Their second album,As Expected, had come two years after the first one. Ron and Dan had believed in what they called the ‘triple threat.’ Ron and Dan had wanted the group to release three albums in a little over four years. Hopefully, all three could be on the charts at once, making record history for a boy band and boosting sales. So far, the first two still hung on the charts, and this third album had what it took to make that vision a reality.
“Ethan, what sets this album apart from the two previous ones?” Dulce asked.
“Well, Tom, I’m thrilled you asked that question, because people expected this album would be another typical ‘boy band’ album, but it’s not. In fact, it has a completely different vibe than anything being done in the US. Our Producer, Dan Rawlins, hired an innovative DJ from Germany to create the record’s rhythmic sound. This stuff is rocking the charts in Europe, and we wanted to incorporate it here.”
“You think you have something unique, do you?”
“We know it’s unique, Tom, and we’re the band who gets to usher in this total hip music style here in the US,” Rick said.
Zach, Ethan and Orr all nodded in agreement.
“Orr, what is the nationality of your name?” Dulce said, switching gears, “In my research for today’s interview, I found several explanations attempting to describe its origins.”
Ethan knew Orr was annoyed by the rumors surrounding his name, but he kept the smile pasted on his face as he answered. “Tom, thank you for asking. I have run into those same rumors. I’ve been accused of being from Iceland— Hello, I’m Black! Do I look like I’m from Iceland?” The audience politely laughed at Orr’s attempt at humor. “Actually, my birth name is Orville Johnson. Not exactly the name you want to be called in junior high in inner-city Pittsburgh, so I started going by Orr.”
“How does a kid from inner-city Pittsburgh end up in New Orleans?” Dulce asked.
Ethan sat back against the couch as the group quickly spent the next few minutes reviewing their history. The four guys had met in a college at Tulane. Zach, Ethan and Ric had all come to college from privileged backgrounds.
Ethan had been the captain of his high school football team and initially entered college on a scholarship. At six-foot-one-inch with his perfect V-shaped build, Ethan had been a stellar athlete and could have gone pro until he suffered a severe back injury. Ethan’s neurosurgeon had replaced a ruptured spinal disk, but the doctor told him another injury could permanently paralyze him.
Orr came to Tulane after having been scouted by several university football teams. During summer training, Orr and Ethan had become best friends. Orr’s mom had been a single mother and had told him he needed to work hard and get through high school to go to college. Orr had realized early that his mother’s dream wouldn’t happen easily, because there was no way she could afford it. He had known the only way he was going into college was by becoming a straight ‘A’ student and football star.
When Ethan had been injured during the fall semester of his freshman year, Orr had taken it upon himself to get Ethan out of his depression and help him channel his energy in a new direction. Ethan had not been ready to stop moping around. After many failed attempts at re-integrating Ethan into college life, Orr had realized Ethan would be a tough case to break. Eventually, Orr had stopped trying to take Ethan out of the dorm room. Instead, he had brought the fun to Ethan. Although Orr’s constant insistence that Ethan “be productive” had grated on Ethan’s last nerve, he had eventually come around. During this moping recovery phase, Orr and Ethan had met a couple of cool guys on another floor, Ric and Zach. Before long, Zach, Ethan, Ric and Orr had been inseparable. The guys did everything together.
After their freshman year, they had gotten a house a few blocks from the main campus. Orr had worked all summer and raised enough money to quit football with the help of other financial aid and scholarships. Orr had never taken to football how most expected. To Orr, football had been the means to get himself into and through college. Once there, he realized he had more options than playing ball.
One night during the spring semester of their sophomore year, the guys had thrown back a few beers when they came up with a scheme to make themselves known on campus. They had formed a band and entered the university talent competition. The initial goal had been to find some ‘boy band’ song and destroy it in jest. The group had settled onExcessby X-chro, a British import that had ended up being a flash in the pan but had been making headlines and waves in the music industry at the time. What originally was to be a spoof of boy bands ended up winning them the top prize and a consultation with an industry producer, Dan Rawlins. Rawlins, as they found out, was the British producer who’d signed X-chro.
The competition organizers had forwarded the video to Rawlins at the end of the competition. When Rawlins had seen the four guys and their raw talent, he went to New Orleans and had a development meeting with the group. Zach, Ethan, Ric and Orr had been dumbfounded by the offer Rawlins made to develop the group’s talent and shepherd them. Less than a month later, the four had signed contracts and taken leaves of absence from the university. The following year had been a whirlwind of vocal lessons, choreography training and meeting with songwriters. Before they knew what had happened, the group toured Europe while developing material for their first album. After two long years, the group’s first albumDog Dayswas released to outstanding reviews and impressive sales. Zach, Ethan, Ric and Orr rocketed from obscurity to superstar fame in less than four years.
