Chapter 6 – Boot Camp Part II
“Amee, if you keep running away like that then you aren’t going to win,” Niall said as he opened the door to the terrace and stomped towards her thinking, ‘here we all are, trying to boost this girl’s confidence, and she just ran away, again!’
“Niall,” Zayn said in a tone that read, ‘Bro, calm down’. He was standing at the edge of the balcony with Amee patting her back.
“This isn’t winning Niall, this is cheating,” Amee said as she turned around to face Niall sharply. It was dark on the rooftop and no one could see anyone’s face but everyone felt the tension in the air. Zayn took a few steps back as he looked from Niall to Amee and back again waiting for the argument to start.
'So much for the best day ever,' Amee thought as she returned to the events earlier that day.
When the day began Amee woke up believing that it was going to be a good day. Amee woke up at about 9 am and immediately checked her facebook. It was her every day routine, wake up, check facebook, check twitter, check tumblr, brush teeth, eat breakfast, call Olly and the parentals. This morning Amee woke up with the full intention to follow that routine, until Richie stopped by her room and said, “Hey, I have to run to class but that will be done by 11:30 so I will try to get back by lunch, we’ll eat and then I will drop you off at the studio.” Amee turned around smiled and nodded, it wasn’t until Richie walked away that she remembered the horrific events of what happened the day before. She went off into panic mode, but at the same time she was excited.
“Don’t make another face plant,” one voice in her head said.
“How exactly do you expect me to make a face plant while singing,” another voice replied.
“Well considering the fact that this is, little miss klutz we are talking about, I’d say anything is possible,” voice number one replied.
‘Precious lord in heaven, I am talking to myself, well thinking to myself, but I am saying things to myself so is that talking. Is talking even considered talking when you don’t do it… What am I doing? It’s official I have lost my mind’ Amee thought.
Amee kept checking the time on the clock for when it will be 3:00 and when she could leave. She somehow managed to be ready by 10:30. She wore the outfit that Ivy and Reyna had helped her pick out the night before. A white shirt which was striped with gold sequins, a black leather jacket, and a pair of black skinny jeans which she paired with a nice pair of gold sequin Toms. ‘Well it must be at least 12 by now,’ Amee thought with a smile as she checked herself out in the mirror and put some finishing touches on her hair. She looked towards the clock and thought, ‘You clearly aren’t working.’ She rushed to her laptop to make sure and saw it reflect the same time. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me, she said to herself before she walked over to her bed and fell face first into it. She decided to take a nap and after what seemed like three hours she woke up, smiled to herself, and glanced at the clock again to see that only a half hour has passed since she last checked it. ‘Ugg! It’s only 11, what am I supposed to do till three?’
Around 11:45 Richie walked through the door and dropped his book bag on the floor and walked into Amee’s room to see her counting the dots on her ceiling.
“What are you doing,” Richie asked as he sat next to her.
“YOU! You were supposed to be her fifteen minutes ago,” Amee jumped up and said so loud she startled him.
“Woah, sorry I forgot where I parked, come on lets go eat some lunch,” Richie said while pulling her off her bed.
“These are the longest hours of my life,” Amee said to him.
“How long do you have till we have to get to the studio,” He asked with a smile.
“About two and half hours,” Amee replied.
“Okay so how about we eat lunch then we watch a movie until it’s time to go,” Richie proposed as her phone started to ring she looked at the caller ID and smiled. “Olly,” she screamed onto the phone. Finally she had something to do. ‘How in the world did I forget to call him last night,’ she thought.
“Bloody nose, what happened?” Olly asked his voice seeping with concern.
“Oh, ha, ha, about that,” Amee started with a nervous laugh, she completely forgot about calling Olly to take her home.
“Yeah, ha ha, please explain to me what’s going on and what happened,” Olly said with his voice dripping with sarcasm and no amusement what so ever.
“Well I kind of tripped over my left foot during dance camp,” Amee said.
“Are you serious? Amee you have to be more careful, do you still need me to send you a ticket to come home? We can do that,” Olly said.
“No, I can do this, I am a klutz the world knows this,” Amee said trying to convince her brother that she was fine.
“You promised me that you would stay safe, that is the only reason I agreed to cover for you,” Olly said reminding Amee of that conversation, which was directly after the first time she auditioned.
“Olly, I am safe, it was just an accident, it’s not like I haven’t done this before. Besides if I did come home, what exactly would we tell dad?” Amee asked.
“I don’t know, I didn’t get that far,” Olly stated.
“The director of pediatrics at Chicago Memorial Hospital doesn’t have a plan; well this is a first,” Amee said with a laugh.
“I am not joking Amee,” Olly said seriously.
“Oyster, chill, I will be fine, it was just one accident and I want to stay and continue,” Amee pleaded hoping the nickname would work.
“No, Amee you are coming home this weekend,” Olly said sternly.
“Olly, no, I am not coming home till I see this thing through,” Amee said stubbornly.
“Oh really, and why not,” Olly asked.
