Playing to Win

  Chapter Six: Love is in the Air

  The next morning, the girls were exhausted. They had celebrated their win by going out to an expensive restaurant and then to a dance club. People in both places recognized them and asked for their autographs. The girls had no trouble finding guys to dance with. Guys stood in line for an opportunity to dance with any one of the girls.

  Joey and Jake went along to make sure everyone got back to the hotel safely, and they all planned to sleep in late. But their plans were thwarted when the phone rang at 9:00 a.m.

  "Congratulations, Ashley!" greeted Ashley's parents. Most of the girls' families had called them after the show to congratulate them, but Ashley's parents had been flying back from a vacation at that time.

  Barely awake, Ashley spoke briefly to her mom, and then her stepdad, and then her step brother, and then her sister while her roommates covered their heads with pillows to block out her conversation. Finally, she hung up, and then Taylor's phone rang.

  After the fifth phone congratulations call, everyone gave up on sleep and decided to order room service so they could have breakfast in their pajamas.

  As they were eating, there was a knock on the door and Joey appeared.

  "C'mon, girls! We gotta start rehearsals for next week's show! Get dressed!"

  "But it's only ten-thirty! Can't we have a day off?" whined Ashley.

  "No!" he stated firmly.

  "But we need time to recharge," Leisha cried as the others agreed.

  "Rehearse first, then you can take the rest of the day off," he replied, "I'll meet you in the lobby in one hour!"

  They all moaned and grouched after he left. Grudgingly, they got ready and went down to the lobby.

  Joey and Jake were grinning from ear to ear, holding a newspaper.

  "What's so funny?" asked Leisha.

  "Have you seen today's paper? Look at this!" he exclaimed, displaying the front page of the entertainment section of the LA Times.

  "Girl Band 'Nightingale' Tops Them All" the headlines cried. A large color photo of the group onstage was centered under it and the article took up the top half of the front page.

  "Wow!" the girls exclaimed, all grabbing to take a look. Joey pulled the paper back, saying,

  "But I love what the article says! Listen to this: 'Last night the girls thwarted someone's attempt to sabotage their performance by pulling out all of the transmitter jacks from the power amp. It caused a delay as the technicians scurried to repair the sound during a commercial break. This has been the second attempt to sabotage the group's efforts. According to the television stage manager, Ralph Nichols, Nightingale's equipment was stolen from a rehearsal studio earlier this week, but was replaced with new and unfamiliar equipment. In addition to equipment tampering, their lead singer, Susan Dale, left Nightingale to become the lead singer of Rock Solid, the other leading band in the competition. Whether the judges' votes were sympathy votes or votes of approval, the 98 points for Nightingale put them in first place for America's Best Band. The final competition next week is between Rock Solid and Nightingale. Both bands will be out pulling all the stops to win the final.'"

  "Do you think they really were sympathy votes?" asked Taylor.

  "No! Besides, who cares?" Joey said, "You're in first place and that's all that counts. Let's get to the studio and figure out how to win this!"

  After numerous attempts to find three songs they could play at the finals, they had only come up with two they all liked by the end of the rehearsal. There were some disagreements on who should sing lead, but Joey settled them by having both Leisha and Taylor sing on one song and Ashley and Kelly on another. By six o'clock they were all tired and hungry.

  "Let's go eat and come back tomorrow," Ashley suggested, "I need my beauty rest."

  "All right," Joey conceded, "You worked pretty hard today. We'll figure out song number three tonight at the hotel. Then you can start working on all three tomorrow."

  They all agreed and discussed where to have dinner. Jake suggested a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown and they took a taxi there.

  While sitting in the Chinese restaurant, the girls were approached by fans who had seen them on the show.

  "I hope you win next week," one young man told them, "I thought Susan was a real brat to leave your group and go with Rock Solid. But you sounded great without her!"

  "Thanks!" Ashley said, grabbing another spring roll. The girls signed autographs and finished their dinner. On their way out they were stopped by a teen in a leather jacket.

  "Can I have your picture taken with me?" he asked holding up his cell phone. Joey agreed and took a photo of him standing with the girls. They granted his request for an autograph, and then later climbed into a taxi to head back to the hotel.

