ChapterFive:High Positions

FLASHBACK-Monday, May 6, 2002

"Alex, you're up next," the producer called for him.

Alex looked up from his homework. It was material sent to the tutor from his school back in Penzance. He got up from the floor; and walked into the recording booth. He and his bandmates were working on their debut album. Their opening act with Connect7's tour was a huge success. Their debut single, Let Me Be The One, was charting high on the British charts, enough to even catch the European Union's attention!

He walked up to the microphone. He saw he was recording on the chorus for a song. He had heard the demo being a disco-pop song, on brand with everything that was Connect.

As he waited to begin recording his prepubescent vocals, he noticed a list on the other side of the booth. It was next the producer's chair, who was busy on the computer. Curious, Alex read what was on the list:

Caleb: lead male vocalist, 50% of vocals

Faye: lead female vocalist, 50% of vocals

Sarah: second lead vocalist, 40% of vocals

Jerrod: 40% of vocals

Diana: 30% of vocals

Rachel: 30% of vocals

Alex: 20% of vocals

Holly: 10% vocals, 40% harmonizing

Alex felt his body getting warm. He was upset at the list. Caleb and Faye were clearly being pushed to the front as the lead vocals; while everyone else were slowly getting pushed back, with the exceptions of Sarah and Jerrod. Yet him and Holly were getting little to no parts.

He knew they were both added a few days after juniorConnect was formed. He wasn't a founding member, and neither was Holly. Despite that, Connect7 member Tara liked his voice! He was practically the lead rapper on a song! So why were he and Holly pushed to the back? What was the point of having them in the band? Was it because they were cute?

Alex needed to tell his bandmates, but he couldn't tell Holly. She was barely eleven, just a baby in the band. Everyone else, on the other hand, were a little bit older. He figured they could probably handle it well. Then again, he himself wanted to protest this, but he felt his mouth was shut.

Instead, the only thing that came out was him singing his part in the chorus like the good fourteen-year-old boy he was.

                                                                              >>>>>>>>>

Alex gathered most of his bandmates into the boardroom of the recording studio. They were on a break for the sessions. He had texted them while ignoring Holly. He felt bad about this, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

He looked at everyone. It felt strange to act like a leader of a pop group. He wasn't sure if he liked this. Maybe it was because he was older than them? Well, he was by two years, but still, he was just a kid.

"Alex?" Sarah asked. "What's going on?"

Caleb asked, "Why isn't Holly with us?"

He gulped nervously, and finally said, "There's a list of us in the recording booth. It showed who'll get the most parts. Me and Holly are at the bottom of the list. Caleb and Faye are at the top."

He watched the expressions on his bandmates' faces. None of them seemed that happy to hear this, although he noticed Caleb's. It seemed like he was trying to suppress a smirk. Why? Was this something Caleb wanted? The reaction was unsettling. Faye, on the other hand, looked away, as if she was uncomfortable with this news.

Alex added, "We can't tell Holly this. She'll get hurt if we do."

Diana said, "But she'll figure it out."

Alex said, "I know, but still. The least we can do is try to hide this from her."

Sarah chimed in, "Yeah, we'll do that. For Holly."

Alex nodded his head as he glanced at Caleb. He would hope Caleb won't say anything to Holly. As long as he and Sarah were in the same house as Holly and Caleb, everything would be fine.

Then again, Alex had a sinking feeling that Holly wasn't Caleb's target. It was someone else, and he knew who that was.

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PRESENT DAY-Monday, June 6, 2005

 Alex walked into the boardroom with sunglasses and a baseball hat on. He didn't get much sleep as he spent most of the night looking up UTurn. Well, all he did was watch their TV competition performances on YouTube. It was called New England something. He assumed it was the name of the region they lived in.

He watched Andrew's stage presence. The guy was clearly a professional compared to his bandmates. His voice, his dance moves, his everything. He watched the interviews from both the show he was on and some local morning shows. Andrew's talking voice was smooth yet somewhat light. It matched his strong tenor vocals.

In one of the interviews, Andrew mentioned that he had a Broadway career prior to UTurn; and that he was nominated for a Tony Award. Alex was impressed with the American boy. The raven-haired guy was clearly on a path to becoming something amazing. Joining a pop group might seem like a set-back, but it would mean more opportunities for him.

Just as Alex was about to watch an interview on why Alyson formed UTurn, he had to go to bed. He had a meeting with Connect8 and Seth in the morning. Maybe it was about who would finally replace Caleb and Faye. He didn't like that idea, but he knew it was coming.

He sat down hastily, seeing he wasn't late. It was just him and his bandmates. The new replacements were in there. The only person he never met was Lauren Henderson. He figured she might be the one to replace Faye. Her voice was strong enough for that role.

