"Why did you bring that with you? There's not enough light for you to see," Vanessa asked when she quickly glanced down to see me writing in my notebook. "Well, the lines are going to be long, so I might as well have something to work on while I wait," I answered while trying to remember the lyrics for the song. "What made you change your mind about auditioning?" She asked.

"I saw Ashley onstage yesterday at the auditions, and I decided that I was going to give Aidan the chance to notice my voice. I'm tired of Ashley taking everything away from me. So, I'm going to take that duet right from under her nose," I explained. Soon, we pulled into the parking lot and parked near the front doors of the school. "Do you want me to wait outside?" Vanessa asked. "No, I want you to come with me. I wouldn't want you to miss my audition!"

Vanessa smiled brightly, and we walked down the hall towards the auditorium. When we walked inside, I saw that the line was long. "Welcome to the second set of auditions, guys! I swear, I will not cut the auditions short this time. But I look forward to hearing you guys sing!" Aidan smiled at everyone in the room. I swear, I could've felt my heart melt slightly in my chest, but I spent the time in line by humming the lyrics to my song.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and I pulled it out, and I saw it was a message from Vanessa.

Vanessie  💖

Vanessa: Good luck up there!

Serena: Thanks!

I looked over to the stage, and I heard a girl singing one of Aidan's songs. She was a decent singer in my opinion. And I saw Aidan writing her name on a small sheet of paper. I just prayed that the song I was going to perform was going to convince Aidan. The line was slowly but surely moving, and every once in a while, I glanced at the clock that was across the room, And I saw that it was getting closer and closer to midnight and I started to worry that I wouldn't be able to sing before I had to go back home.

Then, a few people got out of the line. And I saw that some of the girls were starting to lose their confidence. I was now three people away from the stage. When I looked at the table where the judges were, I could see that Aidan was starting to become stressed out. I didn't know if he was stressed about the lack of people he wrote down on the paper. Or if he was stressed out about something else. His face was stretched into a pained smile, but he was trying his best to hide his true emotions.

I looked at the clock again. It was now 11:25, the time had flown by so quickly, and I could feel my knees start to buckle, and my throat was beginning to tighten. My phone vibrated in my pocket again, and I saw that Vanessa had sent me another text, telling me that everything was going to be okay and that I should take a few deep breaths. I followed her advice, and I started to feel slightly better.

I zoned out for a moment by looking towards Aidan's direction. A couple of minutes went by, and then I felt someone gently tap my shoulder, bringing me out of my state. "It's your turn," the girl next to me said. I took a deep breath and put my notebook in my back pocket as I walked towards the stage. "Hello, how are you?" Aidan asked as I approached the microphone stand. "I'm doing great. How are you?" I answered, trying my best to stay sane. He told me that he was doing great and asked what song I was going to be singing.

"I'm going to be singing Kings and Queens by Ava Max," I answered. Aidan tapped a few buttons on his phone, and the music started playing.

https://youtu.be/aaqRCmrUs6k

If all of the kings had their queens on the throne
We would pop champagne and raise a toast.
To all of the queens who are fighting alone
Baby, you're not dancin' on your own

Can't live without me, you wanna' but you can't, Nah-Nah-Nah

Think it's funny, but honey, can't run this show on your own

I can feel my body shake. There's only so much I can take

I'll show you how a real queen behaves, oh.

No damsel in distress, don't need to save me.
Once I start breathin' fire, you can't tame me.
And you might think I'm weak without a sword,
But I'm stronger than I ever was before

If all of the kings had their queens on the throne
We would pop champagne and raise a toast.
To all of the queens who are fighting alone
Baby, you're not dancin' on your own

In chess, the king can move one space at a time,
But queens are free to go wherever they like
You get too close, you'll get a royalty high,
So breathe it in to feel alive.


If all of the kings had their queens on the throne
We would pop champagne and raise a toast.
To all of the queens who are fighting alone
Baby, you're not dancin' on your own.

When I finished singing the song, I looked up, and I saw Aidan's eyes were wide as saucers. All of a sudden, he started walking towards the stage, and I heard scattered applause from the remaining girls who were waiting. "That... was... Amazing!" he chuckled softly. I felt my cheeks start to blush a deep pink, and I couldn't believe that Aidan was talking to me. "T-thank you," I smiled.

"I'd say you have a good chance of winning that duet. But, there's something I need to know. What's your name?" I opened my mouth to answer his question, but then I glanced over at the clock, and I saw that it was now 11:45 pm. I gasped at this realization and glanced back at Aidan. "I have to go," I said, running past him. He called out to me, telling me to come back. But I quickly grabbed Vanessa's hand, and we ran out of the auditorium and into the parking lot, hoping to get back before my aunt and cousins got home.