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❪ CHAPTER TWO ! ❫
-ˏˋ BIG TIME PANIC ˊˎ-

"ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is sit in the car. Logan'll drive, and we'll shovel your walkway!" Kendall pleaded.

The five friends stood outside in the doorway of Mrs. Magikowski's house, the elderly lady that lived directly across the street from Kendall's house. They all wore their jackets from earlier, Kendall once again wearing his beanie.

"For free!" Kendall added. "All winter long!"

Mrs. Magikowski stared at the group for a moment, still chewing on a snack that she was eating. Carlos gave her two thumbs up.

"Do we have a deal?" Aurora asked and smiled anxiously.

"Eh," Mrs. Magikowski whined, slightly disinterested. The group of five all began to pout, ready to be disappointed.

"Alright." She answered.

The teenagers's faces all lit up as they cheered, "Yes!"

"Okay," James questioned. "What time is it now?"

Everyone turned to Logan who looked down at his watch. His face scrunched up, "Four forty-two."

"Okay, lets go! Let's go!" Kendall spoke out.

The teenagers all scrambled around quickly. Aurora went to Mrs. Magikowski's car with the woman's cane and car keys to unlock the doors. Carlos and Logan searched her house for her purse, hat, and a coat.

After a minute had passed, the boys picked up Mrs. Magikowski out of her house and locked the door behind them. They rushed over to Aurora and the car which was parked on the side of the road near the house.

"Come on, faster! Faster! Faster!" James yelled at his friends as they hurried across the snowy sidewalk.

"Do you have her purse?" Logan asked loudly, him and his friends still carrying the woman.

"Uh, purse!" Kendall lifted up the purse to show that he had it.

Logan continued, "What about her cane?"

"It'll be fine. We can't be late." James barked.

"Cane!" Aurora shouted anyways as she opened the front passengers seat door. James continued to yell at Carlos and Logan who, from James' point of view, seemed to be walking very slow.

"I don't wanna break her!" Carlos announced, making it to the car.

The boys carefully lured the woman into the car as they continued to argue. Logan ran around to the drivers side and hopped inside. Carlos went into the backseat first, then James and Kendall followed. Aurora handed Mrs. Magikowski her cane before rushing to the backseat.

Aurora frowned at the sight, "There's no more room!"

Kendall raised an eyebrow.

"You can sit on my lap?"

Aurora scoffed and pulled a face. She shook her and lifted up a finger, "There is no way I'm going to sit on your—"

"Just get in the car!"

James, Logan, and Carlos shouted, annoyed and anxious.

"Okay, I'm sitting, I'm sitting!"

Aurora consented, quickly situating herself onto her friend's lap. Kendall shouted, "Drive!" He commanded and closed the car door next to him shut.

The car however did not move, and the kids in the backseat all stared at the back of Logan's head in confusion.

"Why aren't we moving?!" James shouted.

"I need the keys!" Logan proclaimed, turning to look at Aurora. She chuckled awkwardly and handed him the keys she forgot to give him.

Kendall remarked, "You clearly cannot be trusted with keys."

"Shut up." Aurora replied.

Fumbling, Logan snatched the keys out of Aurora's hands and shakily pushed them into the ignition. He started the car and then glanced around.

"Okay, does everyone have their seat belts on?" He asked, his already buckled in.

In reply, the boys groaned and yanked on their seat belts quickly. Kendall's seat belt wasn't big enough for both him and Aurora, so instead he strapped it around himself and reached his hands out to hold onto Aurora's waist in order to keep her steady.

"Don't even think about it." Aurora barked without turning to face him.

Kendall surrendered and put his hands down at his sides instead.

"Okay, we're strapped." James declared. "Now, drive!"

Logan fidgeted, fixing his rear view mirror and putting his hands on the steering wheel. "Hands at nine and three." He mumbled to himself.

Logan shut his eyes and bit on his lower lip, still not moving the vehicle.

"What's the problem now?" James grumbled.

"I'm nervous!" Logan quickly exclaimed back. "I never drive with this many people in a car!"

Aurora hissed, "You don't have time to be nervous! Just drive!"

Logan sighed before shifting the gear of the car and began to drive off, tapping the brakes every few seconds.

"Where are we going exactly?" Logan questioned, realizing he did not even know where he was driving.

"The Paramount Pictures theater by the supermarket." Kendall answered.

James turned to Kendall, "And how long does it take to get there?"

"With Logan driving?" Aurora teased, "Probably a little less than seven hours."