  When they entered the lobby, the guys in Rock Solid were leaving the hotel dressed for a night of clubbing. Susan was with them and she ignored her old band mates, walking right past them. Danny, their drummer, waved at Taylor and smiled at her. She smiled back, feeling a bit like a traitor. But she had to admit she thought he was cute. She wondered if she would ever get a chance to meet him. He seemed very nice.

  Back in the hotel room, the girls went through all of the songs they had ever played, looking for the one special song that would help them win. Finally they decided to start from scratch and write a new song just for the competition.

  Leisha and Kelly were the band's songwriters. They took their guitars into Leisha's room, discussing what kind of song it would be, and experimented with chords and melodies. The other girls took a break in their own rooms, turning on TV or listening to music.

  There was a knock on the door of Taylor and Ashley's room. Ashley had headphones on and hadn't heard anything, so Taylor looked through the peephole in the door and saw a young man waiting. It was Danny, the drummer from Rock Solid.

  "Hi," she said, opening the door, “I thought I saw you leave the hotel.”

  "Hi," he greeted, "I decided to come back. I hope you're not busy right now."

  "Wanna come in?" she asked.

  "No. I was wondering if you'd like to join me downstairs in the bar for a drink. I thought maybe we could talk."

  Taylor looked back at Ashley, then said, "Hold on a sec. I'll get my purse."

  She told Ashley that she was going downstairs for a while but would be in the hotel. "Call me if you need me," she said. Ashley nodded and picked up her sticks to play along with the music in her ear buds.

  Danny was quiet and looked a little uncomfortable as the elevator doors closed.

  "So, are you guys rehearsing for the big finals?" he finally asked.

  "Oh, yeah. Are you?"

  "Well, we plan on starting tomorrow. Everybody was too tired today."

  "So were we, but our manager wouldn't let us take a day off."

  "Wow. I hear he's a real drill sergeant," said Danny as they rode down to the lobby.

  "Who, Joey? Oh, no, he's not like that at all! He's really nice. Well, yeah, he does push us kinda hard sometimes, but he's good for us. I mean look where he got us. We never thought we'd ever be on a top TV show, but Joey got us here. He bought us our first sound system and said that if we ever became a big hit we could pay him back. That's one of the reasons we want to win this thing…to pay back Joey for everything he's done for us. I mean, he believed in us when nobody else did. He helped us develop our own style and taught us how to put it all together."

  "Gee, that's surprising. From the way Susan talked about him, I got the impression that he was a real pain."

  The elevator bell rang as they reached the lobby. The lobby was nearly empty except for the staff at the reception desk. They walked into the bar where there was a fireplace burning brightly and an open table next to it. They took the table beside the fireplace and a waitress soon came for their order. They each ordered soft drinks. After she left, Danny said, "You're probably wondering why I asked you to come here with me."

  Taylor smiled and gave a little shrug, admitting
, "Well, I am a little curious."

  "Well,” he looked down and continued nervously, “It's like this…I didn't want you and the other girls to get the impression that everyone in my band is a jerk. We're each different. I know about what happened when your stuff got taken, and how the transmitters were taken out of the amps when you went onstage. I had nothing to do with any of that stuff," he declared.

  She looked into his clear, brown eyes and sensed he was telling the truth. She nodded in understanding, saying, "Okay, then, who did do those things?"

  Danny looked away and shrugged.

  "I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure. I don't want to accuse somebody in case they didn't do it."

  "I understand," she nodded, knowing that he didn’t want to tell on his friends.

  The waitress brought their drinks and left them alone. The firelight danced upon Taylor's long dark hair, streaking it with golden light. Both of them were silent for a moment. Finally, Danny asked,

  "How did you girls ever get a band together? I mean, you're all really good musicians. I never thought girls could play rock as good as guys…but you all do, especially your drummer."

  Taylor smiled, "I know. Ashley is a really talented drummer. She outplays most guys. She learned from her brother, and he is really good. He plays in a band that tours around the country with the Angry Young Men."

  "He's in the Angry Young Men?" Danny cried in excitement.

