Fifteen Minutes

  Except for one thing. He wouldn’t have the answers.

  A trio of police officers strode into sight and began directing traffic. Another joined them and another. Someone must’ve opened additional lots, and with the help of the officers, the traffic began to inch forward. By the time Zack found parking and pushed into the river of people heading for the stadium, it was nearly nine-thirty. The back of the line was ten blocks out. Ten long blocks.

  Zack hadn’t brought a guitar. Most of the people who made it through did so without an instrument. Less to carry. Less to worry about if he wound up sleeping on the sidewalk. His backpack held a camping pillow and blanket, protein bars and a six-pack of water. Cough drops and garlic pills. So he could keep his immune system strong if he had to wait till early tomorrow morning to audition.

  In front of him a group of teenage girls bounced and squealed and waved at cars still searching for a parking spot. “I’m gonna win!” one of the girls shouted. She waved her hands and rallied her friends. “Let’s do a cheer.” And like that the girls burst into a chant. “Bang bang, choo choo train, wind us up and we’ll do our thing!”

  A few nearby cars honked their approval. One of the girls, a lanky blonde, spun around and batted her eyes at Zack. “Hey! You’re new!” She waved her girls closer. “We’re from South Carolina. Medford High cheer squad.” Without waiting for his response, she pointed at him. “Who are you?”

  “Zack Dylan. Danville, Kentucky.”

  The blonde gasped. “Zack Dylan.” She looked at her fellow cheerleaders and then quickly back at him. “That’s like a famous name.” A hurried clap of her hands. “Sing for us, Zack.”

  Instantly the other girls chimed in. “Yes, sing for us, Zack. Come on!”

  “It’s too crazy out here.” Zack had to yell to be heard. All around them, people were singing and playing guitars, shouting at passing cars.

  “It’s perfect, come on!” The blonde pointed to herself amid a series of giggles. “I’m Zoey. I’m the captain, so what I say goes. Right, girls?”

  “Right!” Their singsong voices were in perfect pitch. “Sing for us, Zack! Come on!”

  “Plus your names are cute together, right?” One of the brunettes put her arm around the blonde. “Zoey and Zack. It has a ring.”

  “Yeah, you’re way cuter than her boyfriend.” The shortest in the group covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. The other girls nodded along. “Yes, way cuter. Totally cuter.”

  “I don’t know. He looks young but . . .” Zoey put her hands on her hips. “How old are you, Zack?”

  “Twenty-three.” Zack enjoyed their enthusiasm. He wasn’t crossing lines, just soaking in the experience. The show he’d watched all these years had come to life and he was smack in the midst of it. “What about you?”

  “Eighteen.” She lowered her chin and gave him a look that defined flirty. “Old enough for twenty-three.”

  Coming up the line Zack spotted a Fifteen Minutes camera crew. They had explained on the show’s website that they’d be shooting B-roll all day, looking for footage to capture the circuslike atmosphere and excitement of the contestants.

  “So you have to sing for us.” Zoey clapped her hands again and bounced back in line. “Please!”

  Zack saw an opportunity. The cheerleaders wore the same T-shirts and shorts, all of them bubbly and beautiful. If Zack sang now, the cameras were sure to catch the moment. Which meant maybe they’d tell the producers about him and maybe he’d be through to the next round.

  Just like that.

  He cleared his voice and started in with an old classic. “My eyes adored you . . . though I never laid a hand on you, my eyes adored you . . .”

  Sure enough the camera crew moved in close. Zack hammed up the song, stretching his hand out toward the girls as they formed a tight cluster of what looked like starstruck fans. The Fifteen Minutes crew loved it. Zack could feel them grinning and nodding their approval.

  Zoey apparently wasn’t about to miss the opportunity. She stretched her hand toward Zack and responded with another classic. “The first time . . . ever I saw your face . . .”

  After a few lines, the cameraman made a cut sign and called Zack and the girls over. “I need names and cities. That was perfect.”

