ahead.” This continued for the next five minutes until Jimmy realized he was not one inch closer to the luggage than when he’d started. Finally he opted for a slightly less polite approach and pushed his way through the crowd.
He spotted one of his bags on the other side of the belt. He just had to wait for it to make its way around to him. As he stood there, a heavyset traveler reached in front of him, grabbed a large suitcase off the conveyer, and whipped it off the belt. The bag flew into Jimmy’s midsection, and he gasped, stumbling backward. The force of the blow took him by surprise, and he flailed his arms as his feet slid out from under him. Suddenly he was flat on his behind amidst a sea of impatient airline passengers who were anything but sympathetic of his fall. “Move it, asshole!” someone shouted. “Hey, you fucking klutz!”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Jimmy tried desperately to gain some footing and right himself, but with so many people pressed against him, it appeared he was about to be trampled. Out of nowhere, a hand reached down, and he grabbed hold of it appreciatively. As he rose to his feet, his mouth dropped open when all of a sudden he was face to face with the one person he’d hoped to never see again.
“Jimmy, you all right?” Corey said.
“Thanks,” he said, pulling his hand away. For a few seconds, they stared into each other’s eyes, then Jimmy turned away. By that time, his bag had come around, and he reached down to grab it. Fortunately his other suitcase and guitar case were right behind it. Once he had his luggage, he pushed his way back through the crowd.
“Dude.” He heard Corey’s voice behind him. “You all right?”
Jimmy spun around. “I’m fine. Thanks for the help.” He turned to head toward the Superstar sign.
“Wait,” Corey said. “Please….”
Heaving an exasperated sigh, Jimmy spun around once more. “Look, man, I don’t really wanna talk to you.”
“I know,” Corey said quickly, “and I don’t blame you. I feel so bad….”
“You
should
feel bad. My brother almost died.”
“How is he? Is he doing better now?”
Jimmy couldn’t believe the audacity of this kid. Did he actually think Jimmy was going to tell him
anything
about himself or his family ever again? “Not to be rude or anything, but you oughta mind your own business.”
“I’m sorry, really I am. I had no idea my friend Megan would do that.”
“But you went along with it. You didn’t stop her.”
“I know.” Corey was hanging his head shamefully. He looked up, making eye contact with Jimmy again. “It was an awful thing for me to do, and after I got in there I told them the truth.”
“The judges?” Jimmy asked. He found this hard to believe.
“No, the judges didn’t even ask anything about it. I’m so glad you made it through your audition. I was worried I’d never see you again. I was afraid I’d never be able to tell you how sorry—”
“Look, man, you said you were sorry. You’ve got a clean conscience, so can you just leave me alone now?”
Jimmy turned around and headed briskly across the room to register for his shuttle.
“
W
HO
was that guy?” Sam asked him. They were on the shuttle on the way to the hotel.
“Look! It’s the Statue of Liberty,” Corey said. “I hope we get a chance to see some things while we’re here.”
“Yeah, I forgot… this is all new to you. But anyway, that guy who fell back at the airport.”
Corey sighed, still staring out the window. “Some kid I met during auditions. His brother has a heart condition and had to have like six surgeries. He’s from Kentucky.”
“He’s cute as fuck,” she said.
“He hates my guts.” Corey turned to her, cocking his head to the side.
“Oh, I doubt that, judging by the way he looked at you.”
“He looked at me like he wanted to kill me, and I don’t blame him.”
“What do ya mean?”
“It’s a long story, but things didn’t go too well when we met in Detroit. I was hoping I’d see him here so I could apologize to him. I’m just glad he made it through.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, it didn’t seem to me that he hated you. I couldn’t hear what he said to you, but he looked surprised to see you more than anything. I’m sure you’ll have a chance to make up with him.”
He couldn’t help smiling. “Sam, I really don’t even know the guy. We just met briefly, and like I said, he despises me. I’ve gotta stay focused on the competition. I don’t have time for that kind of drama.”
“Or romance?” she said.
Just then one of the other contestants on the shuttle began to sing “I’ve got a Golden Ticket,” the theme song from
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
. The shuttle bus was packed, and nearly everyone joined in, including Sam. Corey sat there grinning, thinking about Jimmy with a golden ticket. He joined in on the chorus:
“’Cause I’ve got a golden ticket. I’ve got a golden chance to make my way, and with a golden ticket, it’s a golden day….”
When they got to the hotel, it was pandemonium. The lobby was bustling with people, all fellow contestants pouring in from the shuttle buses. Corey looked around at all the happy faces, realizing that it would be very soon that the numbers would begin dwindling. Within the first three days, half of the competitors would be eliminated. After that, there would be two rounds of group competition, followed by one final round of solo performances. By the end of the two-week process, there would be only twenty contestants remaining. He looked around at all the people and did the math. Only one out every twenty would survive. It was scary.
He stood in line with Sam, waiting to register.
“You got your paperwork?” she asked.
“Yup,” he said confidently, pulling a file folder from the side pocket of his suitcase. He began leafing through the documents. “Indemnity waiver, nondisclosure clause, code of conduct agreement, rights to my first born….”