"Hey!"

Logan whined and continued to drive, still tapping on the brakes every few seconds. "I'm pretty sure we'll get there before five."

"How did you even pass your test?" Carlos spoke out, his head hitting the back of Logan's seat as he tapped on the brakes once again. Luckily, he had his helmet on.

Carlos continued, "I'm being choked to death by my seat belt every time you stop the car."

"I'm panicking, okay?" Logan quickly exclaimed as he slammed on the brakes harder and more frequently.

Aurora slid down Kendall's lap and hit her forehead on the back of Mrs. Magikowski's seat when Logan tapped on the brakes once again. She rubbed the spot on her head and scooted back up her friend's lap.

"Yeah, you can hold onto me now."

Kendall quickly placed a firm but gentle grip on Aurora's waist.

"Stop panicking and just relax!" James shouted as they rocked their way down the clear road and up to a red traffic light.

Logan cried, "I'm trying!"

"Try harder!" James sassed back.

"Quit yelling at me!"

"Everyone just calm down!" Kendall shouted. The two friends stopped bickering as Logan pulled up at the traffic light. "Logan, relax. You can do this. All you have to do is drive a couple more blocks."

Kendall encouraged his friend.

Aurora spoke, "Nothing bad will happen as long as you stop driving like a maniac."

The light turned green.

"Now, drive!" James shouted, "Please!"

Logan let out a sharp breath before pressing hard on the gas, driving down the road.

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"OH MY GOSH, I THINK I'M GONNA throw up." Logan declared. He quickly pressed on the brakes and pulled the car to a stop, near the Paramount Pictures theatre.

"Thank goodness we got here in one piece." Aurora teased from the back seat.

James looked back and forth at his friends sitting next to him, anxious and impatient. "Why are you just sitting there?" He almost yelled. "Go, get out! Come on!"

The teenagers hurried as they all began reach for the car doors. Aurora unlocked the door before quickly opening it and hopping out of the car. Kendall stumbled quickly behind her, making sure not to trip over any of the icy snow that was spread in patches on the road. Aurora shut the door behind him and the two of them rushed over to the other side of the vehicle.

Logan tumbled out of the car, slipping on the snow. He tried to regain his balance as he shut the door. The security guards dressed up in yellow jackets who were standing outside the building gave the kids concerned stares.

Carlos fumbled with the door on his side. James continued to yell into his ear while he tried his best to open it.

"It won't open!" Carlos yelled back at his friend.

James clenched his teeth together. "That's because it's still locked!"

Carlos stopped in his tracks. "Oh." He spoke with realization. He pressed the button that unlocked the door and quickly opened it, almost flying himself out of the car.

"Come on!" Kendall spoke loudly. "Hurry up!"

James stumbled out of the car immediately behind Carlos. He slammed the door shut and spoke, "Go! Go! Go! Come on!"

Before taking off with the rest of his friends, Logan quickly glanced inside of the car to see if Mrs. Magikowski was alright. She was already looking in his direction and sent him a little smile. Logan let out a breath before scrambling behind his friends into the Paramount Pictures theatre.

James went into the theatre first. He almost tripped on the carpeted floor multiple times. The room had quite a good amount of people in it, but only one of them seemed to be waiting in a sitting area to audition in front of Gustavo. There were two blue velvet ropes leading up to a table with a blue sheet over it. The table had a clock that read 4:55, as well as a few sign in sheets. There were some posters around the room that had the red Rocque Records logo on them.

James flung his jacket onto the floor and rushed up to the lady who was standing by the table. He almost stumbled into the table as the lady looked up at him, and James recognized her as the woman who was also on the television with Gustavo.

"My name is James Diamond," James panted. He stood up properly "And I...I wanna be famous."

James quickly began to sing to prove himself. He only sang for about two seconds before the lady shrugged in satisfaction and slapped a yellow sticker on his chest.

"Ow!" James overreacted. He looked at the sticker to see that it had the number 810 written on it.

The lady shoved a clipboard into his hands and instructed, "Fill out the rest of this sheet and wait for your number to be called."

James smiled as he watched the lady turn away from him. He turned behind him to see his friends running up to him with worried expressions.

"Did you get in?" Carlos questioned.

James smiled and held out his arms in response, causing his friends to celebrate. Kendall let out a breath of relief and began to take off his jacket. Logan gave James a high-five and a fist bump. Aurora clapped with excitement while Carlos jumped up for joy. "Yes! I told you." He proclaimed. He gave James a second hard high-five.

