Kofi Stryder

I've never been a "musical" kind of person. And yet, there I stood, backstage, ready to compete as one of the top boybands in the country. Maybe I didn't think this through. You know, it's never too late to back out and choose a different career!

"Next up, the No Maidens!"

Or not. I stared down at my feet, trembling slightly.

"Hey, are you alright?" a soft voice asked.

I quickly looked up to see Leo, our band's lead singer, looking at me with a slightly worried look on his face.

"I'm okay, just a little bit nervous," I responded.

Which was partly true. I was nervous, but definitely not just a little bit. Leo's expression quickly changed.

He smiled and replied, "It's going to be alright! We'll be great out there, I know we will!"

Leo had a wide grin on his face, and I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it. He punched me lightly and then hurriedly scurried off to go grab his stage equipment.

Tightly grasping the drumsticks in my hand, I braced myself for when the announcer would call our band up to compete.

"This is just like every other competition, it'll be alright," I muttered under my breath.

"I'm afraid you're wrong about that, Sunshine," I heard a voice whisper in my ear.

I jumped, almost letting out a scream. I whipped around to see a tall, black haired, (slightly handsome), guy standing behind me. He smirked.

"Aw, did I scare you?" he asked, clearly not actually caring if he did scare me.

"Not at all. Can I help you?" I asked, putting on my best customer service smile.

"Hm, not particularly. I just wanted to see who would be losing to my band and I."

I already hate this guy.

The nerve! I would have loved to let out a string of creative words right there and then, but my lovely conversation with Mr. Humble was interrupted by the announcer's voice.

"And now, presenting the Bright Voyages!"

"Well, good luck! You'll need it," the guy added, before casually walking away.

At that point, I was practically fuming. Leo and the rest of the band walked towards me, and we all entered the stage together.

"Customer service smile, customer service smile!" I reminded myself under my breath as I took a seat behind the drum set. I needed to focus, but for some odd reason, I just couldn't seem to get that guy out of my head.