Can't Stop the Shine

  “Oh no,” she said, jerking her hand back in surprise.

  “I don’t sing,” said Shauntae, “but I have other talents.”

  “I’ll bet you do,” said the young man, looking Shauntae up and down. “Look, I’m putting up these posters for Fire Records. They’re having this singing contest, Who’s Got That Fire?, where you can win a record contract.”

  “Yeah, I heard about it. I know two people who are going to enter,” said Mari. “So what’s the deal? Is there a fee or something?”

  “Nope,” said the guy. “You just have to show up at the label on the day before Halloween for prequalification.”

  “Do you work for Fire?” asked Shauntae, moving closer to him. “I see you’ve got all of their gear on. Do they make those shirts in baby Ts?”

  “Oh, y’all like my shirt?” He grinned, spinning around to give them a better look. When he stopped, he was facing Colby. “I can get you one, cutie.”

  “Umm,” said Colby, lowering her head.

  “Well, I want one. It’ll look better on me, don’t you think?” said Shauntae, touching the back of his shoulder. When he turned around, she sucked in her breath to call attention to her shape.

  He took the bait.

  “No need to fight, ladies,” he said, speaking directly to Shauntae’s breasts. “I can get all of you shirts.”

  Mari rolled her eyes. “Ain’t nobody fighting over a T-shirt. What’s your name, anyway?”

  “Sorry, ladies. I should have introduced myself. I’m Sean, and I work on Fire’s street promotions team.”

  “What’s street promotions? What do y’all do?” asked Mari.

  “Right now we’re getting the word out about this contest, talking to people, putting up signs and stuff. That’s kinda what I do—you know, let people know when artists are coming out with a new album or when there’s some kind of special promotion going on like this.”

  “So do you get to meet any of the artists? Do you know Ace or T-Lo or LaToya?” asked Shauntae.

  “Well, I don’t really know them, but I’ve met them a few times at meet and greets and sometimes at store openings and stuff,” said Sean.

  “So when are we gonna get a tour of Fire?” she purred.

  “Umm, I don’t know if I can hook that up, but I’ll see what I can do,” said Sean.

  “I just wanna know how I can make sure my sister wins this contest, ’cause she’s got that fire,” said Mari.

  Both Colby’s and Shauntae’s heads snapped around toward Mari.

  “Kalia is entering this contest?” asked Colby.

  “So you do talk, li’l mama,” said Sean, taking Colby’s hand again, “and you’ve got soft hands.”

  This time Colby didn’t take her hand away, and Shauntae sucked her teeth.

  “Well, I’m going to Lenox. Who’s coming with me?” she asked.

  “So that’s where you ladies are heading off to?” asked Sean, staring down at Colby, who was now looking up into his eyes.

  “Naw. Colby is going to get some pimple-popping stuff for her face.” Shauntae smirked.

  “That’s your name, sweetie? Colby?” asked Sean.

  “Uh, yes,” said Colby, looking down again.

  “You’ve got the prettiest face I’ve ever seen,” said Sean, lifting her head with one finger under her chin.

  “I’m jettin’,” said Shauntae.

  “Actually I’m headed that way, too. We’ve got another promotion going on up there,” said Sean.

  “Ooh, can I catch a ride?”

  “That’s cool, baby,” said Sean, letting go of Colby’s hand and looking at Shauntae’s thick legs. “We can kick it.”

  “Ooh, and you can tell me all about how you got your gig at Fire. I am so interested,” said Shauntae, looping her arm through Sean’s. “What are you driving?”

  “It was nice meeting you, ladies. I’m sure I’ll see you around,” Sean threw over his shoulder as Shauntae dragged him toward the intersection.

  Mari shook her head at their departure.

  “Girl, you’re gonna have to get some game,” she said to Colby. “He was feelin’ you, but you let Shauntae get him.”

  “Oh, he was just being nice,” said Colby, adjusting her glasses.

  “Naw, I think he wanted to kick it to you.”

  “Well, I’ll never win against Shauntae and her body.”

  “And that’s about all she’s got. I don’t know why we keep hanging with her anyway. She ain’t about much.”