A girl began to scream before anyone could say anything else.

"He's a liar! I'm a star!"

The girl shrieked in the arms of two security guards. Loud aggressive screams could be heard from Gustavo inside the audition room, which is where the guards were dragging her out from. She tried to wiggle and kick her way out of their arms. "I'm gonna be the next Gwen Stefani!" She boasted.

The teenagers recognized her immediately. It was Jenny, once again, from their homeroom. She had a lot of pink eye-shadow on her eyelids, and a black and pink classic pop-star dress. She stopped squirming in the men's arms as soon as she noticed her friends.

"Oh, hey, guys." She acknowledged.

The five friends all waved with concern written on their faces. "Hey, Jenny."

"He's evil." Jenny insisted, remembering where she was and began to try to break free again. "I'm a star! A star!"

Aurora and her friends all watched as the guards continued to take the girl out of the theatre. None of them thought much of it, knowing that Jenny was not a very good singer. Aurora was about to comment on the situation before the same lady walked up the group.

"You," The woman pointed a finger at Logan. "Name."

The group of kids all raised their eyebrows. Logan looked at his friends before pointing to himself. "Me?" He queried.

The lady inclined her head in agreement. She hummed, "Mm-hmm."

Aurora folded her arms and chucked. James started to fill out the sheet he was given.

"Oh, no, thank you." Logan spoke politely and smiled, "I'm gonna be a doctor."

The lady stood the same. She deadpanned, "Yeah, well, I'm a desperate talent scout, and you have a cute smile, and Justin Timberlake made forty-four million dollars last year."

Logan's smile dropped, suddenly interested. He pointed a finger to his chest. "Hit me." He gave in. The lady slapped another yellow sticker on his chest. This time, it read number 811 on it. She also shoved a new clipboard into his arms.

Carlos' face lit up. "I-I wanna be famous, too!"

"Whoa, whoa!" The boy sang quickly. Aurora pressed her lips together, trying not to smile. Expressionless, the lady pressed another sticker labeled 812 on his chest. She rested her hands on the shoulders of James and Carlos and pushed them out of the way. She took a step forward towards Kendall and Aurora.

"You, tall, blond, and eyebrows," She pointed out.

Kendall's brows elevated.

The lady opened up her arms. "You want your dreams to come true today?"

Kendall bent over slightly and grinned. "Sorry. My dream is to play center for the Minnesota Wild." He insisted and explained.

Aurora patted his back and rested her hands on his shoulders. "But he'll also consider The Maple Leafs, just in case the MW doesn't except his lousy skills." She commented from behind her friend. Kendall pulled a face and gently elbowed her. She smiled and removed her hands.

"Ah." The woman pretended to defeated by Kendall's explanation. She then slapped another sticker on his chest, number 813. Kendall grimaced and looked down at the sticker. The lady shoved him aside so she could stand face to face with Aurora.

Aurora scrunched up her face. "There's no way out of this, is there?"

The lady grinned. "Nope."

"Fine." Aurora exhaled. "Go ahead."

The lady in front of her smiled in satisfaction and gave her another sticker that read number 814. She turned around on her heels and took a few short steps towards James. He was currently engrossed in the sheet on the clipboard that was in his hands. The lady shoved it into his chest, forcing him to jump a little and move his gaze to her.

"810 is next." She spoke in a tone that sent chills down James' spine. The feeling of nervousness and nausea began to flood his body, and he shoved the clipboard into Carlos' hands. He ripped his sticker off of his chest with swift and switched it with Logan's. Logan looked up from his clipboard.

"Oh, look." James spoke with a hint of agitation in his voice. He pointed to his friend's new number. "You're next."

Aurora shook her head whilst Logan gave James an annoyed glare. Kendall gave him a similar look, and James responded with an inaudible, "What?"

"Dude," Carlos went about harshly, speaking directly to Logan. "You don't sing."

Aurora laughed aloud.

"Carlos, that was the worst pep talk in history." Logan faced him and lectured, "Luckily I'm a genius. I'll think of something."

Logan paused for a moment and looked in a different direction, thinking of what he was going to do. Truth was, he had no clue.

Aurora smiled as she knew where this was headed. She tilted her head to a side, glancing up at the ceiling. "Three, two, one..."

"Kendall?" Logan asked, giving up.

Aurora and the rest of her friends smiled.

"Beat box." Kendall shrugged and stated with ease.