“I want to be a singer even more than I want to be a pediatrician. Music is everything to me. I know this is going to sound cliché, but when I sing I am transported to a new world. The world of that particular song, I imagine myself as the main character in the video, and for that moment, I am not some frizzy haired freak. It’s my dream and I can almost taste my dream, you can’t take it away, you just can’t,” Amee said convincingly.
Richie clapped at what Amee said and gave her a look that said, ‘You best believe it.’
“Well there is the sister I’ve been looking for since she left Chicago,” Olly said with a laugh.
“I’m sorry what,” Amee asked clearly confused.
“Well ever since this thing started, all you’ve wanted to do was quit,” Olly started, Amee was about to protest but stopped herself.
“Oh my classes come in between, oh I made a fool of myself, oh I fell flat on my face, excuse after excuse after excuse. I for one am sick of it, you have such a large support system. Everyone is telling you that you could do it. Stop doubting yourself and get out there,” Olly said to her.
“Thank you Olly, I really needed that,” Amee said with a smile.
“I love you Yummy,” Olly said with a smile.
“I love you too Oyster,” Amee said as she heard a cry over the phone that was clearly her nephew.
“And Jaden just woke up, so that is my cue to leave. Make me proud sis,” Olly said before he hung up.
After many long hours of waiting, it was finally her time to get to Savan. Amee was both excited and nervous.
She saw Natalia and Mikey walking out of the studio, and telling her that Savan wanted her.
“Hello there,” Savan said as she walked into the booth. She glanced around the room and saw the while walls and in the middle was a pianist and Savan.
“Hi,” Amee said with a smile and walked forward.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Much better than yesterday,” Amee replied with a smile.
“So Amee, tell me a little about yourself,” Savan asked.
“Where to start,” Amee thought out loud.
“Well tell me this, how did you get into singing,” Savan asked.
“I was always into singing, since I was a kid. My mom tells me that the only thing that would calm me down as a baby was music. I was a crier, and my dad playing the guitar was what used to calm me down,” Amee replied.
“So, you’re a daddy’s girl,” Savan said with a smile.
“Yes definitely, I am very close to my dad,” Amee said with a smile.
“Then everyone back home in Chicago must be very proud of you,” Savan said.
“Well,” Amee started with uncertainty to which Savan responded, “Uh oh, what’s up?”
“The only people who know back home, is my brother and my sister in-law, well them and my sister in-law’s sister but she’s harmless so that’s okay,” Amee rambled fidgeting with every word.
“I’m sorry what,” Savan asked utterly confused.
“My parents don’t know that I auditioned for the X-Factor, nor do they know how far I made it,” Amee said.
“Wait, you said you were close to your dad, how are you hiding something so big from him,” Savan asked.
“I love my dad, and he is very important to me, but he doesn’t want me singing, he thinks that pre-med would be better for me and I got into Oxford, so here I am,” Amee said with a smile.
“Well we do have ourselves a pickle, don’t we,” Savan said to Amee shaking his head. Amee feared that he wouldn’t help her and opened her mouth to plead with him when he said, “It’s hard when parents don’t understand what we are passionate about.”
“Tell me about it, I got into Juliard, the headmistress came to talk to my dad and everything, but he wouldn’t have it, he said that there wouldn’t be any job safety after I graduated,” Amee explained, relieved that someone understood her.
“Woah, wait, Juliard are you serious? You got into Juliard and your dad said no,” Savan asked. Amee nodded her head, she didn’t want to relive everthing that had happened in her head, she would feel guilty about not telling her parents, then she would feel angry at her father, then guilty that she felt angry at herself for feeling guilty. There were so many feelings racing through her that it became a very dark place, one she didn’t want to revisit.
“So they think you’re here doing medicine,” Savan asked again, to which Amee replied very sheepishly, “Yes.”
“when I was seventeen, A&R asked me to write for them,” Savan started, but Amee interrupted by saying,” but your mother told you, that you weren’t allowed to do it.”
“Exactly! How did you know that,” Savan asked.
“Well when I found out you wrote WMYB,” I wanted to learn a little more about you,” Amee replied with a smile.
“I like you kid,” Savan stated.
“Tell me, what did you sing at your audition that had the crowd going crazy,” Savan asked with as he walked her towards the Piano.
“Big Girls Don’t Cry,” Amee responded.
“Yes I remember that, you have a very unique voice Ms.Jonna” Savan started and continued, “I think that Glitter in the Air, by.” “PINK!” Amee shouted.
“I take it you like it then,” Savan asked.
“Yes I love that song, it’s so powerful,” Amee said.
“Let’s get started then,” Savan said.
Though outside the studio Savan was a very friendly, outgoing person, in the studio, he is very serious and took it to a much higher level. He wasn’t someone who would listen to you once and say it was ‘amdertacful’ and let it go. He stuck till you were beyond perfection. Tha was something Amee came to appreciate when five boys walked through the studio door and sat on the couch directly in front of her.
“Hi” Niall started.
“We’re One Direction,” the boys said in unison.
“We understand that there is a very special singer in this studio and we dropped by to hear her sing, if she doesn’t mind,” Zayn said with a smile.