  "No, Ashley's brother plays in the band that opens their show. His group is called Dakota and they're really great. They have a recording contract with a major record label and are going to have a CD out early next year. Anyway, Ashley learned drums from him when she was just 10 years old. She was so good that when her brother bought a new set to go on tour, he gave her his old set. Then she and Leisha met up in high school because they both played in the jazz band. They claim that they only joined to meet guys…" she laughed, "but Leisha is an awesome guitar player."

  "So I noticed. How did she get so good?"

  "She started taking lessons when she was 11 years old and she has a lot of talent, too. She sings good, too, oh,… and plays the piano! Then we met Kelly, who also is a good guitarist and is very creative. She and Leisha write all of our songs."

  "Man, you guys are lucky. We don't have anybody in our band who can write original stuff and you've got two people in your band!" Danny replied.

  "Each of us had tried getting into a guy’s band, but didn't have much luck. So we decided to form our own group. The great thing is that all five of us sing harmony."

  "We noticed that. That really impresses the judges, I think," Danny nodded, taking a sip from his drink.

  "So we formed a band and started playing at high schools and local church functions. Then one day Joey came up to us and asked us if we had a manager. We hired him and he really showed us the ropes. Joey used to be in a band once…as a lead singer. But his group broke up and he had trouble finding another one. He says that the night he heard us play he knew then that his destiny was to be our manager. He's done a really great job over the past four years. He got us gigs--ones that paid good money! He booked us all around the state so we'd get our name around. He got us on local radio and TV shows, too. Practically everybody in our home town knows who we are. They're all rooting for us to win this competition."

  "Yeah, in our home town, too," he said.

  She asked him about how his band got together and he told her a story similar to the one she had told him, except his band was from the Midwest and Nightingale was from the East coast. What surprised her were the many changes Rock Solid had in their band members over the past two years since they formed.

  Taylor told him, "The five of us have been together for three years. Susan joined us a little over a year ago. She's a great lead singer and she looks hot, but she can be a real handful off stage."

  "Yeah, so I've noticed," Danny admitted, "She also likes to drink a lot."

  Taylor shook her head, "Susan wasn't like that when we first met her. But as the band started to get successful, she became more and more stuck on herself. She thinks she can do anything she likes just because she's such a great singer and looks good on stage. We've been having lots of problems with her in the past year…turning up late and drunk for some gigs…not showing up at rehearsals. In a way, I'm glad she has quit."

  "I hear ya," Danny nodded, "We're starting to see the same things and she's only been with us a week."

  "She never liked Joey telling her what to do, but frankly, that's exactly what she needs. They were always clashing. I think Joey's glad she's gone, too. But I don't know if we're good enough without her to win the competition."

  Danny smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry. You guys are good enough. It's going to be tough for us to beat you. Have you decided which songs you're doing yet?"

  Taylor hesitated to answer. She wondered if that were the real reason why Danny asked her out for a drink.

  "Yes," she told him, "but we're keeping them a surprise."

  Danny laughed, "Okay. I get it. I was just curious."

  Taylor smiled as she took another sip of her drink and gazed into the fire.

  They talked for another hour about their personal lives, and when they finished their drinks, Taylor said,

  "It's getting late and I have an early rehearsal tomorrow morning, so…"

  "Oh, yeah, me too," Danny nodded and took out his wallet. He paid the bill and left a tip before taking her back to the elevator.

  When they stopped outside of her hotel room, she turned to him.

  "Well, thanks for the drinks."

  "Thanks for joining me. Maybe we can do this again sometime," he suggested.

  "Yeah, that would be great," she smiled.

  There was a short uncomfortable pause as they stood looking at each other, wondering what to do. Finally, Danny leaned forward and gave her a gentle hug and a kiss that lingered softly on her lips.

  "’Night," he whispered as he walked away.

  "Goodnight," she smiled back.

  She watched him disappear down the hallway. As he turned the corner, he looked back and waved at her with a grin.

  She waved back and giggled, feeling a little glow inside. She thought to herself, "He's SO nice," and went into her room.

  After Taylor got into bed, she lay in the darkness, seeing Danny’s face in her mind. She recalled his voice, his smile, and the way he had looked at her gave her a feeling she couldn’t describe. ‘Maybe it’s love,’ she thought as she drifted into sleep.