Logan lifted up a finger. "Got it." He shoved his clipboard into Carlos' hands, him now holding two of them plus his helmet. Logan started to take off his thin jacket and headed towards the auditorium's double doors with confidence. Aurora and Kendall smiled as they watch him fling his jacket onto one of the seats near the doors. He walked out of the room and passed the sign that read NUMBERED CONTESTANTS ONLY PAST THIS POINT.

Kendall cringed, "You think he'll panic?"

Aurora pressed her lips together, her gaze fixed on the door Logan just went through. "Probably." She admitted. "But not before James does."

James sent a dry expression her way.

"Don't listen to her," Kendall proclaimed, stepping towards James and giving him a reassuring pat on his shoulder. "You're gonna do great."

James let out a soft breath before he turned away and headed towards the seats near the auditorium doors. He sat down next to the chair Logan threw his jacket onto. Carlos followed, then Aurora and Kendall.

"Hey, pass me one of those clipboards?" Kendall instructed to Carlos. Carlos gave the boards to Aurora, who took one and handed the other to Kendall.

Aurora flipped passed the two pages that had James' and Carlos' names on them, and stopped at a blank sheet. She grabbed the pen that was chained to the board and began to fill out the page with her basic information—name, address, contact information, age, and contestant number.

After she finished writing she noticed that the bottom half of the page had a few paragraphs of information about the winning contestant. She read that the person who won would be flying to Los Angeles with Gustavo Rocque and his assistant Kelly Wainwright, who Aurora figured was the not so easily intimidated talent-scout. The person who Gustavo picked would be producing demo tracks for three months, all expenses covered.

Aurora bit her lip as she finished reading. She looked away from the paper and began to ponder. She would love to spend three months away from her vexatious mother. Even if her demos weren't picked and she would have to return home, three months away sounded like a paradise.

Kendall finished writing on his sheet and flipped back to the beginning of the papers, which was just Logan's page. He rested the pen down.

He looked up at his friends beside him. Carlos was blabbering to James and Aurora seemed lost in her own thought. He smiled before sitting up straight.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Kendall investigated quietly.

Aurora turned to Kendall, her lips now faintly parted. She was hesitant to answer. She thought for a moment before speaking, "Did you read the info at the bottom?" She questioned.

Kendall inclined his head.

Aurora looked away from him for a second, "If you got picked..." She went on with leisure, "Would you go?"

The boy snorted. "No." He answered, as if it were the most obvious answer. He continued in a humorous manner, "Would you?"

Aurora hesitated her response once again. She breathed out, looking at him this time, "Maybe."

Kendall's expression changed when he noticed that his friend was serious. His brows twitched as he opened his mouth to ask for her reasoning behind her response, but shut it closed when he realized he already knew the answer. Aurora shifted her gaze towards the floor and let her head hang a little.

Truth was, Aurora did not have things too terrible at home. There was no doubt that other people out there in the world had it much harder and much worse than her. However, Kendall knew that if his mom acted the way Ms. Mendoza did, he would want to stay as far away from her as he could, too.

"Okay." Kendall responded.

Aurora peered up and met Kendall's caring gaze that was looking at her as if she were special. The boy did not even realize he was giving her such a gaze. Aurora thought nothing of it, her believing that the look in his eyes was sympathy.

One of the double doors to the auditorium room peeled open, revealing Logan with a look of terror splattered across his face. His brows were raised and pulled together, and his eyes were bulging, frozen open. His friends all turned to him when they heard the door open. They could hear a voice still yelling from inside of the auditorium.

"Get back here! I have bad words, And I wanna use them on you!" Gustavo's voice yelled. "I wanna make fun of you..."

The screamed trailed off as the door fell closed. Logan slowly sat down in the chair next to James that had his jacket on it.

"Well, he didn't panic." Aurora stated, looking at her friend with concern.

Once he sat down, he licked his lips and made eye contact with James.

"Don't go in there." Logan instructed, practically whispering.

James gulped.

"He...he...he's Satan!" Logan declared. "He's Satan with bug-eyed sunglasses."

Logan brought his knees up to his chest and began to softly cry. He rocked himself back and forth in his seat. Panic made its way across James' face, becoming even more nervous to audition.

Aurora's eyes widened. "And now, he's crying." She grimaced. "James, maybe you should do this another day."

"Stop peer pressuring me!" James panicked.

Kendall scrunched up his face. "Peer pressuring you?" He turned to face James, "This was your idea to come here!"

"811." The auditorium door opened again, and Kelly poked her head through. She announced, "811's up."