  The girls squealed and stopped long enough to give the information and wait while Zack did the same. “Hey.” Zoey bounced a few times. “We should do a cheer.”

  “Can you cheer, Zack?” The guy with the clipboard raised his brows. “That would make the show for sure.”

  “I can try.” Zack fell into the middle of their group and the girls filled in around him, their arms around his shoulders, patting his head and showering him with attention. “Way to go, Zack! Way to go!”

  They formed two lines with Zack front and center and did the cheer the girls had performed earlier. “Bang bang, choo choo train, wind me up and I’ll do my thing . . .” When the cheer ended, the girls pumped their fists in the air and kicked one foot high over their heads, the way cheerleaders do. Then they gathered around Zack and started another chant. “Zack, Zack, he’s our man. If he can’t do it, no one can!” The group of them high-fived Zack and hugged him, hamming it up for the cameras.

  It wasn’t until the production crew had moved on that Zack felt sick. What had he just done? He hadn’t come here to get camera time. Being here was about singing for God and helping his family. He’d pictured himself standing alone, taking in the craziness around him. Now he hadn’t been in line half an hour and already he’d fallen in with an entire cheer squad.

  All so the cameras might feature him on the show.

  He stepped away from the girls, and most of them picked up a conversation with a man in full Native American headdress. But Zoey hung back, standing with Zack and catching her breath. He could feel her shaking off the high-energy silliness as she exhaled. “That was wild.”

  “Yeah. The camera guys loved it.” Zack leaned against a stop sign. The line hadn’t moved in a few minutes.

  “I’m only like that around them.” She smiled. “I guess it’s good to act crazy once in a while.”

  “Pretty harmless.” They were talking like old friends. It was a strange sensation. Zack didn’t have time to think about what to say next.

  “So Zack, you’re too cute to be single.” She flipped her long hair over her shoulder, looking straight at him. “You have a girlfriend?”

  “I do.” Zack could feel his ship righting itself. These were waters he could navigate. “We’ve been together four years.”

  “Hmmm.” She looked unfazed. “I have a boyfriend. Four months.” She grinned and held up her left hand. “No ring, though. I can do what I want.”

  Her meaning was unmistakable. Zack took a step away from her and looked back at the line of contestants winding along the sidewalk as far as he could see. Behind him were six black gospel singers, and behind them was a trio of kids dressed as vampires. The gospel singers might be interesting. He’d have time to get to know them in the next few hours. But he had no way to escape the girl beside him. Their places in line were set.

  “So your girlfriend.” Zoey batted her eyelashes. “Do you love her?”

  “Absolutely. I’m proposing to her this fall.”

  “Really?” Zoey’s eyes grew wide. “You’re young to get married.”

  “She’s amazing.” He kept his gaze steady. “I want to spend my life with her. I’m old enough to know that.”

  Zoey fell quiet as the line moved forward. They could see the gates seven or eight blocks ahead. Her arm brushed against his as they walked. His frustration grew. How could he be any clearer? Once more he took a step to the side and peered at the line ahead. When he turned back to her he kept his distance. “It’ll be another few hours at least.” Why had he jumped at the chance to play to the cameras? He should’ve stayed quiet as the crew passed by, or watched while the cheer squad entertained them. Hopefully Reese would understand. He was caught up in the moment—nothing m
ore, right?

  “Zack . . . are you listening?” The crowd noise was crazy loud. Zoey moved closer so their arms touched again.

  “Sorry.” He chuckled, trying to keep things light. “I was thinking about my girlfriend.”

  “No you weren’t.” She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “You were thinking about this forever-long line. I said, ‘Don’t worry. At least we have each other.’ ” She held her hand out and waited until he shook it. “Deal?”

  Zack hesitated. “Deal.” He tried to imagine what sort of deal he was making, but again his words came without thinking. As if they were playing parts in a movie and his lines had already been written.

  “Yes, sir.” Zoey grinned. “I think you and I are going to be good friends before this day is over.”

  He had no response. He could only hope the day would fly by. So he could get away from the madness in downtown Atlanta, away from the cheer squad and Zoey.

