The usual beep sounded over the intercom followed by the monotonous voice of our school's secretary, Mrs. Blandowski. The name suits her.

"Good morning, staff and students. Please stand for the pledge."

"Crap, I'm gonna be late," I think to myself, still at my locker grabbing my binders and books for the next few hours. I could hear the sound of old chairs squeaking against the floor of the nearest classroom, due to the students pushing them out to stand.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag..." the students and staff began.

I tried to quickly slam my locker door shut, but it wouldn't close all the way. I groaned as I realized one of my folders stuck out, getting in the way of the locker door.
I reajusted it hastily, closed my locker, and fumbled with my lock, trying to secure my possessions.

"... and to the republic for which it stands..."

Of course my lock decided to jam up while I was running late! Just my luck. I tried closing it using a little more elbow grease, and once it successfully locked, I gathered up my items and speed walked to my first class, Social Studies, which was, unfortunately, four classrooms down the hall.

"... with liberty and justice for all."

Great. They're done with the pledge. I flinched as the chairs started to squeak against the floor again. Now, I had to make it to class before Mrs. Blandowski got through morning announcements.

"Can you juggle, sing, dance, do karate, or have any other special talents?"

Ah, yes, this again. She's been going on about this since last week, I mentally said, passing the first classroom door.

"If so, sign up to audition for this year's Talent Show. Auditions are being held today and tomorrow after school, so this is your last chance."

I passed the second classroom. Halfway there.

"The sign-up sheet is located outside the main office for those of you who are intrested. Auditions will be held on the stage in the gym."

Third classroom. Come on legs, don't fail me now!

"Today is Treat Day in the cafeteria, so you have the option of getting a cookie a long with your chicken nuggets, broccoli, and peaches."

Almost there...

"And those are your morning announcements. Everyone have a wonderful day."

I bursted into class just a moment after another beep sounded, signalling the end of announcements.

Everyone turned towards me, startled by my sudden appearance. My teacher, Mr. Scheiznel, looked up at me with a bored expression.

"Mr. Wisener,  you're late."

"By a fraction of a second!" I protested.

Scheiznel removed his reading glasses and sighed. "Honestly, Jacob, you're in 7th grade already. I expect that you'd come to class early like your other peers."

I rolled my  eyes. "It's not like a stray cat crossed your path this morning," I muttered under my breath.

"What's that?"

"Nothing," I mumbled a bit louder.

"Take your seat, Jacob. Next time you're tardy, you'll get a lunch detention."

I walked over to my seat. I took out the supplies I needed for class, and put the extra things under my seat in the rack. As Mr. Scheiznel turned around to the Smart Board and began to talk about the differences between the governments of the U.S. and Canada, my friend Raymond who sat in front of me turned towards me.

"Dude, why were you so late today? You're not usually like this, Jake!"

"I almost ran over a stray cat with my bike on the way to school today. The good news was that the cat lived, that bad news was that I swerved to the right just a little two quickly and crashed into the brush on the side of the road," I explained, wincing at the memory and ran a hand through my dirty blond-hair.

Raymond laughed, his blue eyes sparkling with humor. "That's why? A little cat made you late?"

"I couldn't have just ran him over!"

"Wisener? Smith? Care to share with the class?" Mr. Scheiznel looked at us over his glasses.

We shook our heads and replied in unison, "No, sir."

He grunted and continued on with the lesson.

"Sometimes you're too nice for your own good," Raymond whispered, and turned back to the front. I stared holes in the back of his brown-haired head.

The next three classes flew by after that, until my favorite part of school came rolling around the corner: lunch time.

After practically inhaling my cookie (not bad), chicken nuggets (meh), peaches (ew, slimy) and broccoli (is this radioactive?), I raised my hand, got dismissed by an aide, and headed outside, Raymond close on my heels. 

"Jake! Wait up!" he called out, jogging to catch up with me. "Man, you eat lunch fast!"

I rolled my eyes. "No, you're just slow," I teased.

"Whatever. Hey, lets play football with the other guys over there," Raymond suggested pointing to the group that had gathered in the field.

We were partway into the game and Raymond was the quarterback. After whispering to our team about the play, we got in our positions on the line.

"Ready... set... HIKE!"

I ran the way I was supposed to while keeping my eyes on Raymond, prepared in case he passes the ball to me. 

