Free More Than Music by Elizabeth Briggs

blah blah blah. Read it, whatever.”
    She leaned against the podium and started playing on her phone. Jared and Kyle exchanged a look, the kind siblings give each other that say an entire sentence without a word, and I got the feeling they were not impressed. I had to admit it was odd how the Angel at our audition had been so excited while this one seemed like she couldn’t wait to get out of here.
    We spent a few moments looking over our band’s schedule for the week. After this meeting, we had to take photos together, but then we were free for the rest of the night. Starting tomorrow we had a six-hour rehearsal slot every day at a local studio. On Friday, we’d record the song so people could buy it on the show’s website, and on Sunday, we’d be filming the actual battle round, which would air Monday night.
    Angel finally put her phone away and stood up straight. “Are we rolling now?” One of the camera guys nodded, and she tossed her hair and put on a big smile. “Welcome to Team Angel. I’m so thrilled you’re all here!”
    Silence from all of us. Maybe we were supposed to cheer or applaud or something, but none of us could be bothered. She looked annoyed for an instant and then continued. “All six of your bands were chosen because I believe you can win this thing. I’m confident that this year I have the most talented group of musicians on the show, and I know Team Angel is going all the way!” This got a tiny bit of forced applause. “Unfortunately, only one of you will make it to the final four. You all have talent or you wouldn’t be here, but to make it to the end, you need to work hard and want it more than anything. I want you all to ask yourselves: How bad do you want this? What are you willing to do to win?”
    Angel had been doing this show for four years, and she gave the same speech every season. I wondered if she knew from the very beginning who had the best shot at winning, if she could tell, just by looking in our eyes now, who wanted it the most. As I glanced around the room, it hit me that we might not be on the show after this week. Out of six bands, only three of us would be staying with Angel. Any band she eliminated might be picked by the other mentors, but there was no guarantee that would happen.
    Beside me, Jared’s eyes took on a fiery determination I’d never seen before. Jared was in this thing to win it, no doubt. He’d do anything for that chance, but would I? How much did I want it? Or was I only doing this for Kyle? For Jared?
    No, I wanted to win, too. Maybe not as much as Jared did, but after hearing that roar of the crowd, feeling the music blasting from the giant speakers, and playing with the band at my side, I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. I wanted that record deal and the tour and the future as a part of Villain Complex. To get that, we had to win The Sound .
    After an appropriate pause for her words to sink in, Angel continued. “This week we have the battle round, which will be fun.” I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not. She waved at her assistant, and he passed her a sheet of paper, which she squinted at while he disappeared against the wall again. “Okay, let’s see here… First up, The Static Klingons will compete against Villain Complex.”
    I groaned softly. Why couldn’t we have been up against any of the other bands on the team? Of course we would be paired with the one band that seemed sort of nice. Now there was a strong chance one of us would be going home next week.
    “You’re both going to perform ‘Somebody Told Me’ by The Killers,” Angel said. “I think it’ll be a good song for your different sounds.”
    An interesting choice. I liked the song, but I worried it was a bit too peppy for our usual vibe. Maybe that was more of The Static Klingons’ thing.
    She paired off the other bands and then said, “I’ll see you all at your rehearsals.” She flicked a hand at her assistants, and they left the