  And back home to Reese where he belonged.

  IT WAS ALMOST Zack’s turn.

  He and the cheerleaders and gospel singers and vampires had reached the Georgia Dome gates sometime after noon. They’d been sitting in section 8B ever since. Sitting and singing and laughing and talking. Zack had gotten to know most of them, and he had found a true friend in one of the gospel singers. Now it was midnight and after a few more groups they’d be up.

  Fifteen Minutes staged auditions a little differently. They took contestants in groups of fifty to a tent and had them sing a cappella all at the same time. A dozen judges with clipboards would walk around and through the group, making their way from one singer to the next, taking notes. When three minutes had passed, the group had to stop singing. A couple contestants’ numbers might be called for the next round. Or not. The singers chosen to go through to tomorrow’s auditions were flashed on the Jumbotron whenever a group left the tent. No one had gone through from either of the last two groups.

  “I’m freaking out.” Zoey briefly leaned her head on his shoulder. “How can I sing when I’m so tired?”

  Zack shifted away from her. Maybe if he turned the conversation to her, she’d forget about him. “Why’d you decide to audition, anyway? You never said.”

  “Me?” Zoey seemed to sense that he wanted space. She turned in her seat and faced him. “All us senior cheerleaders decided at the same time. Like, we can all sing. So yeah . . .”

  Fifteen Minutes encouraged contestants to try out in groups. Once in a while, a group actually made it through, sort of like the TV show X Factor. But coming in a group was only one way of capturing the judges’ attention. Zack took his time. They had thirty minutes at least. “Not your group, Zoey. You. Why did you audition?”

  She looked at her squad, chatting with a group of guys a few rows down. “It’s my dream.” She lowered her voice. “The girls don’t know that. They think it’s all sort of a joke. You know, just to get on TV or whatever.” She blinked a few times. “Truthfully? It’s all that matters.”

  Zack had heard her sing earlier. She had the skill to pull off a show like Fifteen Minutes. Maybe not the maturity but definitely the talent. “This?” He looked around the packed stadium. “This can’t be all that matters.”

  “It is.” She uttered a sad laugh, and in the stadium lights he saw her eyes well up. “My boyfriend’s cheating on me. He thinks I don’t know.” She looked down, her trembling fingers proof of her uneasiness. “I didn’t want to say that earlier.”

  “High school guys aren’t real loyal. Most of them, anyway.”

  “I know.” She tilted her head, opening her heart to him whether he wanted it or not. “I need an older guy. That’s what my mom always says.”

  Zack ignored that. He glanced at the screen. A countdown clock told him the current group had thirty seconds. Already ushers were approaching their section. “This is it.” Zack stood. “Hit it or go home.”

  “I’m so scared.” Zoey stood and followed him. She seemed to lose her balance as they headed for the aisle and caught herself on Zack’s shoulder. “Sorry.” A smile tugged at her lips. “Clumsy.”

  He put his hands in his pockets and looked straight ahead. He was grateful when she removed her hand from his arm. The girl was very pretty, but her flirting had gotten on his nerves all day; he was in love with Reese. But somehow against his will he caught himself starting to think about Zoey. Sixteen hours together could do that. He would have to sort out his thoughts later. “You’re close to your mom?”

  “Sort of. She’s in rehab. I live with my grandparents.” Her eyes darkened, as if maybe she’d said too much. “See what I mean? This show, making it. That’s all I have. It’s all that matters.”

  He wanted to tell her about his faith, about the God of hope who had helped his family survive the last year. But as they shuffled to the aisle and down the stadium stairs, the timing seemed off. He would tell her after this first round.

  If her mom was in rehab, she had to be lonely. Zack thought of the hours his mother spent with AJ, the conversations about horses and school and the farm. Zoey had none of those moments with her mother. Maybe she hadn’t been exaggerating. He felt sick. All day he’d worked to avoid her, to discourage her advances. But the girl was in trouble. Maybe he’d figure out a way to introduce her to Jesus. Maybe pray for her.

