Page 24 of Your Rhythm
JP answers again. “Our last album really got things going for us. I think people just really responded to the music, and it took off from there. It’s been like an avalanche, you know? Just a bit of snow fell, and then it was like WHOOSH!”
He makes a sliding motion with his hands and I see Kay straining to hold back a laugh. She glances around to see if anyone else has something to add. All the group interviews we’ve done so far have been like this: JP talks the reporter’s ear off, I add something every now and then, and Cole and Ace sit there looking too cool for school.
“What about Atlas? How much of the ‘whoosh’ are they responsible for?”
I might be the only one who feels it, but the tension seems to rise another notch. I read Kay’s article inLa Gare,and for some reason it left me feeling uneasy. I tried not to take the bait when she asked about how things were going with Atlas, but it seemed like she picked up on all the doubts I’d been having anyways. I don’t know why, but the whole article seemed like a warning. I just couldn’t figure out if it was meant for me.
“En fait, a lot of the ‘whoosh,’” JP tells her. “They’ve been pretty great so far. We wouldn’t have our big tour coming up without them.”
“Do you feel prepared for that?” Kay asks. “After what just happened on stage?”
I see the guys go from surprised to annoyed as they process what she just said. Even I’m kind of pissed at her for mentioning it. She picks up on the reaction and starts to backtrack.
“Look, I’m not here to critique your performance.” She pauses to laugh to herself a bit. “Well, I guess that’s exactly what I’m here for, but that’s not what I’m interested in right now. What I really want to know is how you recover from something like that. What makes you keep getting back up there even when things get rough?”
The question catches me off guard. I’m used to reporters asking me how many pull-ups I can do or if I’m dating anyone. Kay just made me stop and actually think.
What’s the reason we’re going out on that stage tonight? I know it’s not the contracts, or the ticket sales, or the threat of Shayla coming after us with a big stick. Those are reasons wehaveto do this, but why is it we’ve been down and out so many times over the past few years and still keep coming back for more?
“Girls,” JP jokes. “We do it for the girls.”
I glare at him and turn back to Kay. We must seem like idiots right now, like we don’t deserve any of this, but I want to show her that’s not true. I want to showmyselfit’s not true. I think of Kyle talking to his class about me. He deserves someone worthy of that honor.
I can’t leave the room without making Kay understand why we got this band together in the first place.
“We get back up there,” I tell her, leaning forward so the microphone picks up every word, “because nothing else is worth it if we can’t. You could cut off both my arms and rip out Ace’s vocal cords. You could break all of Cole’s fingers. You could burst JP’s eardrums, and we’d still crawl our way back on that stage. For us, that’s all there is. This band is who we are.”
I swear I see her tremble.