Here they were, as the group prepared to release their third album, talking to the famedReal Time Newstalk show host slash anchor, Tom Dulce.
“So, guys, you know your fans want me to ask youthequestion. Are you all currently in relationships, or are you all still single?” Dulce asked.
“Tom,” Orr said. “I guess I should make it public… I got engaged two weeks ago to my high-school sweetheart, Constinia.” Several exasperated “ahhs” and “ohhs” were heard from the studio audience but were quickly drowned out by polite applause.
Listening to Orr talk, Ethan let his mind drift as he remembered how Orr had told the guys right before he popped the question. Sadly, as was typical with celebrity life, the group had discussed how Orr should handle the post-engagement press. Since this was unfamiliar territory for the band, the group had told Orr to ask their manager for his opinion. Hightower had immediately involved Rawlins. And before the band knew it, a complete media campaign had been developed for the post-engagement announcement press tour. Today’s ‘impromptu’ appearance at RTN was the beginning of the publicity tour. Rawlins saw the engagement announcement as a great opportunity for Orr to sing a ballad from the new album, which could be dedicated to his fiancée, Constinia.
The audience died down as Ric and Zach admitted they were both single and currently looking for people to fill the vacancy. Several “I’ll be your wife” yells came from the audience.
“Well, it looks like everyone has answered the question except for you, Ethan. You wouldn’t be trying to avoid answering, would you?”
“Not at all, Tom. I am not married, for those of you who want to know, nor do I currently have a girlfriend or fiancée. I find it hard to meet people when you’re on the road as much as we are.” Ric and Zach both quickly agreed. Ethan continued, “When you are touring or recording in the studio forty-three out of fifty-two weeks in the year, you don’t get much personal time. I only see my family on big holidays or when I fly them out to a show. Without these three”—motioning to Zach, Ric and Orr—“I probably would have quit singing long ago. Don’t get me wrong. I love what I’m doing. I love you, the fans, but it takes a lot of work and energy to do what we do.”
“And the four of you do what you do amazingly well,” Tom said, looking into the camera. A stage manager signaled that it was time for the newsbreak. Tom looked right into the camera and said, “It’s time forNews Minutehere on theReal Time NewsNetwork. Tika Downs is in the news studio. Tika.”
“And we are off the air for three minutes,” the studio director informed the audience. It was as if the balloon had been let go in the room. Everyone sighed and relaxed in unison. Ethan absently watched as Tom and the rest of ZERO started talking among themselves. Tom assured the group that the interview was going well and asked them if they needed anything during the break. The guys said they were fine and enjoyed taking a breather. Ethan stood and stretched his legs, lifting his hands over his head just high enough that his shirt pulled up, exposing the top of his boxers and the tuft of light brown hair on his stomach that led down into his boxers. A couple of the girls in the front row almost fell out of their chairs. Ethan saw their expressions and laughed on the inside.If they only knew.
“Places, everyone. Sixty seconds to go.” Ethan looked at the monitor to see Tika reading the list of news items succinctly. He was about to move back to his chair when he saw a graphic of a houseboat with the words “New Orleans” underneath. Ethan paid attention to what was being said for the first time during the break.
On the monitor, Ethan watched as Tika glanced down at her script and read, “This just in. A tragedy struck earlier this evening. As you probably know, New Orleans is home to the popular daytime soap operaNOLA Nights. The police are not releasing any information. We have confirmed from studio sources that two of the show’s stars who were rumored to bedating have been murdered. Cynthia Dunning and Daniel Hawthorne, both age twenty-seven, will be sorely missed by the acting community and their fans.” Cynthia and Daniel’sNOLA Nightspublicity headshots flashed across the screen. Their birth and death years displayed below. “Our hearts go out to the NOLA Nights family and their fans during this tragic time.” Tika’s somber face stood frozen on the screen for a second before she continued, “Now, we rejoin Tom Dulce withIn Touch with Americaand the band ZERO. I’m Tika Downs. This wasNews Minute.”
Ethan watched Tika with transfixed horror as she reported the deaths of Cynthia and Daniel. The world seemed to slow down for him. He saw the news bulletin end but could not feel or hear anything else. He felt like he had an out-of-body experience. He shuffled back to his seat in the studio, but he was on autopilot. In the distance, he heard, “I’m Tika Downs. This wasNews Minute,” but he wasn’t sure where it was coming from. It sounded like someone yelling when you’re submerged in a swimming pool. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed. In his last second of consciousness, there were sounds of screaming as he slipped into nothing but black.
Chapter Two
Blayne
