Auriana
The next morning we were on our way to the city. We'd decided to kick off our vacation with a big shopping spree. Because Maya, Alex, and I had been here many times before, we knew where all the great shops were hidden. We were chatting away when we were interrupted by the sound of approaching motorcycles. I might have been out of the city for a few years, but I remember clear as day that we were NOT riding around on motorcycles.
"That's new," I muttered under my breath. The people around us started running or hiding. Apparently people didn't know how quickly they had to get out of the way. The motorcycles stopped a meter away from our group.
"Look who we have here, the McKoy twins!" The Panthers burst out laughing. Apparently, they weren't strangers to each other either. And something inside me told me that Maya and her big mouth had been responsible for that.
"What's there to laugh at?" Renee asked. She already disliked the group in front of her. You´d better keep Renee on your good side, because if you made her your enemy... well, let's just say she could easily ruin your life.
"Oh, didn't they tell you how their dad tried to buy The Panthers?" Avery asked, sniffing dismissively. She was the only one I didn't recognize from the group. So that must be who they were talking about yesterday.
"I see you've started your own little club," Chris laughed. Maya was about to say something but bit her tongue wisely for once. Now it was my turn to speak up.
"Actually...this is my crew," I replied, taking her place as I pushed forward. With my head held high, I stood face to face with Jordan.
"Well…If that isn't Little Red," Jordan said. He looked me up and down.
"What? were you thinking that I'd move to a town where there's nothing to do without a group of followers of my own? What an insult," I laughed.
"Why didn't you ever tell me you were moving?" Jordan asked. For a second, he looked hurt, but that disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
"You know what parents are like? They bombard their children with news like this at the last minute, just to make it easier for them." There was an awkward silence. We all looked at each other without saying a word.
"Um...who's Little Red?" Avery asked cautiously. Even though I didn't know her, I could tell Avery felt a bit out of place and was afraid Jordan would get mad at her.
"Little Red was one of the first Panthers. She was one of the best before she suddenly moved away without telling us," Chris said. Jordan shot him a hostile look. We all heard him swallow. Apparently, the other Panthers were even more afraid of Jordan now than they had been back then.
"Hey Red, since you're here, how about you come back to the Panthers? For as long as you're here, of course?" Jordan asked, trying to sound as indifferent as possible, though it sounded more like desperation.
"And leave this bunch of idiots behind? Please!" I replied immediately. My friends' jaws dropped in astonishment. They couldn't believe anyone would say something like that about them. Their expressions hardened and grew angry.
"Climb on the back," Jordan said. He didn't need to ask me twice. I swung my leg over the bike and clipped my helmet under my chin.
"Wait! We challenge you to the musical duel!" Maya shouted before anyone could stop her. Alex glared at her. She was going to hear about this from her brother and the others for sure.
"You know no one can beat us, right?" Avery laughed dismissively. Jordan held up his hand to keep everyone quiet. It was clear that there was more going on between Avery and the twins than what they told us.
"What do you have to offer?" he asked, looking at the group one by one.
"Just what everyone in town wants, if we win you guys disband The Panthers once and for all," Maya said, crossing her arms.
"Okay, but if we win, you can never set foot in Starsskies Bay again." Jordan kicked the engine off its kickstand and revved it. Before the others could even say a word, Maya agreed to the deal.
"WHAT! MAYA!" the others shouted angrily. I could put myself in their shoes; I'd be angry too if someone jeopardized my free vacation on a bet.
"The day after tomorrow, the first round...a solo. Let the best group win," Jordan said, and with those words, the Panthers took off.
"Wow, you've really cleaned things up here," I said as I followed Jordan into the Panthers' secret hangout. The walls were covered in graffiti. The largest wall still displayed the logo Jordan and I had sprayed on when we first started. Only now there were also beanbag chairs, sofas, and tables. There was even a refrigerator in the corner next to the stairs leading to the building's roof. It was a huge improvement.
"Thanks, it was mostly Riley and Phoenix's doing." I plopped down on one of the couches. Jordan clapped his hands, gathering the others around him and making sure they were listening.
"Okay, folks, we have two days to practice for a solo. Auditions are in four hours, GO!" he announced. The Panthers stormed off while Jordan sank into a beanbag chair. Okay, as long as I've known him, he's never wanted to share the spotlight. So why would he suddenly hold auditions now?
"Auditions?" That wasn't all, Jordan also had a great singing voice. He got a wicked smile on his face before he began his explanation.
"So al of them give it their all, hoping they might get to sing the solo. I'll crush their dreams so they'll try even harder next time."
"Oh, that's good!" If I were honest, it was a pretty good way to get the best out of someone. If it doesn't work the first time, they'll try harder to make it work next time.
"No...that's bad!" Jordan laughed. I tried my best not to roll my eyes. I hadn't missed his dry humor at all.
