Choosing America's Next Superstar

by Jeff Erno

  “Jimmy,” Tyler said, “by majority vote, you are in our Top Twenty-four!”

  All of the anxiety and fear that had laid on Jimmy’s chest suddenly was lifted, and with it rose a swell of intense emotion. Tears instantly came to his eyes, and he covered his face with both hands, rocking back and forth in his chair.

  “Thank you! Oh, thank you so much!” he said, half as a prayer and half to the judges.

  Three of the judges were on their feet, and Jimmy stood to meet them, embracing each of them one at a time. He turned to Reuben, thinking he should at least shake his hand, but the man was gone. He’d walked off the set.

  The other judges didn’t seem to care. They continued to congratulate him and slap him on the back. He ran down the hallway, which this time seemed much shorter, and burst through the door. “I made it!” he screamed, and instantly Corey was in his arms.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I LOVE him, and I can’t wait until January to see him!” Corey protested. “I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but I’m going.”

  “Corey, please,” his mother pleaded. “You’re going to California in January, and God knows how long you’ll be gone. That’s only a month and a half away. Why do you want to spend all this money on a trip to Kentucky now?”

  Corey released an exasperated sigh. “It’s only a week. I got the time off work, and I’ll only be missing one day of classes. With the Thanksgiving holiday, there would be no classes after Tuesday.”

  “You realize this will be the very first Thanksgiving that our family hasn’t been together.”

  “That’s not true,” Corey said. “Dad hasn’t been with us for Thanksgiving since I was four. I’m spending Thanksgiving with Jimmy, but I’ll be home for Christmas, and Jimmy’s gonna be here for New Year’s.”

  “Corey, honey, don’t you think you might be rushing things a bit with this boy? You’ve only known him….”

  “For almost two months.”

  “But you only spent two weeks together in New York.”

  “And have talked every single day since, sometimes a dozen times or more per day. Mom, do you wanna tell me what this is really about?” He pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down at the table.

  “I’ve told you—”

  “No, you’ve told me a list of excuses, but there’s something more.”

  “Corey,” she said, tossing her dishrag into the sink and then turning around to face him, “I’d hoped you’d outgrow some of these notions. I just expected… well….”

  “You expected me to meet the right girl and put all this crazy gay stuff behind me? I’d fall head over heels and be swept off my feet, and I’d forget all about the fact that I like boys instead of girls?”

  “Corey, you’re going to be a celebrity now. I don’t think you even realize the implications. Your face is going to be on every television set in the country… maybe the world. You’ll have no privacy, and neither will our family. Do you really want this homosexuality issue to come out?”

  “Mom, I’m gay. That’d be like asking a black contestant if he wanted his race to come out….”

  “You’re being ridiculous,” she said, placing her hands on her hips and shaking her head, infuriated.

  “Look, I already did meet the person of my dreams. I already was swept off my feet. It’s just this person happens to be a boy rather than a girl. I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but I hope you’ll be able to get over it somehow, because Jimmy is going to be in my life a long, long time. I love him! I love him!”

  Tears were streaming down his mother’s cheeks. “I should have known. I should have sensed it… well, actually I did. I knew you were different when you were young. Even before you started school. The signs were all there, but I thought you’d outgrow them.”

  “Mom, what are you talking about?” Corey pushed his chair back and stood up, stepping toward her.

  “I might have been able to get you some help… cure you.”

  At this point it was Corey whose eyes filled with tears. “Mom,” he gasped, “I’m not sick. I don’t need a cure.” He turned and stormed out of the kitchen and out of the house.

  WHEN Corey stepped off the plane in Lexington, his heart was racing with anticipation. He hurried down the terminal corridor toward the security checkpoint, where he knew he’d find Jimmy waiting on the other side. Sure enough, as Corey stepped out of the terminal, there Jimmy was, beaming broadly. Corey rushed into his outstretched arms. “Oh my God, I missed you so much!”

