You, by the light ~ Is the greatest find
Goosebumps crept through Lyken as soon as Lemon started singing. ‘What the fuck?’ She has a unique and beautiful voice.
Lemon was singing effortlessly and her emotions fit the lyrics of the song. Rawbin didn’t even notice that his mouth was left often while listening to her.
“Dude, stop drooling!” Al, one of his teammates, called him off. “Isn’t she Kippler’s cousin?” he asked, and Rawbin nodded as he leaned back in his seat.
Rawbin still can’t believe it’s Lemon that’s singing. The voice doesn’t seem to be coming from her as it’s husky, but she can easily hit the high notes.
He actually didn’t expect her to be auditioning. And although he knew that they were picking a boy and a girl as their vocalists, he still couldn’t help but feel nervous.
‘What if we’re both picked? Can I sing along with her? I might freeze and be unable to utter a word.’
She was almost done singing but he was still in awe. “She’s really good,” Rawbin heard the club adviser say, and the members of the band nodded in agreement.
Rawbin suddenly felt his hands sweating. Not sure if he should just back out or if he should force them to pick him as the male vocalist.
He’s pretty sure they’d choose her and it’d be very disappointing if he didn’t get chosen as her counterpart. ‘I need to do well. That slot is mine and mine alone.’
Everyone clapped when she ended the song. She even bowed to the crowd though she looked so ashamed as she went down the stage.
“Girl, you’re so good!” Her pink friend exclaimed, but she just hit him on the shoulder, embarrassed. ‘Why would she be? She did an awesome job up there!’
“I can’t believe you’re THAT good,” her cousin told her and she just pouted in return.
Rawbin wanted to go to them but he suddenly felt shy. His anxiety’s starting to heighten too, as there are only two girls left and it will be the boys’ turn.
Letting go of his inhibitions, he stood up to head out of the auditorium. “Hey, where are you going? You’re next!” Al called.
“I’ll be back,” then Rawbin hurried out and went straight to the cafeteria to buy some water. It took him a while though, as he had a hard time finding a bottle that was not cold.
When he came back, the last female auditionee was already singing. Instead of going back to his friend, Rawbin went straight to where Lemon was sitting with her friends and handed her the bottle of water.
“Yay, thanks!” That smile! He felt his knees go weak.
“You did great. I was mesmerized by your voice!” He told her without knowing how he was able to and she immediately blushed.
“That’s a bit overboard!” she giggled.
“Are you auditioning too?” Kellen asked and Rawbin nodded in response.
“But then I suddenly felt nervous when I heard her sing,” he told her, chuckling.
“They’re picking one for each, right?” asked Audrey.
“Yes, but if Lemon gets picked, for sure Rawbin won’t be able to sing if he gets chosen too,” Al butted in. Rawbin didn’t even notice that he’d joined them. “He was already starstruck earlier, what more if they’re singing together,” he added, laughing.
Rawbin wanted to cover his mouth but it was too late. He had already blabbed on him. He heard Lemon let out a low laugh and he was about to say something when he heard his name being called.
“I’m here, Sir!” Then he stood up and raised his hand. He was on his way to the stage when he heard Lemon speak.
“Good luck Rawbin!”
Listening to the man, Lemon realized that he was indeed a singer. She was literally in awe when she heard her voice. She’s not sure though if it’s really because of his voice, but because of how handsome he looked while he was on the stage.
He’s more like a celebrity who graced the auditorium with his presence. As if he performed as an intermission for the audition.
After the last male auditionee, they were given a 5-minute break as they evaluated who would make it to the next round.
After that, the girls who made it were called and Lemon was included. After another round for the boys, they were down to three, and that included Rawbin.
“Okay, gather around,” Mr. Punzalan called. “For the second round, you will be drawing the song you’ll sing. We’ve chosen a couple of songs that the band has already played in the past. You will be given 10 minutes to practice, then Homme here will provide the accompaniment, you’ll sing the acoustic version,” he explained.
