The Pressure is On
The news spread like wildfire.
A talent scout was coming to the competition.
"Are you serious?!" Jake nearly choked on his drink.
"Dead serious," Chloe said, holding up her phone.
"This competition was already big, but now it's huge. If we impress them, who knows what could happen?"
The room buzzed with excitement, but also tension.
Winning was one thing—performing in front of someone who could change their lives?
That was a whole different level.
"Alright, change of plans," Drew said, standing up.
"We have to step it up. No more just having fun. We’re going to dominate that stage."
"I agree," Ivy added.
"This could be our chance to go pro. We need to make every moment count."
The two bands spent the entire weekend refining everything.
Michelle made last-minute changes to the outfits, ensuring they had the look.
Kain and Keith worked on making their guitar solos stand out.
Henry and Liam perfected their rhythm section.
Jake and Stacy focused on making their stage presence stronger.
Chloe drummed so hard that by the end of practice, she nearly passed out.
But the pressure started getting to them.
On Wednesday, The Jomies got into an argument over song structure.
"I’m telling you, we need to change the second verse!" Chica insisted.
"And I’m telling you, it’s fine the way it is!" Drew shot back.
On the same night, Rock It had their own struggle.
"You’re rushing the lyrics, Ivy," Kain said, frustrated.
"I’m not rushing!" Ivy snapped.
"Maybe you're playing too slow!"
By Thursday, both bands were exhausted, stressed, and snapping at each other.
Chloe slammed her drumsticks on the table, pulled out her horn and blew into it.
Silence.
She took a deep breath.
"Look, we’re all on edge. We want to win. We want to impress the scout. But we’re turning on each other instead of getting better."
Daisy nodded.
"She’s right. You guys are amazing. But if you don’t work together, it won’t matter how good your music is."
Jake sighed.
"Okay. Let’s take a break. Just for tonight. No practicing, no band talk. Let’s just chill."
The group agreed.
That night, instead of arguing over music, they played games, watched movies, and laughed like they used to.
The tension slowly melted away.
By Friday morning, everyone felt recharged.
"Alright," Chloe said, clapping her hands.
"Let’s do this."
One more practice session.
One more chance to perfect everything.
Because tomorrow?
Tomorrow was competition day.