  Jimmy squeezed Corey tightly, pulling him firmly against his hard chest. “Mmm, I missed you too…. Oh, gosh, how I missed ya.” Corey wanted to do so much more than hug him, but restrained himself, and when he finally pulled back from the embrace, Jimmy spun him around to face the boy who was standing beside him.

  “Corey, I’d like you to meet my kid brother. This here’s Charlie. Charlie, this is Corey.”

  “Pleasure to meet ya, Mr. Corey,” he said, nodding.

  Corey grinned and stepped up to him. “I’ve heard a million things about you, Charlie. All wonderful.” He extended his arms and hugged the boy affectionately.

  Charlie was smiling as he looked into Corey’s eyes. “I’ve heard a lot about you too, Mr. Corey,” he said. “You’re all Jimmy can talk about.”

  Corey turned to Jimmy and saw his face was becoming scarlet. “Oh, I bet. He’s probably telling you what a pain in the butt I was in New York.”

  “Yeah, more or less,” Charlie said, laughing.

  “And you really do look a lot like our friend Tristan, the kid who was in New York with us.”

  “That’s funny,” Charlie said. “Jimmy told me about that. Guess it means I have a twin.”

  Although Charlie did bear a striking resemblance to Tristan, he was a couple inches shorter, and his face was a little bit thinner. It was their hair and eyes that made them look so similar. Corey wondered how Tristan was doing after his experience in New York. It was kind of sad that he’d probably never see him again.

  The threesome made their way to baggage claim to retrieve Corey’s luggage, and Charlie pretty much chattered the entire way. They lived in a small town about an hour north of Lexington. The town, Owenton, was about twenty minutes closer to Lexington than it was to Louisville, which was why Jimmy had suggested Corey try flying into that airport. The Lexington airport was also much smaller.

  Charlie was excited about being able to make the hour-long trip with his big brother. He went on about it as if it were a great adventure. Knowing a bit of their family’s history, Corey understood why Charlie appreciated little things like that. He’d spent many weeks—months on end, actually—imprisoned in hospital rooms and his own bedroom, even.

  “Congratulations on winning,” Charlie said to Corey. “I knew Jimmy would. I just knew it all along.”

  “Come on, motormouth,” Jimmy said as he hoisted Corey’s suitcase off the conveyor. He placed it beside him and then picked up a smaller bag, also Corey’s, and handed it to his little brother. “You carry that one.”

  “I can handle the bigger one,” Charlie protested.

  “Didn’t say you couldn’t, but I already got the big one, so just take that one and shut your trap.” He winked at Corey as he lightly slugged his little brother’s arm.

  When they got to the parking lot, Jimmy pointed out his car. “Sorry, it’s not a real classy ride.” It was an older model Dodge Charger.

  “What are you talking about, Jimmy? This baby is sweet. It looks like the General Lee. Remember? From Dukes of Hazzard.”

  “You’ve seen Dukes of Hazzard?” Charlie asked, astonished. “I didn’t think Yankees got that on their TVs.”

  Corey burst out laughing. “Well, do the doors open, or do we have to jump through the windows?”

  Jimmy opened the passenger door for him. “Just ’cause we live in the South don’t mean we’re all rednecks.”

  Corey climbed inside as Jimmy threw the luggage in the trunk. He and Charlie entered the c
ar from the driver’s side, and Charlie slid into the backseat. “I don’t care if y’all wanna kiss,” Charlie said. “It don’t bother me.”

  Corey expected to see Jimmy’s face redden again, but when he looked over at him, he was smiling sweetly. “Okay,” Corey said, then he leaned across the seat and kissed Jimmy squarely on the lips.

  “Just please don’t be making out in public,” Charlie said. “It’s annoying. I hate that, even when straight people do it.”

  “Point taken,” Corey replied. “I agree. So how’d you get to be so cool, Charlie?”

  “You mean ’cause it don’t bother me to see two guys kiss?”

  “Yeah, among other things.”

  “Jimmy says he loves you. He’s my brother, and I want him to be happy, so why would it bother me to see him kiss the person he loves?”

