It could all be mine,he thinks.
But then he thinks about Luke, and now the vision doesn’t seem so rosy anymore. Where does his boyfriend fit into all of this? Would they be able to continue their relationship in secret while pursuing their separate careers? Maybe, but it’s starting to feel like too much for either of them to really handle.
He sighs.
Mikey tries to put these doubts aside as the evening wears on, but they refuse to go away. They’re there when he eats an awkward dinner with his parents; they’re there when he goes to bed; and they’re there when he wakes up in the morning for another day at NACA. Even though the concert is the climax of the season, there’s still a couple of weeks of lessons left, which means Mikey has to see Luke and, each time he sees him, he starts to feel a bit more ambivalent about their relationship and their future.
Before he knows it, Mikey starts to pull away from Luke. At first it’s not something he does deliberately. It’s just…the questions are always getting in the way. He doesn’t think Luke isn’t worthy of him–whatever his mother might want, he’s not asnob, and he’s never looked down on him–but he has started to wonder whether they can ever really have a lasting relationship.
Rather than tell Luke the truth, he just starts avoiding him. When Luke tries to catch his eye during class, he looks away, and when Luke looks like wants to share lunch with him, he goes and sits with a new group.
What can I say anyway?He thinks.What could I say so Luke can understand?
At the same time as he’s avoiding Luke, he’s also got his eyes peeled for the agent his mother says was in the audience during the concert. When a couple days pass and the guy still hasn’t shown up, though, Mikey starts to wonder if he wasn’t just a lie cooked up by his mother to get him to stop seeing Luke
Figures,he thinks.
He’s sitting in one of the rehearsal rooms–without Luke, because he’s been avoiding him as much as possible all week–when there comes a knock on the door.
He sighs, thinking it’s probably Luke coming to ask him what’s up. However, it’s actually Brenda, and there’s a man beside her Mikey hasn’t seen before.
It’s clear at once the guy is the agent his mom was talking about. With his suit, his slicked back hair, his gaudy rings, and his general aura of command, he just looks like what Mikey always imagined an agent would look like.
“Mikey,” Brenda says, eyes glowing, “this is Glen Carson. He’s with the McKay Agency in New York City. He wants to talk to you about the concert the other night.”
Mikey’s a bit star-struck. He’s never really heard of the McKay Agency before, but from the way Brenda's acting he clearly should have.
Say something!
“Hi,” he says, stepping forward and holding out a hand. “It’s really nice to meet you.”
Carson reaches out his own hand in return and gives Mikey a nice, firm handshake, to show he’s clearly a man of business and knows just how to get what he wants when he wants it. Mikey isn’t sure whether to be intimidated or not.
“It’s nice to meet you too, son,” Carson says, and Mikey almost cringes. He hates it when people call him “son.”
“I’ll leave you two to talk turkey,” Brenda says, giving Mikey an encouraging smile and a thumbs up as she leaves the room.
Carson takes the only chair, leaving Mikey to take a seat on the bench in front of the piano.
“Look, I’m going to be honest with you,” Carson says. “You’ve got a helluva voice, and it’s clear you can command a room. Those are two of the best things you could have in this business, but they’re not everything. You’re gonna need a lot more, and I think my company is just the one to provide it. We’ll get you a good contract, get you on the touring circuit, start building you up from the ground. Before long, you’ll be playing to sold-out crowds.”
Mikey knows the man is mostly just blowing smoke. At the same time, the certainty in his voice carries him along with it.
Easy there, Mikey,he reminds himself.There’s still a lot to jump through to get there. Don’t put the cart before the horse.
“That all sounds great,” he says, and it does, it really does. “But I have to ask. What do you get out of signing me?”
Carson’s eyes actually go wide for a minute, as if he’s never had a potential client ask the question. Mikey isn’t surprised. He’s no fool. He knows how it works. Anyone lucky enough to sign with an agent knows to be grateful and to act accordingly. For him to even ask this question is probably dangerous, and it might even put Carson’s interest at risk, but he doesn’t care. He genuinely wants to know what draws him to NACA and to someone like Mikey Smiles.
Finally, though, Carson smiles. Mikey has passed a test he hadn’t even known he was taking.
“I’ll level with you, then, since you seem to be a bright kid. I haven’t seen raw talent like yours in a long time. Unless it’s the country kid who came on just before you. Him, though, he’s too rough around the edges, which is fine for country, but I see something bigger for you. I see you as a member of a boy band and then, once we’ve got your reputation established, we’ll set you on the path to being a stellar solo act. With me, there’s only one way to go: up.”
He pauses, considering things.
“So the name Smiles. It’s a stage name, right?”
It’s ironic Carson should ask. It might be Mikey’s real last name, but he has no idea where it came from. He’s tried asking his parents the same question many times, but they’re not particularly interested in genealogy or anything like family history, so it’s always been a mystery.