  He focused on the outer flap of the enormous striped tent. Suddenly everything faded. The crowd and the noise, the conversations and random bursts of singing. This was his single moment. The chance to see if this was how he could help his family. And if God wanted him to sing professionally.

  If I make it, I make it for You, Lord. I’ll be the brightest light this show has ever seen. I promise.

  Stay with me, son . . . I have the words of life. The quiet whisper silenced every sound around him.

  Yes, Lord . . . You have the words of life. I believe that.

  The thought filled his heart and soul. If he stayed close to God, he could get through this. He would either go home at the end of this audition or shine from the Fifteen Minutes stage. It wasn’t enough to go through a day simply existing, the way he’d been doing since he arrived in Atlanta. Hamming it up for a camera, not seeing the pain and loneliness in a teenage girl. He felt his determination double. If he made it through in the next few moments, he would absolutely shine for God.

  The way he’d failed to do so far today.

  chapter 4

  It was time.

  In a blur of anxious conversations and shuffling feet, Zack and his group moved into the tent. The instructions were nothing new. All of it was on the show’s website. Still, the fifty singers stayed silent while a man with a megaphone explained. “We will announce a start time.” The man’s accent was distinctly British. “At that point you will sing your best song to the best of your ability.” The man seemed bothered, looking down at them from his place on a small platform at the front of the tent. “You will have three minutes. If your number isn’t announced at the end of the round, you will go home. No questions. Thank you for trying out. If your number is called, wait inside the tent for further instructions.”

  Around Zack, people moved their feet and cleared their throats and tried to separate themselves from the crowd. Nervous energy sucked the air from the tent. Zack had seen TV footage of this part of the audition, fifty people singing every sort of song from every genre, trying to push their voices above the noise, desperate for their fifteen minutes of fame. But nothing he had seen prepared him for this, how it felt to have just one shot, one chance to impress the judges.

  He glanced at the people in black shirts standing around the perimeter of the tent. None of them looked glad to be there. It had been a long day for everyone, and by now chances were Atlanta had given them what they were looking for. A few of them whispered to each other, and another checked his watch. The man in charge was talking to another group. The contestants began to whisper. A few squeezed in vocal exercises.

  Here I go. Help me, God . . . He was going to sing “Win
d Beneath My Wings,” an old country classic, something familiar that would showcase his tenor voice. According to a forum of past contestants, the more familiar the song the better. It helped the singer stand out.

  “I’m gonna be sick.” Zoey leaned toward him. She had been quiet since they entered the tent.

  “You’ll be fine.”

  The man in charge returned to the platform and glared at them. “Silence!” He nodded to a woman who was clearly his assistant. “Timer ready?”

  “Ready.”

  “Okay. Set . . .” He turned to the contestants. “Go!”

  All around him people began singing, creating a noise that shook the tent and took Zack by surprise. The decibels must’ve been near that of a jet engine or a cheering stadium. If he didn’t focus quickly he would lose himself and his song in the mass confusion. Help me, God . . . I can’t do this without You. He closed his eyes and began to sing. After a few seconds something miraculous happened.

  He couldn’t hear any voice but his own. Instead of worrying about who was walking past or evaluating him or crossing his name off a list, he forgot about everyone else in the tent. He hit the first chorus singing for a familiar audience of One.

  God alone.

  By the time he reached the second verse, Zack opened his eyes. Never mind the vampires bopping out to some fifties tune a few feet away or the pop song Zoey was belting or any other sound or song around him. He could hear only his. A spot on the tent wall caught his attention, but instead of red and white canvas, in his mind’s eye he was looking across a serene and distant ocean, the presence of God like a breeze against his face. He was able to get through the second chorus and halfway through the bridge before the man waved his hands. “Time. Everyone silent.”

  Like that the contestants stopped. Several were breathless and a few had tears spilling down their cheeks. Zoey was one of those. She hung her head, her shoulders shaking. Though he’d tried to keep his distance all day, here she needed his support. He put his arm around her while they waited.