*

*1 week later

Aquarius and Nadia were in Nadia's garage working on a song. After the biggest audition of their lives, they tried to move on and get back to reality. However, it killed both of them not knowing if they got it. Christopher Westwood said he would be in touch but they hadn't heard from him.

Just like a man.

"Ok let's try again," Aquarius said as she sat behind her keyboard.

"No, OMG, wait," Nadia said as she practically threw her guitar down on the sofa and ran toward the small television. Nadia's garage was their rehearsal space and also her personal little she shed, complete with a tv, fridge, record player, 6-disc cd player, and killer speakers as well as her two guitars, her brother's drum set that he doesn't play anymore, Aquarius' keyboard and a few amps and microphones. There were also a few old, ragged couches they could relax on, sometimes they even fell asleep on them. They were old and ugly as hell but they were comfortable. They sucked them in whenever they smoked weed.

"What?" Aquarius asked with a sigh as Nadia tried to find the remote. A news reporter was speaking and Aquarius sighed again, not seeing what was so important until Christopher Westwood's picture popped up, and the headline at the bottom of the screen said: MUSIC LEGEND CHRISTOPHER WESTWOOD ANNOUNCES WINNER OF TALENT SEARCH. "Ohmygod, turn it up."

"I'm trying," Nadia said as she searched for the remote. "Who put it on mute anyway?"

"I did because we were practicing," Aquarius said as she walked over.

"Well, where did you put it genius?" Nadia asked. That, Aquarius didn't know. They searched for it and found it under a couch cushion. "Why would you put it there?"

"I didn't put it there, it must've fell," Aquarius said.

"Shhh" Nadia said as she pressed rewind, turned it up, and pressed play.

"If you were one of the thousands of performers, lined around this very building last week, the question you have had on your mind all week is about to be answered. So many performers showed up to audition for Christopher Westwood that he and his team had to come back the next day to give all performers a chance. We now take you inside Christopher Westwood's office where he will announce the winner live."

"So we didn't get it or is this how we're gonna find out?" Nadia asked and Aquarius shrugged. The two girls stood in front of the tv and held hands.

A dozen reporters and cameras were assembled around a podium that had the 'Westwood Management' company logo on it. A few seconds later, Christopher walked out in a clean three-piece suit. Damn, he was still hot, Aquarius thought. She remembered his boy band and loved their songs but she wasn't old enough to even have a crush on anyone then. Now she did. Then a woman and a few others walked out and stood off to the side.

Aquarius gasped, "It's the devil in the blue dress! Do you think she had any say in this?"

"She looks important but fuck her, shhh," Nadia said as Christopher started to speak. She turned on the subtitles. She always had them on just in case she was chewing too loud, people were talking or she just couldn't hear what was going on.

Cameras flashed as he began his speech, he flashed a perfect smile and said, "I want to start out by saying that Bermuda has been slept on for far too long. This island is filled with so much talent that our one-day talent search turned into two. This island is filled with so much talent that this is probably one of the hardest decisions I had to make. My team and I spent days on this decision and we are very excited to finally announce the winner. Now I do want to say that when I say winner, it doesn't mean that the ones who weren't chosen are losers. You all are winners for stepping up and trying out. Being a performer myself, I know how hard it is to be judged. I want to say to everyone that wasn't chosen, to not give up, there will be more auditions in the future. You can do it. Keep at it. Don't give up" he said as he looked right into the camera.

Aquarius felt like he was looking right at her and he was since he was looking straight into the camera. It felt like he was talking to her. Her heart sank because that meant they didn't get it but she also had butterflies because of his beautiful brown eyes. She squeezed Nadia's hand tighter.

"Oh my god, hurry up. Did we get it or not!?" Nadia asked impatiently as her body shook in anticipation.

"We are very excited to sign this artist and we are very confident that this time next year, they will be all over the radios, social media, and your tv and phone screens. Bermuda and soon, the world, I introduce to you our new artist under our management is.....Bryson Hall!" he said with a smile. Reporters started asking questions as cameras flashed and then a skinny guy with glasses walked out and stood next to Christopher with a big smile. The reporters went crazy and started addressing both Bryson and Christopher.

The girls stopped holding hands and collapsed on the couch behind them, just like their hearts collapsed into their stomachs. Aquarius fought back the tears that formed. They worked so hard, she prayed so hard, and she really wanted this. They really wanted this.