  “Can you please come home with me and talk to my mother?” Corey asked.

  During the weeks following the elimination round, Corey and Jimmy had communicated every single day. They used text messaging, phone calls, and the Internet; but in spite of this steady flow of conversation, they still had a lot to say to each other. Corey told Jimmy about his morning, how he’d gotten Megan to drive him to Traverse City to catch his flight before the break of dawn. He told him how excited he’d been, and that he couldn’t believe he was actually here in Kentucky. All he’d thought about since the day they left New York was being with Jimmy again.

  Both Corey and Jimmy had received a lot of local attention in their hometowns when they returned in September. Everyone had wanted to know how they did in the competition. Although they were not allowed to give specific results, they could say it had gone well and that they’d be going to Hollywood in January.

  People who were fans of the show knew what this meant—that they had made it into the Top Twenty-four. But neither of them were allowed to give interviews to the media, and for the most part they had to return to their normal lives, at least for the three-month period that led up to their trip to Hollywood.

  “You guys do realize you’re gonna be competing against each other,” Charlie pointed out.

  “So?” Jimmy said. “What’s your point?”

  “Well, I dunno. Don’t you think that might be a bit… awkward?”

  “We’re both going to do our best,” Corey said.

  “And we both would be happy to see the other win,” Jimmy said.

  “Speak for yourself!” Corey joked. “No just kidding. Jimmy’s right. I’d be just as happy to see him win as I would be to win myself.”

  “What would really suck is if one of us gets voted off early and the other doesn’t,” Jimmy said.

  “What if you make it all the way to the end and you’re the last two contestants?”

  “That’d be cool,” Corey said.

  “Would it? Think about it,” Charlie said. “It’s something you’ve both dreamed about your whole lives. Then you are almost there… you’ve almost reached that goal. That prize that had always seemed unattainable. It’s right there before your eyes, but the person who snatches it from you is the guy you love the most. I think that’d be really hard.” He was leaning forward, his chin resting on the seat between them.

  “Charlie, you think too much,” Jimmy said. “Of course we’d both like to win, but if you love someone, you’re happy to see them achieve their dreams.”

  “Even if it means you don’t achieve yours?”

  “No matter what happens, I’ll always have my music, and I think just being in this competition is gonna help me. I’m already getting offers to perform all over the place.”

  “Well, I think you got to have the right attitude,” Charlie said. “If you don’t want to win more than anything, you probably won’t. And I think if both of you feel this way, it could be hard….”

  Corey thought about Charlie’s words. In a way, the kid made sense. He did love Jimmy and would be very happy for him if he won the contest, but on the other hand, this had been his dream his whole life. He’d fantasized about being on Superstar long before he’d ever met Jimmy. It would be excruciating if he had to choose between his dream and Jimmy. He was just glad he didn’t. They’d both made it into the Top Twenty-four, and now all they had to do was give their best performances. They both already were winners.

  “Charlie, we’re both winners already. We both want to win the contest, but all we can really do is give it our all. It’s gonna be up to the voters to choose the singer they like best.”

  “So you’re saying that if it did get down to just the two of you, and you were competing only against each other, you wouldn’t be glad if the other made a mistake or screwed up somehow?”

  “No, Charlie,” Jimmy said. He was starting to sound irritated. “Both of us are going to make mistakes. We’re human, and no one is perfect. If Corey happened to mess up his song while competing against me, I’d feel terrible for him. I’d never be happy about something like that.”

  “Well, even when I was in school sports, playing against my best friends, I wanted to win at all costs,” Charlie said. “Maybe it’s just my competitive nature.”

  “I don’t think this is exactly the same thing,” Corey said. “Like I said, we’re both already winners. Regardless of who comes out on top, we’re both likely to benefit from the competition. Sometimes the runners-up have far more successful careers than the person who technically won.”

  “Say what you want,” Charlie replied, “but I just know that even though there is no one on earth that I love more than my big brother, if I were competing against him in a contest, I’d want to win. When it comes to competition, it’s not a matter of love… it’s war.”

