Hit That Note

Chapter 7



As Breanna walked back to their dorms, the scene in the practice room kept replaying itself in her mind. Her stumbling during their song, Brandon interrupting, Nick storming off. Nick. I have to find him and explain. It was time for dinner so she made her way to the caf, quickly noticing Russ, Ryan, Nick and Reena sitting at a round table. She took a deep breath and approached the group.
    “Hey.”
The table became quiet as Ryan replied, “Hey, you can join us if you want.” Meanwhile Nick slowly stood up from the table.
    “I’ll catch you guys later. I’m not feeling hungry,” and, putting his hood on, slowly walked out of the cafeteria. This can’t be happening. Why?
    “I…” she began.
    “Don’t worry about it,” Russ spoke calmly, “Go talk to him. We won’t mind.”
    “Thank you,” Breanna ran and scanned the corridors. There he is.
    “Nick! Wait!” He stopped and turned. His face showing no expression.
    “Listen,” Breanna prepared to explain, “There was no party and I barely know Brandon. This academy means a lot to me and I wouldn’t give it up for anything. I’m sorry if I made you think otherwise or brought our band down.”
Nick smiled and Breanna felt strangely awkward. Suddenly noticing there was no one in the hallway except for them.
    “I owe you an apology too.” Nick looked down at his feet. “I came to a conclusion too fast. I don’t know what made me act that way…Or maybe I do.” He looked up. “Hey, how about we go hang out with the whole band at a local restaurant today. My treat.”
Breanna felt a smile spread across her face but in a split second, it was gone. Oh no, The Hits. My chance to figure out who Brandon really is.
    “Uh, Brea. Something wrong?”
    “I’m so sorry…I can’t go today…Someone already asked…” As soon as she said it, she realized how lame her reply sounded. Someone already asked? What do I expect him to think?
    “It’s alright. Don’t worry about it,” Nick turned, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Breanna watched his silhouette disappear across the hall and leaned against the wall. She felt a sudden urge to cry. What did I get myself into? But she knew it was too late. Ten o’clock was slowly approaching and Breanna made her way back to the dorms to get ready.


Dressed in a red spaghetti strap top and jeans, Breanna saw Brandon waiting for her outside the door.
    “How did you know I’ll come?” she asked.
    “I felt it,” he winked.
    “Brandon, can I ask you something before we go?”
    “Sure.”
    “I know this might sound stupid but…Every time we talk…We barely know each other and I feel like you sort of read my thoughts or know what I’m about to say…I don’t know.”
    “I know what you mean,” he laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not a mind reader. I just make guesses according to your actions.” How?
    “How do I know? I could tell. Like right now for instance. Before you were going to ask me how, your face showed confusion. A sign of what you’re about to say. I hope you get what I’m saying.”
    Breanna wasn’t convinced but couldn’t think of a better explanation. “That’s amazing.”
They were walking through familiar hallways.
    “Almost there,” said Brandon and stopped. “Listen,” he looked at her and paused before continuing, “I know you didn’t trust me from the day we met and I don’t expect you to. But…When I apologized for whatever I said or did, I meant it.” Breanna was wondered whether he was saying the truth or lying. Why would he lie? I don’t know what to think anymore. “Once again, you don’t owe me anything. I’m just saying.” He shrugged and knocked on the door.
    The same girl she’s seen before slowly opened the door and smiled at Breanna.
    “Welcome to The Hits.”


Chapter 8


The interior of the room remained identical to how it was the day before. Except the room was deserted with no one in sight except for the three of them.
    “I’m glad you came. We didn’t get introduced earlier. My name’s Ness.”
Breanna sat down at a nearby chair.
    “I’m Breanna…So this is a meeting? Where’s everyone?”
    “They’ll arrive soon. Before they do, I have to explain something to you and I don’t think we have much time. Where should I start? I guess I’ll begin with explaining what The Hits is.” Ness glanced at Brandon who slowly took a seat beside Breanna and silently nodded.
    “The Hits is a band,” she paused, “Each year there’s a huge city concert with no rules. All you need is creativity and, obviously, a bunch of amazing musicians. Now Brandon here is our Seeker. He can…know when talent’s around. And, to cut to the chase, this is why you’re here.” Brandon coughed and gave Ness a sharp look. This has to go right, he thought. Breanna was too eager to find out the rest to notice their exchange of glances. “Each year we need fresh minds and talents. Now you might guess what the next question for you will be. It’s your choice whether you want to join it or not but a competition like this one is nothing anyone outside has ever seen before.”
    “If this competition is so big, why doesn’t anyone know about it? It would’ve been on the news or something. That doesn’t make sense,” Breanna asked with interest, “People would notice or at least hear the music?”
    Ness smiled and her eyes seemed to be sparkling.
    “How could anyone hear something that’s 20 m below your feet?”