Then suddenly, I heard a sweet sound that reminded me of honey. It was smooth like butter, and cut through the air just slightly so that you could only hear it if you listened closely. I realized that it wasn't just any sound: it was the sound of someone singing.

"Dude, Jake! Snap out of it! Did you get enough sleep last night?" one of the boys called out to me, pulling me back into the real world.

"Uh, yeah, I did! I just- can I take a break for a moment?"

"Sure, I guess. Just don't take long."

"Thanks!"

I walked towards the sound, hearing it clearer and clearer. By now, I could just make out words.

"... I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you! But with the beast inside, there's nowhere we can hide..."

As I got neared the source of the singing, I noticed it was coming from a tree... no, a person sitting behind the tree, and based on the length of her brown hair and higher voice, I guessed she was a girl. I didn't know her, though; she wasn't in any of my classes. Her head was down, though, so I couldn't really see her face.

"... When you feel my heat, look into my eyes: it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide! Don't get too close; it's dark inside. It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide!"

Man, she's so good! She should seriously try out for the Talent Show. With a voice like that, the judges couldn't say no!

"Who said that? Who's there?" She looked up and to her left, even though I was watching from her right. 

I could catch a small glimpse of her hazel eyes before I quickly hid behind the tree on the opposite side of her, which was easy, since it was so thick and I was relatively thin. I must've said all that aloud! I clamped a hand over my mouth and internally scolded it for saying my thoughts for the world to hear.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

I held in my breath, praying she wouldn't hear me.

"I swear I heard someone say something about the Talent Show," she muttered to herself.

Yep! That was me!

"Maybe I'm going crazy... hmmm. I guess it wouldn't hurt to audition..."

I mentally fist-pumped, but then I realized that the boys would be wondering where I've gone. Slowly, I walked away from her and the tree, making sure to stay out of her line of sight. Once out of earshot, I sprinted to the rest of the boys to continue playing the game.

Looks like I'll be staying after school today.

I got through the rest of my classes in daze that day. I wasn't really paying very close attention. For all I knew, we would be having a quiz tomorrow in L.A. and I would be clueless! Finally, the last bell of the day rang, signaling the end of the school day. I quickly walked down the hall to my locker and grabbed my backpack. Then, I headed to the gym.

I noticed that in front of the stage were a bunch of chairs for spectators, probably friends watching their friends audition.

Or weirdos watching people they don't even know sing their hearts out.

Shut up!

Snapping out of my mental conversation with... myself... I took a seat in the back row and waited for auditions to begin. The judges table was in the front of the spectator seats, and I assumed the people auditioning were waiting backstage. The principal, a few teachers, and the president of the student council were judging. They would call the names of each auditioning student in order, watch them, and write things down on a piece of paper afterward.

I politely clapped after each act. I already guessed that this one violin player and a Rubik's  Cube speed-solver would get in. Then the girl with brown hair and hazel eyes walked onto the stage. I caught her name: Amber.

"Alright, you may begin," the principal said, nodding at her.

Music began, and I recognized the intro to the song "Demons" by Imagine Dragons. When the part came for Amber to start singing, she opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Why isn't she singing? I questioned her strange behavior with furrowed brows. I looked a little closer and realized she was shaking. She stared at audience that waited in anticipation with large eyes, like a deer in headlights.

She's scared, I thought. That's probably why she didn't think of auditioning until today.

"Ahem, Ms. Amber? Please begin," prodded the principal.

The music restarted, but she still couldn't sing. Instead, she ran offstage, tears welling up in her eyes. The audience murmured in confusion at her sudden outburst.

I furrowed my brows and walked out of the gym and went in the direction of the door that connected the stage with the hallway. When I got there, I watched the door close and caught a glimpse of Amber's retreating figure turn the corner at the end of the hall. I followed her up the stairs without her knowing but then hid behind a nearby garbage can when she suddenly stopped.

I heard the creak of a locker door opening and risked a peek at the shy singer. She was grabbing her things, obviously getting ready to leave.

Wow, what a stalker.

Oh, be quiet!

Yeah, we better be quiet if we don't want her to catch us STALKING her!

"Hey, Mom?"

Amber's shaky voice broke my thoughts.

"Yeah everything's fine, I just-" She sighed, dragging a hand down her face. "Can you pick me up? I'm done with auditions. . . Okay, love you too. Bye."

