- 5.
She practically dove at me.
She snatched the speaker from my hands.
“What are you doing, messing with the stage
equipment?” she yelled.
“This is professional gear. You gonna pay if
you break it?”
Chad, who just walked on stage, chimed in.
“Ashley, we’re talking about you quitting the
group and apologizing to Brenda. Stop
changing the subject!”
I watched them panic.
My expression remained calm.
“I didn’t change the subject. Brenda and I bet
on her singing ability to get first place. She
lost.”
The audience went ballistic.
Their insults grew louder and nastier.
Even the head judge couldn’t take it anymore.
He stood up to defend Brenda.
“Ashley, if you’re only arguing about first
place, let me assure you, Brenda’s score
guarantees first place. So what else do you
have to say?”
Г
Brenda perked up after getting the judge’s
support.
But her eyes still showed how nervous she
was.
“Alright, Ashley, I’ll assume you’re just upset you lost the bet. I won’t hold it against you.
Just leave the stage.”
I looked into her eyes.
“So eager to get me off stage? Are you
worried I’ll expose your singing?”
Before I finished, I walked to the soundboard.
I pressed a button.
L
The speaker filled the room with an angelic
voice.
It was exactly the same performance Brenda
just gave.
The same inflections and breathing.
It was identical.
Everyone froze, especially the judges.
“What’s going on? Was that performance
prerecorded and autotuned?”
“Producers? What’s going on? How can we
rig this show? It’s a blatant lie!”
“That’s lip–syncing! It breaks the rules! She’s
banned from the show!”
く
Brenda turned white.
She frantically tried to explain to the judges.
“No, that’s not what happened. Ashley framed
me!”
“Yeah! She recorded my voice without me
knowing and played it to make it seem like I
lip–synced! I was singing!”
She was flustered.
She started signaling to the other two
teammates.
She wanted them to back her up.
But those opportunists realized the tide had
Г
They didn’t say a word.
Brenda looked to Chad.
Chad’s expression had also fallen.
But he recovered quickly.
“I can verify that was Brenda singing live.
There was no lip–syncing. Ashley is doing all
this behind the scenes!”
He cut off the speaker.
Silence filled the stage.
I raised an eyebrow.
“If you’re saying I’m setting you up, let Brenda
sing a few lines without the music. If it
sounds the same, that proves I’m lying!”
The audience got excited and started
chanting.
“That’s a great idea! Sing a few lines and
show her what you got!”
“Ashley is looking down on you. It’s gross!”
“Brenda is just naturally talented. What does
Ashley know?”
I held the mic out to Brenda.
“Go ahead, show us your amazing voice!”
“You…”
Brenda was furious and took a step to attack
- me.
But Chad stopped her.
Chad gave her a look.
She realized her mistake and started crying.
“Ashley, why are you doing this? Do you have
to kill me to be happy?” she said.
“I didn’t tell anyone, but I have severe
depression. I’m taking meds to get through
today. But Ashley won’t stop hurting me! I
don’t want to live anymore.”