  “She’s our friend,” said Colby.

  “She wasn’t acting like a friend to you just then,” said Mari, spying Kalia driving up. “Any fool could see that Sean liked you. She saw it, and she didn’t even care. She threw herself at him anyway.”

  “I guess,” said Colby, looking lost.

  “Come on,” said Mari. “I’ll ask Kalia to drop you off at the store.”

  Kalia was nervous. It had taken her and Mari all week just to pick out what she was going to wear—a cream scoop-neck blouse, some hand-painted jeans she’d scored at an overpriced consignment shop and her brown Steve Madden boots. If she sang Alicia Keys’s “A Woman’s Worth” one more time, she knew that the other students in the practice rooms at Williams were going to ban her from the building, but she had to get it just right. I’m only getting one chance, she thought, standing in the lobby of Fire Records. There were at least two hundred other potential contestants there for Who’s Got That Fire? Some looked so professional with their throats wrapped in scarves, drinking hot lemon water and doing vocal exercises. Kalia remembered that she knew those exercises, too. She challenged herself not to be nervous. At the moment, she wished she hadn’t exerted her independence. She wished that someone was there in her corner. Dewayne would be great. Even Mari would do.

  The Lord must have been listening, because she got what she asked for. In walked her sister with Colby and Shauntae. Kalia tried to hide behind a column, but Shauntae spotted her immediately and ran over.

  “Girl, I’m so excited for you!” she screamed. “If you win you’re going to blow up!”

  “What do you mean ‘if’?” asked Mari. “She is going to win. Okay?”

  “Yeah. Good luck, Kalia. I hope you win,” said Colby.

  “She doesn’t need luck,” insisted Mari. “She’s got talent, and that’s all she needs.”

  “What are y’all nuts doing here?” asked Kalia.

  “We came to, uh, give you some support,” said Shauntae, looking at a well-built young man standing nearby.

  “I see,” said Kalia, eyeing Shauntae.

  “No, for real,” said Colby. “We came to be in your corner. We can be your cheering section.”

  Kalia’s cell phone beeped, and after she spent way too long trying to check her messages, Mari snatched it from her.

  “You’ve got a text message, silly,” she told her sister, punching buttons on the phone. “It’s from Dewayne. Wanna see?”

  Kalia peered at the phone. “Aw, he’s wishing me good luck. That’s great.”

  “See, Kalia. Just relax. We all know you got this,” said Mari.

  “Well, thanks for coming, but I really gotta get my head together. Look at all these people here,” Kalia said, looking around.

  “Don’t think about them,” said Mari. “It looks like it’s going to be a long wait, so we’re going to keep you company.”

  “Ooh, girl, do you think we’re gonna see that fine Sean? I haven’t talked to him since we hung out at Lenox. We had a good-ass time, too, and he bought me something to eat.”

  “What? A slice of pizza?” asked Mari, joining many of the other contestants sitting on the floor.

  “No. Well yes. California Pizza Kitchen. It was pizza, but it was more than a slice,” protested Shauntae.

  “Umm, hmm,” said Mari, watching Kalia, who was off in a corner humming to herself.

  They sat on the floor for at least half an hour before the first singer was called. A tall, shapely young woma
n, wearing the short and tight outfit of a video girl, stepped from behind a red suede door and called one name after another. In the next hour they saw all ranges of emotions. Singers tripped in nervous and came out with big smiles on their faces. Others strutted in with the confidence of experienced performers, only to be wiping tears away when they came out twenty minutes later. Some just sauntered away like auditioning was something they did every day. When Kalia’s name was called, she just froze—like a deer caught in headlights. Mari, Shauntae and Colby had to walk her to the door, all the while whispering to her that she was the best singer in the place.

  It was going to take more than her sister to convince her of that, Kalia thought as she followed the video girl down a long hall lined with encased silver plaques touting the gold and multiplatinum successes of Fire Records. When they arrived at their destination, the video girl opened an oversized blue suede door and motioned for her to go through.

  As Kalia entered the massive room, the spotlights directed at her gave her pause. It took her a minute to get adjusted, then she saw a microphone in front of her and instinctively stepped forward.

