Chapter 39

We’d ended up playing until almost midnight the night before because the crowd was so into it. With some help from a few kids from the A/V club, who happened to be there, Chef had pumped the music out through the TVs outside, and it had become a whole party. By the time we called it at midnight, half the parking lot was still full of people partying. The atmosphere was great, but it was also a Tuesday night and most of us had school and work in the morning.

I hadn’t gotten home until almost one, and six-thirty had come very early. I, and a good percentage of my classmates, were dragging all morning, which was okay, because Mr. Jensen looked like he’d been hit by a bus. I’d noticed him drinking throughout the night, but I didn’t think it had been enough for the hangover he had, but he was also like forty, and maybe alcohol really hit harder when you got older.

We ended up skipping the lecture and just having quiet study time by ourselves. It was surreal seeing a physical effect from my choices on the people around me. About ten minutes before class ended, a runner from the front office came in and handed a note to Mr. Jensen.

After reading it, he looked up and said, “Looks like they need you in the front office, Charlie. Maybe they want to know why everyone in school is so tired.”

Everyone laughed, and he might not be wrong. I’d seen a lot of the school there last night, and if everyone was dragging like this, it would definitely come to the attention of the administration. Not that I was worried. Everyone made their own choices, so it wasn’t my fault exactly, and Dr. Wallace was generally pretty reasonable.

Mrs. Morgan waved me through toward Dr. Wallace’s open door, which meant they’d been waiting for me. I stepped into the doorway and froze. Normally I’d see just Dr. Wallace sitting behind his desk, a clutter of papers in front of him. This time, he was standing in the middle of the room with the town mayor and Kat’s father.

My first instinct upon seeing Kat’s father was that I was about to get screwed. The man hated me and I knew he blamed me for what happened with Kat and his terrible relationship with her, ignoring everything he did to her. It gave me flashbacks to walking in and seeing Mr. Packer and Aaron’s father together, conspiring, and ready to pronounce sentence.

Except, Dr. Wallace had never shown himself to be like that, and if that was happening, Mayor Mullins didn’t seem like the kind of person to put himself in the middle of it. I’d never talked to the man, but he always seemed very conscientious of his public perception, and considering what happened to Aaron’s father, I couldn’t imagine he’d want to get mixed up in something bad.

“Charlie! Come on in. I wanted you to meet Mayor Mullins and Mr. Moore,” Dr. Wallace said with a smile, waving me inside.

I walked over and shook their hands. “Nice to meet you, Mayor. Mr. Moore.”

I had to swallow back bile as I shook Kat’s dad’s hand, and he must have felt the same because he pulled his hand back like he’d been bitten by a snake. With the mayor here, this was clearly important, and I decided that starting off by being rude or whatever to Kat’s dad, who was maybe one of the most prominent people in town, even after people found out about what he’d done to her, was a bad idea.

“We were just talking about that big viewing party at the Blue Ridge last night!” Mayor Mullins exclaimed. “Sounds like the whole dang town was there! I tell you, ever since that camera crew came through a few months ago, people have been buzzing. We haven’t had this much excitement since Sam had that pool put in at the high school.”

“It is exciting,” I said, still not sure what they wanted from me.

“So from what I hear, you’re going to win this whole damn thing next week. Is that right?”

“I really can’t say anything about the results.” I held up my hands. “They made all the contestants sign NDAs swearing we wouldn’t reveal details before the episodes air.”

He waved away the thought as if it didn’t matter.

“Well, whether you win or lose, clearly, this is a big deal for our little town, and we were thinking we could maybe make something of it. We were hoping we could organize some kind of town event around the final episode, which I’m told will have the judging and performances all together this time. Maybe screen it on a big projector out at the football field. Make it a real community celebration.”

“I suppose we could do something like that,” I said slowly. “I know Chef was planning to do a watch party at the Blue Ridge again, but screening it for more people could be cool.”

I did feel bad that he might not get that extra business, but the fire marshal had almost shut us down last night, and if this thing kept growing, it was going to be way too much for the restaurant, anyway.

“Excellent!” Mayor Mullins clapped me on the back. “We’ll get the field set up with a big screen and sound system. Maybe you could even do a little concert afterward if enough folks turn out.”

I chuckled uncomfortably. “Uh, sure, I could do that.”

“Which brings me to my other thought,” the mayor said. “If we turn out the same crowd you folks had at the Blue Ridge, it seems a shame not to try and raise some funds while we have everyone together. The town’s been struggling a bit with finances lately, and this is a great opportunity, especially since the football field is already set up to take tickets and everything. We might even open up the concession stand, make sure folks get fed.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea...” I started to say, before the mayor ran right over me.

“Nonsense!” the mayor blustered. “Folks’ll be happy to chip in a few bucks for a good cause, ‘specially with such a big event happening.”

“The town has had real financial trouble lately,” Mr. Moore said, speaking for the first time since I came in. “I know you’re familiar with some of the burdens the town and the entire county has had to deal with since this summer.”

He was referring to my suing the county for Mr. Campbell’s actions as DA, trying to charge me with my parents’ deaths. Besides firing him, they’d ended up paying me a fairly large amount of money. That had been done through the county, but I didn’t really understand how finances at that level worked or how it could have affected Wellsville. I wasn’t ashamed that I’d sued the county, since they hadn’t taken the opportunity to do the right thing before I sued them, but I also didn’t want the town to suffer.

