by Oli White
I turned to Pete, who was about to head back out to the sound desk, ready for the show. ‘Pete, Shania, thank you so much for all your help: getting us into the building, and the mics, and making sure Ethan was where we needed him to be … everything. And Glen, we couldn’t have done this without you, mate.’
Glen did a quick twirl. ‘Don’t mention it, babes. As I said, it was as much my career at stake as it was yours, and I thank you, too. I just can’t believe how far down the line Ethan got with it all.’
Olympia stepped forward, clearly back in control again. ‘Look, this is all very lovely, but I really need you to get out and speak to the audience, Glen. And Jack, you need to go and get ready. We’ve got less than ten minutes, people.’
‘Look at him, he’s dying to get back up there,’ Glen said, waving his arm around my head. ‘Go on! Go and get your party frock on, Cinderella.’
‘Yeah, quick march, Penman, we’ve got a show to do,’ Ella said.
‘This is brilliant,’ Austin said, smiling. ‘Just as it should be.’
It was the first time I’d seen him smile like that in ages – just like his old self, in fact.
As soon as Glen had made the announcement about the dramatic change in line-up, the audience’s excitement shot up another few notches, if that was even possible. It was as if they’d been watching some reality TV show or soap opera up on the screen, witnessing Ethan at his worst, and now they were all gagging for the happy ending. They weren’t the only ones. The other members of the GenNext team dashed to their various posts in the sound and vision galleries in the huge broadcast trucks outside the building, where they’d be controlling and directing the broadcast along with the camera director. Meanwhile, Ella and I waited in the wings for the show to kick off. The chants of ‘JACK AND ELLA!’ accompanied by a thousand people stamping their feet reverberated around the building until it felt like the very foundations were shaking. It was completely insane, and I could feel the nerves kicking in as each second ticked by. Behind us, the three final acts, Ace Love, The Makers and The Getaway, were all geared up and ready to hit the stage. It struck me that once all the Ethan stuff got out, Emerge was going to be the most talked-about TV show of the month. Well, as Sai said, all publicity is good publicity … and hopefully it would be an amazing platform for whichever act ultimately won.
‘Are you OK?’ Ella said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
‘Yeah, I’m OK. I’m great, actually,’ I said, realising that it was true. ‘What about you?’
‘I think I’m just about coming back down to earth at last,’ she said.
‘You really were brilliant, you know,’ I said. ‘I’m just so glad it’s all over.’
‘And I’m glad we got through it together,’ Ella said, grabbing my hand. ‘We make a pretty good team, you and me.’
‘And Lewis,’ I laughed.
‘Yeah, and Lewis.’
Suddenly Shania appeared beside us. ‘OK, guys, sixty seconds.’
Emerge was about to go live, and yet my head was still spinning. How did I even get here? How did I get from that messy hotel room a couple of hours ago, feeling like I’d lost everything, to this moment and this stage? It was mad, but there was no time to process it now … we were on any second.
‘I haven’t even looked at a bloody script,’ I said, turning to Ella.
‘Just follow my lead,’ she said. ‘And for the rest of it, you can fly by the seat of your Calvin Kleins. You’ve always been good at that.’
‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘But Ethan did quite a number on my confidence, you know. I hope I haven’t lost it.’
‘You haven’t lost it,’ Ella smiled. ‘No way.’
This was live TV, though. There was no retake if you got it wrong, no second chance. Once that sixty-second countdown finished, there was no going back. From then on, the show would be a blur of intros, performances, lightning-speed set changes – and at the centre of it would be Ella and me, holding it all together in front of an audience of millions. So exciting. So utterly terrifying.
Without warning, there was a voice in my earpiece.
‘OK, here we go. Five, four, three, two, one …’
An explosion of sound signalled the opening titles, and Ella and I stepped out onto the stage, hand in hand, with the audience taking the roof off. As I headed to my marked position, clutching my mic, I spotted Suki and Lily, standing up in the front row of the audience, yelling and cheering with the rest of the screaming crowd. I thought about Mum and Dad, proudly watching at home on the sofa, and suddenly, it was OK. I was home. I was about to do what I loved doing, what I did best, on a massive scale … and at that moment, the spectre of Ethan Harper evaporated. He’d left the building. Gone.