"So, what song are you going to sing?" My curiosity grew, and I couldn't contain it any longer. He could sing anything. That made his choice even harder to guess. I kept looking at him.
"I'm still keeping that a secret, like always." Oh, He always with his secrets, it's so frustrating. He loved keeping things secret so that they drove others crazy. Jordan enjoyed seeing people throw themselves completely into something, whether it was a secret they were trying to uncover or an audition. He didn't care, as long as they were completely committed to something.
"Oh well, you always loved a bit of mystery." Shrugging, I decided to let it go for now, but I certainly wasn't done yet.
"Enough about me, let's first do something about those awful clothes. They're a bit too colorful for me." Four hours later, it was time for the auditions. Everyone hoped to get the solo, but Jordan had very different plans. One by one, The Panthers sang for their audition. They weren't nearly as bad I expected, but according to Jordan, none of them were good enough to sing the solo. When the last contestant had finished, Jordan was ready to announce his decision. A cold surprise awaited him.
"Wait, there's another contestant," I said, standing up. Jordan looked at the clapperboard in surprise, then at me. He didn't understand it, because according to his clapperboard, the last contestant had just auditioned. He asked me who it was.
"Me," I answered determinedly, a grin on my face.
"Oh, come on, you can't sing even if your life depended on it," Jordan sneered. I gave him a challenging look, raising an eyebrow.
Maya
"Are you satisfied now? What if we don't win?" Alex paced back and forth, thinking.
"Brother, don't worry. I have a foolproof plan," I said calmly. The others exchanged worried glances. Did they really think I'd just do something like that without a backup plan? With my plan in mind, I was absolutely confident we'd win. Renee eyed me suspiciously. Even though the others had completely accepted Alex and me into the group, I always get the feeling Renee still doesn't trust us.
"And we're definitely not allowed to know about that plan, are we?" Renee asked, her arms crossed. I shook my head before answering.
"No, the fewer people who know about the plan, the better its chances of success." Alex stopped pacing and looked at me from the table where we were sitting.
"You don't have a plan yet, do you?" asked Alex, who thought he knew his sister inside and out. This made me laugh; even my own brother didn't trust me.
"Oh yes, and the first step in my brilliant plan is a powerful ballad… sung by Jake," I explained the first part of my plan. The others were taken aback. Jake seemed the most shocked and wanted to know why I'd chosen him to sing the ballad. The answer was simple.
"Because your unrequited love is the perfect subject for a ballad," Emma said. I looked at her with a smile. We were clearly on the same page.
"Exactly, so everyone agrees with me that Jake should sing the solo?" The others all agreed, and we decided to go our separate ways. Jake and Emma were writing the song, Renee was designing the outfits, Jimmy, Jeremy, Alex, Scarlet, and I went surfing, while Skylar, Nikki, and Brooke sunbathed on the beach. We had abandoned our shopping plans after Auriana left us on the street—for no good reason.
"Did you know they're holding a big surfing competition here?" Alex asked. Which was true; Starsskies Bay holds a surfing competition every year. I'd entered the competition several times, but I'd never won.
"Are you serious? Awesome!" Scarlet said. Of course, a sports fanatic like Scarlet loves hearing about such competitions. The only thing I was afraid of now was having to face Scarlet in that competition, because that would be quite a challenge.
"And this year I'm going to win it!" I said determinedly. Scarlet got a competitive look in her eyes. I already knew what was coming, and my worst nightmare was coming true.
"Not if I enter too!" And there it was. Now I had to try even harder to make sure I didn't lose this year.
"Don't be so sure about that. Scarlet wins every sporting event she enters," Jeremy said as he and Scarlet high-fived.
Emma
"Why is songwriting so hard?" Jake whined. This made me chuckle. We all knew he couldn't write a song to save his life. Auriana had written the song for music class without his help. The fact was, Jake was far too caught up in his own head and was overthinking things.
"It's not that hard, just write what your heart tells you." My words seemed to inspire him, because before I knew it, the words began to flow from his mouth like a beautiful waterfall.
"I feel lost without her…like I'm lost in some kind of darkness and have lost my light." Wow, who knew he had a poet inside him? My fingers flew across the keyboard, writing down everything that left his mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his cheeks slightly change color. It was quite adorable how he dealt with his feelings.
"I didn't know you were so good with words." It was crystal clear to me who he was talking about in his torrent of words. It was clearly Auriana.
"Well, what can I say…that's the effect she has on me." My fingers hovered over the keyboard, and I couldn't suppress the smile on my face.
"I hope Maya is right and knows what she's doing." His cheeks were still flushed. It wasn't just Alex who was worried about his sister's choice; we were just as worried. Not just about the vacation; I couldn't care less about that. No, we couldn't understand Auriana behaving that way towards us at all. It wasn't like her to do that, but then again, maybe it was. How much did we really know about her past here? Was the person she seemed to be in Westbrook the real her? Stop! I shouldn't be thinking like that.