  “Hello, Kaaah-liii-aaaah,” a voice boomed from some direction she couldn’t quite ascertain.

  “Hi,” she squeaked out.

  “Are you ready? Are you warmed up?”

  Kalia was now able to make out three shapes of who she figured were a panel of judges in a glass-enclosed booth about a hundred feet away. When she saw the edge of the stage she was on, her hands started sweating. It would be just her luck to fall off.

  “Miss Jefferson? Are you ready?” the voice asked again.

  “Oh yes,” said Kalia, snapping back to reality. Pay attention, she said to herself. This is it. Don’t blow it. “Yes,” she said again in a much stronger voice. “I’m definitely ready.”

  “Okay, great,” said a woman’s voice this time. “So, Kalia, have you got that fire?”

  “Absolutely,” she said, grabbing the base of the mic to steel her nervousness. Her sweaty hands slipped up and down the stand.

  “Tell us why you think you’ve got that fire,” said yet a third voice.

  Unprepared for an interview, Kalia was happy she was quick on her feet and that one of the few TV shows she’d allowed herself to get addicted to in the past year was American Idol.

  “I know that I’ve got a gift that should be shared with the world,” she started, letting go of the mic. “I’ve been singing and playing the piano since I was five years old, and I’ve known since then that being a creator—a performer—is all that I’ve ever wanted to do. I’m a talented person, and I want to use my gifts to make people feel something—happiness, sadness, some kind of emotion. I know I can do it, and when I finish you’ll know it, too.”

  “Well, all righty then, Kalia,” said the woman. “What are you going to sing for us today?”

  “I’m going to do ‘A Woman’s Worth’ by Alicia Keys.”

  She jumped when all of the sudden she heard the first few chords of the song coming from a piano not thirty feet from her. She hadn’t even noticed the person sitting at the piano.

  “Start when you’re ready, Kalia,” said the third person’s voice. “Dennis will come right in.”

  Kalia closed her eyes, flexed her hands and thought three words—Help me, Lord. She then gave it up. Zoned out. Became one with her talent. When she opened her mouth, it was like she was singing in one of the practice studios at Williams. She didn’t open her eyes until she got to the chorus, but by that time she was into it. She was handling every note like she’d been born to sing that song and that song only. Rocking and rolling with it, she had to place her hands on her hips then stretch them toward the sky to get all of the notes. She enjoyed this performance, and she nailed it. Instead of bellowing out an American Idol ending, she tapered off to a delicate, beautiful finish. She stepped back from the mic, spent.

  “Thank you, Kalia,” boomed the first voice. “Good luck.”

  Meanwhile, back in the lobby, just as Kalia had disappeared behind the red suede door with the video girl, Asha walked into Fire Records’ lobby. She was stunning in a nearly sheer multilayered fire-engine red top and hip-huggers. The cropped jeans showed off some bloodred eel-skinned stiletto boots. Asha’s hair was purposely tousled, and a huge red flower was affixed to the right side. Red lips, red dangly earrings, a million silver bracelets and black face-masking sunshades all gave Asha a star appearance. As she made her entrance, people moved aside like she was Moses parting the Red Sea.

  “Look at her,” Mari said, huffing.

  “Who’s that? I dig those boots,” said Shauntae.

  “This girl from my school.”

  “She’s in high school?” asked Colby.

  “Umm, hmm, and she can sing, too,” said Mari.

  “Well, she certainly looks like she can do something,” said Shauntae.

  “She ain’t no competition for my sister,” said Mari.

  “Says who?” interrupted a male voice.

  Mari, Colby and Shauntae looked up to see Sean standing above them. Shauntae jumped up.

  “Heeeey, Sean. I was hoping I’d see you,” she said.

  “Well, here I be. What’s up, ladies?” said Sean, then turned to Mari. “I guess you’re here to support your sister?”

  “Yep. She’s in there right now, probably blowing the house down,” said Mari.

  “Well, I hope so ’cause there sure is some competition up in here,” he said.

  “So I guess it’s too busy to get that tour today, huh, Sean?” said Shauntae.