  “Well, that’s how you’ve got to think of it,” Jimmy said. “We have competed against each other a lot in our lives. We’ve played games, sports, even made bets with each other. We do both want to win, but in the end, what is more important? Winning or being brothers?”

  Charlie smiled and placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “That’s a dumb question,” he said.

  “Exactly. And your question to us is the same way. Corey and I love each other, and that’s much more important than winning.”

  “Oh,” Charlie said jokingly, “I was gonna say kicking your ass was way more important than being your brother.”

  “I’ll pull this car over,” Jimmy threatened, “and we’ll see who kicks whose butt.”

  “WELCOME to Owenton, population thirteen hundred,” Jimmy said as they passed through the city limits. There wasn’t much to the town itself, but Corey didn’t mind. It made him feel right at home. His northern Michigan town was about the same size, though with a slightly larger population. “Mama’s making lunch for us, but if y’all want to get some snacks for later, we can. I gotta stop here at this gas station.”

  “Doritos!” Charlie declared.

  “Boy, you’re gonna turn into a Dorito,” Jimmy scolded. He winked at Corey. Corey loved the dynamic that existed with Jimmy and his little brother. He wished that he and his sister shared a rapport like that. Lanie and he had been close when they were younger, but not so much anymore.

  As they stepped into the service station, Corey felt like he’d gone back in time. It was not laid out at all like a modern convenience store. Instead it looked like an old mercantile or something. “This is more like a little general store,” Corey observed. “They have everything in here. Sugar and flour. Breakfast cereal. Fresh-made deli subs. Even fishing equipment.”

  “And live bait,” Jimmy added. “This here’s where we buy our worms ’fore we go out fishin’.”

  “Seriously?” Corey said, laughing.

  “Y’all want some soda?” Jimmy asked.

  “Sure,” Corey said. “But when you come to Michigan, we don’t call it soda.”

  “What do y’all call it up there?” Charlie asked, intrigued.

  “Pop,” Corey said.

  The brothers laughed. “That there is what y’all call your daddy in these parts.�
��

  The boys loaded up their arms with a few types of chips and sodas and made their way up to the counter.

  “Afternoon, Mr. Jimmy,” the middle-aged woman behind the counter greeted him. “Charlie.” She nodded toward the younger boy.

  “Afternoon, Miss Evelyn. I’d like you to meet my friend Corey. He’s from Michigan, and he was in that singing competition with me. Remember when I went to New York a few weeks back?”

  “Ah, I sure do. Well, it’s a pleasure to meet ya. You gonna be on TV too like Jimmy here?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Corey said. “We both have to go to California in January for the rest of the competition.”

  “We are so proud of our Jimmy,” Evelyn said. “To think a local boy from our own hometown has made it so far. You know, Jimmy, this whole town is pullin’ for ya. When I see you step foot in my very own store, my heart just a races. I feel like I’m in the presence of greatness.”

  Jimmy was blushing, but he nodded politely at the matronly lady. “Why, thank you, Miss Evelyn. That there means a lot to me, and I feel a bit like I’m in the presence of greatness myself. You run a fine establishment here.”

  “Oh, pfft,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “But thank you, Jimmy. And good luck to both of ya. No offense, Mr. Corey, but I’ll be pulling for Mr. Jimmy.”

  “None taken, ma’am,” Corey said. “I’m pulling for him myself… I mean I’m pulling for both of us.”

  “There ya go,” she said.

  It wasn’t until they’d chatted at least a good ten minutes that Miss Evelyn finally began ringing up their purchases. “Oh, I almost forgot,” Jimmy said. “I need to get some gas. Forty dollars, please.”

  “I just can’t believe how friendly people are here,” Corey said as they got back to the car.

  “It’s called southern hospitality,” Charlie said.

  “It’s a far cry from New York City,” Jimmy added.

  “Well, I like it,” Corey said.

  “If you liked Miss Evelyn, wait’l ya meet Mama. She’ll be kissin’ all over your face,” Charlie warned.