"It looks like our judges have reached a decision!"
Ginger crossed her fingers, hoping for the best.
"And the winner, of the Pasadena Battle of the Bands is...." The exhuberant announcer shouted into his microphone as he eagerly tore into the envelope the judges had handed him. His lips cracked into a huge grin as he read the results.
Turning back to his mic he shouted, "...THE BLAST CORPS!"
The audiences cheers were deafening, more than loud enough to drown out the disappointed moans of every other band who competed and lost.
"And the Runner-Up.... SSS RANK!" He tried to shout over the still maddeningly loud crowd.
Though they each knew they should be celebrating second place over all others, Ginger, Charlette, and January couldn't help but hang their heads in defeat.
"We were going to win, I was so sure of it... That was the best we'd ever performed!" Ginger said in a low voice.
"WHAT?" January shouted, having seen Ginger say something but having not heard a word because of the crowd.
"NOTHING" Ginger shouted back as she hit January in the back of the head lightly. "It's... nothing" She said more quietly as she motioned for both January and Charlette to follow her to the exit.
"GINGER YOU DON'T WANT TO GET THE MONEY NOW?" Charlette shouted, her voice barely carrying enough to be noticed by Ginger.
"THEY CAN MAIL IT. I DON'T FEEL LIKE BEING HERE ANYMORE." Ginger shouted back as she helped January place her bass into the case again. Just before they reached the exit music began to blare from the center stage again. Having not paid attention she was unaware that the crowd had been calling for an encore, and she made her way out of the building more hastily.
"Runner-up's not bad." Charlette weakly said as a way of offering her condolences.
Smiling, Ginger turned to face Charlette. "Yeah. I guess not... I was just so sure of it though!"
"Hey man, don't worry about it. Least you're not looking like, you're gonna like, kill someone anymore!" January said cheerfully.
Ginger looked mildly annoyed at January bringing it up before responding. "Yeah, sorry about that, I just get extremely anxious if I have to wait too long for something."
The group reached the small van they drove, and slid their instrument cases inside the back.
"HEY! YOU THREE!"
The voice broke the relatively quiet moment among friends like a wrecking ball through glass.
"SSS RANK WAS IT?"
"Yeah, who's asking?" Ginger asked as she closed the back of the van and came face to face with the person she was speaking with. A portly man, balding, with a thick mustache stood before her. He was wearing an exceedingly expensive looking suit, and the wristwatch he wore over the cuff of his sleeve seemed just as expensive.
"Girls! Hey how ya doin the names Bunginald, Danny Bunginald." he quickly stated while shaking the girls hands.
"Now listen up girls I heard you in there and you're good, real good. I think you're good enough to make it big good. Listen up, you know those guys over at Sticky Fusion that sponsored this thing?" Danny asked.
"Well not personally bu-" Ginger began
"Fuck 'em." Danny interrupted. "Fuck 'em over there, tell you what, I can sign you on with my own big name label, the greatest place for pop idols and up and comers like yourselves."
"Whoa, well, we're certainly not pop idols, you sure you got the right band?" Ginger asked, beginning to be annoyed by the mans presumptuousness.
"I don't know, you tell me! You Ginger, just Ginger, no last name?" He asked quickly.
"Well, yes bu-"
"And you there, shortstuff, your name Charlette Lee?"
"Yes." Charlette answered, not liking Danny more by the second.
"And blondie, you January Miller?"
"Like, yeah I guess I am man."
"There. SSS Rank, soon to be the biggest thing in the music world since Frank Sinatra got ahold of a piano! You girls are gonna be huge! As the number 1 talent scout for Reach Records I can tell you've got what it takes. Do you mind if I smoke?" Danny spoke in one breath as he pulled out a cigar from inside his suit.
Figuring he wasn't going to wait for an answer, Ginger just waited for him to continue as he lit the cigar and took a deep puff.
"Ah that's delicious. Whew. Anyway, what do you say kids? You and me, we can make it!" Danny nearly shouts in excitement.
"Um, gimme a second." Ginger says, grabbing her bandmates and pulling them closer to her.
"Alright but a second is all ya get, I'll just let you know I'm not taking no for an answer!" He laughs.
"Err, right. Just a sec." Ginger says, getting quite annoyed. "Well, girls, what do you thi-" She begins.
"I hate him." Charlette blurts out.
"Yeah, I don't like him much either, but this could be it! Our big break! What do you think January?"
"He called me blondie." January said.
Ginger slapped January in the back of the head before turning back to Charlette.
"I'm going to assume that means January's ok with it. I hate this guy too, but maybe if we get noticed first we can sign onto another label and get away from him."
"Hmm..." Charlette hummed, seeming lost in thought.
"...Ok. We're an untested talent, he'd probably want to see how well we do with an EP or something before signing us on for a multi-record deal. Much as I hate him, he definitely seems like the kind of guy we need." she admitted to her friend..
Smiling, Ginger quickly turned around and nearly screamed. "We'll do it! Will you contact us later? Or how does this work, I've never had the chance to work in a recording studio before."
"Whoa whoa there." Danny says through a toothy grin. "Now look here toots, we're doing this the Danny Bunginald way, see when I find talent, I get movin'. And now... now is the time to get movin'! Tomorrow, noon, my office, here's my card." he says quickly while pulling out a card and handing it to Ginger.
"I'll be waiting for you there!" He shouts as he puffs the cigar again and walks back into the auditorium.
Ginger looked at the card for a minute before handing it to Charlette.
"Ginny, that man called me blondie."
"Hmm?" Ginger asked, forgetting that January was there for a minute.
"I don't like him."