No Means No by Kathy Lee

Author:Kathy Lee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scripture Union England and Wales
Published: 2011-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

11

Desperate

They sat at a table, facing us across an empty expanse of floor. They looked exactly as I’d seen them on TV – wise old Paul, kind Kate, and handsome, horrible Tony. On either side were cameras, aimed at us like missile launchers.

‘Don’t be frightened, girls. Come closer,’ said Kate. ‘Now, what are you going to sing for us?’

‘Summertime’, Lauren whispered, her voice shaking.

Three pairs of eyes were fixed on us. Three faces, one curious, one friendly and one critical, watched us to see what we could do. Were we Starmakers material?

The answer was no. Lauren, full of nerves, started off by singing too high. I could hear my voice going thin and squeaky, and Rachel’s was in a different key altogether. We sounded absolutely awful. As we faltered to a stop, I could see that even Kate was struggling not to laugh out loud.

‘What are you doing here, girls?’ asked Tony. ‘You’re not a group. You’re just three individuals attempting to sing the same song. At least, I think it was the same song. I’m not absolutely sure.’

‘The girl on the left has a good voice,’ said Paul. ‘She would do better as a solo artiste. Come to the next auditions on your own, my dear, and you might have a chance.’

‘It’s a no from me as well, I’m afraid,’ said Kate.

Feeling relieved – for they could have been a lot nastier – I turned to go. But Rachel wasn’t ready to give up yet.

‘Oh, please give us another chance,’ she begged. ‘I know we didn’t sound too good, but we were nervous. We can do much better than that. Please!’

‘Don’t waste our time,’ said Tony scornfully. ‘Send in the next group!’

‘No – wait a minute,’ Rachel pleaded. ‘I’m not doing this for me. It’s for my mum. She’s got cancer… they say she won’t live until Christmas. It would mean so much to her to see me on TV. Please, please let us have another try.’

What an actress that girl would make! Her eyes had actually filled with tears. Instantly, she had Kate’s sympathy, and Paul’s as well. Only Tony looked impatient.

‘Go on, then. We’ll forget that first attempt,’ said Paul. ‘Start again.’

Rachel managed to put on a brave face, smiling through her tears. Lauren gripped her hand. We all took a deep breath…

This time, amazingly, everything went right. Even Rachel was singing in tune, and Lauren’s strong voice held us all together.

‘Well! That was much better,’ said Kate. ‘Your mum should be proud of you, love. I think you’re very brave, and I’m going to vote yes.’

‘It’s still a no from me,’ said Tony. ‘We’re judges, not counsellors. Are we going to vote for everyone who’s ever suffered a tragedy in their life? Regardless of whether they can sing or not?’

Kate gave him a look of disgust. She said, ‘Paul, you have the casting vote.’

Paul stared at each of us for a long, long moment, making his decision. Then he cleared his throat. ‘I say yes. You’re through to the next round.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.