‘Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the live final of Emerge 2017! I’m Ella Foster …’
‘… and I’m Jack Penman …’
‘And we are … GenNext!’
THE WINNER
‘And now, finally, people … give it up for the winner of Emerge 2017, the incredible … ACE LOVE!’
Ella and I tore off the stage amidst an explosion of pyrotechnics as Ace arrived with her three-piece band, all set to kick off her three-song showcase performance to the venue’s thousand-strong audience, who were going nuts, plus the millions of viewers watching live on GenNext and Channel 4. It was over. We’d done it!
‘Oh my God, that was just unbelievable,’ Ella said, as we fell breathlessly into the wings.
‘It seemed like the whole show lasted about two minutes rather than ninety,’ I laughed. ‘Did I even say everything I was supposed to say?’
Olympia was waiting for us as we stepped out into the corridor. ‘Trust me, Jack, you were one hundred per cent professional up there. You both were.’
‘Really?’
‘Really,’ she said, with a huge smile. ‘Your delivery and energy was spot on. And if the frenzied text messages AJ was getting from Sai are anything to go by, the viewers agreed. We won’t know the official viewing figures until tomorrow, but social media has gone ballistic; it’s exactly what we all wanted it to be. Well done, guys!’
As we headed down the corridor to watch Ace’s performance on the big screen set up in the green room, AJ appeared from one of the dressing rooms, brandishing a glass of something fizzy.
‘Ella! Jack! Just brilliant!’ he beamed. ‘I’m so, so proud. The two of you were fantastic up there.’ I couldn’t remember ever seeing AJ this excited; he was usually the epitome of cool while we were all jumping up and down, going crazy.
‘Cheers, AJ,’ Ella said. She was still grinning from ear to ear – both of us were on a major high.
The green room looked smaller now it was so much busier: full of wardrobe and make-up people, their jobs done for the night, plus assorted members of the production team and various Owl TV and Channel 4 bigwigs. As Ella and I squeezed inside, the crowd whooped and clapped, congratulating us on how well the show had gone. I put my arm around Ella’s waist and we both smiled and nodded at everyone, while I scanned the room for Ava, Sai and Austin. They weren’t there, so I figured they were still outside in the broadcast trucks, making sure everything went smoothly during Ace’s set, which was now launching into its second song.
‘Jack! Ella!’ A young guy wearing a bad tank top suddenly shoved a recording device in my face. ‘I’m Jake from Radar Online. Can you tell us what happened between you and Ethan Harper today? Is it true that he was trying to push you out of GenNext? Ella, is it true you were at the centre of the animosity between Jack and Ethan?’
‘Sorry, buddy,’ I said, gently pushing the recorder sideways and out of my face. ‘We really aren’t talking to anyone about this right now.’
‘Yeah, tonight’s all about the show and Ace Love,’ Ella said.
‘But there’s so much speculation about Ethan out there already,’ Jake carried on, following us as we headed to the table where drinks were being served. Jeez, this guy was persistent. ‘Don’t you want to set th
e record straight? Don’t you owe it to your audience?’
‘Right now, I just want to drink something cold,’ I said. ‘Later, dude!’ Ella and I left Jake standing in the middle of the room, mouth opening and shutting like a fish.
Once we’d grabbed a drink each, Ella and I quickly located Lewis and dragged him over to the least-populated corner of the room, from where we could watch the rest of Ace’s performance on the screen. I for one was extremely happy she’d won the competition. For a girl who’d once found herself homeless, to get to where she was now was nothing short of brilliant.
Lewis turned to me and gave my arm a gentle punch. ‘Dude, this is perfect!’ he said. ‘This girl is so good! I’m happy that I’m here to see this, man.’
‘And I’m really glad to have you here,’ I said, returning the friendly punch.