Amee got nervous and stared at them with a her mouth agape but managed to nod her head. “Was that a yes we can stay or a yes you mind,” Liam asked.
“That was a hell yes please stay,” Amee exclaimed loudly.
“Alright let’s get started then,” Savan said with a laugh and nodded at the pianist to start playing.
“Don’t be nervous Amee, you seriously have one of the best voices I’ve ever heard,” Niall said.
Amee took a deep breath and started to sing. “You have one of the best voices I’ve ever heard,” was repeating through her head.
Have you ever fed a lover with just your hand,
Closed your eyes and trusted just trusted,
Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air,
She smiled at the look they all had on their face, Harry said something to Savan and they both looked back at Amee smiling.
Have you ever looked fear in the face and said I just don’t care
Its only half past the point of no return
The tip of the iceberg the sun before the burn
The thunder before the lightning
And the breath before the phrase
Have you ever felt this way
At this point, the song started to engulf Amee’s mind. She started living every moment in the song. That day when she pulled up the courage to go back and stand in front of everyone and start singing again, was the scariest day of her life. ‘This is it, regardless of what happens tonight, I am not going to give up on myself.’
It wasn’t until the last part of the song that she opened her eyes and saw the boys sitting in front of her. Zayn looked a little dazed. Louis and Liam looked at each other and smiled and nodded. When she looked at Niall she didn’t exactly know what was going on. He was sitting with his head in between the palms of his hands and eyes closed as though he was trying to concentrate on her voice. The only thing that reassured her that he was enjoying himself was when she noticed the slight smile on his face.
Have you ever wished for an endless night
Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope thight
Have you ever held your breath
And asked yourself
Will it ever get better than tonight
Tonight
‘Yes, will it?’ Amee asked herself. Her five idols seemed to be enjoying herself what could go wrong? Somehow everytime she asked herself that question, it was answered. This time however it was a worse than it had ever been.
“We want to take you somewhere,” Harry said as he walked over to her and held his arm out for her to hold it.
She walked towards the front of the studio where there was a stage and in front of her was an audience that filled up the first section. Not enough for it to be a big concert but enough so that it would be around the likes of a little concert in the park.
“Do you hear that Amee,” Niall said as they leaned against the railing looking down at the cheering crowd.
‘How could I not,’ Amee thought, but no voice excaped her mouth. She was against the railing on the second floor of a nearby mall looking down at the crowd.
“One Di-rec-tion, One Di-rec-tion,” What seemed to be hundreds of people chanting.
“This is so crazy,” Amee said as she turned to look at Niall. He smiled back, tossed her a microphone and said, “Well soon enough they will know who you are,” Niall said.
“You said what now?” Amee asked looking at the crowd suddenly feeling more negligent to go out.
“You are going to be performing that song live in front of these people,” Louis said.
“Yeah then you can get a jump on everyone,” Harry said.
“No better confidence boost than that is there,” Niall said.
“This is what is a called a test crowd, they review it and tell you how they think it should be,” Liam explained.
“When bootcamp goes live, people will know what to look for won’t they,” Niall said with a smile.
Amee backed up and stuttered, “I, I can’t do this,” and ran away. Somehow she found a set of stairs that led up to the roof where she stopped.
Zayn ran after her and finally caught up to her and said, “Damn girl, you can run!”
They were both out of breath and panting hard. Amee asked, “Did you think I was good Zayn? Don’t just say it because you think it’s what I want to hear, tell me the truth.”
Zayn looked at her, “I thought you were ama- amdertacful I think the term is,” and laughed.
“Then why give me a test crowd, don’t people already know enough about me,” Amee asked, as Niall burst through the doors and the argument started.
“Cheating, what do you mean,” Niall asked.
“All the contestants are at par right now, the only people who know a lot about us are our family and friends, no one has one up on anyone,” Amee stated.
“And,” Niall said confused on what this had to do with anything.
To which Amee replied “And, don’t you think that it’s a little unfair that I have a concert with One Direction?” when Niall didn’t have an answer she continued to ask, “If you really think I am good enough, then why do I need any kind of advantage, don’t you believe in me?”
“Amee it’s not that we don’t believe in you,” Niall started to say.
“Are you sure, because it seems a lot like it,” Amee said angerly.
“You don’t believe in yourself, every little thing that happens you want to quit, we wanted this to be your boost we thought that if you knew that you would have people rooting for you then you wouldn’t fear the stage,” Harry said walking through the door.
“Don’t you think that the fact that my idols were rooting for me was a huge confidence boost,” Amee asked.
“She does have a point, fellas,” Savan said from behind them when everyone turned around he said, “she can do it guys.” Amee looked at Savan and smiled.
“Well at least you know you have a support system here,” Liam said with a smile.
“Yes thank you guys,” Amee responded returning the smile.
"Well we have a few songs to perform for that crowd downstairs, but if you hang around, we could go get some food later," Niall said in the hopes of making peace with her.
"That would be lovely," Amee said.
When Amee returned home that night, she had a smile on her face, and for the first time in a very long while, Amee fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.