"He's cute," Aquarius said.

"He looks like a fucking nerd," Nadia said at the same time as she crossed her arms in frustration. "I don't remember seeing him at the audition."

"He doesn't look like he would stand out that much. He probably sat next to us and we wouldn't have known."

"You're right. Nothing about him screams 'star quality', he's just a regular dude. Does he sing? What does he do?"

"That's not what I meant," Aquarius said but soon the crowd quieted down and Christopher started to speak again and Nadia shushed her again.

"Now you all are probably wondering 'who is this kid?' He already has a huge following on Instagram and Tiktok, follow him at BrysonHall01-"

"Don't tell me he picked a fucking influencer" Nadia said angrily.

"Bryson, show them what you can do," Christopher said and backed away from the microphone on the podium. Bryson stepped right up and took a deep breath and started to freestyle. Everyone watching, including the girls at home, was shocked. This skinny kid in glasses could rap; really rap. He could be the next Eminem. He didn't mumble or rap about 'bitches' as everyone else did. He was different. For once, Nadia was speechless, which didn't happen much.

When he finished, the room exploded with applause. Nadia blinked in surprise, she was actually impressed. Aquarius was too, which made her sadder. He was a lot more talented than she was. He's on tv, the whole island, and social media was watching and he didn't freeze up at all. He was ready and she wasn't. She noticed 'the devil in the blue dress' who was now wearing a grey one, put her arms around the new star and congratulate him. She was actually smiling, something she never did when she saw their audition. She remembered the disapproving look she gave them. Aquarius realized that 'the devil in the blue dress' probably had a lot of pull after all. She was celebrating like she discovered him. Aquarius purposely ignored her when she stepped up to the microphone proudly and said a few words, she didn't miss her name that showed at the bottom of the screen, 'Simone Woods.'

"Jesus Christ he has over a million followers," Nadia said as she looked at her phone and pulled up his page. "And that's before he got discovered, imagine what his follower count will be tomorrow. Wow, it's actually come to this" she said as she put her phone down.

"Yeah, I ruined it. It's my fault" Aquarius said mournfully.

"What? No. I meant that follower counts COUNT these days if you're trying to get anywhere. There are so many talented people that get overlooked twice because someone doesn't think they deserve the chance and they don't have followers to back them up. He's got a built-in fanbase already. He's more impressive with numbers like that, even if he couldn't rap as well as he did. It's social media's fault and these fake ass influencers' fault, not you, why would you say that?"

"I froze up at the audition remember? That Simone bitch got under my skin and distracted the hell out of me. My anxiety was through the roof and I took 2 pills instead of 1, and it didn't even help. Nothing helped, but you. That guitar solo was out of this world. I'm really proud of you."

"Aquarius, stop it," Nadia said as she pulled her bestie close to her. She's been blaming herself all week saying they didn't hear anything from them because of her. "It wasn't you. It was her," Nadia said pointing at Simone. "Maybe she's got way more pull than we thought, but Christopher did like us. He was staring us down, you especially Miss Mami Long Legs. We'll just have to get his attention another way and without her around."

"How do we do that?" Aquarius asked.

Nadia paused, she didn't think that far. "I don't know." She then reached into the tiny drawer of the coffee table in front of them and pulled out a blunt. "Maybe this will help give us some ideas."

"I don't feel like it right now. Let's practice" Aquarius said.

"I can't practice while this is still on," Nadia said, "I need to mellow out a little," she said as she looked for a lighter. The door leading inside Nadia's house opened and Nadia expertly put the blunt back in the drawer at lightning speed. "Hey, Mom."

"Hey, you two. I heard it on the radio. That's too bad" she said as she nodded her head toward the tv. "Now don't let that get you down. Ok? You hear me?" she said noticing the sad looks on their faces. She sighed and signaled them to come to her. Aquarius did immediately and hugged her. Nadia sighed and got up and joined them. "The Universe has something better for you, you'll see," she said to them. She pulled away after she glanced at the tv again. "Oh. Who's that?"

The girls looked at the tv and the crowd was applauding as another guy approached Christopher and Bryson at the podium. He had an acoustic guitar with him. He had on a fedora, ripped jeans, a loose white v-neck t-shirt, and shades. The girls looked on with interest.