As the last rattle of drums and guitars subsided and the audience erupted once more, the rest of the GenNext crew bounded into the green room. Sai’s hands were raised above his head in a triumphant double fist-pump, and Ava and Austin were beaming, looking knackered but happy. After they’d all grabbed drinks they came over to join us, dancing through the throng in a makeshift conga line and waving their hands in the air in celebration.
‘So, how was it for you guys?’ Ava asked, clinking her glass against mine. ‘It looked like you were having a pretty amazing time up there.’
‘Oh yeah,’ Ella laughed. ‘We most definitely were … at least, what I can remember of it. With the lights and the adrenalin and trying to remember where I was supposed to be every second, it was all a bit of a blur.’
‘Yep. We’re definitely going to have to watch it back later, just to figure out what the hell was actually going on,’ I said.
‘I’m so impressed,’ Lewis said, putting his hand on my shoulder. ‘I might be able to ride a ten-foot beach break, but in a million years I couldn’t do what you just did out there, bro. You’ve got some pretty decent TV presenting skills going on.’
‘Hey, don’t forget that I wouldn’t have been doing it at all if it wasn’t for you,’ I said. ‘You did so much for us today, Lewis, and for that I will forever be grateful.’
‘Don’t mention it, dude,’ he said with a grin.
‘You guys were sick up there,’ Sai said. ‘I’ve never felt a buzz like it.’
‘You’re not kidding; it was incredible,’ Austin said. He looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘I think I might even be ready to try a bit of on-camera presenting myself sometime soon.’
Our mouths fell open in unison. ‘A-man! You, presenting?’ I said. ‘Now that would be phenomenal – and I think we need to make it happen as soon as humanly possible.’
‘Jack! Ella! Guys!’ Olympia arrived at our spot in the corner, along with AJ and Glen. ‘Guess what – Emerge has gone down an absolute storm in the broadcasting world. Channel 4 are over the moon and the American channel were on the blower before the first commercial break, gagging to set up a meeting, and they didn’t seem to have a problem when I explained the sudden departure of Ethan, either.’
‘Music to my ears, Olympia,’ AJ said, raising his glass.
‘That’s brilliant!’ Ella smiled. ‘As long as we can have the lovely Glen as our director, of course.’
‘Well, remember that I’m hot property, Ella darling,’ Glen said, winking. ‘Now I’m free and clear of all criminal charges, I’ll be able to accept the offer I had to work on a big historical drama for the BBC, with bonnets and everything. Rest assured, though, I’ll always make time for GenNext … and especially for this one.’
He nodded in my direction and Sai whispered to me and Ava, ‘He still wants you, Jack. You know that, don’t you?’
Ava burst out laughing at Sai’s comment, but then stopped suddenly, her eyes widening. I followed her gaze across the room until it landed on Suki, heading toward us with Lily in tow. Sai opened his arms and Lily gave him a huge squeeze.
‘Hello, beautiful,’ he said.
Lily looked up him. ‘I’m so proud of you, Sai.’
For a moment, Ava and Suki just stood looking at each other, smiling shyly.
‘I’m so proud of you, too, Ava,’ Suki said. ‘I’m so proud of all of you.’
To my surprise, Ava leaned forward and planted a tender kiss on Suki’s cheek, her eyes shining.
Suki looked bemused for a moment, then broke into a smile. ‘So what did I do to deserve that?’
‘Well, you’ve put up with me being a paranoid nutter for the last few months, so I’d say that was enough,’ Ava said.
Suki’s expression was suddenly serious. ‘So … so, what are you saying, Ava?’
‘What I’m saying is I’ve realised that although you have this super-cool lifestyle and you know absolutely everyone, it’s not something I need to feel threatened by,’ Ava said, her cheeks turning pink. ‘And that I’m so, so sorry for letting my insecurities get in the way of this amazing thing we have, and I’m ready to just get over myself and … and start again.’
‘Really?’ Suki’s face lit up.
‘Really,’ Ava nodded. ‘All this stuff with Ethan has opened my eyes to what’s really important, and who’s really important. So … if you’re not involved with anyone else …’ Her eyes flicked across to Olympia, who was chatting with AJ and Lewis, oblivious to the whole conversation, ‘then I’d really like to give us another try. If you’ll have me.’
