I drop the curtain for a second time.Alright, it’s happening.I turn around to find my mom checking in on Facebook with a picture of me signing in this morning.
“Ma, please don’t post that.”
She looks up, squinting one eye.“Oh, come on.I’m proud of you.I want to show you off,” she says softly before finishing uploading the image and tucking the phone into the back of her jeans pocket.“How are you feeling?”she asks as her eyes search mine.I close them and run a palm up and over my face for good measure.That woman can read me like a book and I’m not taking any chance of her telling me something that I’m not ready to admit.
“I’m fine.Just ready for this to be over already so I can finish packing.”
“You already packed?!”Something like caution settles on her face, before it’s wiped clean with a stiff upper lip.“Well, if anyone can make it, it’s you,” she says, voice unwavering.
“Levi Johnson?”a girl in an all-black outfit says, confirming the name on the clipboard.
“Yes, ma’am, I’m Levi.”
“Great,” she murmurs, dragging her pen across my name in the process.“You’re up.”
Ma’s smile mirrors mine as I wrap myself around her small frame for a tight hug.“Go get ’em” she says into the crook of my neck, and it’s just enough wind in my sail to get me out of my head and walk onto the stage.
My boots slap against the hardwood, creating an echo in the silence of the banquet room.
“What is with the outfits today?First, Little Miss can’t decide what color she wants to wear so she wears all of them, and now John Wayne Jr.?”Michael sighs exhaustedly.
“This is a singing competition, Michael, not a fashion show,” Penny claps back as I hit my mark.Michael’s words don’t bother me.In Tennessee, being called a cowboy is about the nicest compliment you can get, so I straighten the collar of my dark denim jacket and peer down at the three of them, face neutral.
“Giddy up,” Penny purrs, flashing her canine teeth like I’m her next meal.I toss her a quick wink, adjusting my stance, ready for whatever comes next.
“Alright, pretty boy.”Tom leans back, rocking in his chair.“Name, age, and where ya from?”
“My name is Levi Johnson.I’m twenty-three, and from Nashville, Tennessee.”
“Country music, baby!I’m from Tennessee as well.Knoxville.”
“Oh, you don’t say.”Knew that.Everyone knows that.Mostly because he brings it up anytime there is an opening.
“I hate to break up this hometown reunion,” Michael sighs.“But there are quite a few more auditions to go and I’m ready to go home.What will you be singing, Levi?”
“‘Collide’ by Howie Day.”
The light above me fades to darkness and I can no longer see the judges in front of me.I quickly toss my head from side to side as the music starts.Go time.
***
Halfway through thesong, I cross the stage and reach out towards the imaginary crowd when it feels right.This is it—my chance—and I’m not going down without a hand movement or two.As I get closer to the end of the song, worry creeps its way into my mind.Why haven’t they stopped me?I’m killing it.In a big, finale-like finish, I take a bow.Lighting takes over, casting two spotlights—one over me and one over the judges.“That was”—Penny fans herself with a flat hand— “amazing.The whole thing was an experience and that’s what we’re looking for in an artist.Someone who can really be the music.”
“Amazing?”Michael looks at her questionably.“It was alright, but I’ll tell you what...I could have done without the curtsy at the end.”
“It was a bow,” Tom corrects.
“What?”Michael snaps moving his torso around Penny to glare at Tom.
“A bow!A curtsy is when you cross your ankles and squat a bit.”He’s met with dead silence.“Stop looking at me like that,” he demands.
Penny blinks in disgust at both of them before lightly shoving Michael’s body back in his place.
“Like I was saying, you did great.There was maybe one point in the chorus where you could have had better breath control, but overall I think you’re very talented and I vote yes.”She turns towards Tom.He’s folding his lips into one another a couple times, eyes locked on me.
“Levi,” he says on a giant exhale, “you have great range.I’m not sure I love that song for you, but that’s something to play with when you’re...IN HOLLYWOOD!It’s a yes for me too!”
A smile breaks across my face.“Thank you!I promise I won’t disappoint.”