She closed her locker and walked to the school's main entrance. As her footsteps grew farther and farther away, the more I thought about how to help her. She obviously had stage fright, but I didn't want that to stop her from showing her talent.

Then, an idea hit me.

Remembering her locker number, I rushed over to my locker, opened it, and pulled out my stack of neon-blue sticky notes. I took one of them off, then dug around in my backpack, searching for a pen. Once I found one, I sat there thinking. Formed my thoughts into words before letting them show in the form of ink on blue paper.

Amber,

I don't think you know me, and I don't know you either, but I know one thing about you. You have a beautiful voice. I heard you singing outside during lunch hour, and I came to the first day of auditions to see if you would be there, and sure enough, you were.

I turned the note over for more space and continued.

When you didn't sing, I was suprised, but then I realized you had stage fright. I don't know why you ran, whether it was the audience, or the judges, or whatever, but know that your fear doesn't matter. Your voice is amazing, and they'd be stupid to think otherwise. Get out there and audition again, and show them what you've got!

~ J.W.

Satisfied with my work, I went back to Amber's locker and slipped the note through one of the ventilation holes that were located at the top of the locker door.

Man, you are sooooo cheesy. What if she thinks your note is from some stalker and freaks out?

She's not gonna freak out! What kind of stalker writes sincere notes?

One that's in loooove~

I froze at that thought as my face heated up.

Dang, I'm so cliché.

The whistling of the janitor pulled me from my thoughts, and I hurried back to my locker. I put the sticky notes back, closed and locked my locker, grabbed my backpack, and walked to the school's entrance.

Thankfully, Amber was already gone, and I wouldn't have to confront her after... whatever happened in my brain a few seconds ago. After  unlocking my bike from the rack, I rode home and went about my normal evening routine.

The next day went agonizingly slowly as I waited and waited and WAITED for the school day to end. Apparently, I zoned out a lot during the day, according to Raymond. Thankfully, he told me nothing too important was going to come up soon, nor did I miss out on important things today. However, Raymond isn't the most honest guy, and it's likely that he's pranking me or something.

Finally, the last bell rang, and I went to my locker, got my backpack, went downstairs, and entered the gym, taking the same seat as before.

Act after act, I waited for Amber to appear. But the longer I waited, the more my hands became clammy, and the more I started to doubt myself.

What if she thought the note was creepy? What if she's still scared? What if she didn't even find the note in the first place?!

Even though I was freaking out on the inside, I tried (key word: TRIED) to stay calm on the outside, and clapped for each auditioner, even for one person who tried to do a card trick, but guessed the principal's card completely wrong.

Before I knew it, auditions were over.

"Alright. That's it! Thank all of you for sharing your talents. Results will be posted tomorrow morni-"

"Wait!" Amber ran onto the stage, shocking everyone in the gym. "Can I please audition again? I-I just have this fear of performing, a-and I want to show what I can do."

The audience murmured as she wrung her hands and gave the judges a lopsided smile.

I smiled myself, glad that she was coming out of her shell, and proud that I had helped her.

After discussing things amongst themselves, the judges looked back up at Amber.

"We see no reason why not," the principal smiled.

Amber grinned and nodded to someone backstage. Music began, and she went over to the mic.

"When the days are cold and the cards all fold and the saints we see are all made of gold..."

Everyone fell silent, already captivated by her voice.

"When your dreams all fail and the ones we hail are the worst of all when the blood's run stale..."

As she sang, the audience sat astonished by the way her voice flowed smoothly and hit every note with accuracy. It was like watching sailors being lured to their doom by a Siren... okay, that's a little dark, but you know what I mean! She was THAT good!

When she finished, everyone sat there in silence.  Her bright smile faltered a bit, and she started fidgeting with her hands. Then the audience suddenly bursted with applause, and she jumped, putting a hand to her heart. As they gave her a standing ovation, she grinned, said thank you, bowed, and walked off stage.

Of course the next day results were posted and she made it, which was no surprise. What did surprise me, though, was that I had the guts to go up to her the next day outside during lunch hour.

"Hey there!"

She turned around. "Hi."
_________________________

AN: So, as you can see, this story is WAY longer than my two previous chapters. What I'm wondering is wether or not that's a good thing.

Seriously, guys. Give me feedback. I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Well, if you read up to this point, I'd like to thank you for sticking with me. That means a so much more to me than you think.

Until next time! ;)

P.S. I do not own Imagine Dragons or their song "Demons."