Chapter 8

That Friday after my Musical History tutorial with Mr. Tuesti, I received a text from Zack which had been linked to also Vincent and Cloud. It read:

Got exciting news, meet in band room tonight?

We all agreed to meet up that night at 6pm in the band room. Because I caught up with Aerith for a late afternoon coffee, I hadn't noticed I was running a little late. Upon entering I found Zack, Vincent and Cloud all immersed in what seemed to be a fairly important conversation as they helped themselves to a large pizza.

"There she is," Zack said. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I met up with Aerith and lost track of time," I replied, shutting the door behind me.

"Did she come too?" Zack said trying to peer around me, looking for her.

"Sorry, Zack," I said with a smile. "Seems you're a bit fond of her…"

"Shut up! Here, you want the last couple of slices before they go?" He retorted, changing the subject.

I sat next to Cloud on the other crate and took a bite into a slice of pizza, "so, what's the news then?"

Zack pulled out a scrunched up piece of paper from his pocket and passed it to me. Putting my slice down and wiping my fingers on my jeans, I took it and flattened it out. I realised that the paper was actually a poster with the words "WANTED" printed on the top.

"The Gold Saucer Hotel is looking for a band," Cloud explained.

"Contracted to play every Friday night," Zack added.

"But we haven't even begun to practise…" I replied in a hurry.

"We don't have to worry about that," Zack said. "We have 1 week to practise before the applications close."

"I told you, Zack, that's not enough time," Cloud interjected.

"I agree," I backed Cloud. "What kind of application is required anyway?"

"Two recorded songs," Zack replied. "C'mon guys, it's worth a shot, if we're not up to their standards and we don't get the gig, who cares? No harm trying."

"I agree with, Zack," Vincent mumbled.

Silence fell between us all, the band was split. I considered what Zack said, he was right, no harm in trying, however the possibility of failing terrified me, not to mention the fact my voice had be recorded. I had surely thrown myself into the deep end here.

"Alright," Cloud gave in. "I'm in."

They all turned to me then, waiting for my answer. I swallowed. Here goes nothing, I thought.

I nodded, "okay, I'm in too, just one question…"

Zack leaned forward.

"What kind of songs are required for the application?" I asked.

"Covers," Zack informed with an excited smile.

We then continued to discuss and vote on which 2 songs we'd perform, we agreed that we'd have 2 completely different songs, to demonstrate that we were versatile in the hope that'd make us more valuable. In the end, we settled on "Twilight Driving" by Methyl Ethel and "Hoops" By The Rubens. We choose these 2 songs as we all agreed they were easily do-able with the instruments we already had in the band room and could be easily performed. However, I knew I'd a lot of practising to do in regards to my voice. I was terrified.

Next on the list to be discussed was how it was going to be recorded. Zack had said that there was an old recording studio at the end of the band room's corridor that he and Vincent were able to break into and investigate. They were fairly confident that all the equipment still functioned well, and besides the layers of dust, it was quite a nice studio.

Before we realised it was too late, we also arranged new practising times for each and every night at 6pm. With that all addressed we departed the band room with excitement and rode the elevator down to the 3rd floor. Saying goodnight, Vincent and Zack turned left down the hall while Cloud and I turned right.

"You look terrified," Cloud observed.

"That's because I am," I admitted.

"You know, being in a band shouldn't be terrifying," He replied. "It should be exciting."

"Well, when you're not all that experienced in singing, you tend to be terrified, I assure you," I said.

He sighed, "but you've sung in front of Zack and the others, haven't you?"

"Yes, but they were just jam sessions; we were all singing, it wasn't just me." I explained.

Cloud stopped, "listen I'm sure Zack wouldn't have asked you, and only you to join the band if he wasn't 100% sure you were perfect to be the front."

I fell silent. Why had he seemed so rude before and now incredibly sweet? I guess Yuffie was right, there was always more to a book than just their cover.

I shrugged, unsure of what to say, before he ruffled my hair with a slight laugh.

"You worry too much," he said before he reached his door to dorm 15. "Night'."

"Goodnight," I replied with a smile, before he closed the door and I made my way to my own room. He was just too perfect.