‘You do know that Olympia and I are just friends, don’t you?’ Suki said.
I couldn’t help butting in. ‘See, I told you!’
Ava threw me a dirty look. ‘Mind your own business, Penman. And yes, I do know that, Suki. I’m so sorry that I jumped to conclusions before.’
‘Well then … luckily I am still willing to have you, as you so beautifully put it,’ Suki said, grinning. ‘And if you’re willing to make this work, then I am, too.’
I was about to throw my arms around both of them and congratulate them for finally coming to their senses, but before I could, Ava stepped forward and embraced Suki tenderly. When she pulled away again, I could see that both of them had happy tears in their eyes.
Sai, Ella, Austin and I all looked at one another and then backed away slowly, giving them their moment.
As the party swirled around us, getting noisier and more exuberant by the second, my phone pinged with a WhatsApp.
Just as I put my phone away, smiling to myself, Ace Love finally stepped into the green room to a rousing, heartfelt cheer, and I watched as all the press people dived across the room to catch the first post-show interview with the new star. She looked amazingly happy and proud – and so she should. Ace had come out on top. She was the winner. She had every right to be on top of the world … and she wasn’t the only one. As I looked around at all my friends, seeing just how incredibly happy everyone seemed, I realised how amazing it was to have come through the nightmare of the last week, and for GenNext – for all of us – to have done something so monumental. It felt utterly brilliant.
THE BEGINNING
The doorbell rang just as I stepped out of my bedroom door: showered, shaved and smelling up the hall with the ridiculously expensive cologne that Olympia had very kindly sent me that week by way of a thank you. Yes! It was good to be back home at Mum and Dad’s after everything that had happened, but weirdly, it felt like a lifetime since I’d last been there rather than just a few weeks – everything had changed so much. Or maybe it hadn’t. Maybe it was just me that had changed.
‘I’ll get it, Mum,’ I yelled, coming down the stairs. ‘I think it’s Ella.’
Swinging the front door open, I was faced not just with Ella, but AJ, Ava, Suki, Sai, Lily and Austin too, armed with a myriad of bottles, bags and plastic containers.
‘Oh, you came en masse,’ I said, ushering them in. ‘Mother’s going to freak because the food’s not ready yet.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ve brought Nando’s,’ Sai smiled, waving a bag as he walked past me.
‘You brought
Nando’s to one of Mum’s legendary celebratory buffet suppers?’ I laughed. ‘You really are in need of some serious help, Sai.’
Sai flexed his guns in my face. ‘Shut up, dude. I have to keep up my protein intake and I got hungry on the way.’
Lily smiled and shrugged as she passed me. ‘Don’t ask me how I put up with him, Jack. I just do,’ she said.
I kissed Ella and we all wandered down the hall and into the kitchen, where Mum and Dad were in a food-preparation frenzy, aided by Lewis, who was comically wearing Mum’s girliest apron while he battled with the blender, attempting to make fresh guacamole. He’d been staying with us for the whole week, helping me out with a few new ideas for GenNext during the day and trying out some of his clean-eating recipes on the family in the evening. The recipes were actually really good. It was funny: Dad had always loved to think of himself as the accomplished chef of the household, but now he had some serious competition, and it had been hilarious watching them both try to outdo one another.
‘The guys are here,’ I announced. ‘Let’s get this party started.’
There was a burst of warm ‘hellos’ and ‘good to see you agains’ between my friends and Lewis and my parents, and then we all headed out to the garden, where dinner was going to be served on the long outdoor table on the patio. It was generously warm for a late-September evening, and after a completely insane couple of months, everything felt … just right.
‘OK, I’ve got loads of food here,’ Ava said, unloading plastic boxes out of a Greenpeace bag-for-life. ‘I thought there would be a ton of meat for all you carnivores, so I’ve brought some other bits and pieces for the vegetarians amongst us.’
‘So it’s just you and your bloody falafel and chickpea nonsense then,’ I laughed.
Suki threw her arm protectively around Ava. ‘Oi, Penman, watch it. That’s my girlfriend you’re talking about.’