James quickly looked down at his sticker and realized that was his new number, and he was next. He acted quickly and switched his number with Carlos. Carlos looked at James, confused.

"All you, buddy." James patted his friend's shoulder with encouragement, which was very ironic since James was the one who needed it. James spoke, "Go get 'em."

Carlos turned to Aurora and Kendall, who both simply shrugged at him.

He looked over at Logan, who was still crying, before hopping out of his seat and placing his helmet on top of his head. He spoke to his friends without facing them, "I love you guys, in case I die."

Aurora gave a suppressed smile. 'I love you, in case I die' was something she had said to her friends one time when she was about to perform on stage for her very first dance recital. The boys have been saying it ever since.

Carlos gave his helmet two quick taps along with a thumbs up to his friends. He gave Logan a tap on his shoulder and headed out of the room.

Aurora got up from her seat and moved down one into Carlos' previous chair. Kendall followed her and moved as well.

The two turned back to look at each other. Kendall spoke first, "So, what are gonna do for the audition, then?" He questioned.

Aurora scoffed and shook her head. "Honestly, I have no clue. Any ideas?"

"Sing one of those Hispanic songs you're always listening to." Kendall joked. Aurora let out a soft laugh.

"Hard pass." She chuckled.

"Okay," He laughed. "...then sing a song from one of the 'High School Musical' movies."

Kendall watched Aurora's eyes light up as she smiled at his suggestion. Boy, did she love those movies. He gave her the same adoring gaze from earlier. Aurora gave him a cheeky grin as she spoke, "I like were you're headed. That's not a bad idea. An incredible idea in fact."

Kendall's smile broadened, though he shook his head slightly at his friend. He hummed, pondering for a few seconds. He then suggested, "Or, you could sing a Whitney Houston song."

Aurora pursed her lips and tilted her head. "Singing one of her songs would be a challenge."

"True." Kendall admitted. "But, since when are you one to back out of a challenge?"

The girl narrowed her eyes at Kendall, her smile still visible. Before she could respond with an answer Carlos came through one of the double doors, practically running.

Unlike Logan who walked out in terror, he had a smile on his face. He held out his arms, "Not going to Hollywood!" He announced, almost in celebration.

Logan shook his head and put his feet down, no longer crying. James held his hands out in confusion and Carlos high-fived them before he plopped down onto his chair.

Kelly, instead of simply poking her head out, came halfway out of the auditorium. The teenagers turned their heads to face her. She paused and gave James an icy stare before announcing, "812." She seethed and walked back into the room, "812's up."

James whipped his head to face Aurora. He glanced at her sticker that read 814, meaning she still had a decent amount of time before she was going to be called. She was not paying him any mind, as she was also looking at the number on her sticker. She realized she was not next, so she glanced over at Kendall's number to see if it was his turn.

James took this as an opportunity to switch his sticker with hers since she was not looking. He ripped his number off of his black vest and tried to switch it, but Kendall reached over and covered Aurora's number with the back of his hand, blocking James. Aurora jumped vaguely.

"James," Kendall spoke in an almost warning tone. He got up from his seat with leisure.

James let out a soft breath of air before following his friend's actions. The rest of the kids stood up as well. Kendall took a step forward and rested his hand on James' shoulder. "This is your dream," he reminded. "Not ours."

Aurora smirked and folded her arms. "I smell speech."

Kendall rested his other hand on James' free shoulder. "Remember," He continued. "Opportunities like this come once in a lifetime."

James nodded, his lips slightly parted. He placed his sticker back onto his chest.

"Now, grab on to that dream with both hands..." Kendall continued his famous quote. He turned James around so he was facing the doors to the auditorium. "...and go big time!"

Kendall shoved his friend forwards, James stumbling into the door. He pushed it open slowly and headed inside.

As the door closed, Aurora frowned. "I hope he does great."

"Me too." The three boys spoke in sync.

An idea formed in Kendall's head, and he quickly scanned the room for something. His eyes landed on another set of double doors labeled 'BACK OF AUDITORIUM.'

Kendall smirked. "Why don't we go ahead and see how he's doing then?"

Kendall's friends turned to face him, and then turned to see where he was looking. Once their eyes landed on the doors, they smiled at each other.

"I smell plan." Logan added.

The four teenagers rushed over to the double door in hopes that there were no security guards on the other side blocking the entrance.

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STARTED WRITING: May 4, 2019
PUBLISHED: July 11, 2019
WORD COUNT: 4395