"Alex," Jerrod said, "you okay?"

He took off his hat as he replied, "Yeah, I'm just tired. I was watching UTurn videos on YouTube. One of the guys, Andrew Hawthorne, is amazing."

"You memorized their names?"

"Kind of. Andrew is the guy who looks kind of like me. Justin is the blond English guy. Derrick is the guy with dyed red hair. Stacie is the girl with short black hair. Riley is the only non-white girl in the group. She's also the oldest member of the band. Then there's these three blonde girls. One of them has a strong voice, the other sounds like Hilary Duff and Faye combined. The third girl? I'm not sure yet. I have to look up the band where she and Derrick came from before UTurn."

Diana said, "One of the blonde ones is Alyson Bauer. If I were you, I'd look her up, along with Andrew."

Alex raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure what she meant, so he asked, "What do you mean? Did they do something?"

Just as Diana opened her mouth, Seth walked inside the boardroom. Alex took off his sunglasses, hoping he didn't come across like he went partying all the way into the morning hours. He could, but he didn't want to, not before a meeting he didn't want to attend to.

Seth began: "So we finally have everyone in the room. My team is busy looking for a house for you lot to live in, at least for Lauren, Sarah, and Alex. Diana and Jerrod, you're more than welcome to move in with them."

Jerrod said, "After our GCSEs."

"Yes, of course. In the meantime, Sarah and Lauren will continue sharing their hotel room. Alex, you have your own flat, yeah?"

Alex replied, "Yeah, I do. I have roommates of my own."

Seth said, "Well, once the house is set up, you're moving in your bandmates."

One of Dare2Dream people that joined the band, Amber Warner, asked, "Do we have to move in with them too?"

Seth answered, "Yes. I need everyone to able to work together whilst not leaking out any information. I want this comeback to be a surprise."

Sarah asked, "Does that mean we'll still have chaperones?"

Seth said, "Yes, you'll still need chaperones. At least until everyone is of legal age. I'm not having your adult members babysit you four."

Alex rubbed his forehead, trying not to roll his eyes. So far, the meeting was giving him a headache.

Seth continued, "Now, I'm still in the process of getting producers and songwriters. So far, demos are coming in. We're all leaning on Connect8 doing something like the Nightfall album mixed with Sugababes and Raven Steele. Sound good? Great."

Alex's eyes widened at the statement. There was no room for input. It was just decided for them, and that was it. Granted, it was always like that since the formation of juniorConnect; but he hoped that maybe he and his bandmates will be allowed to have some say. Why not? They were all older now, but it seemed like it was business as usual. Did Connect7 go through this too?

Seth added, "In the meantime, I finally decided who'll take over for Caleb and Faye."

Alex clutched on his hat. He was nervous about who it might be. He had a hunch, but he hoped he was wrong.

"Lauren and Alex. They'll be replacing Faye and Caleb."

"What?" Alex exclaimed as he shot up from his chair.

"Excuse me?" Seth asked.

"Seth! You know I'm the dancer of the group! Caleb and Jerrod had the better vocals! If anything, Jerrod should replace Caleb!"

"Sit down, Alex."

"No! Not until you give the role to Jerrod!"

"Sit down now!"

"No!"

"Do you still want to be in the band?"

Alex narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Seth said in a somewhat menacing tone, "You were only added to the group a few days after it was formed. If I can add you in, I can remove you just as quickly. If you want to stay in this band, you should sit back down in your chair."

Alex was stunned to hear this. He was never threatened like this by Seth before. It was an ultimatum. He kept his glare at Seth as he sat back down. He looked at Jerrod, who kept his eyes on his phone.

Alex felt his phone buzz. He checked to say Jerrod had texted him, giving him a simple thanks. He felt a bit better that he stood up for his friend, someone he felt deserved the position.

Seth said calmly, "Now, since we filled those positions, Lauren and Alex will be put through some vocal training. Lauren will be given a few lessons; whilst Alex will be put into intense training. Yes, he'll still be the dancer of the group, but he'll also be new male lead vocalist."

Alex could feel his world was spinning in a whole other direction. He wanted off the ride he chose to get on. No, he was staying on it. Why? He wasn't sure. Once again, the gnawing feeling was trying to push itself to the front. He pushed it back, as usual.

He was sure he was doing this because he wanted to. It wasn't because he feared for his future. It was also not because there was a part of him that wanted to meet this Andrew guy.

Wait, why did he want to meet him? Alex closed his eyes, hoping to shake that thought out of his head. He was fine, everything was fine. Just keep saying this, and everything will be fine.