“You’re the last one. Unless you’d like to walk out now and come back tomorrow?” The eldest of the judges asked, clearly irritated.

  The blond young man stood up. “No, now’s fine.” He followed the older man into the audition room.

  The director began his introductions, only to be interrupted by a blaring noise. A fire alarm with excellent timing. The sitting occupants of the room quickly rose to their feet and started to exit the area, passing the auditionee. As they left, the man lightly grabbed the youngest woman’s arm and whispered in her ear.

  “I’ll see you at rehearsal.” Pulling away, his cornflower blue eyes stared into her greyish-blue. A soft, sweet smile showed itself on his face. After that, he gave her a little nudge out of the room and shut the door behind her. She looked hesitant about leaving him, but the door was closed before she could protest. His smile quickly evaporated. Then, he turned around and placed his bio on the table.

  Taking both hands, he pushed his hair back, exposing his ears and their accessories. Two upper helix piercings and a lobe piercing adorned both ears.

  After confirming that the camera was recording, he started the audition on his own, not bothered that the building was potentially on fire. Unless there was something he knew that the others didn’t…?

  “Hello. My name is Sasha. I’m twenty-three. I have the capability to sing and dance. I can also play the guitar. I taught myself from a young age, and I’m certain that this new group needs me. I’ve watched everyone else in the waiting room over the last three days, and the people that I deemed will be judged the best require me to complete the group. I’ll now prove this.” Sasha’s words came out almost robotically, like he was reading a script. His heart raced before he even began. Needing a moment to calm his nerves, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He exhaled and slowly opened his eyes simultaneously.

  With the fire alarm still going off in the background, Sasha cleared his throat and let out a strong and steady voice. Accompanying his vocals was a dance routine that demanded a lot of stamina. Due to this, his song was short and ended with less strength than it began. It was clearly the efforts of a man trying too hard and unable to properly deliver. Though, separately, Sasha had the potential to go far. He ended his performance with a handstand that led into a forward walkover a few seconds later.

  When finished, he spoke to the camera again. “If you’d like to see more, then you should pick me. I have plenty to exhibit.”

  With a heavy breath, Sasha walked towards the camera and stopped it recording.

  Standing next to the table, he noticed two piles of paper, each sheet like the one he brought in, with information on about the prospective members. One pile was significantly smaller than the other. Logic dictated that the smaller pile was for the best candidates, but just to be sure, Sasha looked through the documents. Every person on that pile was who he had found most suitable for the group, just by watching their demeanour in the waiting room. The man, being fond of knowledge, quickly scanned all of the information and pictures, and then put the papers back on the table. His own bio subtly joined the top.

  Satisfied, he left the room and continued through the now quiet building. He made his escape through a back entrance, managing to avoid being seen.