Brandon listened to Ness while she explained everything to Breanna. Not everything. Isn’t she going to explain? He looked meaningfully at Ness once again waiting for her to mention the most significant part of the concert. But she, with no surprise, ignored him. He glanced beside at Breanna. She was attentively listening with curiosity. I wish I could tell her.
    “If this is just a concert,” Breanna leaned back, “What do you get out of it?”
    “Experience, acknowledgment, and look at that wall,” she pointed to a large bulletin board displaying countless images of famous and unknown bands, “They were all part of it. Many of them before they got famous. So you see, it’s not just a concert. It’s a chance to shine.” She walked across the room and stared dreamily at the board before turning. “So are you in?”
Brandon stood up and took a step towards Ness.
    “Who’s in the Hits?” Breanna questioned.
    “We were waiting for you to ask,” Ness nodded to Brandon and he reluctantly walked over to a door which Breanna haven’t noticed before. She heard him say “She’s in.”
A small number of people began to pile out of the room. The first to exit was a skinny dark-haired guy whose face was covered by curly hair.
    “Hey, I’m Mag.”
Another guy entered and ran a hand through his blonde streaks, “What’s up? I’m Al.” Breanna nodded and watched the last male close the door behind him. His face was covered from the poor lighting in the room. Slowly he lowered his hood and Brandon heard Breanna’s intake of breath.
    “Nick?”

Chapter 9


    For a second Breanna thought Nick was faintly surprised to see her there, but this feeling was gone as he spoke in an indefinite voice.
    “Hey, Brea.” And that was it. Not a single word was spoken between them while they listened to Ness explain the details of the upcoming concert, Bands on Rise. When the short discussion was over, Breanna asked one last question.
    “So when is this concert?”
    Ness looked closely at each band member and spoke, “Bands on Rise consists of two parts. The opening and the closing. It’s already the second week of you being here and we only have four weeks in total. The opening will be on Sunday next week while the date of the closing will be revealed later on. We’ll hold another meeting soon to begin creating our music. Meeting’s done.” Everyone slowly stood up and began heading for the door except for Nick, Brandon, and Ness. Breanna felt the urge to ask him how he ended up joining this band but decided he’d tell her when the time was right. She followed Al and Mag outside and they were quickly lost in conversation.

    Back in the meeting room, Nick watched Breanna close the door behind her. He felt guilty for believing she could drop their band to hang out with Brandon. Bands on Rise was the reason for the confusion and now he was a part of it. Brandon had approached him the day before and invited him to this meeting. Nick agreed without hesitation, in the hopes of finding out whether Brandon was trustworthy.
    Ness flopped down on the couch and carefully looked at Nick who was standing near the door. It seemed as if her stern look had disappeared, quickly replaced by fatigue. Did she just blush? He decided his eyes were playing tricks on him and for the first time, she actually resembled a simple carefree teenage girl.
    “Why’d you stay back?” Ness took off her shoes and raised her feet onto the couch while Brandon got a can of soda from a nearby table. Nick was quick to notice the countless glances the two teenagers traded throughout the entire meeting.
    “I have a few questions for you,” he noticed Brandon take a seat beside Ness, “This concert, Bands on Rise, who’s organizing it?” He didn’t take his eyes off Ness, carefully waiting for an answer.
    “There are many organizations in charge, too many to list on the spot. Overall, it’s sponsored by various producers.”
    “How about advertisements? Billboards? Why would anyone want to keep such a huge event on the low.”
    “This concert wasn’t created for profit. It’s to allow bands to show their talents. Not everything in this world is meant for gain.”
Fair enough, thought Nick, although he was sure the entire explanation wasn’t true. He stood up, nodded to the two teenagers on the couch and walked out of the room.

    Brandon glanced at Ness and shook his head.
    “You never fail to surprise me.”
Ness laughed, “In what way?”
    “Lying to that guy with such an innocent look on your face. And don’t pretend the blush was fake too.”
    “Blush?” Ness opened her mouth to argue but instantly closed it. “Whatever. I hate lying but I had to.”
    “You were never concerned about lying before this. Is it my turn to laugh now?”
    “Cut it out. He’s my band member. This is business.”
    “I know you better than you think I do,” he threw his empty soda can into the trash bin on the other side of the room. It missed and landed on the floor with a ringing sound.
    “If you know me that well, then no point of discussing this.”
    “Ok, but I thought you’d want to know he’s after Breanna.”
Ness swiftly looked at Brandon and gave him a dirty look.
    “Change. Of. Topic.”
    “Fine,” he laughed, “By the way, nice cover-up. ‘many organizations in charge, too many to list on the spot’. You’re brilliant.”
    “That guy’s smarter than I thought. He’s the only one to ask serious questions. For a second, I had no answer.”
    “Wait till he finds out no one’s organizing this concert and the police could arrest us all if they find out. Not to mention the fact that it’s held at an abandoned subway station.”
Ness punched him on the shoulder and quickly stood up.
    “Be careful with what you say,” she whispered, “They’ll never agree to this if they know.”
    “Cut it out, Ness. No one’s going to hear us.”
    “In this case, you should be paranoid too. Especially since you’re leading all of this.”
    Brandon raised himself with confidence from the sofa and Ness couldn’t help but feel extremely small. He smiled.
    “You’re doing an extremely great job of making it seem as if this was all your idea. Keep doing it. I should seem an insignificant character in this for everything to work out. I care about this going right as much as you.”
    “You care about her.” Ness couldn’t tell if what she’d said made Brandon feel irritated or not. He bent over to pick up his soda can from the floor and gently dropped it away without saying anything. Only before leaving did he answer her statement in a quiet voice only for her to hear.
    “I do care about her but I might as well throw my feelings into the trash bin. As you said, this is business.”
    They silently looked at each other and were too lost in thought to notice the door slowly close without a sound or to hear gentle footsteps hurriedly fade away across the hall.


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