“I appreciate the offer,” I began slowly. “And I’m happy to perform after the screening if enough people come. But if this is going to be a fundraiser or something formal, I do have some concerns.”

“What’s on your mind?” the mayor said, suddenly getting serious.

“A few things. For one, I wouldn’t feel right charging people a lot for this. Tickets should be affordable if it’s about bringing the community together.”

Mayor Mullins nodded. “That’s fair. We can keep ticket prices low, just enough to cover expenses.”

“And I’d want to make sure that at least half the proceeds go to a good cause, like a charity. I know the town has struggled financially, but it would leave a bad taste if I was seen as profiting too much off this event when the focus should be community and charity.”

The mayor and Mr. Moore exchanged a glance. I could tell the idea of splitting proceeds wasn’t what they’d had in mind.

“How about a quarter of the net proceeds?” Mr. Moore suggested.

I shook my head. “Half. And it should go somewhere impactful, somewhere that really needs support, like the children’s hospital or a domestic violence shelter. I want to decide where the money goes, and I’ll have my business manager follow up on it.”

They were already seeming a little uncomfortable, which is why I’d said ‘business manager’ instead of lawyer, even though Mr. Eaves wasn’t my business manager. I figured they wouldn’t question it, and as long as I knew no one was weaseling money from a charity, I was happy.

Both men looked displeased about the news, especially Mr. Moore, who I think got the subtle jab when I’d said ‘domestic violence shelter.’

“Very well,” the mayor conceded. “Half to charity. Was there anything else?”

“I don’t play by myself, and I need to pay my band and my managers, so you’ll have to pay us our going rate,” I said.

Mayor Mullins smiled, and I think he was thinking I was being greedy, speaking his language, trying to make money off of it after all, even with my insistence about giving to a charity. In reality, I just wanted to make sure Lyla and Seth got paid.

“Okay,” he said.

“Just one more request. I’d like to bring Cole Madison in as a guest performer.” At their blank looks, I added, “He was a contestant on the show with me. An incredibly talented musician. It would mean a lot if he could play, too.”

“And I suppose he will also expect compensation?” Mr. Moore asked dryly.

“He would need to get paid the same rate I do. It’s only fair.”

Both men frowned, and it was pretty easy to tell I’d pushed a little too far. They’d gone from getting a haul to a small fraction of that after everyone was paid out.

“However,” I said, not waiting for them to say no. “I’m willing to reduce my fee by however much you pay Cole. You still need to pay out what my guys would be making if we were getting paid in full, but I’ll reduce our fee by whatever my cut is. That way, the overall performer budget stays the same.”

“Fine,” the mayor said. “We can do that.”

As soon as I got out of school and was heading toward my car, I pulled out my phone to call Cole and let him know what was happening. Thankfully, we’d exchanged numbers before heading our separate ways. Otherwise, I’m not sure how I would have gotten ahold of him to tell him about the gig. I probably should have checked with him before I started negotiating gigs, but it seemed like an opportunity, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to recreate it if I tried to go back to the mayor later.

“Charlie?” Cole said, sounding confused.

“Yeah, did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No. Man, I didn’t think I’d hear from you again after the show ended.”

“Hey, I told you I’d call, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he said.

“So how’s it going?”

“It’s okay,” he said, not sounding convincing at all.

“You sure?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’m just ... the show’s got me messed up. The audition episode was all right, but the last two, they edited me to look like an idiot. I swear, I’m afraid of how they’re going to make me look next week. And on top of that, the one time I did really good, Marissa and I got completely overshadowed.”

“Ooh,” I said. “I’m really sorry about that. You guys did so good, and yeah, they only showed a tiny bit of the work you put in.”

“Nah, it’s not your fault, man,” he said hastily. “You can’t influence what the producers decide, and the thing with Amanda was good drama, so it makes sense they’d want to put it on TV. I think I’m just grousing a little that things haven’t taken off more now that it’s airing. It could be worse. I don’t think Amanda or Candi will book anything after people see them. They made Amanda look like a straight alcoholic.”

“Isn’t that the truth? So how have the bookings been going since you started appearing on TV?”

“You were right, man,” Cole replied. “Even with the crappy editing, I’ve actually booked a few small gigs since my episodes started airing. They’re still mostly at small clubs, but it’s more than I was getting before the show. I’m just worried it won’t last once I’m off TV.”

“Just keep at it. Use it to get enough name recognition locally that you can continue building it even after the show ends,” I said. “Funnily enough, that’s actually why I’m calling. I have a gig for you.”

Cole sounded surprised. “Really? For me?”

“Yep. My hometown is throwing this big viewing party for the final prelim episode. They’re selling tickets and raising money for charity. After the episode airs, they’re going to throw a concert for everyone, which is the thing people are actually paying for, I guess. Anyway, they want you to perform a short set.”

“Me?” he asked, his surprise shifting into skepticism. “Why me? Wait, you’re playing after, right?”

“I am, so yes, you’d kind of be opening for me. But it’s a paid gig, and I know some music industry folks from Nashville and Asheville will be there. Might be a good chance for some Nashville people to see you play, considering the genre you do.”

“Whoa, that’s awesome!” Cole said enthusiastically, and then fell silent.