"Before we close out, we have a double whammy for you. A special announcement. Bryson Hall is actually our second artist signed to our management company. Our first artist I personally discovered is right here and his name is Bobby Castro. He hails from Hawaii but is currently living in California. He's also going to be an unstoppable force and he already has been. He just won his first Grammy for producing Cardi B's latest hit and now he wants to produce and write songs for himself. Bermuda, I would like to introduce to you, Bobby Castro!"

Aquarius, Nadia, and Mrs. Baines looked in awe as Bobby took off his shades. "Hmmph" all three of them hummed under their breath. This man was fine! He started playing his guitar and started playing a familiar reggae tune. "Yes, that's what I'm talking about!" Miss Baines said as she swayed her hips. Bermuda's most beloved music genre was reggae.

"I know this song! This is Damian Marley's song, he wrote this?" Nadia asked. Soon she and Aquarius were singing along.

"I take one shot for my pain, one drag for my sorrow, get messed up today, I'll be ok tomorrow!"

"Bobby Castro has signed a multi-million dollar deal with Infinite Records and his brand new single will be dropping tomorrow at 12am on the dot. Make sure to stream, stream, stream. Thank you so much, Bermuda. Stay tuned, these two will be household names very soon!" Christopher said after Bobby finished performing.

"I'm a fan of Bobby's already. He's worked with Cardi and Damian?" Aquarius asked as the news cut to a local commercial.

"You're not going to mention how FINE he is?" Miss Baines asked.

"Well duh, that goes without saying," Aquarius said as they giggled together.

"Keep it in your pants Mom," Nadia said, "Wow. How does Bryson have more followers than Bobby Castro?"

"Cuz Bobby's been working behind the scenes. He's a star in his own right already. He's not on the damn phone all the time. It's weird how that works out" Miss Baines said as they looked at his profile. "800k followers isn't that bad. That's amazing, and I'm sure it'll change tomorrow. All 3 of us are following him as of right now" she said and they all laughed as they followed him. Aquarius went ahead and followed Bryson too. "Don't worry girls. Everything is going to be just fine. I know it."

"How? Mom, we didn't make the cut."

"Because they now have 2 talented men on their roster. You have what Mr. Westwood doesn't have."

"What?" Aquarius and Nadia asked.

"You! Both of you! No one shines as brightly onstage as women do, especially my two talented girls. You just have to try again. Get him to really see you so when he realizes he's missing beautiful women on his roster, he'll know where to go" Miss Baines said and winked and walked back inside. "Don't give up."

*

The Aquarius ego is said to be the most uncertain in the zodiac, probably because Aquarius is the sign of non-conformity.

*

Once the press was out of the building, Bobby, Bryson, Christopher, Simone, and the rest of his team toasted with champagne as they celebrated the announcement, both the boys' follower numbers going up and the live videos broadcasting had hundreds of thousands of views and still counting.

"That was really great you guys, it couldn't have gone better," Christopher said as he took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie.

Bryson looked around and almost everyone was out of the room. He might as well get it off his chest. "Actually it could have," he said as he practically took his champagne down like a shot.

"What do you mean, you did great. You're doing great. You're almost at 1 and a half million followers just from a freestyle" Christopher said excitedly.

"Yeah but ya'll could have told me that this dude here was gonna be all up in my spotlight," Bryson said as he glanced at Bobby. Bobby looked taken aback and looked at Christopher.

Christopher blinked, "Wait-"

"No man, it's not like that at all," Bobby said.

"Well, first of all, he performed last. He has more accolades than me. People probably forgot about me as soon as pretty boy here walked out onstage. You even promote his single on my time?"

"Bryson, look, I'm managing the both of you. You just signed your papers today. Bobby and I have been working together for a while and he's agreed to help out on your demos. I want all my artists to be like a family. We're not in competition with each other, he's in a totally different genre. We're trying to get you signed, this won't be your last public appearance either."

"Besides, you'll be doing so much press that you're going to get sick of it and wish someone else would take the heat for a second," Simone said as she walked back into the room, hearing the whole conversation. "Come on, I need to talk to you about a few things and then we need to get you home because you're going to be in the studio bright and early tomorrow," Simone said as she rubbed Bryson's lower back and led him away.

Simone was really good at being a distraction.

"Welp, I'll bid you good night," Bobby said as he finished his champagne and chuckled.

"I'm sorry man, forgive him, he has no idea about the business-"

"Oh I ain't trippin', he said I was pretty," Bobby said between laughs, smoothing back his slick dark hair. "I just don't need any more enemies, especially enemies that I have to work with."