  “Well, yeah, it is kinda tight today, and I already promised someone a private tour today,” he said, turning to Colby, holding out his hand to her. “We can go right now, if you want to.”

  “When did y’all talk?” demanded Shauntae.

  “When we went to the movies last weekend,” he said, pulling a smiling Colby up by both hands. “How are you, Miss Gresham?”

  “Lovely, Mr. Turner,” said Colby, holding Sean’s hand.

  “She can’t even date yet,” said Shauntae. “Her grandparents won’t let her go anywhere.”

  “Why do you care?” said Colby. “We went out, and that’s that.”

  “Humph. Whatever,” said Shauntae, sitting back down.

  “Did you know about them, Mari?” asked Shauntae.

  “Uh…well, yes.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “’Cause Colby asked me not to. Besides, I wasn’t paying either of you too much attention last week. I was studying ridiculously hard for my midterms—which I did fabulous on, might I add.”

  “You are such a nerd. And Colby, that backstabbing trick…I can’t believe she stole my man,” said Shauntae, getting loud.

  “You’re trippin’, Shauntae. Stop hatin’. Sean wasn’t your man, and anyway, if I’m a nerd and Colby’s a trick, why do you hang out with us?”

  “Just shut up, Mari,” said Shauntae, rising to her feet. “Shut your ass up,” she screamed and raced to the exit door.

  It was 11:45 a.m., and all of Williams High was scheming about how to be near a radio in fifteen minutes. Today Hot 103.5 was set to announce the top twenty contestants who made the cut. Kalia was sitting in her Spanish 3 class hoping she could get out early. She had a plan. She was going to her car and get the news by herself, that way if she wasn’t chosen, she could just drive off into oblivion. The 11:50 bell rang, and she flew down the hall and up the stairs to her car. She’d just punched Hot 103.5 when Dewayne popped into the passenger side.

  “Damn! If I’d just locked my door,” she said.

  “See what happens when you don’t listen to me?” he said.

  “How did you know I was going to be here?”

  “Uh…how long have I known you?”

  Kalia rolled her eyes and turned up the radio.

  “Are you nervous?”

  “What do you think, fool?” she asked, punching Dewayne in the arm.

  “Don’t ab
use the Chosen One,” he said. “I may have to throw some of my superpowers on you.”

  “Like what? You’re going to…shh shh shh, it’s coming on,” she said, gripping the sides of her seat.

  They heard the familiar Who’s Got That Fire? song that had been playing for weeks every time Hot 103.5 was going to make an announcement about the contest. Usually Kalia would sing along, but today she had cotton mouth.

  “All right, y’all…hundreds of people showed up to audition for Fire Records’ Who’s Got That Fire? contest, and now it’s time to tell y’all who made it to the top 20, who’s going to be in the first competition in December. So we’ve got JD, a hot new artist signed by Fire to give us the low on who made the cut. What’s up, man?”

  Kalia threw her head back and hands up. She could care less about this JD, but she didn’t speak a word in case he said her name. When Dewayne opened his mouth to speak, she pinched his arm so hard that his lips snapped shut.

  As JD shouted out everyone from his barber to his grandmama, Kalia rocked her head back and forth against her seat in agony. Dewayne chuckled at his impatient friend.

  Kalia thought she would die. Why didn’t they just read the names and stop torturing her? If she ever met JD or that silly Cool Mike, she was going to clock them both. Dewayne looked at the frustration on Kalia’s face and held her hand tight.

  “So you’ve got the list, man? The list of the top 20?”

  “I got it right here, dog.”

  “Okay…drum roll please…”

  Chapter

  6

  In her haze, Kalia thought she heard a phone ringing. After a few jingles, she realized it was her cell phone. I really need to use my phone more, she thought, fumbling around in her bag for it.

  “Hello,” she said, still dazed.

  “CONGRATULATIONS,” screamed Mari from the other end. “We’re gonna be rich.”

  “Thanks, Mari.” Kalia couldn’t help but grin.

  “So how do you feel? What was it like to hear your name on the radio? Aren’t you excited?”

  “It was just unbelievable,” said Kalia, leaning back in her car seat. “I just don’t know how to feel. I’m really happy.”