Carpe Aestatem (original)

Chapter 9

They opened the doors. Right there was their sound guy. "Right on time! I'm Jeff, Grand Ole Opry sound engineer. Pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Jenna Cooper, these are my friends: Olivia Moore, Sam Wellesley and Avery Hughes. We still haven't come up with a name yet for our band." Jenna said.

"Don't worry. Which one you plays the drums?"

Sam raised her hand. "I have a drum set ready for you on the stage. You can go get it set to the way you like, practice a rhythm on it if you like."

Sam hurried onto the stage. "This is like mine back home! In the exact color too!" Sam said, testing out the bass drum.

"Now the guitars. You have one acoustic guitar, correct?" Jeff asked.

"One acoustic, two electric and one bass."

"Alright, get them plugged in...Sam, can you please keep it down? We're about to check the guitars and mics!"

"Sorry, I just love this drum set. I hope Jure has one similar to this."

Then the guitar test went smoothly. "Now the mics. We have two mics, and do we need another?"

"No, Olivia here is just guitar except for the last song, in which she's doing the lead vocals. I'll be doing backing vocals for that song." Jenna explained.

"So I can focus on the bass!"

"Should we run through 'Karma'?" Sam asked.

"Yeah."

Then they played the song. "Great! You have some time to chill now until the doors open."

Then all of the girls' phone buzzed.

Carpe Diem Summer Tour

Bojan:
Sorry we didn't see your text until now. Kris and I just had the qualifying press conference. Thank you so much for the love and support.

Olivia:
And we voted #10. 12 points for you. We love you, looking forward to meeting you on Monday!

Nace:
Be sure to watch the Grand Final! We're #24 in that.

Jenna:
Blocked it off on my calendar!

Sam:
I hate they called you last 😭

Kris:
Me too. I thought we weren't going to qualify.

Jan:
Good luck at your send-off concert tonight!

Avery:
Thanks Janči

Then the doors opened. "Dad! Slovenia qualified!" Olivia said as her dad walked in.

"I know, Liv. Mom must be proud, because she watched it with her own eyes." Mr. Moore said. "Knock 'em dead, kid."

Then the Wellesley family walked in. "Shelly, you seriously had to bring your video camera. This is not film class." Sam said to Michelle.

"I can say this is my summer project, Sammie. I got to film my little sister's first concert ever! You're gonna crush it."

Jenna was backstage, doing a small meditation to get her centered for the show. "Jenna? Your dad and brother are here. They're wondering where you are." Avery said.

Jenna just sat in silence. "Jen, are you okay?"

"Since my mom told me that the press is going to come, I've been so nervous, and I'm trying not to have a panic attack because I need to keep my composure during the show and..."