Slo Mo

I don’t remember getting to the green room, but here I was. Stephanie, Jane, and Darcy were all waiting for us. It was as if everything was moving in slow motion. They all had smiles on their faces, so it looks like the performance was received as well as I felt we did.

“Blake,” Stephanie commented.

“Yeah?”

“Good job, much better than last night. You killed it out there.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m confident in you getting through. We may still have a shot at winning this whole thing?”

“You really think so?”

“After that performance, absolutely,” She smiled.

The ad break must have ended because the hosts began talking, and the sixth act went up. Since we had performed, there was nothing left to do but sit back and enjoy the remainder of the show.

The other acts were all outstanding. I don’t think I could name my favourite or even my least favourite. I had come to know most of the other contestants, so it was like seeing your friends doing their best.

The final act of the night was Finland. Aina and Jakko got up and performed, and it was, without a doubt, the happiest I had ever felt watching a song.

Maybe it was because I knew what they were both like, but their song was super fun. I could see why the show’s producers decided to end the show with them. It certainly put a smile on my face.

After they finished, the judges came back on stage and announced that voting was now underway. This may be the most exciting part as a fan, but as a contestant, I wanted to puke. I could feel my phone vibrate. There was a message from Marco.

“You did great! Best of Luck. Love Marco.”

Seeing his message made me forget everything else for the briefest of moments. I was lost in the thoughts of Marco and cuddling up to him. But Solstice has a way of kicking you back to reality real quickly. The hosts began the countdown, and the line I had been dreading was uttered.

“Countries, stop voting now!” The hosts said in unison.

There were some interval acts while the votes were tallied.

“The votes have been tallied, and to confirm whether we have valid results, we need to turn to the wonderful Jano Olgarson.”

Jano Olgarson was the Executive Supervisor of the Solstice Song Contest. He sat in his little box and would confirm or deny any irregularities in the votes. Although he was essentially a bureaucrat, his presence was symbolic in the contest. It was the beginning of the announcement of finalists.

“We have checked the results and confirmed they are valid. You are good to go.”

“You heard Jano Olgarson. We have valid results. Now, it’s time to find out who will progress to the grand final on Saturday night. Are you ready?”

No! I thought.

The crowd cheered, but all I could think was that I wanted it to be over, as the suspense was truly unbearable. It was as if the world around me was slowing down—as if the entire world was in slow motion.

“Now then, the first country to proceed is…” They took an uncomfortably long pause. “Armenia!”

The second host reiterated, “Armenia is through to the grand final on Saturday.” I didn’t have much interaction with the Armenian representative, but they had a good song, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.

“The next country to progress to the grand final is…”

There was another uncomfortably long pause.

“The Netherlands.”

“The Netherlands has progressed through.”

Again, no real surprise there.

The third country is… is… Austria”

Oh, come on, don’t tease me like that. I mean, that wasn’t particularly surprising, but still. Australia and Austria have been lumped together too many times, and for once, I was hoping they would say us instead of them.

“Three countries have progressed through to the grand final; only seven places remain.”

“Hurry up,” I heard Jet mutter under his breath.

“The fourth.” They stopped mid-sentence and touched their earpiece. “The fourth country to make it through...”

I looked towards the acts that had yet to go through. Greece had a girl bop that should make it, Ukraine hadn’t been called, there was absolutely no way they weren’t getting through, Aina and Jukka hadn’t been called for Finland, and we still hadn’t. I was beginning to feel anxious for all of us.

“The fourth act is Finland!”

Finland! Holy shit.

I watched Aina and Jukka give each other the biggest hug; it kind of made me want to get one from Marco. I was stoked to see them get through, although it also meant there was one less chance for us.

“It’s good about Finland,” Jet whispered to me.

I was too nervous to respond with anything but a head nod.

The fifth act did not have as much of a build-up; it was Czechia. Again, no surprises there.

I turned to the rest of my bandmates. Jet was cuddling up to Darcy, and Noah was cuddling up to Jane. Both couples looked extremely stressed, like me. On the other hand, Luca was playing Snake on his phone, and Pete was fast asleep. How the two of them could relax was beyond me. I guess Pete did dance like he was demon-possessed, so it was somewhat understandable.

Regardless, we were halfway and still not called.

“The sixth country is...”

There was a long pause—longer than any of the others. Whereas the others seemed to be using stalling tactics, there appeared to be some genuine communication issues this time. The crowd started yelling out a bunch of country names, including ours.

But oh, how we all were very wrong.

It was a country nobody seemed to be expecting but well deserving of their place in the final.

“Albania!”

The crowd gasped, but it remained mostly silent in shock. One group cheered extra loud.

Fuck yeah. Shock upset. Good for them.

Although my heart was in my chest, and I thought I was about to pass out, I couldn’t help but cheer them on. We had a dark horse in the competition this year. I would be screaming in support if I were at home watching.

But I wasn’t. I was now one of ten incredible artists fighting for a place in the final. My anxiety was growing. Perhaps my screwup yesterday cost us a spot in the final. There were only four countries left.

─── ༻ ☼ ༺ ───

End of Chapter 33