"I think it's just nerves, we did tell him you were coming."

"Must've forgot. Well, I'm out. Room service is calling my name."

"The hotel treating you alright?"

"Chris, the hotel is literally called The Palace. I'm doing just fine. I've only been here 2 days and there's been a wedding at the hotel every day. Got some inspiration for a good-ass love song. I can see myself liking it here."

"Uh oh, the island's got you, too. Same happened to me" Christopher said as he looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows and can see the ocean clearly, the moon shining down on it made it look like it was under a spotlight. "It's just something about this place, I don't know. The locals don't believe in the Bermuda Triangle myth. They hate it actually. It's a coincidence that boats sink around here. It's in the middle of the Atlantic, all alone. But the actual triangle isn't the water, it's the whole island, and in a good way. It sucks you in and makes you never wanna go back to where you came from. It's truly paradise."

"Wow, you should be in commercials. Hell, you should be mayor" Bobby said as he dapped him up. "Well anyway, I'ma head out. You coming?"

"Work never ends. Just signed a new artist" Christopher said. "And someone's single needs to be submitted."

"I can't wait. Man, I've been wanting to go solo for a while now and I really feel like right now is the right time to do it. Don't work too hard now" Bobby said.

Once he left, Christopher went back into his office. He sighed as he sat behind his desk, he reached into his desk and poured himself a glass of scotch. He then noticed a folder peeking out from under it. He sighed as he opened the folder and drank. This folder held a few applications from the audition. There were a few performers that would have gotten it if Bryson chickened out. His top 5, if you will. He turned over a few pages and then he saw her.

Aquarius Simmons.

He could imagine her watching the tv, all hopeful, wherever she was and seeing Bryson on the screen. He hoped he didn't break her heart. Yes, he was the boss but he was also outnumbered. Simone fought tooth and nail for Bryson. She fought so hard that he was surprised. The rest of his team agreed with her. Bryson was ready, he was talented and they needed to scoop him up before anyone else did. He had a million followers and a few offers already but none were as big of an offer as theirs. He made sure of that. He trusted his team. That's why he hired them and even though they butt heads every fucking day, he trusted Simone too. He was positive tonight's freestyle would outnumber the views on his last video that went viral. He had a built-in fan base. He did most of the work for him which was impressive. They just needed to get him on bigger stages and make him a star.

But he always came back to Aquarius somehow. He didn't know why he couldn't get her off his mind. He's never met anyone that's stuck out so much. It must have been because she was so damn pretty. Or her name but he knew deep down it was more than that. He met beautiful women every day. He's dated and slept with a lot of them too. This island was full of beautiful women but he always eventually got bored with pretty. Talent was what he fell in love with. Talent made anyone beautiful, to him. Everyone was beautiful when they were working on their passion.

He just hoped Aquarius continued to work on hers. Nadia too. He could see them being the next Floetry. But he couldn't shake that feeling of regret. Did he let another girl get away? Or worse, was he her only chance and he blocked her from it?

*

Intellectual genius, practical eccentricity, and mental oddity are all linked to Aquarius.

*

Aquarius ended up staying at Nadia's til midnight, she gave in and smoked a blunt with Nadia, raided the fridge together, and then stayed up and watched stand-up on Netflix. They both needed a laugh but everything was funny when you were high. However, Aquarius knew she would get even more depressed if she went home alone after tonight's news. "Hey, can I stay here tonight?" she asked Nadia in a small voice. She hated asking for help, even from people she loved.

"Of course, you don't have to ask," Nadia said to her. "It'll be just like high school" she reassured her. Aquarius's smile came back. They tip-toed to Nadia's room. Nadia tossed her a worn-out Queen t-shirt and Aquarius put it on and took off her jeans. They both got into Nadia's bed. They lay there in silence for a little in the pitch-dark room. "So what happened?"

"Power went out," Aquarius said shortly. Nadia sighed. "And before you ask, no. I get paid tomorrow and I'll call them."

"Ok," Nadia said, not wanting to get her upset. She turned over and shut her eyes but then she felt Aquarius' arms wrap around her. She chuckled at Aquarius being the big spoon. She said it helped her sleep.

"Good night," Aquarius said, "And thank you."

"Good night bitch" Nadia said with a smile.

*

The typical Aquarius personality has a magnetic and powerful intellect.

*

https://youtu.be/1iBm60uJXvs