After that, those who were chosen from the last round started the draw. Audrey let out a squeal which caught the attention of the other auditionees, as Lemon happened to pick her favorite song.
Lemon scanned through her playlist to find the song and started singing along with it inside her head. But since she cannot concentrate, Lemon decided to go out of the auditorium to practice.
When she stepped out, she found Rawbin there. He’s leaning on the post near the auditorium’s door, with his earphones on. She thinks he’s doing the same, he’s practicing too.
When one of the students passing by tapped his shoulder, Rawbin turned around to greet him and he happened to see Lemon. “Hey!” he called, then he sat down on the floor, right in front of her. “Why are you here?”
“I’m trying to familiarize myself more with the song.”
“Same, I can’t concentrate inside,” he chuckled.
They were both quiet, focused on each other’s business. After a while, the door of the auditorium opened and Kellen showed up.
Her forehead creased when she saw them, followed by a teasing smile. “It’s your turn, Kip’s looking for you,” she informed Lemon.
She quickly stood up and bade Rawbin goodbye, “Break a leg!” he said as she went inside.
Lemon bowed her head to the club adviser as a way to apologize for stalling the audition, then she went up the stage. She showed Homme the piece of paper she had in hand and he nodded at her.
“Good luck,” he whispered, then he started playing.
After singing, Lemon immediately went back to where her friends were. “Why are you with Rawbin outside,” Kellen asked, even before she was able to sit.
“He was already there when I went out. He’s practicing too,” Lemon explained.
“I really think he likes you,” Audrey stated.
“I don’t think so. He’s just being friendly,” she countered.
“You really are the queen of density!” Kale butted in and she chose not to respond.
The audition went on until Lemon was chosen as one of the band’s vocalists. They decided to let the boys do a duet with her to finally decide who to pick. It’s between Rawbin and another grade 10 student.
As they were still undecided after the duets, we were given another 10-minute break which was extended to twenty minutes more. It was then announced that they had chosen Rawbin.
“Congrats!” Lemon smiled as she gave him a high five. After a while, the band joined them, and so were her friends and Rawbin’s teammate.
“Congrats Lemon!” Al said before turning to his friend. “Congrats, dude! I really hope you can sing!” he teased.
Kippler and Kevz glanced at each other after hearing what Al said. It was as if they were asking each other what was going on through their eyes.
“Let’s go eat, it’s already past six anyway,” Kippler announced.
“Are you treating us?” his twin asked.
“Of course, but it’s exclusive to the band,” he teased, and he was hit by Kellen on the arm. “Sure, sure, you guys can join,” he added, and everyone ended up laughing at them.
They went to McDonald’s, not far from the campus. The place was packed and their group was a little loud too.
“Hey! Why are you so quiet?” Rawbin asked. He might have noticed that Lemon only laughs along with them, but she doesn’t really talk too much.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to her too. Sometimes you really have to press the unmute button for her to talk,” Kale commented and the handsome lad chuckled in return.
When the food arrived, Kip started discussing where the band would be performing in the coming months. “So, we have to make sure that we allow enough time for practice, especially the two of you.”
“You think we can start our practice tomorrow? It’s Saturday anyway,” Kevz asked.
“We can do it at home if you want,” Kip suggested, but Kellen was quick to refute him.
“No twin, not at home, Dad’s got visitors tomorrow, remember?”
“Ugh, shoot, I forgot. Then yeah, we can’t do it at home.”
“We can do it at home, that is if we’ll fit in our garage,” Lemon suggested.
“Ah yeah, the garage can definitely accommodate you,” Kale confirmed.
“Let’s do it at Lemon’s place then,” Kip announced.
“Sure! What time will it be?” Roj asked.
“We can start early, around nine maybe? Then we can go on until late in the afternoon. Will that be okay, Lem?” Kip asked and she nodded in agreement.
After the meeting, everyone headed home. She informed her mother of the band’s plan and she agreed with it.
And since she and Kale were still full, they decided to just head straight to bed. It’ll be a long day tomorrow and she needs all the rest she can get.